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Outpost fortress in the middle of the ocean. Perfect place for princess to hide when her kingdom is in danger. Or maybe not? While she is making her hair and enjoying the Sun, her guards aren't as cautious as they should be. While they are enjoying their lunch and drinking, a bunch of orcs are trying to climb up to the castle living qurters.
This was my castle entry for Classic Castle Colossal Contest VI 2008.
Vista desde la torre del Castillo Bentheim
El imponente castillo de Bentheim, es el más grande de los catillos construídos sobre una colina en el estado de Baja Sajonia. Se ubica coronando el spa resort de Bad Bentheim, a una altura de 90 metros, sobre una extensión de la cadena montañosa del Teutoburg.
Desde lejos, el castillo define la silueta de la ciudad histórica de Bad Bentheim, en el condado del mismo nombre, muy cerca del límite con los Países Bajos.
View from the tower at Bentheim Castle
The mighty sandstone castle of Bentheim is the biggest hilltop castle site in Niedersachsen. It is enthroned in the middle of the spa resort of Bad Bentheim on a 90 metre high ridge of hills, an extension of the Teutoburg Forest. Even from afar it defines the silhouette of the historic city in the Grafschaft (County) Bentheim, right on the Dutch border
Gripsholm is one of Sweden's eleven Royal Castles. The story of Gripsholm began when Bo Jonsson Grip had his stronghold built at the end of the 1370s. Grip was one of the most powerful men in the country and controlled estates, castles and land corresponding to two-thirds of the area of Sweden. A hundred years later, the Regent, Sten Sture the Elder, took over Gripsholm. He donated the entire estate to a monastery, "Pax Maria", which gave the nearby town Mariefred its name.
King Gustav Vasa closed the monastery in 1526, and confiscated its property. A new castle was built 1537-1544 on the remains of Grip's stronghold. In the 1590s work began to convert Vasa's castle into a civil Royal residence. In 1783, King Gustav III inaugurated his Palace Theatre. In the late 1800s the Castle was restored in a historicising Vasa style and considered a national monument.
Today Gripsholm is a museum and also houses parts of the state portrait collection 4,500 works.
This is the ruins of Castle Rising Castle, near the village of Castle Rising.
When we got to the car park, I noticed a school party. So as soon as we paid and got in, I went all the way around taking pictures of the castle. By the time I completed one lap of the castle mound above, the secondary school kids started to come in. So I went out, had a little look at the village and road then back in.
Weren't here for long but at least I got my photos of the castle. I missed going inside it, but then those students were probably inside doing school work or something.
It is north of King's Lynn, and south of Sandringham.
Castle Rising Castle is a ruined castle situated in the village of Castle Rising in the English county of Norfolk. It was built in about 1138 by William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, who also owned Arundel Castle. Much of its square keep, surrounded by a defensive mount, is intact. It is currently owned by Lord Howard of Rising, a descendant of William d'Aubigny.
The ruins are Grade I listed.
Ruins of Castle and Eleventh Century Church, Castle Rising - British Listed Buildings
Castle, c1138 for William d'Albini II. Barnack limestone with carstone,
Sandringham sandstone and flint. Hall keep with footings to domestic
buildings in carstone to north, surrounding circular rampart with parts of
curtain wall, gateway through rampart and bridge across deep encircling
ditch. Keep (c24m x 21m x 15m high) ashlared walls now with panels of
coursed local stone. East facade: 3-storeyed forebuilding to right breaking
forward with tiled saddle roof, to left the enclosed outside stairway of
keep. 2-bay forebuilding of ashlar with central pilaster strip and clasping
buttresses to angles, all having shafts to ground and 1st floors; 2 large
semi-circular headed windows to 1st floor, string course above with figure
ccrbels; 3 square openings to 2nd floor; left return with similar window
as east to 1st floor, tall semi-circular headed blank arch below blocked
with local stones and having side shafts. Wall to roofless outside stairs
with ashlar clasping buttress with shafts at angles, central ashlar pilaster
strip having remains above of postern stair; high blank arcade to left and
right, that to left of 6 semi-circular headed arches with cushion capitals
to lost shafts, rear of arcade with chevron indentations, zig-zag string
course below, remains of two circular openings above now containing grotesque
corbels; blank arcade to right of 6 intersecting semi-circular headed arches
with roll mouldings. Keep wall above to rear with central ashlar pilaster
strip, openings to 1st and 2nd floors, clasping buttress to left angle.
South Facade: 4 panels of roughly coursed local stones replacing original
ashlar, ashlared pilaster strips between and clasping angle turret buttresses
with engaged shafts and small stair light; battered plinth; 1 slit opening
per panel to ground floor, 1st floor with varied openings, 2nd floor with
small bullseye to each of 1st three bays, opening of double semi-circular
headed light to 4th bay. Entrance to right to attached outside stair:
semi-circular headed doorway with side shafts, a frieze of corbels above
and a blank arcade of two arches, cornice and 2 circular openings with
grotesques as to left of east facade. North facade as south. West facade
of 4 bays articulated by ashlar pilaster strips, battered plinth, altered
blank arches in ashlar to 2nd, 3rd and 4th bays, continuous with pilaster
strips, but with ashlared forebuilding to left. Interior: floorless; in
two parts, Great Hall to north, Great Chamber to south; basement to west
of Great Hall with pier and double groined vault; service rooms above
including kitchen with circular hearth of on-edge tiles to south-west angle
having circular chimney above through angle turret. Grotesque corbels for
roof of great hall. Remains of chapel in south-east corner of 1st floor
with blank arcading to south and west wall of nave, semi-circular chancel
arch with cushion capitals to shafts and decorative mouldings; one bay
chancel with raised floor, rib vaulting having figure head bosses at
crossing, zig-zag string course below sill of east window. Forebuilding
to north-east: newel stair with ashlared walls and vault; antechamber, to
Great hall on 1st floor, semi-circular headed doorway to Great Hall of 3
orders with side shafts having cushion capitals, each supporting a zigzag
and roll moulding; doorway converted to fireplace and blocked with C15
encaustic heraldic tiles inserted c1840. 1st floor room of 2 bays with rib
vaulting springing from foliage corbels of late C13, vaulting crosses the
semi-circular headed window rear arches with attached shafts. 2nd floor
room an addition, now with internal buttresses and remains of vaulting,
cushion capital to shaft of former external clasping turret buttress of keep
now low at north-west angle; C19 fireplace to south. Bridge: across ditch
to east; revetment of various local stones and erratics, 4-centred head
in brick to arch, parapet with some brick. Gateway through rampart: roofless
in variety of local stone with limestone dressings, semi-circular arches
to front and rear, returns between arches having to left one recess and
doorway to part newel stair, to right 2 recesses, all with semi-circular
headed arches. Small length of curtain wall to south of gateway on rampart,
mainly of 14th brick with some stone, stone facings lost. Ruins of Cll Parish
church: c30m north of keep of the castle, partly within earth rampart; a
variety of local stone: rubble of carstone, Sandringham sandstone, flint
and erratics. 3-cell plan of nave, central tower and apsed chancel. Part
walls of complete plan remaining. Nave with remains of opposing south and
north doorways, low bench around nave walls, to west of south doorway part
of C16 fireplace with some herringbone brickwork. Apse with round headed
single splayed lights to north and east with Roman tiles in internal
dressings. The church was superceded by the C12 church of St. Lawrence (q.v.
6/4) c260m to north, it was subsequently covered by the castle ramparts.
Excavated in early C19 when font base said to fit the stem of font now
in church of St. Laurence was discovered. From 1331-58 the Castle was the
residence of Isabella, wife of Edward II and accomplice to his murder in
l327. The Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument Norfolk No. 3 in the care
of English Heritage, R.A. Brown Castle Rising, HMSO, 1978.
Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle six miles (10 km) south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was given to the National Trust for Scotland. The setting is among scenic rolling foothills of the Grampian Mountains. The contrast of its massive lower storey structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work create a classic fairytale appearance.
An excellent example of the original Scottish Baronial architecture, the great seven-storey castle was completed in 1626 by the Aberdonian merchant William Forbes, ancestor to the "Forbes-Sempill family" and brother of the Bishop of Aberdeen, Patrick of Corse. Forbes purchased the partially completed structure from the impoverished Mortimer family in the year 1610. Forbes' nickname was Danzig Willy, a reference to his shrewd international trading success with the Baltic states.
William's son was became a Baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles I and this title remains with the Forbes family today . The Forbes Baronecy, of Craigievar in the County of Aberdeen, was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 20 April 1630 for William Forbes. He was also a descendant of Hon. Patrick Forbes, third son of the second Lord Forbes, and the nephew of the first Baronet of the 1628 creation. The fourth Baronet represented Aberdeenshire in the House of Commons. The fifth Baronet married the Hon. Sarah Sempill, eldest daughter of Hugh Sempill, 12th Lord Sempill. Their grandson, the eighth Baronet, succeeded as seventeenth Lord Sempill in 1884. The titles remained united until the death of his grandson, the nineteenth Lord and tenth Baronet, in 1965.
Designed in the L plan, as was Muchalls Castle, which is located in the same region, Craigievar is noted for its exceptionally crafted plasterwork ceilings. Craigevar, Muchalls Castle and Glamis Castle are generally considered to have the three finest ceilings in Scotland. The Clan Forbes family were close friends of the Clan Burnett of Leys, who built both Crathes Castle and Muchalls Castle. The ceilings feature plaster figures of the Nine Worthies and other family emblems.
By the early 19th-century, the tower had fallen into decay. Sir John Forbes had considered demolishing the tower and consulted the Aberdeen city architect John Smith who advised against that course of action, stating the tower was: "one of the finest specimens in the Country of the age and style in which it was built." Roof repairs were undertaken and involved the re-construction of almost all of the top floor. The windows, external harling and pointing were replaced and it is likely Smith also designed the gardener's cottage.
The castle originally had more defensive elements including a walled courtyard with four round towers; only one of the round towers remains today. In the arched door to that round tower are preserved the carved initials of Sir Thomas Forbes, William Forbes' son. There is also a massive iron portculis or gate covering the entrance door which is named a yett.
The castle interior boasts a Great Hall that has the Stuart Arms over the fireplace; a musicians gallery; secret staircase connecting the high tower to the Great Hall; Queen's Bedroom; servants' quarters and of course several splendid plasterwork ceilings. There is a collection of Forbes family portraits inside as well as a considerable quantity of Forbes furnishings dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. The castle also houses two original Henry Raeburn portraits complete with original receipts.
The castle, its estate, and over 200 acres (0.81 km2) of adjoining farmlands and woodlands have now entered their fiftieth year as a property of the National Trust for Scotland.
The castle has been the seat of the Percy family since Norman times. By 1138 the original motte and bailey castle, with wooden buildings, was replaced with stone buildings and walls. In 1309 the keep and defences were made even stronger by Henry de Percy. The castle then stayed unchanged for 400 years. By the 18th century it had fallen into ruins. The keep however was then turned into a gothic style mansion by Robert Adam. In the 19th century the Duke of Northumberland carried out more restoration of the castle.
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ALNWICK CASTLE, THE CASTLE, STABLE COURT AND COVERED RIDING SCHOOL INCLUDING WEST WALL OF RIDING SCHOOL
Heritage Category: Listed Building
Grade: I
List Entry Number: 1371308
National Grid Reference: NU 18685 13574
Details
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 05/10/2011
NU 1813 NE 2/1 NU 1813 SE 1/1 20.2.52. 5330
Alnwick Castle The Castle, Stable Court and Covered Riding School including West Wall of Riding School
GV I
Alnwick Castle has work of every period on the line of the original motte and bailey plan. By 1138 a strong stone built border castle with a shell keep in place of the motte, formed the nucleus of the present castle with 2 baileys enclosing about 7 acres. The curtain walls and their square towers rest on early foundations and the inner gatehouse has round-headed arches with heavy chevron decoration. The Castle was greatly fortified after its purchase by Henry de Percy 1309 - the Barbican and Gatehouse, the semi-circular towers of the shell keep, the octagonal towers of the inner gateway and the strong towers of the curtain wall date from the early to mid C14. Ruinous by the C18, the 1st Duke had it rehabilitated and extended by James Prince and Robert Adam, the latter being mainly concerned with the interior decoration, very little of which remains except for fireplaces in the Housekeeper's and the Steward's Rooms and for inside the present Estates Office range. Capability Brown landscaped the grounds, filling in the former moat (formed by Bow Burn). The 4th Duke employed Anthony Salvin 1854-65 at the cost of £1/4 million to remove Adam's fanciful Gothic decoration, to restore a serious Gothic air to the exterior and to redesign the state rooms in an imposing grand Italian manner. The Castle is approached from Bailliff gate through the crenellated Barbican and Gatehouse (early C14): lion rampant (replica) over archway, projecting square side towers with corbelled upper parts, fortified passage over dry moat to vaulted gateway flanked by polygonal towers. Stone figures on crenellations here, on Aveners Tower, on Record Tower and on Inner Gateway were carved circa 1750-70 by Johnson of Stamfordham and probably reflect an earlier similar arrangement. In the Outer Bailey to the, north are the West Garrett (partly Norman), the Abbott's Tower (circa 1350) with a rib vaulted basement, and the Falconer's Tower (1856). To the south are the Aveners Tower [C18], the Clock Tower leading into the Stable Yard, the C18 office block, the Auditor's Tower (early Clk) and the Middle Gateway (circa 1309-15) leading to the Middle Bailey. The most prominent feature of the Castle on the west side is the very large Prudhoe Tower by Salvin and the polygonal apse of the chapel near to it. In the Middle Bailey, to the south are the Warders Tower (1856) with the lion gateway leading by a bridge to the grand stairs into the walled garden, the East Garrett and the Record Tower (C14, rebuilt 1885). In the curtain wall to the north are 2 blocked windows probably from an early C17 building now destroyed and the 'Bloody Gap', a piece of later walling possibly replacing a lost truer; next a small C14 watch tower (Hotspur's Seat); next the Constable's Tower, early C14 and unaltered with a gabled staircase turret; close by is the Postern Tower, early C14, also unaltered.'To the north-west of the Postern Tower is a large terrace made in the C18, rebuilt 1864-65, with some old cannon on it. The Keep is entered from the Octagon Towers (circa 1350) which have 13 heraldic shields below the parapet, besides the agotrop3ic figures, and a vaulted passage expanded from the Norman gateway (fragments of chevron on former outer arch are visible inside). The present arrangement of the inner ward is largely Salvin's work with a covered entrance with a projecting storey and lamp-bracket at the rear of the Prudhoe Tower and a corbelled corridor at 1st floor level on the east. Mediaeval draw well on the east wall, next to the original doorway to the keep, now a recess The keep, like the curtain walls, is largely mediaeval except for some C18 work on the interior on the west and for the Prudhoe Tower and the Chapel. The interior contrasts with the rugged mediaeval exterior with its sumptuous Renaissance decoration, largely by Italians - Montiroli, Nucci, Strazza, Mantavani and inspired from Italian sources. The chapel with its family gallery at the east end has 4 short rib vaulted bays and a shallow 3-light apse; side walls have mosaics, covered now with tapestry. The grand staircase With its groin vaulted ceiling leads to the Guard Chamber from which an ante-room leads west into the Library (in the Prudhoe Tower) and east into the Music Room (fireplace with Dacian captives by Nucci). Further on are the Red Drawing Room (caryatid fireplace by Nucci) and the Dining Room (ceiling design copied from St Lorenzo f.l.m. in Rome and fireplace with bacchante by Strazza and faun by Nucci). South of the Middle Gateway are Salvin's impressive Kitchen quarters where the oven was designed to burn a ton of coal per day. West of the Stable Courtyard, with C19 Guest Hall at the south end, is the C19 covered riding school, with stable to north of it, and with its west wall forming the east side of Narrowgate. The corner with Bailliffgate has an obtuse angled tower of 2 storeys, with a depressed ogee headed doorway from the street, and merlons.
Listing NGR: NU1863413479
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/137130...
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ALNWICK CASTLE
Heritage Category: Park and Garden
Grade: I
List Entry Number: 1001041
National Grid Reference: NU1739315366, NU2254414560
Details
Extensive landscape parks and pleasure grounds developed from a series of medieval deer parks, around Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Percy family since the C14.
Between 1750 and 1786, a picturesque landscape park was developed for Hugh, first Duke of Northumberland, involving work by James Paine, Robert Adam, and the supervision of work by Lancelot Brown (1716-83) and his foremen Cornelius Griffin, Robson, and Biesley in the 1760-80s, working alongside James and Thomas Call, the Duke's gardeners. During the C19 each successive Duke contributed and elaborated on the expansive, planned estate landscape, within which the landscape park was extended. This was accompanied by extensive C19 garden works, including a walled, formal flower garden designed in the early C19 by John Hay (1758-1836), and remodelled mid C19 by William Andrews Nesfield (1793-1881).
NOTE This entry is a summary. Because of the complexity of this site, the standard Register entry format would convey neither an adequate description nor a satisfactory account of the development of the landscape. The user is advised to consult the references given below for more detailed accounts. Many Listed Buildings exist within the site, not all of which have been here referred to. Descriptions of these are to be found in the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
In the C13, Hulne Park, West Park, and Cawledge were imparked within the Forest of Alnwick. Hulne Park lay to the north-west of Alnwick Castle and Cawledge to the south and south-east. By the late Middle Ages, Hulne Park extended to 4000 acres (c 1620ha) enclosed by some 13 miles (c 21km) of wall. It was stocked with some 1000 fallow deer and a tower at Hulne Priory served as a hunting lodge. The parks formed the basis of Alnwick Park, landscaped by Sir Hugh Smithson (1714-86) who in 1750 became Earl of Northumberland, inheriting his father-in-law's northern estates. Prior to this, from 1748 he and his wife, Elizabeth Seymour (1716-76), had lived at Stanwick, Yorkshire (qv) and at Syon Park, London (qv), where they had already established a reputation for gardening, attested by Philip Miller's dedication, in 1751, of his Gardener's Dictionary to the Earl.
Together they embarked on an ambitious scheme to restore the Castle, develop the grounds and estate, and restore the Percy family traditions and identity at Alnwick. Those employed at Alnwick were also involved elsewhere on the Northumberland estates: James Paine, architect at Syon House, Daniel Garrett, architect at Northumberland House, the Strand (1750-3), Robert Adam, architect at Syon (1762-9), Lancelot Brown, landscape architect at Syon Park (1754-72).
In 1751, Thomas Call (1717-82), who had been the Earl's gardener at Stanwick, prepared a scheme for the parklands and pleasure grounds, including a plan for Brizlee Hill (the south part of Hulne Park). Call and his relation James, working at Alnwick by 1756, were responsible for the development of Hulne Park over twenty years. The date and extent of Lancelot Brown's involvement at Alnwick is uncertain, although his foremen Griffin, Robson, and Biesley worked at Alnwick with teams of men between 1771and 1781 and records shown that they also worked alongside Call and his men (in 1773 for example, Call had a team of sixty men and Biesley one of seventy-eight).
Hulne Park was developed as a picturesque pleasure ground with extensive rides, follies, and the enhancement of natural features. A characteristic of the Duke's scheme was his recognition of antiquarian sites within the landscape, which were embellished. Thus in 1755, Hulne Priory was purchased to become the focal point of Hulne Park. A garden was made within the cloister walls and, from c 1763, the priory became the gamekeeper's residence, with a menagerie of gold and silver pheasants. Statues of friars cut by the mason Matthew Mills were set in the landscape. In 1774, a medieval commemorative cross to Malcolm Canmore (listed grade II), situated at the northern entrance to the North Demesne, was restored.
Following the Duchess' death in 1776, the Duke decorated all her favourite locations with buildings, some being ideas she had noted in her memoranda. Work also included other notes and ideas the Duchess had had, including the ruin at Ratcheugh Crag and some ninety-eight drives and incidents.
Plans for the parklands at the North Demesne, Denwick, and Ratcheugh Crags were developed in the late 1760s, although in the case of the North Demesne some parkland planting had been undertaken by 1760, and the major work undertaken in the early 1770s is that attributed to Brown, mainly on stylistic grounds.
During the C19, under the second Duke (1742-1817) the parks were extended, this including the purchase of Alnwick Abbey and part of its estate. The complex of drives was also extended and this was accompanied by extensive plantations, including the large Bunker Hill plantation central to the north area of Hulne Park, named to commemorate the Duke's action in 1775 in the War of American Independence. Most significantly, between 1806 and 1811, building centred on construction of a perimeter wall, defining the boundary of Hulne Park, and lodges and gateways at entrances to the parks. The carriage drives were extended, necessitating the construction of bridges over the River Aln. These schemes were implemented by estate workers, local masons, and David Stephenson, the Duke's architect.
As the Castle had no formal flower gardens, John Hay was commissioned between 1808 and 1812 to design pleasure gardens to the south-east of the Castle, linking it with a new walled garden at Barneyside, furnished with a range of hothouses, glasshouses, and pine pits. These were extended in the 1860s when Anthony Salvin, employed in the restoration of the Castle, built a gateway between the inner bailey and the pleasure gardens. Nesfield designed a scheme for the walled gardens to be developed as an ornamental flower and fruit garden, with a large central pool, conservatory, and a series of broad terraces and parterres. The Alnwick scheme can be compared to Nesfield's in the precincts of Arundel Castle, West Sussex (qv), in 1845.
Alnwick Castle, parks and estate remain (2000) in private ownership, the latest significant developments being the replanting and restoration of the North Demesne (1990s) and plans to completely remodel the walled garden.
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Alnwick Castle parks cover a tract of countryside encircling Alnwick town on its west, north, north-east, and south sides. The land is a mixture of contrasting landscape types, with high heather moorland and the rough crags of the Northumbrian Sandstone Hills sweeping down to the improved pasture lands along the wooded Aln valley. The parks exploit the boundaries of these distinctive landforms where the rugged moorland gives way to the pastoral, rolling landscape of the Aln, on its route to the sea. In the west parklands the river is confined between hills, and in places has incised deep, narrow valleys while in the east the landscape is more open.
The registered area of 1300ha is bounded on its north-east side by the Hulne Park wall, west of the Bewick to Alnwick Road (B6346). The west side of the area here registered follows field boundaries to the west of Shipley Burn, starting at Shipley Bridge, and then turns south-west at a point c 1km south of the bridge. It then runs for south-west for c 2.3km, to the west of Hulne Park, before crossing the River Aln and running parallel to Moorlaw Dean for c 1.2km, on the west side of the burn. The southern area is defined by Hulne Park wall running around the south point of Brizlee Wood then in a line due east, south of Cloudy Crags drive, to cross the Stocking Burn and reach Forest Lodge. The boundary then defines the north-western extent of Alnwick town and, crossing the Canongate Bridge, the southernmost extent of the Dairy Grounds.
To the east of the Castle the registered area takes in the entire North Demesne bounded on its north by Long Plantation, a perimeter belt which lies on the south side of Smiley Lane and then extends eastwards to meet the junction of the B1340 and A1 trunk road. The A1 has effectively cut through the North Demesne from north to south and, although physically divorcing the two areas, they are still visually conjoined. Defined on its north side within the hamlet of Denwick by tree belts, the park extends eastwards for 1km before cutting across southwards to meet the River Aln at Lough House. This latter stretch is bounded by a perimeter belt. The south boundary of the North Demesne follows the river in part, before meeting the Alnwick to Denwick road (B1340). To the south, the Castle gardens are delimited from the town by property boundaries along Bondgate. An outlying area of designed landscape at Ratcheugh is also included.
A complex series of drives is laid throughout the parks, particularly in Hulne Park. A series of thirty standing stones stand at the beginning of the drives or where they converge. These are inscribed with the names of the drives and act as signposts.
Alnwick Castle (1134 onwards, c 1750-68 by James Paine and Robert Adam, 1854-6 by Anthony Salvin, listed grade I) lies on the high ground on the south side of the Aln valley, commanding views to the north, east, and west. To the south is Alnwick town but the landscape is designed so that the town is not in view of the Castle. The principal views from the Castle lie over the North Demesne.
The North Demesne originally included Denwick Park (they have now been divided by the A1 road), and together these 265ha form the core parkland designed by Brown. Perimeter tree belts define the park, and clumps and scatters of specimen trees ornament the ground plan. The Aln has been dammed to give the appearance of an extensive, natural serpentine lake, with bridges as focal points: the Lion Bridge (John Adam 1773, listed grade I) and Denwick Bridge (1766, probably also by Adam, listed grade I). A programme of replanting and restoration of the North Demesne is under way (late 1990s).
The medieval deer park of Hulne extended to the north of the Shipley Road (outside the area here registered). Hulne Park is now 1020ha and is in agricultural and forestry use. The principal entrance from Alnwick town is Forest Lodge, the only extant part of Alnwick Abbey. Hulne Park is completely enclosed by an early C19 perimeter wall, c 3m high with shaped stone coping and buttresses every 20m. Nearly 5km of wall lies alongside roads, 5km across fields, and 5km defines perimeter woodland and moorland from the enclosed park.
The park design consists of a series of oval-shaped enclosures, defined by tree belts vital for shelter. The highest point is in the west area of the park, from where there are long-distance views east to the sea. The River Aln winds its way through the park via a series of contrasting steep valleys and flatter lands. The valleys are emphasised by planting on the upper slopes, while the lower areas are encircled with designed plantations to emphasise the river's meanders and ox-bow lakes.
Picturesque incidents survive at Nine Year Aud Hole, where the statue of a hermit (late C18, listed grade II) stands at the entrance to a natural cave along Cave Drive, and at Long Stone, a monolith standing high on the west side of Brizlee Hill, with panoramic views over Hulne Park to the north-west. The picturesque highlight is Hulne Priory (original medieval buildings, C18 alterations and enhancements, all listed grade I), which includes a summerhouse designed by Robert Adam (1778-80, listed grade I) and statues of praying friars erected in the Chapter House (late C18). The Priory's picturesque qualities are well appreciated from Brizlee Tower (Robert Adam, listed grade I), built in 1781 to commemorate the creation of the Alnwick parks by the first Duke and Duchess, a Latin inscription stating:
Circumspice! Ego omnia ista sum dimensus; Mei sunt ordines, Mea descriptio Multae etiam istarum arborum Mea manu sunt satae. [Look about you. I have measured all these things; they are my orders; it is my planning; many of these trees have been planted by my own hand.]
Brizlee is sited on a high point which can be seen in views north-west from the Castle, mirroring views north-east to the 'Observatory' on Ratcheugh Crag, a sham ruined castle sited as an eyecatcher on high ground and built by John Bell of Durham in 1784 (plans to further elaborate it were designed by Robert Adam).
Another principal feature of Hulne Park is a series of regular, walled enclosures (the walls set in ditches with banks cast up inside the compounds) which line Farm Drive, the central road through the park, north-westwards from Moor Lodge. This functioned as the third Duke's menagerie, and is still pasture.
The 15ha Dairy Ground links Hulne Park and the North Demesne. It principally consists of the Aln valley north-west of the Castle, stretching between Canongate Bridge and Lion Bridge, laid out as pleasure gardens. Barbara's Bank and the Dark Walk are plantations laid out with walks on the steep slopes with a Curling Pond to the north of the Aln.
The walled garden of 3ha lies to the south-east of the Castle, reached by the remains of C19 pleasure gardens laid out on the slopes above Barneyside. After the Second World War use of the glasshouses ceased, and until recently (late 1990s) the Estate Forestry Department used it. The earthwork terraces and remnants of specimen planting of Nesfield's scheme survive.
REFERENCES
Note: There is a wealth of material about this site. The key references are cited below.
The Garden, 5 (1874), pp 100-1, 188; 20 (1881), pp 155-6 Gardeners' Chronicle, ii (1880), pp 523-4, 587; ii (1902), pp 273-4 J Horticulture and Cottage Gardener 15, (1887), pp 296-8 P Finch, History of Burley on the Hill (1901), p 330 Country Life, 65 (22 June 1929), pp 890-8; 66 (6 July 1929), pp 16-22; 174 (4 August 1983), p 275 D Stroud, Capability Brown (1975), pp 103-4 Garden History 9, (1981), pp 174-7 Capability Brown and the Northern Landscape, (Tyne & Wear County Council Museums 1983), pp 19, 22-3, 27, 42 Restoration Management Plan, Alnwick Castle, (Land Use Consultants 1996) C Shrimpton, Alnwick Castle, guidebook, (1999)
Description written: August 2000 Resgister Inspector: KC Edited: June 2003
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/100104...
See also:-
Platamonas is a town and sea-side resort in south Pieria prefecture, Central Macedonia, Greece, near to the tallest mountain in Greece, the famous Mount Olympus.
Platamonas has a population of about 1,500 permanent inhabitants and it’s regarded as one of the most significant tourist destinations in Pieria. According to tradition its name originates either from the platan trees or from the broad sandy beaches, both of which can be found in the areas surrounding the town. Its most famous landmark is the venetian Castle of Platamon. The town is 54 km from the city of Larisa and 38 from the city of Katerini.
Made for week 251 of the Photoshop Contest.
Castle: ihave3kids
Birds: Sean Deilinger
Hill and Sky: Urban Outlaw
Texture 1: SkeletalMess
Texture 2: pareeerica
Found this tucked away beneath a bunch of negatives today. Momz took this in 1985 I believe? It's funny, I still sit like that. Good times & memories...
Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, located between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322, taking advantage of the site's natural defences and the existing earthworks of a former Iron Age fort. Thomas was a leader of a baronial faction opposed to King Edward II, and probably intended Dunstanburgh to act as a secure refuge, should the political situation in southern England deteriorate. The castle also served as a statement of the earl's wealth and influence, and would have invited comparisons with the neighbouring royal castle of Bamburgh. Thomas probably only visited his new castle once, before being captured at Battle of Boroughbridge as he attempted to flee royal forces for the safety of Dunstanburgh. Thomas was executed, and the castle became the property of the Crown, before passing into the Duchy of Lancaster.
Castle is a cone-type geyser and has the largest cone in Yellowstone. Eruption height is 60-90 feet. The usual major-to-major interval in 2011 is around 14 hours.
This picture was taken at sunset, an hour or so before it's eruption which I also was able to photograph, but I liked the colors in the water and the sky in this photo.
Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire
Warkworth Castle in Northumberland is forever associated with the Percy Earls of Northumberland but the site did not start with them. Indeed there is some mystery over who first built it and when. Located on a tight bend in the River Coquet and about a mile from the sea, the castle sits on the neck of this land which means that the enclosed space becomes an outer ward with the river as its moat on three sides. The medieval church and modern village now occupy the bend.
As an easy to defend site, close to the English/Scottish border, the speculation is that it may have had some sort of fortification well before the present building but this is now elusive - especially so if the first fortification was of mere earth and timber. Henry, son of King David I of Scotland, was granted the site around 1139 AD and he, in turn, granted salt pans to various local monks. As the new Earl of Northumberland the old guide book speculates that he either built the first castle or he improved an existing motte and bailey with new stone walls; the guide book certainly notes ‘Norman’ foundations at various points in the current building. A castle certainly exists in documents of 1157 AD.
King John of England confirmed the castle to Robert of Clavering in 1199 AD. Robert spent much time in the area as Sheriff of Northumberland and was gifted other local estates. He is thought to have built the main gateway, some of the walls and improved the Great Hall. He may also have built or improved the keep but this work has since vanished under the large and luxurious later Percy building. The Claverings held the castle but such was its importance that royal troops were also garrisoned here at times - at the king’s expense - due to the Scottish wars. In 1322 the constable of the castle sent 26 light horsemen (hobilars) to join the English army. The Scots were beaten off in 1327 and again the following year when Robert The Bruce besieged it.
The last Clavering male died in debt in 1332 and the castle eventually passed to Henry, the second Lord Percy of Alnwick. He improved the gatehouse and walls and may have added the Grey Mare’s Tail tower on the eastern side. From this time onwards Warkworth was the second castle home of the Percys and much favoured by them. The third Percy lord was a great soldier in the 100 Years War in France and was created Earl of Northumberland in 1377 before winning the battles of Otterburn and Homildon Hill against the Scots.
Sometime during this period extensive building work was carried out by the Percys with the keep on the motte being rebuilt as a sumptuous and comfortable building with decent accommodation, ample water management and drainage. It even had a very modern feature - a light well extending down the centre of the building to draw in both light and fresh air. For the ‘grim north’ this was a very princely home.
However after supporting Henry IV’s 1399 coup against Richard II, the Percys fell out with King Henry and rebelled - leading to executions and a period of disgrace. During this time Warkworth was attacked by a royal army with gunpowder artillery and it surrendered after seven discharges of the royal cannons. It is thus the first British castle to be successfully attacked by artillery despite the claims of nearby Bamburgh Castle.
John, Duke of Bedford held the castle for 11 years before it was returned to the next Percy - Henry, Earl of Northumberland. He was drawn into disputes with the junior Nevilles (the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick) but was supported by the senior Nevilles, the Earls of Westmoreland, who had their own issues with the junior Nevilles. Inevitably all this was mostly about money and inheritance. It paved the way to private battles between these families BEFORE the so-called Wars of the Roses. Indeed the first Battle of St Albans in 1455 may be more of a Mafia-style ‘hit’ as the Yorkists were lead by the three Richards (York, Salisbury and Warwick) and the principal dead were the Duke of Somerset, Henry Percy and a Percy kinsman, Lord Clifford.
The castle passed into Yorkist hands and - at various times - the Earl of Warwick directed sieges at Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh using Warkworth as his base. Warwick’s brother John Neville was given the castle and the earldom of Northumberland for a time but Edward IV eventually returned it to Henry Percy, the 4th Earl of Northumberland. John Neville was thus ‘downgraded’ to 1st Marquis of Montague and was thoroughly alienated by this action, leading to John joining his brother Warwick in rebellion against Edward IV. Warkworth’s Montague Tower is probably his work.
The 4th Percy earl carried out some work in his own right. One oddity is that a collegiate church was planned right in front of the keep which would have cut the keep off from the rest of the inner bailey. We know this as the present church foundations contain a tunnel which would have passed under the massive building to allow access to the keep from the bailey. However the guide book suggests the church was never finished and that the foundation crypts were partly buried and then became used for storage.
Henry the 4th earl became infamous for not supporting King Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. He then managed to get himself killed by the locals at Cocklodge in 1489 and is now buried in Beverley Cathedral. Later Percys got involved in the 16th century religious conflicts in England and none of them came out of it well. One even got involved in the Gunpowder Plot against the new Protestant King James I of England. One footnote is that King James visited Warkworth in this period and found it ruined and overrun by goats and sheep in every chamber. Some of his party went into the castle and were: “Much moved to see it so spoiled and so badly kept”.
Later Percys favoured Alnwick over Warkworth and it was one of these (now a Duke) who turned the site over to the future Ministry of Public Building and Works in 1922. It is now an English Heritage site and well worth a visit.
Bran Castle situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, on DN73. Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle" (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poenari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is often erroneously referred to as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle, which has only tangential associations with Vlad the Impaler, voivode of Wallachia, the putative inspiration for Dracula. As discovered by the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos,the location Bram Stoker actually had in mind for Castle Dracula while writing his novel was an empty mountain top, Mount Izvorul Călimanului, 2,033 metres (6,670 ft) high, located in the Călimani Alps near the former border with Moldavia. Stoker's description of Dracula's crumbling fictional castle also bears no resemblance to Bran Castle.
The castle is now a museum dedicated to displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Maria.Tourists can see the interior individually or by a guided tour. At the bottom of the hill is a small open-air museum park exhibiting traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, etc.) from across the country.
Frederiksborg Palace or Frederiksborg Castle (Danish: Frederiksborg Slot) is a palace in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV and is now a museum of national history. The current edifice replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia. The palace is located on three small islands in the middle of Palace Lake (Slotsøen) and is adjoined by a large formal garden in the Baroque style.
The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 1560 structure built by Frederick II. Although he remains its namesake, most of the current palace was instead constructed by Christian IV between 1602 and 1620. He employed the Flemish architects Hans and Lorenz van Steenwinckel and the castle follows the Dutch style employed by Christian IV for his new buildings in Copenhagen.
another castle. you must all be sick of seeing them from me!
this one is a 9 turret for my daughters 9th birthday. she had a cat on some sting for her sleepover party but really really wanted a castle too for her actual birthday day.
6" vanilla sponge, 4" terry's chocolate orange cake with chocolate orange ganache. the 4 small turrets are chocolate swiss rolls and the 5 big turrets are hollow but filled with chocolate éclairs, iced in blue and decorated with snow ( white sugar crystals) snowflakes and lots of glitter. with one small cat ornament she got for her birthday. i also made 24 cupcakes to go with it. also a magic door round the back witch is the secret entrance to winterland were cats rule and ice cream grows on trees
I hope everyone is having a good week!
Tara xx
Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powys) is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country mansion near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales.
It is known for housing the treasures that were brought home by Robert Clive and his son, Edward Clive from India. The Clives "looted" them during their service with the British East India Company.[1]
The castle has also been known as Castell Coch, Castell Pool, Castell Pola, Castell Pole, Castell Trallwng, Red Castle, Redde Castle and Castel Cough.[2]
The seat of the Earl of Powis, the castle is known for its extensive, attractive formal gardens, terraces, parkland, deerpark and landscaped estate. The property is under the care of the National Trust.
Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) visited the castle as a child when her mother took her to tour England and Wales in 1832.
Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the River Esk, about a mile east of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The lands have been owned by the Pennington family for more than 800 years.
Castle Ashby is the seat of the Marquess of Northampton, a manor that was castellated in 1306. The current house dates from 1574 with the gardens established from 1695 after a visit by William III, and improved by Capability Brown.in 1760
"How hath the mighty fallen" - Castle No.7005 Sir Edward Elgar being used on Pilot duties at Paddington on 28/3/64. 'She' was withdrawn in Oct'64.
Hever Castle
The original romantic double-moated 13th century defensive castle, with its gatehouse and walled bailey, was built in 1270.
In the 15th and 16th centuries it was the home of one of the most powerful families in the country, the Boleyns, who added the Tudor dwelling within the walls. The Castle was to become the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife, who became Queen of England for just 1,000 days. It was Henry’s love for Anne, and her insistence that she became his wife rather than his mistress, that led to the King renouncing Catholicism and creating the Church of England.
The castle later passed into the ownership of another of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne of Cleves, and from 1557 onwards it was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humphreys and the Meade Waldos.
Gradually it fell into decline until 1903 when William Waldorf Astor bought the castle and invested time, money and imagination in restoring the castle to its former glory. He commissioned the ’Tudor Village’, now called the ‘Astor Wing’ and the construction of the magnificent gardens and lake. His vision and great wealth enabled him to create a lavish family home and at the same time indulge his passion for history.
In 1983 the Yorkshire based company, Broadland Properties, purchased Hever Castle and its collection from the Astor family.
Broadlands are committed to the future of the Castle and during their custodianship have invested greatly in the historical integrity of the estate. They have also added to the existing art collection prompting Dr. David Starkey to state that Hever Castle ‘now has one of the best collections of Tudor portraits after the National Portrait Gallery’.
The Gardens
The romantic gardens were created by William Waldorf Astor at the turn of the 20th century.
They were laid out between 1904 and 1908 by Joseph Cheal and his Son who, using Astor's great wealth, turned the existing marshland into the spectacular classical and natural gardens that exist today.
One of the most magnificent areas of the gardens is the Italian Garden, which was designed to showcase Astor's unique collection of ancient Greek and Roman statuary that he acquired while he was American Ambassador to Italy. Over 1,000 men worked on the grand design, with around 800 men taking two years to dig out the 38-acre lake at the far end of the Italian Garden.
Within four years 125 acres of classical and natural landscapes were constructed and planted to form the magnificent gardens which are only now reaching their full maturity.
Another magnificent feature is the Rose Garden which contains over 4,000 rose bushes.
There are many water features around the gardens, including the Half Moon Pond, the Cascade, the Cool and Shady grottoes, the formal Loggia Fountain inspired by the Trevi fountain in Rome, and the less formal Two Sisters’ Pond.
Other equally impressive areas include the Tudor Garden, Rhododendron Walk and Anne Boleyn’s Walk, with its collection of trees planted more than 100 years ago.
Pictures from The Great Western LEGO Show at STEAM, Swindon, in October 2013. The Tigelfáh Castle and Town display is is the best castle layout I've ever seen, and a sight that it'll take something very special to top. This is the view from James Pegrum's castle over to the cathedral built by Colin Parry (Cuahchic). The mess in the foreground is the invading force from Luke Watkins Hutchinson's (- Derfel Cadarn -) side of the table...
Dunvegan Castle is located 1 mile north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the Clan MacLeod. Probably a fortified site from the earliest times, the castle was first built in the 13th century and developed piecemeal over the centuries. In the 19th century the whole castle was remodeled in a mock-medieval style. The castle is built on an elevated rock overlooking an inlet on the eastern shore of Loch Dunvegan, a sea loch.
Castle Rising Castle is one of the most famous 12th Century castles in England.
The stone keep, built in around 1140ad, is amongst the finest surviving examples of its kind anywhere in the country and, together with the massive surrounding earthworks, ensures that Rising is a castle of national importance.
Between 1330 and 1358, it was the residence of the displaced former queen, Isabella of France, following her alleged part in the murder of Henry III
Ballindalloch Castle (also known as The Pearl of the North) is a castle between Dufftown and Grantown-on-Spey, in the Moray region of Scotland.
The first tower of the Z plan castle was built in 1546. After it was plundered and burned by James Graham, the first Marquess of Montrose, it was restored in 1645. Extensions were added in 1770 by General James Grant of the American Wars of Independence (whose ghost is said to haunt the castle) and in 1850 by the architect Thomas MacKenzie. Further extensions carried out in 1878 were mostly demolished during and modernisations enacted in 1965. It has been continuously occupied by the Russell and Macpherson-Grant families throughout its existence.
The castle houses an important collection of 17th century Spanish paintings. The dining room of Ballindalloch is said to be haunted by a ghost known as The Green Lady.[1]
The castle grounds contain a 20th century rock garden and a 17th century dovecote. The rivers Spey and Avon flow through the grounds, offering excelleing fishing. The famous Aberdeen Angus cattle herd resides in the castle estate.
The Lindsay Earls of Crawford obtained Edzell by marriage in 1358 and the castle remained with them until debts forced them to sell in 1715. They started the castle in the 15th century, and when the medieval accommodation became too cramped for them, built the extensive outbuildings to the west and north during the 16th and 17th centuries. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here (as she did almost every Scottish castle it would seem), as did her son James VI on two occasions.
The finest feature of the castle today is its walled garden. After the Lindsays sold up, the castle fell on hard times, suffering firstly at the hands of the government troops that were garrisoned there during the ’45, and later at the hands of creditors, who stripped it of anything of value, including much of the stonework, and the beech trees that once lined the drive. Despite the depredations of the last couple of centuries, the red sandstone remains are still a fine sight, are open to the (paying) public and are well worth a visit - particularly of course, the garden in summer!
("Dum spiro spero" (see the topiary in the photo) is Latin for "While I breathe, I hope"!)
Burgh Castle aerial - the best preserved Roman monument in East Anglia - The remains of the fort are in the guardianship of English Heritage
For our trip north for Chequered Skipper we stayed at Port Appin in Argyll very close to Castle Stalker and so I took advantage on our first evening.
Castle Stalker was originally built around 1320 by the MacDougall clan. Subsequent disputes over ownership have cost many lives over the centuries.
This image was my favourite and taken towards the end of the series just as the Castle lights came on.
I was hidden underneath a mosquito hood as the ferocious cloud of midges made things intolerable.