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***Aug 23rd 2010 2,000 views!*** Thanks everyone.
This is the view that greets visitors to Blenheim who enter the Park from Woodstock. Possibly no photo can do it full justice, as you go through a triumphal arch commemorating John Churchill (the first Duke of Marlborough) and this scene is sprung upon you totally unexpectedly.
Woodstock Manor and its park was a former Royal park that was given to John Churchill after his defeat of the armies of Louis XIV at Blindheim (English Blenheim) in 1704 in the war of the Spanish Succession. The defeat ended the ambitions of Louis XIV to extend France and the Bourbon monarchies.
John Churchill was also given the money to build what became Blenheim Palace. Vanbrugh was the architect although there was not a good relationship between him and Sarah, Churchill's wife. As part of his scheme Vanbrugh constructed the Grand Bridge that makes a prominent feature of the picture. However, the grounds were laid out formally in the French Style. The Grounds took the form that we see them today after the 4th Duke of Marlborough called in Capability Brown in 1765. Brown created the lake and planted predominantly Beech trees.
The view of the lake and Grand Bridge has been much praised; when King George III visited in 1789 he is reputed to have said 'We have nothing equal to this'.
Blenheim is also famous as the birthplace of Winston Churchill in 1874 He was the son of Lord Randolph Churchill (the second son of the then Duke of Marlborough) and his American wife Jenny. When Randolph's wife first came to Blenheim Randolph told her 'This is the finest view in England'.
The view shows the 'Queen Pool' of the lake (there is another pool, probably larger, called the King Pool, on the other side of the bridge). The Island is called Queen Elizabeth Island and is reputedly on the route of the causeway that used to cross the valley on the way to Woodstock Manor. The Palace is at the left of the picture. On the hill to the right of the Grand Bridge is the site of Woodstock Manor in which Queen Elizabeth I was confined for a time by her sister Queen Mary.
I was able to take this photograph before the Park became too busy (it does get very busy indeed), and the light held until I arrived just before 11:00 (BST), the cloud increased as the day went on.
If you do visit Blenheim and want this view then it's important to arrive as early as you can. The Park opens at 10:00 AM, and I'd strongly recommend being there when it opens. Later in the day the Sun goes off this side of the Grand Bridge; there are still great views to be had from the other side however, and these improve as the day goes on. The Palace itself faces North West, which makes photographing it rather problematic.
I find that it's difficult to get both Palace and Grand Bridge into the field of view with my normal lens, so I used my wideangle lens; I suggest you take one if you visit.
For a view of the North facade of the Palace see
www.flickr.com/photos/martin-james/2795331423/
For information on visiting Blenheim see
“An exciting new capability for probing the space environment and conducting experiments will be demonstrated for the first time when the NASA/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) is deployed during the STS-46 Space Shuttle flight. The reusable Tethered Satellite System is made up of a
satellite attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a super strong cord which will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's cargo bay. When the satellite on its cord, or tether, is deployed to about 12 miles above the orbiter, TSS-1 will be the longest structure ever flown in space.
Operating the tethered system is a bit like trolling for fish in a lake or the ocean. But the potential "catch" is valuable data that may yield scientific insights from the vast sea of space. For the TSS-1 mission, the tether -- which looks like a 12-mile-long white bootlace -- will have electrically-conducting metal strands in its core. The conducting tether will generate electrical currents at a high voltage by the same basic principle as a standard electrical generator -- by converting mechanical energy (the Shuttle's more than 17,000-mile-an hour orbital motion) into electrical energy by passing a conductor through a magnetic field (the Earth's magnetic field lines).
TSS-1 scientific instruments, mounted in the Shuttle cargo bay, the middeck and on the satellite, will allow scientists to examine the electrodynamics of the conducting tether system, as well as clarify their understanding of physical processes in the ionized plasma of the near-Earth space environment.
Once the investigations are concluded, it is planned to reel the satellite back into the cargo bay and stow it until after the Shuttle lands.
The TSS-1 mission will be the first step toward several potential future uses for tethers in space now being evaluated by scientists and engineers. One possible application is using long conducting tethers to generate electrical power for Space Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies. Conversely, by expending electrical power to reverse the current flow into a tether, the system can be placed in an "electric motor" mode to generate thrust for orbit maintenance. Tethers also may be used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits. This could be achieved by releasing a tethered body from a primary spacecraft, thereby transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft. Another potential application is the creation of artificial gravity by rotating two or more masses on a tether, much like a set of bolas.
Downward deployment (toward Earth) could place a satellite in regions of the atmosphere that have been difficult to study because they lie above the range of high-altitude balloons and below the minimum altitude of free-flying satellites. Deploying a tethered satellite downward from the Shuttle also could make possible aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region 50 to 75 nautical miles above the Earth.”
The above is an extract from the STS-46 press kit, available at:
spacepresskit.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sts-46.pdf
Credit: spacepresskit/wordpress website
Unfortunately:
“TSS deployment was also delayed one day because of EURECA. During TSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet (256 meters) from orbiter instead of planned 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) because of a jammed tether line. After numerous attempts over several days to free the tether, TSS operations were curtailed and satellite was stowed for return to Earth.”
Above from/at:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...
~8” x 9.3”. Date range of the photograph is based on the Aeritalia citation, date of documentation found regarding the TSS attributed to Aeritalia, and what appears to be a leading “8” following the signature? “Arstudio”. I have no idea if that’s an individual’s name or that of an artistic group/company, as Google searches were fruitless. A shame, this is a very nice work.
SAC02 - Boeing C-17A Globemaster III - NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (in Hungarian Air Force markings)
at Toronto Lester B. Pearson Airport (YYZ)
The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a consortium of 12 nations, 10 of which are member states of NATO and two of which are Partnership for Peace (PfP) members, to pool resources in order to operate 3 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for joint strategic airlift purposes.
The SAC Heavy Airlift Wing is based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary
Member states are NATO members Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States of America, and Partnership for Peace countries Finland and Sweden.
Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion, and park, were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown with some of the internal rooms designed by Robert Adam.
To take my mind off the crisis in Japan, I decided to test the Olympus XZ-1's strobist capability. I'm happy to say that it's perfectly suited for the following reasons -
1) The built in flash has easy to set 1/64. 1/12.1/4 and full power settings - so it is easy to control my external slave flashes
2) The dynamic range is good - not as good as a APS-C sensor but it's close - you can see I lost some detail in the hair but that's also due to pushing the curves - but it's still amazing
3) It can control Olympus flashes wirelessly
4) And the best news - It can sync with any flash at up to 1/2000th of a second - no need for expensive FP enabled flashes. Even the simplest $50 flashes can deliver 1/2000th sec flash sync - albeit with some power loss at full power.
See can see the other Olympus XZ-1 shots
Strobist info - One corded Olympus FL-50 in a Orbis Flash set in TTL mode - it's that easy!
Its days of working out of Stratford MPD as 47184 / 47585 "County of Cambridgeshire" are long gone.
.
Now owned by EWS as 47757 "Capability Brown" arrives at Crewe with a First North Western Holyhead - Birmingham service.
A shot taken on the wrong side for the sun unfortunately
Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
I was probably at the limit of my 80-400mm lens capability but I had to try and get a photograph of this secretive bird. Amazing experience.
Two Lockheed Martin F-35B "Lightning II" fighter jets have successfully landed on board HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, laying the foundations for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the UK’s Carrier Strike Capability.
Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray, 41, made history by being the first to land on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, carefully maneuvering his stealth jet onto the thermal coated deck. He was followed by Royal Navy Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, RAF, both of whom are test pilots, operating with the Integrated Test Force (ITF) based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
Shortly afterwards, once a deck inspection has been conducted and the all-clear given, Cmdr Gray became the first pilot to take off using the ship’s ski-ramp.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems.
The F-35 has three main models: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery, carrier-based F-35C (CATOBAR). The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the design that was awarded the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program over the competing Boeing X-32. The official Lightning II name has proven deeply unpopular and USAF pilots have nicknamed it Panther, instead.
The United States principally funds F-35 development, with additional funding from other NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft; for example, Turkey was the sole supplier of several F-35 parts until its removal from the program in July 2019. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.
As the largest and most expensive military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. In 2013 and 2014, critics argued that the plane was "plagued with design flaws", with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time," instead of identifying and fixing "defects before firing up its production line". By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule". Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill".
The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. In July 2015, the United States Marines declared its first squadron of F-35B fighters ready for deployment. However, the DOD-based durability testing indicated the service life of early-production F-35B aircraft is well under the expected 8,000 flight hours, and may be as low as 2,100 flight hours. Lot 9 and later aircraft include design changes but service life testing has yet to occur. The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for deployment in August 2016. The U.S. Navy declared its first F-35Cs ready in February 2019. In 2018, the F-35 made its combat debut with the Israeli Air Force.
The U.S. stated plan is to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.
Development
F-35 development started in 1992 with the origins of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program and was to culminate in full production by 2018. The X-35 first flew on 24 October 2000 and the F-35A on 15 December 2006.
The F-35 was developed to replace most US fighter jets with the variants of a single design that would be common to all branches of the military. It was developed in co-operation with a number of foreign partners, and, unlike the F-22 Raptor, intended to be available for export. Three variants were designed: the F-35A (CTOL), the F-35B (STOVL), and the F-35C (CATOBAR). Despite being intended to share most of their parts to reduce costs and improve maintenance logistics, by 2017, the effective commonality was only 20%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns during development and for the total projected cost of the program over the lifetime of the jets.
By 2017, the program was expected to cost $406.5 billion over its lifetime (i.e. until 2070) for acquisition of the jets, and an additional $1.1 trillion for operations and maintenance. A number of design deficiencies were alleged, such as: carrying a small internal payload; performance inferior to the aircraft being replaced, particularly the F-16; lack of safety in relying on a single engine; and flaws such as the vulnerability of the fuel tank to fire and the propensity for transonic roll-off (wing drop). The possible obsolescence of stealth technology was also criticized.
Design
Overview
Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. The single-engine F-35 resembles the larger twin-engined Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, drawing design elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship.
Lockheed Martin has suggested that the F-35 could replace the USAF's F-15C/D fighters in the air-superiority role and the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle in the ground-attack role. It has also stated the F-35 is intended to have close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and that the F-35 has an advantage over the F-22 in basing flexibility and possesses "advanced sensors and information fusion".
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on 25 March 2009, acquisition deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford, stated that the F-35 is designed to be America's "premier surface-to-air missile killer, and is uniquely equipped for this mission with cutting-edge processing power, synthetic aperture radar integration techniques, and advanced target recognition".
Improvements
Ostensible improvements over past-generation fighter aircraft include:
Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology, using structural fiber mat instead of the high-maintenance coatings of legacy stealth platforms
Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and on-board sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve target identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes
High-speed data networking including IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel (Fibre Channel is also used on Boeing's Super Hornet.
The Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment, Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), and Computerized maintenance management system to help ensure the aircraft can remain operational with minimal maintenance manpower The Pentagon has moved to open up the competitive bidding by other companies. This was after Lockheed Martin stated that instead of costing 20% less than the F-16 per flight hour, the F-35 would actually cost 12% more. Though the ALGS is intended to reduce maintenance costs, the company disagrees with including the cost of this system in the aircraft ownership calculations. The USMC has implemented a workaround for a cyber vulnerability in the system. The ALIS system currently requires a shipping-container load of servers to run, but Lockheed is working on a more portable version to support the Marines' expeditionary operations.
Electro-hydrostatic actuators run by a power-by-wire flight-control system
A modern and updated flight simulator, which may be used for a greater fraction of pilot training to reduce the costly flight hours of the actual aircraft
Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries to provide power to run the control surfaces in an emergency
Structural composites in the F-35 are 35% of the airframe weight (up from 25% in the F-22). The majority of these are bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials. The F-35 will be the first mass-produced aircraft to include structural nanocomposites, namely carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Experience of the F-22's problems with corrosion led to the F-35 using a gap filler that causes less galvanic corrosion to the airframe's skin, designed with fewer gaps requiring filler and implementing better drainage. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the A and B variants is set by the F-35B's requirement to fit inside the Navy's current amphibious assault ship parking area and elevators; the F-35C's longer wing is considered to be more fuel efficient.
Costs
A U.S. Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40% more to maintain than current jet fighters, not accounting for inflation over the F-35's operational lifetime. A Pentagon study concluded a $1 trillion maintenance cost for the entire fleet over its lifespan, not accounting for inflation. The F-35 program office found that as of January 2014, costs for the F-35 fleet over a 53-year lifecycle was $857 billion. Costs for the fighter have been dropping and accounted for the 22 percent life cycle drop since 2010. Lockheed stated that by 2019, pricing for the fifth-generation aircraft will be less than fourth-generation fighters. An F-35A in 2019 is expected to cost $85 million per unit complete with engines and full mission systems, inflation adjusted from $75 million in December 2013.
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion less than a mile south of the centre of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust. Claremont House is a Grade I listed building.[1]
Claremont estate
The first house on the Claremont estate was built in 1708 by Sir John Vanbrugh, the Restoration playwright and architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, for his own use. This "very small box", as he described it, stood on the level ground in front of the present mansion. At the same time, he built the stables and the walled gardens, also probably White Cottage, which is now the Sixth Form Centre of Claremont Fan Court School.
In 1714, he sold the house to the wealthy Whig politician Thomas Pelham-Holles, Earl of Clare, who later became Duke of Newcastle and served twice as Prime Minister. The earl commissioned Vanbrugh to add two great wings to the house and to build a fortress-like turret on an adjoining knoll. From this so-called "prospect-house", or belvedere, he and his guests could admire the views of the Surrey countryside as they took refreshments and played hazard, a popular dice game.
In the clear eighteenth-century air it was apparently possible to see Windsor Castle and St Paul's Cathedral. The Earl of Clare named his country seat Clare-mount, later contracted to Claremont. The two lodges at the Copsem Lane entrance were added at this time.
Landscape garden
Main article: Claremont Landscape Garden
Claremont landscape garden is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind of landscape design, the English Landscape Garden — still featuring its original 18th century layout. The extensive landscaped grounds of Claremont represents the work of some of the best known landscape gardeners, Charles Bridgeman, Capability Brown, William Kent (with Thomas Greening) and Sir John Vanbrugh.[2]
Work on the gardens began around 1715 and, by 1727, they were described as "the noblest of any in Europe". Within the grounds, overlooking the lake, is an unusual turfed amphitheatre.
A feature in the grounds is the Belvedere Tower, designed by Vanbrugh for the Duke of Newcastle. The tower is unusual in that, what appear to be windows, are actually bricks painted black and white. It is now owned by Claremont Fan Court School, which is situated alongside the gardens.
In 1949, the landscape garden was donated to the National Trust for stewardship and protection. A restoration programme was launched in 1975 following a significant donation by the Slater Foundation. The garden is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[3]
Capability Brown's mansion, built for Lord Clive of India
The Duke of Newcastle died in 1768 and, in 1769, his widow sold the estate to Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, founder of Britain's Indian Empire. Although the great house was then little more than fifty years old, it was aesthetically and politically out of fashion. Lord Clive decided to demolish the house and commissioned Capability Brown to build the present Palladian mansion on higher and dryer ground. Brown, more accomplished as a landscape designer than an architect, took on his future son-in-law Henry Holland as a junior partner owing to the scale of the project. John Soane (later Sir John Soane) was employed in Holland's office at this time and worked on the project as a draftsman and junior designer.[4] Holland's interiors for Claremont owe much to the contemporary work of Robert Adam.
Lord Clive, by now fabulously rich Nabob, is reputed to have spent over £100,000 on rebuilding the house and the complete remodelling of the celebrated pleasure ground. However, Lord Clive ended up never living at the property, as he died in 1774—the year that the house was completed. The estate then passed through a rapid succession of owners; first being sold "for not more than one third of what the house and alterations had cost"[5] to Robert Monckton-Arundell, 4th Viscount Galway, and then to George Carpenter, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell, and finally to Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford.[citation needed]
A large map entitled "Claremont Palace", situated in what is called "Clive's room" inside the mansion, shows the mansion and its surrounding grounds; giving a detailed overview of the campus. The map likely dates back to the 1860s, when the mansion was frequently occupied by Queen Victoria (thus it having been christened "palace"). However, the exact date is still unknown. The relief in Claremont's front pediment is of Clive's coat of arms impaled with that of Maskelyne, his wife's family.
Royal residence
In 1816, Claremont was bought by the British Nation through an Act of Parliament as a wedding present for George IV's daughter Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. At that time, the estate was valued to Parliament at £60,000: "Mr Huskisson stated that it had been agreed to purchase the house and demesnes of Clermont... The valuation of the farms, farm-houses, and park, including 350 acres of land, was 36,000/; the mansion, 19,000/; and the furniture, 6,000/; making together 60,000/. The mansion, which is in good repair, could not be built now for less than 91,000/."[6] To the nation's great sorrow, however, Princess Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was, after two miscarriages, to die there after giving birth to a stillborn son in November the following year. This sorrow is expressed in Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem Wikisource-logo.svg Lines on the Mausoleum of the Princess Charlotte, at Claremont., published in Forget Me Not, 1824. Although Leopold retained ownership of Claremont until his death in 1865, he left the house in 1831 when he became the first King of the Belgians.
Mausoleum of Princess Charlotte
Claremont House, ca. 1860
Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Claremont—both as a child and later as an adult—when Leopold, her doting uncle, lent her the house. She, in turn, lent the house to the exiled French King and Queen, Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amelie (the parents-in-law of Leopold I of Belgium), after the Revolutions of 1848. The exiled King died at Claremont in 1850.
In 1857, Offenbach and his Bouffes company performed three of his opéras bouffes there for Marie Amelie and her sons during an eight-week tour of England.[7]
In 1870, Queen Victoria commissioned Francis John Williamson to sculpt a marble memorial to Charlotte and Leopold which was erected inside the house.[8][9] (The memorial was subsequently moved to St George's Church, Esher.)[9]
Victoria bought Claremont for her fourth, and youngest, son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, when he married Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1882. The Duke and Duchess of Albany had two children—Alice and Charles. Charles, who had been born at Claremont in 1884, inherited the title and position of Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his uncle, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1900. He moved to the duchy in Germany to fulfill the position, becoming a German citizen, and renouncing his claim in the British succession.
Claremont should have passed to Charles upon his mother's death in 1922, but because he served as a German general in the First World War, the British government disallowed the inheritance. Claremont was accordingly confiscated and sold by the Public Trustee to shipping magnate Sir William Corry, director of the Cunard Line. Two years after Sir William's death, in 1926, it was bought by Eugen Spier, a wealthy German financier.
In 1930, Claremont stood empty and was marked for demolition when it was bought, together with the Belvedere, the stables, and 30 acres (120,000 m2) of parkland, by the Governors of a south London school, later renamed Claremont School and, since 1978, has been known as Claremont Fan Court School.
The National Trust
The National Trust acquired 50 acres (0.20 km2) of the Claremont estate in 1949. In 1975, with a grant from the Slater Foundation, it set about restoring the eighteenth-century landscape garden. Now, the Claremont Landscape Garden displays the successive contributions of the great landscape gardeners who worked on it: Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles Bridgeman, William Kent, and Capability Brown.
In 1996, the school celebrated the National Trust's centenary by opening a feature of the grounds which had not previously been accessible to the garden's visitors: the 281-year-old Belvedere Tower. Wikipedia
SAC 02
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
NATO Strategic Airlift Capability
08-0002
cn F-210
477FF2
BRK Hungarian Air Force
based LHPA Papa AB for NATO
EYSA 030850Z 31012KT 9999 BKN010 BKN015 OVC019 15/13 Q1008 GRN NOSIG
A nice photo-mosaic of lunar images taken by Mariner 10 shortly after launch.
~8.5” x ~11”. From the estate of Eric Burgess.
From the following extract of the online version of NASA SP-424, “The Voyage of Mariner 10”. Additionally, the image, linked to below, was used in Figure 5-9:
“…Very soon after launch, the planet-viewing experiments were turned on, a first time for planetary missions. The aim was to calibrate the instruments in the well-known environment of the Earth-Moon system. The charged particle telescope was turned on within 3 hours of liftoff, the ultraviolet experiment within 7 hours, and the TV cameras shortly thereafter. First TV pictures of Earth were obtained 16 hours and 15 minutes after liftoff.
There were some problems. The two thermal strap-heaters surrounding the aluminum lens barrels of the cameras were designed to hold the camera system at a temperature of 4 to 15°C (40 to 60°F). But they failed to operate as programmed following launch. Mission controllers, watching the engineering data coming back to the Mission Operations Center, saw that the heaters were not activated. Quickly a command was sent to the spacecraft to deactivate the heaters and then to activate them by triggering the relay switch, which seemed to have stuck. Nothing happened. The telescopes continued to cool down.
There was concern that without the heaters operating the television cameras would cool down too much and affect sensitive optics so as to distort pictures of the planets and cause a degradation of camera focus. Part of the problem was caused by the screening of the spacecraft against solar heating. It was so protected by a sunshade and by surface coatings and thermal blankets that when the camera heaters failed to come on, the cameras began to cool. Engineers from JPL and Boeing studied the problem to determine how heat might pass from the rest of the spacecraft in place of that missing from the heaters. They found that the thermal insulation of the spacecraft was so good that there was no way to heat the cameras from the spacecraft itself. The fall in temperature had to be lived with. They also checked the backup spacecraft poised at Cape Kennedy in an attempt to determine what might have caused the relay to stick. Had this problem degraded the spacecraft capability to an unaccepted degree, it would have been necessary to launch the backup.
Fortunately, the cooling stabilized at an acceptable level, and the cameras did maintain their sharp focus. The lens elements and the optical tube elements were self-compensating to changes in temperature. But an ever-present danger was that the Invar rods might contract, fracturing the vidicon potting compound if the temperature fell below -40°C ( - 40°F). Project scientists halted this temperature drop by keeping the vidicons switched on to maintain some heat within the cameras. Normally the vidicons would have been rested in the cruise between the planets, but it was considered prudent to change this mode of operation and take the chance that the lifetime of the vidicons might be shortened somewhat rather than risk the cameras' becoming too cold. This [47] being done, the temperature of the cameras stabilized, at low but livable values-the vidicons were about -10°C ( + 14°F), the backs of the optics were -20°C ( - 4°F ), and the telescope fronts were about -30°C ( - 22°F).
Mariner's cameras transmitted good pictures of the Earth and the Moon despite the temperature problem. The pictures of Earth (Fig. 5-2) provided stereo photographs of clouds with revealing depth and structure. They appeared to be the clearest pictures yet received from a television camera in space. If the spacecraft returned similar-quality pictures from Venus, the project could obtain a completely unprecedented look at the brilliant clouds of that mysterious planet.
In all, Mariner 10's cameras provided a series of five Earth mosaics (Fig. 5-3) within the first few days of flight. These mosaics revealed intricate cloud patterns at about the same resolution expected during the Venus flyby. The Earth pictures could provide valuable comparisons with the Venus clouds. Earth observations also provided in-flight verification of the cameras' "veiling glare" performance, thus confirming that the preflight calculations of settings of camera exposures for Venus were correct. This was important, since Venus encounter geometry did not allow an incoming far-encounter sequence to check the exposures.
Another problem arose almost at the beginning of the flight when, on November 5, the plasma science experiment was turned on. Scientists were surprised to find that no solar wind particles were being observed. There appeared to be a good vacuum in the detectors, and the device was scanning back and forth as it should. Engineers performed a series of tests and sequences of switching commands without positive results. One possibility was that the instrument door had failed to open so that plasma could not enter the detector. Another was that the high-voltage sweep was stuck at the high end, thus permitting only a few high-energy particles to register. The operation of this experiment was, unfortunately, restricted throughout the mission, and it was concluded that the protective door had failed to open fully. However, plasma data were obtained by the scanning electron spectrometer part of the instrument, which was unaffected by the failure of the door.
As the spacecraft left Earth, the ultraviolet air glow instrument looked back at the home planet, observing the same emission regions that it expected to check later at Venus and Mercury. Lyman-alpha hydrogen emission was recorded, together with helium emission at 584 angstroms.
All subsystems of the spacecraft were performing exactly as expected. The trajectory was also very good; less than 8 m/see (27 ft/sec) of the spacecraft's total maneuvering capacity of 120 m/sec (396 ft/sec) was expected to be needed to move the Venus aiming point of the spacecraft and change the arrival time about 3 hours to bring Mariner 10 to its later pass within 1000 km (600 mi) of Mercury's surface.
Mariner 10's series of five Earth mosaics was intermixed with six mosaics of the Moon (Fig. 5-4) within the first week of flight as calibration tests for the Mercury encounter. The path of Mariner allowed images to be obtained of the north polar region of the Moon (Fig. 5-5), which, because of constraints on paths of other space vehicles, had previously been covered only obliquely. The Mariner 10 photographs provided a basis for cartographers to improve the lunar control net, the relationship of points on the lunar surface one to another in precise definitions of lunar latitude and longitude of craters and other features. The exercise in lunar cartography provided a useful prelude to applying the same techniques to map Mercury using the images to be obtained during the flyby.
Diagnostic tests were conducted on November 6, including photography of stars (Fig. 5-6) and additional tests on the Moon (Fig. 5-7). The Moon tests, as well as providing better information about how the TV system was performing, allowed scientists to evaluate the practicality of proposed measurements of the diameter of Mercury. At this stage of the mission, optical performance of the television system continued to be good even though the TV optics had not yet stabilized in temperature. As of November 7, Mariner 10 had returned almost 900 pictures to Earth. Experimenters were enthusiastic about the excellent quality. The Moon pictures recorded objects a mere 3 km (2 mi) across (Figs 5-8 and 5-9 ).
history.nasa.gov/SP-424/p53.jpg
Since the pictures to be returned from Mercury were expected to be of three times higher resolution than those of the Moon, there was good reason for excitement. At last, it seemed, mankind would have a chance to resolve those dusky markings on the innermost planet, those indistinct features that earlier astronomers had interpreted as Marslike, even erroneously with linear "canal" type features. Another test conducted was photographing the Pleiades cluster in the constellation of Taurus: a galactic cluster in the Milky Way which is visible to the unaided human eye as seven faint stars and is often called the "Seven Sisters". These stars are about 20,000 light years from the Sun and are immersed in nebulosity. A total of 84 pictures were taken, verifying the focus of the television system.”
Above at:
June 28, 2011: Croome Park, Worcestershire, England
Croome is an 18th century landscape park, garden and mansion house in south Worcestershire. Under the guidance of George William, the 6th Earl of Coventry, Croome was designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown with some features by Robert Adam. Croome Park has a man made lake and river, statues, temples and other "eye-catcher" buildings and facades with the Court as the central focus.
A two page spread from my travel book FACES & PLACES: England
The capability to ignore nasty contention,
when the silver dollar has lost its complexion,
the dun can get disorienting, when picked out,
some feelings do remain so distressed, tough,
that's when pesters hold on to feuding spout!
Air to air image of a RAF F-35B Lightning ll aircraft, from Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA. Where it is stationed with 17 (Reserve) Squadron.
The F-35B Lightning II will place the UK at the forefront of fighter technology, giving the Royal Air Force a true multi-role all weather, day and night capability, able to operate from well-established land bases, deployed locations or the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.
Lightning II has been designed from the outset to carry out a wide range of mission types, able to use its very low observable characteristics to penetrate Integrated Air Defence Systems and strike a number of types of targets. In a permissive environment, Lightning II is able to carry weapons on external pylons, as well as in the internal weapon bays. This will allow a maximum weapon payload of 6 Paveway IV, 2 AIM-120C AMRAAM, 2 AIM-132 ASRAAM and a missionised 25mm gun pod.The Lightning II design applies stealth technology manufacturing techniques and, to minimise its radar signature, the airframe has identical sweep angles for the leading and trailing edges of the wings and tail, and incorporates sloping sides for the fuselage and the canopy.
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© Crown Copyright 2013
Photographer: Jamie Hunter/Aviacom
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Croome Court, Worcestershire - the ground floor internal corridor. Both house and gardens at Croome Court were designed by Capability Brown between 1751-2, rebuilding an earlier house from the 1640s. The estate was requisitioned in WW2, but was not used for troops, being offered to the Dutch Royal family, but nearby, and partly within the grounds, RAF Defford was established, an important location for the Telecommunications Research Establishment. They left in 1957 as the runways were too short. The house was sold by the Croome Estate Trust in 1948, and became St Josephs Special School until 1979. Taken over by the Hare Krishna movement, it became known as Chaitanya College with involvement from George Harrison, who created recording studios within the house. They left in 1984 and the house was used for several short-term activities, including a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; a hotel and golf course, and a private family home. In 2007, it was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, who leased it to the National Trust. Croome Court is grade 1 listed.
Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore, Worcestershire, West Midlands, England - Croome Court, High Green
June 2025
SAC02 - Boeing C-17A Globemaster III - NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (in Hungarian Air Force markings)
at Toronto Lester B. Pearson Airport (YYZ)
The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a consortium of 12 nations, 10 of which are member states of NATO and two of which are Partnership for Peace (PfP) members, to pool resources in order to operate 3 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for joint strategic airlift purposes.
The SAC Heavy Airlift Wing is based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary
Member states are NATO members Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States of America, and Partnership for Peace countries Finland and Sweden.
Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.
The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.
Location[edit]
Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]
House[edit]
Croome Court South Portico
History[edit]
The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]
In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]
The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]
A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]
The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]
During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]
In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]
The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]
In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]
From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]
The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]
Exterior[edit]
The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]
Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]
A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]
Interior[edit]
The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]
The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]
The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]
To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]
At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery
wikipedia
The Grotto Statue, at the end of the lake, found in the Gardens around Croome Court, near Pershore, Worcestershine, England.
Croome Court is a mid 18th century neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland .
The mansion and park were designed by The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for the 6th Earl of Coventry, and were Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the mansion's rooms were designed by Robert Adam.for the 6th Earl of Coventry, and were Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the mansion's rooms were designed by Robert Adam.
Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the village of Broadway, in the English county of Worcestershire, at the second-highest point of the Cotswolds (after Cleeve Hill). Broadway Tower's base is 1,024 feet (312 metres) above sea level. The tower itself stands 65 feet (20 metres) high.
The "Saxon" tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1798–99. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles (35 km) away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly.
Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s. William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.
Today, the tower is a tourist attraction and the centre of a country park with various exhibitions open to the public at a fee, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. The place is on the Cotswold Way and can be reached by following the Cotswold Way from the A44 road at Fish Hill, or by a steep climb out of Broadway village.
Near the tower is a memorial to the crew of an A.W.38 Whitley bomber that crashed there during a training mission in June 1943.
SAC 01 Pápa NATO Strategic Airlift Capability
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
08-0001 (F-207)
477FF1
BRK Hungarian Air Force
based LHPA Papa AB for NATO
EYSA 011420Z 14008KT 110V180 CAVOK 23/06 Q1019 BLU NOSIG
The Nikomat (Nikkormat) EL, originally released in 1972, is the first focal plane shutter Nikon SLR camera with aperture priority (Av) automatic exposure capability, in addition to manual exposure setting. In fact, this is one of the first cameras in the world to offer aperture priority exposure control and an electronic shutter. The camera is based on the Nikkormat mechanical body chassis, although its exterior pentaprism design is looks different from the mechanical Nikkormats (the larger prism housing design accommodates the non-flexible circuit board inside). The control interface has been changed, though, to the style of the future FE/FM series of cameras. In other words, the shutter speed and ASA (ISO) are no longer set through rings on the lens mount, but rather with dials on the top of the body. Although the traditional Nikkormat interface worked well, this new layout is easier to see and adjust, and became the standard for future generations of Nikon bodies until the advent of control wheels on the Nikon F-801 and other similar bodies of that later generation.
The Nikomat EL is the first of three electronically controlled bodies in the Nikkormat line. Later models included the Nikomat ELW and the Nikon EL2. Nikon made various changes over the lifespan of these three models, leading the way to eventual release of the FE, which was based on a new, more compact and lighter body design. Indeed, the final EL2 version was only in production for a short time, from 1977 to 1798, before it was replaced by the Nikon FM, with its new form factor. All three models feel similar to the user and work great. Differences between the three models will be discussed below, and basically entail gradual improvements in specifications.
The Nikomat EL still incorporated CdS exposure meter technology, which had somewhat slower response at lower light levels compared with later SPD meters. The exposure meter gives a 60% weight to the 12mm circle in the center of the viewfinder, which is the Nikon standard for most cameras of this era. The measuring range of the exposure meter is EV 1-18, which remained unchanged on all EL/ELW/EL2 bodies, as well as the future FE/FM series. The electronic shutter has an official range of only 4 sec. to 1/1000 sec. There is no detent position on the shutter speed dial for 8 sec., but if you move the dial to where 8 sec. would be if it were marked, the shutter actually opens for about 8 seconds! I haven't actually used the 8 sec. "setting" so I don't know how accurate it is, or whether the exposure meter can accurately select up to 8 sec. in aperture priority mode. In any event, 8 sec. is not officially supported on the EL. If the battery dies, the EL shoots at a fixed shutter speed of 1/90 second regardless of what speed the shutter speed dial is set to. Film ASA range is limited to 25 - 1600 in this first generation EL, and there is no exposure compensation dial on the ASA setting ring. Of course, if you know how to use the camera, you can easily implement exposure compensation by just changing the selected film speed. The EL is from the same generation as the Nikkormat FT2, and links the lens to the camera's exposure meter by slipping the aperture ring claw on the lens onto the metering pin around the lens mount. For users of Nikon bodies of that generation, attaching lenses to the camera body this way is second nature.
The EL is the first Nikon body to use the use the new type of exposure meter display in the viewfinder, which became very popular and continued to be used virtually unchanged all the way through the final body in the later FM line, the FM3A! In manual exposure mode, a green needle points to the selected shutter speed on the left side of the viewfinder; you adjust the aperture ring and/or shutter speed dial until the position of the green needle coincides with the position of the black exposure meter needle. In aperture priority mode, the green needle points to "A" instead of a shutter speed, and the black needle points to the automatically selected shutter speed, including intermediate shutter speeds of course. There are two disadvantages of the EL's viewfinder display. First, it works great when there is sufficient light to see the needles, but the needles can be hard to see when photographing at night or in a dark theater, etc. This weakness continued all the way through the FM3A. Another disadvantage of the EL's viewfinder display, which continues from the mechanical Nikkormats, is that there is no indication of the selected lens aperture. You need to look at the aperture ring on the lens to know our aperture setting. The selected aperture does not show up in the display of these semi-pro Nikon bodies until the FM. The location and type of battery used by the EL, ELW and EL2 as relatively unusual. The camera uses a single, relatively large 6 volt silver oxide battery (e.g., 6.2v 4SR44). The battery is installed at the bottom of the mirror box by using the mirror lock-up lever to raise the mirror and opening the battery compartment cover with your finger. This works OK, although you need to be careful to avoid getting dust, etc. in the mirror box when changing the battery.
The EL apparently had at least two types of focusing screens. My EL has a central microprism spot surrounded by a 12mm circle for the central weighted area of the exposure meter. The central microprism circle pops into focus and is quite easy to use. However, the EL user manual describes the standard screen as a central split-image surrounded by a microprism collar. Since my EL is not a particularly early model (The EL starts a serial number 5100001 and mine is 5174881) perhaps my sample was originally a special order. Or possibly it was standard on "Nikomats" like mine that were purchased in Japan. Focusing screens on the EL, ELW and EL2 are not interchangeable. Viewfinder coverage is a rather limited 92%, but this is not unusual for the era.
In addition to the just-mentioned mirror lock-up function, the EL also has the usual aperture stop-down button, self-timer lever, etc. The self-timer lever is pushed in towards the lens to provide exposure lock in aperture priority mode. The camera also has a fixed hot shoe on top of the prism. Fastest electronic flash synch speed is 1/125 sec., same as for other Nikkormat bodies.
The EL is a really solid professional level camera, which provides state-of-the-art features for a first generation body with an electronic shutter. Sitting here in 2016 as I write this article, my black EL still looks almost new and functions 100% just as it did when it was manufactured. Some years back, it did have a problem with the shutter not always firing as set, but this was easily repaired by my local camera tech.
So what improvements were made in the subsequent ELW and EL2 models? The ELW was almost unchanged from the EL. Basically, the ELW adds support for the AW-1 auto winder. It also adds a shutter release button lock (to accommodate the auto winder), although the shutter still locks on the EL when the film advance lever is pressed in against the body. All other features were the same as the EL.
The EL2 incorporates a larger number of changes, and is closer in features to the subsequent Nikon FE. The EL2 does away with the exposure meter pin/claw system and moves to the more convenient automatic indexing system that is employed by the Nikkormat FT3 and later cameras. Also, another big change for the EL2 is that it employs a more modern and faster SPD exposure meter technology compared with the CdS meter of prior generations. The shutter for the first time officially supports shutter speeds as long as 8 seconds instead of the previous 4 seconds. The EL2 also includes for the first time an exposure compensation ring and expands the available film ASA range to 12-3200. Finally, Nikon changed their naming convention starting with the EL2. The camera is called the "Nikon EL2" instead of "Nikkormat/Nikomat" which was the name used for the EL and ELW.
Considering all of the upgrades available on the EL2, I think that this final model is the most desirable of the EL/ELW/EL2 line for actual picture taking. However, if you only use manual focus Nikon lenses with the aperture claw, and don't care about a slow motor drive (1 frame per second) in today's modern age, the original Nikomat EL works perfectly fine too. Still, since these three bodies are based on the original Nikkormat full-size chassis with a weight of about 780 grams without lens, my preference is to use the next generation FE/FM bodies which are significantly smaller (but not too small, unlike, say the Pentax MX) and lighter (only around 590 grams). On the other hand, the slightly greater weight and size of the EL's Nikkormat-style chassis gives it a more stable feeling, especially with smaller lenses.
Copyright © 2016 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
(DSC_6083fin1)
Soldiers of the Afghan National Army fire a mortar during a training course at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.
The Afghan National Army (ANA) is learning new heavy weapon skills in Central Helmand to further improve their fighting capability.
Members of 3/215 Brigade fired the 82mm mortar heavy weapon system on their first of an intensive three week training course. The mortar instructors from The 1st Battalion Scots Guards, 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles have been specially selected for this task. They are attached to the 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) Brigade Advisory Group (BAG) whose role is to mentor the 3/215 Brigade of the ANA.
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© Crown Copyright 2013
Photographer: Cpl Jamie Peters RLC
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Savernake Forest in Autumn. Running right through the middle of the Forest is Capability Brown's 'Grand Avenue'. This avenue of beech trees - now a Private Road - was laid out in the late 1790's, and at just over 4 miles long it stands in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest Avenue in Britain.
Colas Rail Freight Brush/Mirrlees Class 60 diesel-electric locomotive approaches Carlisle Citadel railway station on the west coast mainline with a portion of 6S36 the BP Dalston Oil terminal to Grangemouth empty oil train.
Sheffield Park Garden is an informal landscape garden five miles east of Haywards Heath, in East Sussex, England. It was originally laid out in the 18th century by Capability Brown, and further developed in the early years of the 20th century's by its then owner, Arthur Gilstrap Soames. It is now owned by the National Trust.
History[edit]
The gardens originally formed part of the estate of the adjacent Sheffield Park House, a gothic country house, which is still in private ownership. It was also firstly owned by the West Family and later by the Soames family until in 1925 the estate was sold by Arthur Granville Soames, who had inherited it from his childless uncle, Arthur Gilstrap Soames.
Sheffield Park as an estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book. In August 1538, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, entertained Henry VIII here. By 1700, the Deer Park had been partially formalised by Lord De La Warr who planted avenues of trees radiating from the house and cleared areas to establish lawns. In the late 1700s, James Wyatt remodelled the house in the fashionable Gothic style and Capability Brown was commissioned to landscape the garden. The original four lakes form the centrepiece. Humphry Repton followed Brown in 1789–1790. In 1796, the estate was sold to John Holroyd, created Baron Sheffield in 1781. It is particularly noted for its plantings of trees selected for autumn colour, including many Black Tupelos.
Rhododendron in Sheffield Park Garden
By 1885, an arboretum was being established, consisting of both exotic and native trees. After Arthur Gilstrap Soames purchased the estate in 1910, he continued large-scale planting. During World War II the house and garden became the headquarters for a Canadian armoured division, and Nissen huts were sited in the garden and woods. The estate was split up and sold in lots in 1953. The National Trust purchased approximately 40 ha in 1954, now up to 80 ha with subsequent additions. It is home to the National Collection of Ghent azaleas.
In 1876 the third Earl of Sheffield laid out a cricket pitch. It was used on 12 May 1884 for the first cricket match between England and Australia.[1] The Australian team won by an innings and 6 runs
wikipedia
The Nikon F3, Nikon's first pro-level camera with an electronic shutter, was in production from 1980 through 2001. The pictured camera is fitted with the HP High-Eyepoint prism.
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The Nikon F3 was the first professional level Nikon SLR to incorporate an electronic shutter and automatic exposure capability. Of course, the F3 provides the same high-quality materials, refined fit and finish, and durability for professional use as all F-Series cameras. Like its predecessors, the F3 was part of a remarkably broad and advanced professional camera system.
When used in the new aperture priority mode, shutter speed range is a stepless 8 sec. to 1/2000 sec. An F3HP is an F3 body with a so-called "High-Eyepoint" DE-3 prism. Compared with the original F3 standard DE-2 eyelevel finder, the F3HP has a larger viewfinder eyepiece. Actually, most of the F3s that I have seen incorporate the HP viewfinder. Of course, the F3HP viewfinder provides a 100% frame coverage, like all F-series cameras, and a large, bright image with 0.8x magnification. Nikon offered 21 interchangeable focusing screens for the F3, but for general photography, the standard K screen (with split image, microprism collar, and matte field) is satisfactory.
Back in the day, I waited years to upgrade to the F3HP because I liked my F2AS so much. However, since I, like many, had been using a Nikon FE as my second body together with the F2AS, I eventually succumbed to the desire to have aperture priority auto exposure metering on my main camera body, as well.
The F3HP, particularly without the optional MD-4 motor drive attachment, has a perfect shape, body size, and weight for comfortable and stable holding as well as all-day carrying. The F3's built-in handgrip allows a firm grasp.
One advantage of the F3 over the F and F2 is that the exposure meter is incorporated into the camera body instead of the prism. As a result, you can now change viewfinders and still keep the exposure meter. The F3HP's easy-to-view High Eyepoint DE-3 prism is perfect for most purposes, but for various specialized professional applications, Nikon offered other types, such as the DW-3 Waist-Level Finder, the DA-2 Action Finder, and the DW-4 6x Magnification Finder. Nikon even produced the DX-1 AF Finder, with an electronic focus-aid indication!
The exposure meter on/off switch is a plastic lever that is incorporated around the shutter release button. This is something of a precursor to a similar switch on the future F4 and other newer Nikon camera bodies. However, I find the switch on the F3 quite tight and hard to turn. In fact, my original switch got damaged from long use and became stuck in the off position. I had get the switch replaced at my local repair shop. Fortunately, there is no reason why the switch could not just be left in the on position during periods when the camera is in frequent use. Even with the switch in the on position, the meter circuit does not actually activate unless the film wind crank is pulled slightly away from the body and the shutter release button pushed part way down. The shutter and meter are locked off when the film advance lever is pressed into the lock position. The F3 is the first F-level camera to utilize a standard ISO shutter release thread in the center of the shutter release button, instead of the older AR-2 style connector. The shutter release button is positioned just right, in the middle of the body, and has a silky-smooth feel.
As indicated above, the F3 is the first F-series camera body to support aperture priority automatic exposure instead of just manual exposure adjustment. Simply turn the shutter speed dial to "A" to enter this mode, then adjust the aperture ring appropriately. A really cool feature of the F3 is the 80% center-weighted exposure meter, concentrated within the viewfinder's 12 mm outer reference circle area. The 80% central weighting is a great compromise between Nikon's standard 60/40 weighting and a spot meter. The 80% weight allows you to easily meter on the most important section of the image, while still incorporating some exposure information from the remainder of the frame. You can center the 80% central spot on the metering target, then hold down the exposure memory lock button on the front of the body and re-frame. However, since I personally find it uncomfortable to use the exposure lock button in this position, I usually use manual exposure mode in these cases unless I am in a rush to shoot.
The F3 viewfinder includes at the top of the frame an ADR readout of the aperture setting on all Nikon F-mount lenses that have an aperture ring (basically any pre-G lens will work on the F3). To the left is an LCD display of the automatically or manually selected shutter speed, in full stop increments. One thing that I don't like about the F3's manual exposure mode is the compact-style manual exposure indicator display in the viewfinder. When in manual exposure mode, correct exposure is shown by small +- indicators to the left of the shutter speed display. You adjust the exposure until both the + and - indicators are visible at the same time. This system, while extremely accurate, is not as clear or quick as the match needle setup in the Nikkormat EL/FE/FE2/FM3A or the three diode (-o+) setup in the F2AS/FM/FM2n system. The F3's viewfinder display is illuminated by ambient light. However, you can push a small button on the prism to electronically illuminate the display in the dark.
The F3 is the last F-series body to have manual film wind, unless you attach the optional MD-4 Motor Drive (with up to 6 frames per second performance). Starting from the F4, the F-Series evolved to built-in automatic film advance. This is great if you need to often shoot rapidly. However, if you just want a high-end film camera for slower, more deliberative shooting, manual film advance provides quieter film operation, much better battery life, and a smaller and lighter package compared with the auto-advance F4, F5 and F6. Unlike the semi-pro bodies like the FE and FM, the film advance lever on the F3 may be operated in one complete stroke or a series of shorter strokes. The F3 can be used without a battery in an emergency. Just push the mechanical shutter release lever on the front of the camera, although the mechanical shutter speed is limited to only 1/60 second. That is certainly a far cry from a full range of shutter speeds, but at least flexible enough for many situations, if needed. Nevertheless, lack of power is almost never going to become an issue. My F3HP battery and shutter have never died throughout decades of use, and a single battery seems to last forever with the camera's low power usage.
The meter coupling lever on the F3 can be locked up to allow mounting of prehistoric non-AI lenses, although most users probably converted their non-AI lenses to AI decades ago. As a pro-level camera, the F3 has a proper mirror lock-up feature for certain specialized lenses and for slow exposure times. Of course, multiple exposures on a single frame are also supported.
Since the camera has an electronic shutter, it also has an electronic self-timer, complete with a flashing red light, just like modern SLRs.
The eyepiece has the usual shutter lever, but still no adjustable diopter. This is no problem, however, since Nikon still makes screw-in diopter lenses for the F3. Actually, the F3HP works fine with diopter lenses for the F90X, F100, etc. These diopter lenses have screw-in rings that are slightly thinner than harder to find ones that are actually designed for the F3. The large F3HP viewfinder eyepiece is relatively easy to use with glasses. On the F3 without the HP prism, use diopters that are designed for the FM/FE series of cameras.
In order to use an electronic flash unit, just like the earlier generation F and F2 bodies, the F3 still requires that an accessory shoe be mounted over the rewind knob, or that a special Nikon F3 flash unit be mounted directly onto the camera in the same position. (Of course, you could also use a side-bracket flash with a synch terminal cable.) Interestingly, the maximum flash synchronization speed is 1/80 sec., slightly slower than the 1/90 sec. maximum synch speed on the Nikon F2. The new advance is that the F3 offers TTL automatic flash exposure, although the F3 can't simultaneously meter ambient light. The powerful F3-era Nikon SB-16a Speedlight is a perfect match for the camera. Newer Nikon flash units can also provide TTL flash functionality with the F3, when used with the special adapter AS-17, which also allows convenient flash exposure compensation.
If you don't have the AS-17, you can do balanced fill flash the old way, as follows. First, set the background exposure manually, with a shutter speed at or below the maximum electronic flash synchronization speed. Then set the appropriate camera distance based on the film ISO, selected aperture and guide number. Finally, fill flash is achieved by further shutting down the aperture by 1-2 stops, and correspondingly adjusting the shutter speed. You can also set the SB-16a to TTL and adjust the flash exposure down by 1-2 stops using the exposure compensation dial. The compensation dial does not adjust the background exposure in this case because both shutter speed and aperture are set manually. All that being said, for fill flash, it would frankly be easier and faster to use a more modern body such as the F90X, F100, F5 or F6, which all provide various forms of 3D matrix automatic balanced fill-flash, Nikon's most advanced flash system. The F4 also has a pretty good flash capability, but it is still one generation older pre-3D technology (i.e., no communication of subject distance from D-type lenses.)
The basic Nikon F3 and F3HP were available in black. The Nikon F3 was also available in a few special variants, all of which had the High-Eyepoint viewfinder, such as the Nikon F3/T with a titanium exterior, the Nikon F3 Press, and various limited edition models. The F3/T was produced in both champagne and black colors.
As a pro-level camera, the F3 offers the benefits of aperture priority auto exposure, basic TTL flash, and a more compact and elegant design than the prior-generation F and F2 bodies. Compared with its later descendants, the F3 does not provide such benefits as matrix (multi-segment) metering, automatic balanced fill flash, multiple exposure modes, and built-in automatic film advance. On the other hand, the core F3 is significantly smaller and lighter than those later pro-level bodies. And, when used properly, the F3's exposure metering system can be just as effective, or even more so, compared with the early-generation matrix metering systems in some later Nikon cameras. For deliberative photographers who still like to shoot film, the F3 and F3HP provide a highly-refined and relatively compact manual focus platform for the extensive universe of "Pre-G"-type Nikon F-Mount lenses.
Copyright © 2015 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
(DSC_3111)
Monument on the north wall of the chancel to Lancelot
"Capability" Brown (1716-1783) the famous landscape gardener, who lies with his family outside the north side of the chancel .
"Ye Sons of Elegance, who truly taste
The Simple charms that genuine Art supplies,
Come from the sylvan Scenes His Genius grac’d,
And offer here your tributary Sigh’s.
But know that more than Genius slumbers here;
Virtues were his which Arts best powers transcend.
Come, ye Superior train, who these revere
And weep the Christian, Husband, Father, Friend".
(Verse by poet Rev William Mason commissioned by eldest son Lance and Brown's friend and patron Lord Coventry)
Born in Kirkharle, Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland, Lancelot was the 5th child of William Browne 1729 a land agent by Ursula Hall
Lancelot bought the manor of Fenstanton & Hilton from the Earl of Northampton in 1767 for £1300 after having laid out his grounds at Castle Ashby . (though it is thought he only lived here for no more than a week! ) This came with 2 manor houses, 2 villages and 2,668 acres of land. . Ownership of the property allowed him to stand for and serve as High Sheriff of Huntingdonshire from 1770 to 1771 although his son Lance carried out most of the duties
By the 1760s, he was earning on average £6,000 (equivalent to £753,000 in 2016) a year, usually £500 (equivalent to £62,700 in 2016) for one commission. As an accomplished rider he was able to work fast, taking only an hour or so on horseback to survey an estate and rough out an entire design. In 1764, Brown was also appointed King George III's Master Gardener at Hampton Court where he had his main house which went with the job.
He continued to work and travel until his sudden collapse and death on 6 February 1783, on the doorstep of his daughter Bridget Holland's house in Hertford Street, London while returning after a night out at Lord Coventry's
He left an estate of approximately ₤40,000, which included property in Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire
The manors remained in the Brown family for 4 generations being sold in lots in 1870s and 1880s
Lancelot Brown m Bridget (Biddy) daughter of William Wayet, alderman & landowner of Boston Lincs, and Margaret daughter of John Kelsall and Sarah Parker
Children
1. Lancelot MP for Huntingdon m Frances 1792 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/7Q1gZ0 daughter of Rev Henry Fuller 1761 : Sister of "Mad Jack" Fuller flic.kr/p/27t5YS
2. William Brown bc1748 (died young)
3 Admiral John Brown b1751
4 George b'd 1754
5. Thomas Brown b1761
1. Bridget b1746 m architect Henry Holland 1806 buried at All Saints Church, Fulham,
2. Anne b'd 1756
2. Margaret Rust (Peggy) b1758
. - Church of St Peter & St Paul, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire / Cambridgeshire
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion less than a mile south of the centre of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust. Claremont House is a Grade I listed building.[1]
Claremont estate
The first house on the Claremont estate was built in 1708 by Sir John Vanbrugh, the Restoration playwright and architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, for his own use. This "very small box", as he described it, stood on the level ground in front of the present mansion. At the same time, he built the stables and the walled gardens, also probably White Cottage, which is now the Sixth Form Centre of Claremont Fan Court School.
In 1714, he sold the house to the wealthy Whig politician Thomas Pelham-Holles, Earl of Clare, who later became Duke of Newcastle and served twice as Prime Minister. The earl commissioned Vanbrugh to add two great wings to the house and to build a fortress-like turret on an adjoining knoll. From this so-called "prospect-house", or belvedere, he and his guests could admire the views of the Surrey countryside as they took refreshments and played hazard, a popular dice game.
In the clear eighteenth-century air it was apparently possible to see Windsor Castle and St Paul's Cathedral. The Earl of Clare named his country seat Clare-mount, later contracted to Claremont. The two lodges at the Copsem Lane entrance were added at this time.
Landscape garden
Main article: Claremont Landscape Garden
Claremont landscape garden is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind of landscape design, the English Landscape Garden — still featuring its original 18th century layout. The extensive landscaped grounds of Claremont represents the work of some of the best known landscape gardeners, Charles Bridgeman, Capability Brown, William Kent (with Thomas Greening) and Sir John Vanbrugh.[2]
Work on the gardens began around 1715 and, by 1727, they were described as "the noblest of any in Europe". Within the grounds, overlooking the lake, is an unusual turfed amphitheatre.
A feature in the grounds is the Belvedere Tower, designed by Vanbrugh for the Duke of Newcastle. The tower is unusual in that, what appear to be windows, are actually bricks painted black and white. It is now owned by Claremont Fan Court School, which is situated alongside the gardens.
In 1949, the landscape garden was donated to the National Trust for stewardship and protection. A restoration programme was launched in 1975 following a significant donation by the Slater Foundation. The garden is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[3]
Capability Brown's mansion, built for Lord Clive of India
The Duke of Newcastle died in 1768 and, in 1769, his widow sold the estate to Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, founder of Britain's Indian Empire. Although the great house was then little more than fifty years old, it was aesthetically and politically out of fashion. Lord Clive decided to demolish the house and commissioned Capability Brown to build the present Palladian mansion on higher and dryer ground. Brown, more accomplished as a landscape designer than an architect, took on his future son-in-law Henry Holland as a junior partner owing to the scale of the project. John Soane (later Sir John Soane) was employed in Holland's office at this time and worked on the project as a draftsman and junior designer.[4] Holland's interiors for Claremont owe much to the contemporary work of Robert Adam.
Lord Clive, by now fabulously rich Nabob, is reputed to have spent over £100,000 on rebuilding the house and the complete remodelling of the celebrated pleasure ground. However, Lord Clive ended up never living at the property, as he died in 1774—the year that the house was completed. The estate then passed through a rapid succession of owners; first being sold "for not more than one third of what the house and alterations had cost"[5] to Robert Monckton-Arundell, 4th Viscount Galway, and then to George Carpenter, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell, and finally to Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford.[citation needed]
A large map entitled "Claremont Palace", situated in what is called "Clive's room" inside the mansion, shows the mansion and its surrounding grounds; giving a detailed overview of the campus. The map likely dates back to the 1860s, when the mansion was frequently occupied by Queen Victoria (thus it having been christened "palace"). However, the exact date is still unknown. The relief in Claremont's front pediment is of Clive's coat of arms impaled with that of Maskelyne, his wife's family.
Royal residence
In 1816, Claremont was bought by the British Nation through an Act of Parliament as a wedding present for George IV's daughter Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. At that time, the estate was valued to Parliament at £60,000: "Mr Huskisson stated that it had been agreed to purchase the house and demesnes of Clermont... The valuation of the farms, farm-houses, and park, including 350 acres of land, was 36,000/; the mansion, 19,000/; and the furniture, 6,000/; making together 60,000/. The mansion, which is in good repair, could not be built now for less than 91,000/."[6] To the nation's great sorrow, however, Princess Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was, after two miscarriages, to die there after giving birth to a stillborn son in November the following year. This sorrow is expressed in Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem Wikisource-logo.svg Lines on the Mausoleum of the Princess Charlotte, at Claremont., published in Forget Me Not, 1824. Although Leopold retained ownership of Claremont until his death in 1865, he left the house in 1831 when he became the first King of the Belgians.
Mausoleum of Princess Charlotte
Claremont House, ca. 1860
Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Claremont—both as a child and later as an adult—when Leopold, her doting uncle, lent her the house. She, in turn, lent the house to the exiled French King and Queen, Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amelie (the parents-in-law of Leopold I of Belgium), after the Revolutions of 1848. The exiled King died at Claremont in 1850.
In 1857, Offenbach and his Bouffes company performed three of his opéras bouffes there for Marie Amelie and her sons during an eight-week tour of England.[7]
In 1870, Queen Victoria commissioned Francis John Williamson to sculpt a marble memorial to Charlotte and Leopold which was erected inside the house.[8][9] (The memorial was subsequently moved to St George's Church, Esher.)[9]
Victoria bought Claremont for her fourth, and youngest, son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, when he married Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1882. The Duke and Duchess of Albany had two children—Alice and Charles. Charles, who had been born at Claremont in 1884, inherited the title and position of Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his uncle, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1900. He moved to the duchy in Germany to fulfill the position, becoming a German citizen, and renouncing his claim in the British succession.
Claremont should have passed to Charles upon his mother's death in 1922, but because he served as a German general in the First World War, the British government disallowed the inheritance. Claremont was accordingly confiscated and sold by the Public Trustee to shipping magnate Sir William Corry, director of the Cunard Line. Two years after Sir William's death, in 1926, it was bought by Eugen Spier, a wealthy German financier.
In 1930, Claremont stood empty and was marked for demolition when it was bought, together with the Belvedere, the stables, and 30 acres (120,000 m2) of parkland, by the Governors of a south London school, later renamed Claremont School and, since 1978, has been known as Claremont Fan Court School.
The National Trust
The National Trust acquired 50 acres (0.20 km2) of the Claremont estate in 1949. In 1975, with a grant from the Slater Foundation, it set about restoring the eighteenth-century landscape garden. Now, the Claremont Landscape Garden displays the successive contributions of the great landscape gardeners who worked on it: Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles Bridgeman, William Kent, and Capability Brown.
In 1996, the school celebrated the National Trust's centenary by opening a feature of the grounds which had not previously been accessible to the garden's visitors: the 281-year-old Belvedere Tower. Wikipedia
The Nikon F3, Nikon's first pro-level camera with an electronic shutter, was in production from 1980 through 2001. The pictured camera is fitted with the HP High-Eyepoint prism.
-------------
The Nikon F3 was the first professional level Nikon SLR to incorporate an electronic shutter and automatic exposure capability. Of course, the F3 provides the same high-quality materials, refined fit and finish, and durability for professional use as all F-Series cameras. Like its predecessors, the F3 was part of a remarkably broad and advanced professional camera system.
When used in the new aperture priority mode, shutter speed range is a stepless 8 sec. to 1/2000 sec. An F3HP is an F3 body with a so-called "High-Eyepoint" DE-3 prism. Compared with the original F3 standard DE-2 eyelevel finder, the F3HP has a larger viewfinder eyepiece. Actually, most of the F3s that I have seen incorporate the HP viewfinder. Of course, the F3HP viewfinder provides a 100% frame coverage, like all F-series cameras, and a large, bright image with 0.8x magnification. Nikon offered 21 interchangeable focusing screens for the F3, but for general photography, the standard K screen (with split image, microprism collar, and matte field) is satisfactory.
Back in the day, I waited years to upgrade to the F3HP because I liked my F2AS so much. However, since I, like many, had been using a Nikon FE as my second body together with the F2AS, I eventually succumbed to the desire to have aperture priority auto exposure metering on my main camera body, as well.
The F3HP, particularly without the optional MD-4 motor drive attachment, has a perfect shape, body size, and weight for comfortable and stable holding as well as all-day carrying. The F3's built-in handgrip allows a firm grasp.
One advantage of the F3 over the F and F2 is that the exposure meter is incorporated into the camera body instead of the prism. As a result, you can now change viewfinders and still keep the exposure meter. The F3HP's easy-to-view High Eyepoint DE-3 prism is perfect for most purposes, but for various specialized professional applications, Nikon offered other types, such as the DW-3 Waist-Level Finder, the DA-2 Action Finder, and the DW-4 6x Magnification Finder. Nikon even produced the DX-1 AF Finder, with an electronic focus-aid indication!
The exposure meter on/off switch is a plastic lever that is incorporated around the shutter release button. This is something of a precursor to a similar switch on the future F4 and other newer Nikon camera bodies. However, I find the switch on the F3 quite tight and hard to turn. In fact, my original switch got damaged from long use and became stuck in the off position. I had get the switch replaced at my local repair shop. Fortunately, there is no reason why the switch could not just be left in the on position during periods when the camera is in frequent use. Even with the switch in the on position, the meter circuit does not actually activate unless the film wind crank is pulled slightly away from the body and the shutter release button pushed part way down. The shutter and meter are locked off when the film advance lever is pressed into the lock position. The F3 is the first F-level camera to utilize a standard ISO shutter release thread in the center of the shutter release button, instead of the older AR-2 style connector. The shutter release button is positioned just right, in the middle of the body, and has a silky-smooth feel.
As indicated above, the F3 is the first F-series camera body to support aperture priority automatic exposure instead of just manual exposure adjustment. Simply turn the shutter speed dial to "A" to enter this mode, then adjust the aperture ring appropriately. A really cool feature of the F3 is the 80% center-weighted exposure meter, concentrated within the viewfinder's 12 mm outer reference circle area. The 80% central weighting is a great compromise between Nikon's standard 60/40 weighting and a spot meter. The 80% weight allows you to easily meter on the most important section of the image, while still incorporating some exposure information from the remainder of the frame. You can center the 80% central spot on the metering target, then hold down the exposure memory lock button on the front of the body and re-frame. However, since I personally find it uncomfortable to use the exposure lock button in this position, I usually use manual exposure mode in these cases unless I am in a rush to shoot.
The F3 viewfinder includes at the top of the frame an ADR readout of the aperture setting on all Nikon F-mount lenses that have an aperture ring (basically any pre-G lens will work on the F3). To the left is an LCD display of the automatically or manually selected shutter speed, in full stop increments. One thing that I don't like about the F3's manual exposure mode is the compact-style manual exposure indicator display in the viewfinder. When in manual exposure mode, correct exposure is shown by small +- indicators to the left of the shutter speed display. You adjust the exposure until both the + and - indicators are visible at the same time. This system, while extremely accurate, is not as clear or quick as the match needle setup in the Nikkormat EL/FE/FE2/FM3A or the three diode (-o+) setup in the F2AS/FM/FM2n system. The F3's viewfinder display is illuminated by ambient light. However, you can push a small button on the prism to electronically illuminate the display in the dark.
The F3 is the last F-series body to have manual film wind, unless you attach the optional MD-4 Motor Drive (with up to 6 frames per second performance). Starting from the F4, the F-Series evolved to built-in automatic film advance. This is great if you need to often shoot rapidly. However, if you just want a high-end film camera for slower, more deliberative shooting, manual film advance provides quieter film operation, much better battery life, and a smaller and lighter package compared with the auto-advance F4, F5 and F6. Unlike the semi-pro bodies like the FE and FM, the film advance lever on the F3 may be operated in one complete stroke or a series of shorter strokes. The F3 can be used without a battery in an emergency. Just push the mechanical shutter release lever on the front of the camera, although the mechanical shutter speed is limited to only 1/60 second. That is certainly a far cry from a full range of shutter speeds, but at least flexible enough for many situations, if needed. Nevertheless, lack of power is almost never going to become an issue. My F3HP battery and shutter have never died throughout decades of use, and a single battery seems to last forever with the camera's low power usage.
The meter coupling lever on the F3 can be locked up to allow mounting of prehistoric non-AI lenses, although most users probably converted their non-AI lenses to AI decades ago. As a pro-level camera, the F3 has a proper mirror lock-up feature for certain specialized lenses and for slow exposure times. Of course, multiple exposures on a single frame are also supported.
Since the camera has an electronic shutter, it also has an electronic self-timer, complete with a flashing red light, just like modern SLRs.
The eyepiece has the usual shutter lever, but still no adjustable diopter. This is no problem, however, since Nikon still makes screw-in diopter lenses for the F3. Actually, the F3HP works fine with diopter lenses for the F90X, F100, etc. These diopter lenses have screw-in rings that are slightly thinner than harder to find ones that are actually designed for the F3. The large F3HP viewfinder eyepiece is relatively easy to use with glasses. On the F3 without the HP prism, use diopters that are designed for the FM/FE series of cameras.
In order to use an electronic flash unit, just like the earlier generation F and F2 bodies, the F3 still requires that an accessory shoe be mounted over the rewind knob, or that a special Nikon F3 flash unit be mounted directly onto the camera in the same position. (Of course, you could also use a side-bracket flash with a synch terminal cable.) Interestingly, the maximum flash synchronization speed is 1/80 sec., slightly slower than the 1/90 sec. maximum synch speed on the Nikon F2. The new advance is that the F3 offers TTL automatic flash exposure, although the F3 can't simultaneously meter ambient light. The powerful F3-era Nikon SB-16a Speedlight is a perfect match for the camera. Newer Nikon flash units can also provide TTL flash functionality with the F3, when used with the special adapter AS-17, which also allows convenient flash exposure compensation.
If you don't have the AS-17, you can do balanced fill flash the old way, as follows. First, set the background exposure manually, with a shutter speed at or below the maximum electronic flash synchronization speed. Then set the appropriate camera distance based on the film ISO, selected aperture and guide number. Finally, fill flash is achieved by further shutting down the aperture by 1-2 stops, and correspondingly adjusting the shutter speed. You can also set the SB-16a to TTL and adjust the flash exposure down by 1-2 stops using the exposure compensation dial. The compensation dial does not adjust the background exposure in this case because both shutter speed and aperture are set manually. All that being said, for fill flash, it would frankly be easier and faster to use a more modern body such as the F90X, F100, F5 or F6, which all provide various forms of 3D matrix automatic balanced fill-flash, Nikon's most advanced flash system. The F4 also has a pretty good flash capability, but it is still one generation older pre-3D technology (i.e., no communication of subject distance from D-type lenses.)
The basic Nikon F3 and F3HP were available in black. The Nikon F3 was also available in a few special variants, all of which had the High-Eyepoint viewfinder, such as the Nikon F3/T with a titanium exterior, the Nikon F3 Press, and various limited edition models. The F3/T was produced in both champagne and black colors.
As a pro-level camera, the F3 offers the benefits of aperture priority auto exposure, basic TTL flash, and a more compact and elegant design than the prior-generation F and F2 bodies. Compared with its later descendants, the F3 does not provide such benefits as matrix (multi-segment) metering, automatic balanced fill flash, multiple exposure modes, and built-in automatic film advance. On the other hand, the core F3 is significantly smaller and lighter than those later pro-level bodies. And, when used properly, the F3's exposure metering system can be just as effective, or even more so, compared with the early-generation matrix metering systems in some later Nikon cameras. For deliberative photographers who still like to shoot film, the F3 and F3HP provide a highly-refined and relatively compact manual focus platform for the extensive universe of "Pre-G"-type Nikon F-Mount lenses.
Copyright © 2015 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
(DSC_3091)
and shoots RAW.
cory playing with his new canon g9.
the guy always makes me smile.
flickr friday lunch
taken: 11/16/2007
Col. Randy Lau, brigade commander of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Califonia National Guard, fires a 120mm mortar during a live-fire exercise while visiting Soldiers assigned to the 1-65 IN/1-18 CAV/1-160 IN/1-184 IN, all assigned to the 79th IBCT, June 15, 2021, at Camp Roberts, Califonia. The live-fire was part of an Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise (XCTC21-01). The XCTC program is an instrumented Brigade field training exercise designed to certify platoon proficiency in coordination with First Army. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Walter H. Lowell)
With Kudzu vines and leaves dangling from a power line that it's quickly overtaking, southbound CSX empty coal train C623 slowly reverses its last cut of empty hoppers under the Creech, KY, load-out with the sun quickly yielding to the evening on October 4, 2020.
02 Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
C17 477FF2
NATO Strategic Airlift Capability
08-0002 c/nF-210
BRK Hungarian Air Force
LHPA Papa AB
BR modernised its capability to deal with CWR (Continuously Welded Rail) with the advent in 1983-84 of four dedicated LWRT (Long Welded Rail Train) sets. These were soon supplemented by an order for another 12 sets delivered by two suppliers in 1985 thus making 16 in all. The complete train sets comprised 11 vehicles and unlike previous efforts to deal with CWR these new sets could be self propelled once on site as one vehicle was a power wagon so no need to rely on a diesel locomotive for propulsion. This could be coupled off to stand clear while rails were either dropped or recovered.
At one end was the staff vehicle where the operator controlled the power wagon from and this was also the chute wagon while the other end had the mobile Gantry Crane (as above). The Gantry Crane was deemed to be on OTP (On Track Plant) so they got track machine numbers despite the fact the track it ran on was on the outer edge of the wagon decks with bridging sections between vehicles. They were numbered DR 89100 to DR 89115 and were mounted on wagons DB 979600 to DB 979615 respectfully. Here DR 89111 is seen in Tonbridge West Yard mounted on DB 979611 YEA. With the exception of the Power Wagon the vehicles within the set were designated 'Perch' by the BR Civil Engineers Department while the chute and control wagon were 'Porpoise'. DR 89111 was built by Plasser & Theurer Ltd as wks no. 0636 of 1985. The wagon was built by BREL Doncaster Works to lot no. 4052 also in 1985 (covering wagons DB 979610 to DB 979615). The other 10 LWRT sets were built by Cowans Boyd Ltd using wagons manufactured at BREL Shildon Works.
Aberystwyth University is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic faculties and 17 departments.
Founded in 1872 as University College Wales, Aberystwyth, it became a founder member of the University of Wales in 1894, and changed its name to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In the mid-1990s, the university again changed its name to become the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. On 1 September 2007, the University of Wales ceased to be a federal university and Aberystwyth University became independent again.
In 2019, it became the first university to be named "University of the year for teaching quality" by The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide for two consecutive years. It is the first university in the world to be awarded Plastic Free University status (for single-use plastic items).
In the middle of the 19th century, eminent Welsh people were advocating the establishment of a university in the principality. One of these, Thomas Nicholas, whose book, Middle and High Class Schools, and University Education for Wales (1863), is said to have "exerted great influence on educated Welshmen".
Funded through public and private subscriptions, and with five regional committees (London, Manchester, Liverpool, North and South Wales) guaranteeing funds for the first three years' running costs, the university opened in October 1872 with 26 students. Thomas Charles Edwards was the principal. In October 1875, chapels in Wales raised the next tranche of funds from over 70,000 contributors. Until 1893, when the college joined the University of Wales as a founder member, students applying to Aberystwyth sat the University of London's entrance exams. Women were admitted in 1884.
In 1885, a fire damaged what is now known as the Old College, Aberystwyth, and in 1897 the first 14 acres of what became the main Penglais campus were purchased. Incorporated by Royal Charter in 1893, the university installed the Prince of Wales as chancellor in 1896, the same year it awarded an honorary degree to the British prime minister, William Gladstone.
The university's coat of arms dates from the 1880s. The shield features two red dragons to symbolise Wales, and an open book to symbolise learning. The crest, an eagle or phoenix above a flaming tower, may signify the college's rebirth after the 1885 fire. The motto is Nid Byd, Byd Heb Wybodaeth (a world without knowledge is no world at all).
In the early 1900s, the university added courses that included law, applied mathematics, pure mathematics and botany. The Department for International Politics, which Aberystwyth says is the oldest such department in the world, was founded in 1919. By 1977, the university's staff included eight Fellows of the Royal Society, such as Gwendolen Rees, the first Welsh woman to be elected an FRS.
The Department of Sports and Exercise Science was established in 2000. Joint honours psychology degrees were introduced in September 2007, and single honours psychology in 2009.
The chancellor of the university is The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who took up the position in January 2018. The visitor of the university is an appointment made by the Privy Council, under the Royal Charter of the university. Since July 2014, the holder of this office is Mr Justice Sir Roderick Evans KC.
In 2011, the university appointed a new vice chancellor under whom the academic departments were restructured as larger subject-themed institutes.
In 2022, the university celebrated its 150th anniversar,y being established in 1872 (known at the time as The University College of Wales).
Aberystwyth is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, Aberystwyth means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in Wales since the establishment of University College Wales in 1872.
The town is situated on Cardigan Bay on the west coast of Wales, near the confluence of the River Ystwyth and Afon Rheidol. Following the reconstruction of the harbour, the Ystwyth skirts the town. The Rheidol passes through the town.
The seafront, with a pier, stretches from Constitution Hill at the north end of the Promenade to the harbour at the south. The beach is divided by the castle. The town is divided into five areas: Aberystwyth Town; Llanbadarn Fawr; Waunfawr; Llanbadarn; Trefechan; and the most populous, Penparcau.
In 2011 the population of the town was 13,040. This rises to nearly 19,000 for the larger conurbation of Aberystwyth and Llanbadarn Fawr.
Aberystwyth Bay from a 1748 survey by Lewis Morris (1701–1765)
The distance to Swansea is 55 miles (89 km); to Shrewsbury 60 miles (97 km); to Wrexham 63 miles (101 km); to Cardiff 76 miles (122 km); and to London 180 miles (290 km).
Aberystwyth is a university town and tourist destination, and forms a cultural link between North Wales and South Wales. Constitution Hill, scaled by the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway, gives access to panoramic views and to other attractions at the summit, including a camera obscura. Scenic Mid Wales landscape within easy reach of the town includes the wilderness of the Cambrian Mountains, whose valleys contain forests and meadows which have changed little in centuries. A convenient way to access the interior is by the preserved narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.
Although the town is relatively modern, there are a number of historic buildings, including the remains of the castle and the Old College of Aberystwyth University nearby. The Old College was originally built and opened in 1865 as a hotel, but after the owner's bankruptcy the shell of the building was sold to the university in 1867.
The new university campus overlooks Aberystwyth from Penglais Hill to the east of the town centre. The station, a terminus of the main railway, was built in 1924 in the typical style of the period, mainly in a mix of Gothic, Classical Revival, and Victorian architecture.
The town is the unofficial capital of Mid Wales, and several institutions have regional or national offices there. Public bodies located in the town include the National Library of Wales, which incorporates the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, one of six British regional film archives. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales maintains and curates the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW), providing the public with information about the built heritage of Wales. Aberystwyth is also the home to the national offices of UCAC and Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society), and the site of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, the Welsh Books Council and the offices of the standard historical dictionary of Welsh, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru. A purpose built Welsh Government office and an adjoining office of Ceredigion County Council are also located in the town.
At the 2001 census, the population of the town was 15,935. This reduced to 13,040 at the 2011 census. Including neighbouring Llanbadarn Fawr, the population was 16,420, and the greater Aberystwyth conurbation having a population of 18,749 in 2011
Aberystwyth experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. This is particularly pronounced due to its west coast location facing the Irish Sea. Air undergoes little land moderation and so temperatures closely reflect the sea temperature when winds are coming from the predominant onshore (westerly) direction. The nearest Met Office weather station is Gogerddan, 3 miles to the northeast, and at a similar elevation.
The absolute maximum temperature is 34.6 °C (94.3 °F), set during July 2006. This is also the July record maximum for all of Wales, suggesting that the area's low lying situation, aided by a possible föhn effect when winds are offshore can act to achieve high temperatures on occasion. Typically the warmest day will average 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) and 5.6 days will achieve a maximum of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.
The absolute minimum temperature is −13.5 °C (7.7 °F), set in January 2010. Typically 39.8 days will register an air frost.
Rainfall averages 1,112 mm (44 in) a year, with over 1mm recorded on 161 days. All averages refer to the 1981–2010 period.
There is evidence that during the Mesolithic Age the area of Tan-y-Bwlch at the foot of Pen Dinas (Penparcau) was used as a flint knapping floor for hunter-gatherers making weapons from flint that was deposited as the ice retreated.
The remains of a Celtic fortress on Pen Dinas (or more correctly 'Dinas Maelor'), a hill in Penparcau overlooking Aberystwyth, indicates that the site was inhabited before 700 BC. On a hill south of the present town, across the River Ystwyth, are the remains of a medieval ringfort believed to be the castle from which Princess Nest was abducted. This rare survival is now on private land and can only be accessed by arrangement.
The recorded history of Aberystwyth may be said to date from the building of a fortress in 1109 by Gilbert Fitz Richard (grandfather of Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow, the Cambro-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland). Gilbert Fitz Richard was granted lands and the lordship of Cardigan by Henry I, including Cardigan Castle. The fortress built in Aberystwyth was located about a mile and a half south of today's town, on a hill over the south bank of the Ystwyth River, thus giving the settlement of Aberystwyth its name. The location is now known as Tan-Y-Castell.
Aberystwyth was usually under the control of the princes of Deheubarth, but its position close to the border with Gwynedd and Powys left it vulnerable to attacks from the leaders of those polities. The town was attacked by Gwenwynwyn ab Owain in 1197, an assault in which Maelgwn ap Rhys was captured. Llywelyn the Great attacked and seized the town in late 1208, building a castle there before withdrawing.
Edward I replaced Strongbow's castle in 1277, after its destruction by the Welsh. His castle was, however, built in a different location, at the current Castle Hill, the high point of the town. Between the years 1404 and 1408 Aberystwyth Castle was in the hands of Owain Glyndŵr but finally surrendered to Prince Harry (the future King Henry V of England). Shortly after this, the town was incorporated under the title of Ville de Lampadarn (the ancient name of the place being Llanbadarn Gaerog or the fortified Llanbadarn, to distinguish it from Llanbadarn Fawr, the village one mile (1.6 km) inland. It is thus styled in a Royal charter granted by Henry VIII but, by Elizabeth I's time, the town was invariably named Aberystwyth in all documents.
From 1639 to 1642, silver coins were minted at Aberystwyth Castle on behalf of the Royal Mint, using silver from local mines. £10,500 in currency was produced, equivalent to 2.5 million silver pennies.
In 1649, Parliamentarian troops razed the castle, although portions of three towers still exist. In 1988, an excavation within the castle area revealed a complete male skeleton, deliberately buried. Though skeletons rarely survive in Wales' acidic soil, this skeleton was probably preserved by the addition of lime from the collapsed building. Affectionately known as "Charlie" and now housed in the Ceredigion Museum in the town, he probably dates from the English Civil War period, and is likely to have died during the Parliamentarian siege. His image is featured in one of nine mosaics created to adorn the castle's walls.
The development of Aberystwyth's Port contributed to the town’s economic development during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Port improvements were carried out in both 1780 and 1836, with a new Customs House constructed in 1828. Rural industries and craftsmen were also an important part of life in this country town. The local trade directory for 1830 shows that there were in Aberystwyth: Twenty boot makers, eight bakers, two corn millers, eleven carpenters and joiners, one cooper, seven tailors, two dressmakers, two straw hat makers, two hat makers, three curriers, four saddlers, two tinsmiths, six maltsters, two skinners, four tanners, eight stonemasons, one brewer, four lime burners, three shipwrights, three wheelwrights, five cabinet makers, one nail maker, one rope maker and one sail maker.
The Cambrian Railways line from Machynlleth reached Aberystwyth in 1864, closely followed by rail links to Carmarthen, which resulted in the construction of the town's impressive station. The Cambrian line opened on Good Friday 1869, the same day that the new 292 metres (958 ft) Royal Pier (designed by Eugenius Birch) opened, attracting 7,000 visitors.
The railway's arrival gave rise to something of a Victorian tourist boom, with Aberystwyth becoming a significant holiday destination for working and middle class families from South Wales in particular. The town was once even billed as the "Biarritz of Wales". During this time, a number of hotels and fine townhouses were built including the Queens Hotel, later renamed Swyddfa'r Sir (County Office) when used as offices by the town council, and most recently used as the external scenes of the police station in the television show Hinterland. One of the largest of these hotels, "The Castle Hotel", was never completed as a hotel but, following bankruptcy, was sold cheaply to the Welsh National University Committee, a group of people dedicated to the creation of a Welsh University. The University College of Wales (later to become Aberystwyth University) was founded in 1872 in this building.
Aberystwyth was a contributory parliamentary borough until the Third Reform Act, which merged its representation into that of the county in 1885.
In 1895, various businessmen who had been behind the Aberystwyth New Harbour Company formed the Aberystwyth Improvement Company (AIC) to take over the works of the defunct Bourne Engineering & Electrical. In 1896, the AIC completed three projects: the new landside pavilion for the Royal Pier; built the Cambria Hotel (later the United Theological College) and formed Constitution Hill Ltd, to develop a Victorian theme park. Chief engineer George Croydon Marks designed all the AIC developments, including the United Kingdom's second longest funicular railway, which takes passengers up a 50% gradient to a park and camera obscura.
Aberystwyth hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1865, 1916, 1952 and 1992.
On the night of Friday, 14 January 1938, a storm with estimated wind speeds of up to 90 mph (140 km/h) struck the town. Most of the promenade was destroyed, along with 200 feet (60 m) of the pier. Many properties on the seafront were damaged, with every property from the King's Hall north affected; those on Victoria Terrace suffered the greatest damage. Work commenced on a protective coffer dam which continued into 1940, with total costs of construction coming to £70,000 (equivalent to £2.5 million today).
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society) held their historic first protest on Trefechan Bridge in Aberystwyth, on 2 February 1963. The first independent Welsh Evangelical Church was established in Aberystwyth (see Evangelical Movement of Wales).
On 1 March 2005, Aberystwyth was granted Fairtrade Town status.
In March 2009 mayor Sue Jones-Davies, who had played the role of Judith Iscariot in the film Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), organised a charity screening of the film. Principal actors Terry Jones and Michael Palin also attended. There is a popular, but incorrect, urban myth that the town had banned the film (as some authorities did) when it was first released.
During the aftermath storms from Cyclone Dirk on Friday 3 January 2014, the town was one of the worst hit in Wales. Properties on the adjoining promenade were then evacuated for the next five days, including 250 students from the University. Ceredigion Council appealed to the Welsh Assembly Government for funds, whilst Natural Resources Wales undertook surveys and emergency preventative measures.
North Parade, Aberystwyth was reported to be the most expensive street in Wales in 2018, based on property prices.
Penglais Nature Park (Welsh: Parc Natur Penglais) is a woodland overlooking the town. The park was created in 1995 from a disused quarry and surrounding woodland that had formerly been part of the Richardes family estate. In spring a carpet of bluebells bloom, in common with the many other bluebell woods.
The park covers 27 acres (11 ha). It was the first Nature reserve to open in Ceredigion and is the only UNESCO Man and Biosphere urban reserve in Wales.
Aberystwyth's local government administration has a two-tier structure consisting of two separate councils. As local government is a devolved matter in Wales, the legislation for both Councils is a responsibility of the Senedd.
Aberystwyth Town Council is the first tier of local government, which is the closest to the general public; there are 19 elected town councillors from five wards. The last elections were held in 2022. The council is responsible for cycle paths, public footpaths, CCTV, public Wi-Fi, bus shelters, parks, gardens (including the castle grounds and the skateboard park) and allotments. The council is a statutory body which is consulted regarding planning decisions in the town area and makes recommendations to the planning authority, Ceredigion County Council. The Town Council is also involved in leisure, tourism, business (through providing more than half of Menter Aberystwyth's funding in grants), licence applications, wellbeing and environmental health, recycling and refuse collection.
A borough council existed in Aberystwyth from 1832 and the Aberystwyth School Board was established in 1870.
Ceredigion County Council is another statutory body incorporated by Act of Parliament. It is the second tier of local government in the area and is a unitary authority with a wide range of powers and responsibility. The Council deals with roads (except trunk roads), street lighting, some highways, social services, children and family care, schools and public libraries. Aberystwyth elects six of the 42 councillors in five separate wards (Bronglais, Central, North and Rheidol wards elect one councillor each while Penparcau ward elects two).
Aberystwyth has five Senedd members, one of whom (Elin Jones) was elected as a constituency MS for Ceredigion, and four who are elected on the regional list for Mid and West Wales.
The town is in the Ceredigion constituency for elections to the House of Commons. Since June 2017, Aberystwyth's MP has been Plaid Cymru's Ben Lake.
The first ever public library in Aberystwyth was opened in Compton House, Pier Street on 13 October 1874. In 1882 the library was moved to the Assembly Rooms which were leased to the council for 21 years. The lease expired in 1903 and the library returned to Pier Street, this time to the Old Banking Library at the corner with Eastgate Street, although this was short lived. A Carnegie library was built in Aberystwyth in 1905, with a grant of £3,000. Located in Corporation Street, it was designed by the architect Walter Payton of Birmingham, who was one of 48 who entered the competition to design the building. It was formally opened on 20 April 1906 by Mrs Vaughan Davies, wife of the local MP. The town library moved to Aberystwyth Town Hall, now known as Canolfan Alun R. Edwards, following the building's refurbishment in 2012.
The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales. Established in 1907, it is a Welsh Government sponsored body. According to Cyril Evans, the library's centenary events co-ordinator, "The library is considered to be one of the world's greatest libraries, and its international reputation is certainly something that all Welsh men and women are intensely ... proud of". Welsh is the main medium of communication within the organisation; it aims to deliver all public services in Welsh and English.
Aberystwyth Arts Centre is one of the largest and busiest arts centres in Wales. It encompasses a 312-seat theatre, 900-seat concert hall, 125-seat cinema, and has accompanied studio, galleries, plus public spaces which include cafes and a bar. Arad Goch is an Arts Council funded community theatre and art gallery based in the town. The premises holds a theatre, gallery, several art studios and meeting rooms, and a darkroom.
The town has three works by the Italian sculptor Mario Rutelli; the War Memorial on the promenade, the Tabernacle Chapel Memorial on Powell Street, and the statue of Edward VIII as Prince of Wales in the Old College. All are Grade II listed structures. Rutelli’s connection with the town came through Thomas Jenkins of Aberystwyth, who ran a shipping business. Jenkins was a frequent visitor to Italy where he admired Rutelli’s work. Jo Darke, in her work, The Monument Guide to England and Wales: A National Portrait in Bronze and Stone, describes Rutelli’s war memorial as “striking and rare” and suggests that the life-size statue of Edward VIII is the only recorded example.
Aberystwyth has a live music scene which has produced bands and artists such as: The Crocketts; The Hot Puppies; Murry the Hump; and The Lowland Hundred. The University Music Centre promotes a varied programme for instrumentalists, singers and listeners from the university and the wider community. The University chamber choir, The Elizabethan Madrigal Singers, have been singing in the town since 1950 and continue to hold a number of concerts throughout the year. Aberystwyth gives its name to a well known hymn tune composed by Joseph Parry.
Aberystwyth RFC is the local rugby union club and acts as a feeder club to professional side Scarlets. It was formed in 1947 and for the 2017/18 season played in the WRU Division One West. Aberystwyth Town F.C. is a semi-professional football club that was formed in 1884. The team currently compete in the Cymru Premier, Wales' top division. The town also has a cricket club which plays in local leagues, an athletics club (founded 1955), and boxing club in Penparcau. The town's golf course opened in 1911.
Ceredigion, the county in which Aberystwyth is located, is one of the four most Welsh-speaking counties in Wales and remained majority Welsh speaking until the 2011 census. Since the town's growth as a seaside resort in the Victorian era, it has been more anglicised than its hinterland and the rest of the county in general. The university has also attracted many English-speaking students from England, non-Welsh speaking parts of Wales and elsewhere. The 1891 census recorded that, of the 6635 inhabitants who completed the language section, 3482 (52.5%) were bilingual, 1751 (26.4%) were Welsh monoglots, and 1402 people (21.1%) were returned as English monoglots. Ceredigion (then named Cardiganshire) as a whole was 95.2% Welsh-speaking and 74.5% monoglot Welsh. Although the town remained majority Welsh-speaking for many more decades, English had already replaced Welsh in certain domains, such as entertainment and tourism. By 1961, only 50.0% of the town's population could speak Welsh, compared to 79.5% for Cardiganshire as a whole; by 1971, these numbers had fallen to 44.9% and 67.6% respectively. The 2001 census reported that, in the seven wards of Aberystwyth, 39% of the residents self-identified as able to speak or read or write Welsh. This is lower than Ceredigion as a whole (54%) but higher than Wales overall (19%).
Aberystwyth parish church is St Michael's and All Angels, located in Laura Place. The parish was a Rectoral Benefice until 2019, incorporating the Anglican churches of Holy Trinity, Santes Fair (services in Welsh) and Saint Anne's, Penparcau. The Rectoral Benefice has now been converted to a local ministry area (LMA). The church was built between 1886 and 1890, replacing an earlier church. It was designed in a Gothic Revival style and is a Grade II listed building.
In addition to the Anglican churches, there are many existing and former Welsh Calvinistic Methodist chapels that have these days merged into Saint David's (United Reformed) and Capel y Morfa (Welsh language services). A former Calvinistic Methodist Sunday school house, Ysgoldy Tanycae, is now the meeting place of the Elim Pentecostal church. Meanwhile there is a Wesleyan Methodist church, Saint Paul's Methodist Centre, located in Bath Street. An Independent Baptist church is located in Alfred Place. In 2021, amid some controversy, Aberystwyth's Catholic church, Saint Winefride's, was closed and the congregation relocated to a new-build church located in Penparcau.
There are a number of other smaller congregations, and many former churches that have now been converted to alternative use, such as the Academy bar.
Aberystwyth has two comprehensive schools serving the town and a wide rural area: Ysgol Gyfun Gymunedol Penweddig and Ysgol Penglais School. Ysgol Gyfun Gymunedol Penweddig uses Welsh as the primary language of tuition; Ysgol Penglais School teaches in English and in Welsh as a subject.
There are currently three primary schools within the town limits, which are: Plascrug, Saint Padarns (Roman Catholic) and Ysgol Gymraeg. Ysgol Gymraeg was the first designated Welsh medium school in Wales, originally established as a private school in 1939 by Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards as Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd.
Aberystwyth is home to Aberystwyth University (Welsh: Prifysgol Aberystwyth) whose predecessor, University College Wales, was founded in 1872 and renamed the 'University of Wales, Aberystwyth' in the mid-1990s. Prior to the college's establishment, Wales had very limited academic-degree capability through St David's College, Lampeter (founded in 1822, now the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David).
As well as having two cinemas and a golf course, the town's attractions include:
The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway, a funicular railway
A Victorian camera obscura at the top of Constitution Hill.
The Vale of Rheidol steam railway (Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge)
Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
The Parc Penglais nature reserve
The Ystwyth Trail cycle path
National Library of Wales
Park Avenue. Football stadium home to Aberystwyth Town F.C.
The all organic dairy unit of Rachel's Organic is based in Glan yr Afon, and is the largest private sector employer in Aberystwyth.
The Cambrian News newspaper came to Aberystwyth from Bala in 1870, after it was purchased by Sir John Gibson. Printed in Oswestry, in May 1880 the paper integrated operations in a former Malthouse in Mill Street. Owned by the Read family from 1926, in 1993 printing was contracted out, enabling the move of editorial staff to the current open-plan offices on Llanbadarn Fawr Science Park. On the death of Henry Read, the paper was purchased in 1999 by Sir Ray Tindle, whose company owns more than 200 weekly newspapers in Britain. Now printed in tabloid format, Cambrian News is the second-largest weekly-print circulation newspaper in Wales, with 24,000 copies in six regional editorial versions, read by 60,000 weekly readers. The circulation area of mid, west and north Wales covers 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2).
Since the TV series Hinterland has been filmed in and around Aberystwyth, the area is being promoted as an opportunity for tourists to visit filming locations; many are well publicised.
Aberystwyth railway station is situated in the town centre and is the terminus of the scenic Cambrian Line. Transport for Wales Rail operate a mostly hourly service (with some two-hour intervals) to Shrewsbury via Machynlleth and Mid Wales, with nearly all trains continuing to Birmingham International. Connecting services from Dovey Junction provide a link to Gwynedd's west coast as far as Pwllheli, along the Cambrian Coast Line. There is no longer a southbound connection: the Carmarthen–Aberystwyth line was closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts.
Aberystwyth station is also the terminus of the Vale of Rheidol Railway, a steam-operated narrow gauge heritage railway. Constructed between 1901 and 1902, it was intended to ship mineral cargo, primarily lead, from Devil's Bridge down to Aberystwyth for trans-shipment. By the time it was finished, lead mining was in a deep downturn and—thanks to the Aberystwyth Improvement Company—the railway came to rely largely on the tourist industry, opening for passengers in December 1902. It still remains open for the summer season, with a journey of 12 miles (19 km).
In 1896, the Aberystwyth Improvement Company formed Constitution Hill Ltd which, under the direction of chief engineer George Croydon Marks, developed the United Kingdom's second longest funicular railway, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway, which takes passengers up a 50% gradient.
A TrawsCymru T1 service on the A4120 in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a hub for the TrawsCymru bus network, with four routes serving the town:
T1 - hourly service to Carmarthen (connects with T1S to Swansea, Monday-Saturday) via Aberaeron and Lampeter - with one service a day (Monday-Saturday) extended to Cardiff
T1C - daily express coach service to Cardiff, via Aberaeron, Carmarthen (connects with T1S to Swansea, Monday-Saturday), Swansea (Sunday & Bank Holidays only), Port Talbot Parkway and Bridgend
T2 - every 1–2 hours to Bangor via Machynlleth, Dolgellau (connects with T3 to Barmouth and Wrexham), Porthmadog and Caernarfon
T5 - hourly service to Haverfordwest via Aberaeron, New Quay, Cardigan and Fishguard
(TrawsCymru services run less-frequently on Sundays.)
There is a daily National Express coach, service 409 to London via Birmingham, along with local bus services within the town and into the surrounding area.
The A44 and A487 meet with much traffic between North Wales and South West Wales passing through the town. The A4120 links the A44 and A487 between Llanbadarn Fawr and Penparcau, allowing through traffic to bypass the town centre.
The B4574 mountain road linking the town to Rhayader is described by the AA as one of the ten most scenic drives in the world.
The port of Aberystwyth, although it is small and relatively inconsequential today, used to be an important Atlantic Ocean entryway. It was used to ship locally, to Ireland and as a transatlantic departure point. Commercially, the once important Cardiganshire lead mines exported from this location.
The importance of maritime trade in the 19th century is reflected in the fact that a lifeboat has been based at Aberystwyth since 1843, when a 27 ft (8.2 m) boat powered by six oars was funded by public subscription and placed under the control of the harbourmaster. The RNLI took over the service in 1861 and established Aberystwyth Lifeboat Station which celebrated 150 years in 2011. The station uses the Atlantic 85-class inshore lifeboat Spirit of Friendship.
The Owl Service by Alan Garner, a well-known and -loved multi-award-winning classic published 1967, is set in north Wales and has two of its core characters —Gwyn and his mam (mother) Nancy— recently arrived from Aberystwyth for 3 weeks' work, with Nancy repeatedly threatening to return there immediately. They and the Welsh locals refer to it as "Aber"; the English characters use its full name.
Aberystwyth (albeit an alternative universe version) is the setting for the cult Louie Knight series by Malcolm Pryce, which transfers Chandleresque "noir" stories and dialogue to this small seaside town. This alternative reality features many landmarks of Aberystwyth, such as the University and the National Library of Wales, but the social situation is radically altered to more closely resemble the pulp/noir stereotypical "Dirty Town" that the narrative plays off. Most of the humour in the books is derived from the almost seamless juxtaposition of the real Aberystwyth and the fictional, noir Aberystwyth. Various aspects of Welsh culture are reflections of what you might expect to see in reality, but with a pulp twist – for example, prostitutes wear Welsh stovepipe hats.
Stripping Penguins Bare, the book 2 of Michael Carson's Benson Trilogy of comic novels, is set in the town and university in the 1960s.
The local writer Niall Griffiths has set many of his novels here and reflects local slang, settings, and even individuals. Grits and Sheepshagger are set wholly in Aberystwyth, which also features prominently in his other novels such as Kelly and Victor and Stump. He portrays a more gritty side of Aberystwyth.
‘Cofiwch Aberystwyth’ by science fiction writer Val Nolan, is a near-future post-apocalyptic novelette about three young urban explorers visiting Aberystwyth years after a nuclear disaster on the west coast of Wales. It was originally published in Interzone (magazine) and later anthologised in Best of British Science Fiction 2020. The title references the Cofiwch Dryweryn graffiti outside nearby Llanrhystyd, Ceredigion.
Television
Y Gwyll (2013–2016), a Welsh-language television programme, and the English-language version Hinterland , broadcast on S4C, BBC One Wales, BBC Four, and syndicated around the world, is set in Aberystwyth. It is filmed in and around the town, often in rural locations.
Film
Y Llyfrgell (2017) is an award-winning Welsh language film set in and around the National Library, which was filmed on location in 2016. The 2009 book on which it was based was released in English in 2022.
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Aberystwyth.
Individuals
1912 – Sir John Williams
1912 – David Davies
1912 – Stuart Rendel
1922 – David Lloyd George
1923 – Lewis Pugh Evans
1923 – Matthew Vaughan-Davies
1923 – Sir Herbert Lewis
1928 – Stanley Baldwin
1936 – Sir David Charles Roberts
1936 – Ernest Vaughan
1951 – Winston Churchill
1956 – Sir David James
2011 – Fritz Pratschke
2015 – Jean Guezennec
Military Units
1955 – The Welsh Guards
Twinning
Arklow in Wicklow, Republic of Ireland Ireland
Kronberg im Taunus in Hesse Hesse, Germany Germany
Saint-Brieuc in Brittany Brittany, France France
Esquel in Patagonia, Argentina Argentina
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Fascinated by her work, one day i decided to peep inside this domain of photography. But i was at a zero level compared to the lofty breathtaking work of ASRI . So i sent her my work and through her guidence and useful critic i was finally able to make one such photograph that is worth uploading on flickr. I dedicate this first food click to my mentor ASRI . Thank you very much for this unique transfer of technology. Thankyou !!
©2014- Exotic photos by Hadeed Sher
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Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the village of Broadway, in the English county of Worcestershire, at the second-highest point of the Cotswolds (after Cleeve Hill). Broadway Tower's base is 1,024 feet (312 metres) above sea level. The tower itself stands 65 feet (20 metres) high.
The "Saxon" tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1798–99. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles (35 km) away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly.
Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s. William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.
Today, the tower is a tourist attraction and the centre of a country park with various exhibitions open to the public at a fee, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. The place is on the Cotswold Way and can be reached by following the Cotswold Way from the A44 road at Fish Hill, or by a steep climb out of Broadway village.
Near the tower is a memorial to the crew of an A.W.38 Whitley bomber that crashed there during a training mission in June 1943.
CORAL SEA (July 21, 2021) An F-35B Lightning fighter aircraft from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21. Talisman Sabre 21, the ninth iteration and conducted since 2005, occurs biennially across Northern Australia. Australian, U.S. and other multinational partner forces use Talisman Sabre to enhance interoperability by training in complex, multi-domain operations scenarios that address the full range of Indo-Pacific security concerts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan D. Berlier)
Clumber Park is a country park, in part designed by Capability Brown, in the Dukeries near Worksop in Nottinghamshire, England. It was formerly the park of a country house called "Clumber House", which was the principal seat of the Pelham-Clinton Dukes of Newcastle from the early 18th century onwards. It is owned by the National Trust and open to the public.
When, in March 1879 a serious fire destroyed much of Clumber House, the 7th Duke of Newcastle had it magnificently rebuilt to designs by the younger Charles Barry.
This house was demolished in 1938. Charles Boot of Henry Boot Construction, was contracted to do the demolition and he removed a vast array of statues, facades and fountains to his Derbyshire home, Thornbridge Hall, although the bulk were lost to private buyers through auction. However, many features remain, including an outstanding Gothic Revival Chapel built by the 7th Duke of Newcastle, and walled kitchen garden with glass houses.
Clumber Park is over 3,800 acres (15 km²) in extent, including woods, open heath and rolling farmland. It contains a superb, 87 acre (352,000 m²), serpentine lake, and the longest double avenue of lime trees in Europe (pictured). The avenue extends over three miles (5 km), and was created by the 5th Duke of Newcastle in the 19th Century.
The park is an excellent place for long walks and also has cycle hire available next to the car park adjacent to the chapel. A variety of bicycles are available for hire including tandems and adult tricycles.
Route 6 of the National Cycle Network passes through the park linking it to Sherwood Forest and Sherwood Pines with only a few road crossings necessary.
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This is XH124, seen on display at the RAF Museum London in Hendon in 1984. Lack of maintenance in the face of British weather led to the deterioration of the airframe and it was scrapped in 1989.
The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.
Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.
In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.
The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.
In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.
Scanned from a negative.
June 28, 2011: Croome Park, Worcestershire, England
Croome is an 18th century landscape park, garden and mansion house in south Worcestershire. Under the guidance of George William, the 6th Earl of Coventry, Croome was designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown with some features by Robert Adam. Croome Park has a man made lake and river, statues, temples and other "eye-catcher" buildings and facades with the Court as the central focus.
The house is a Grade II* listed building now used as offices. The original house was built between 1765 and 1770, the architect being John Wood the Younger, for Sir Caesar Hawkins who was Serjeant-Surgeon to Kings George II and George III. Sir Caesar commissioned Capability Brown to lay out the park, which is also Grade II* listed, in 1767-68. The house stands overlooking the A4 road, River Avon and railway between Bath and Bristol. The bridge in the bottom left carried the Midland Railway from Bath (Green Park) to Bristol and is now a permissive path.
CORAL SEA (July 21, 2021) An F-35B Lightning fighter aircraft from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21. Talisman Sabre 21, the ninth iteration and conducted since 2005, occurs biennially across Northern Australia. Australian, U.S. and other multinational partner forces use Talisman Sabre to enhance interoperability by training in complex, multi-domain operations scenarios that address the full range of Indo-Pacific security concerts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan D. Berlier)
NATO - Strategic Airlift Capability Boeing C-17A Globemaster III 03 on Static Display during the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford in 2018.
Sheffield Park Garden is an informal landscape garden five miles east of Haywards Heath, in East Sussex, England. It was originally laid out in the 18th century by Capability Brown, and further developed in the early years of the 20th century's by its then owner, Arthur Gilstrap Soames. It is now owned by the National Trust.
History[edit]
The gardens originally formed part of the estate of the adjacent Sheffield Park House, a gothic country house, which is still in private ownership. It was also firstly owned by the West Family and later by the Soames family until in 1925 the estate was sold by Arthur Granville Soames, who had inherited it from his childless uncle, Arthur Gilstrap Soames.
Sheffield Park as an estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book. In August 1538, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, entertained Henry VIII here. By 1700, the Deer Park had been partially formalised by Lord De La Warr who planted avenues of trees radiating from the house and cleared areas to establish lawns. In the late 1700s, James Wyatt remodelled the house in the fashionable Gothic style and Capability Brown was commissioned to landscape the garden. The original four lakes form the centrepiece. Humphry Repton followed Brown in 1789–1790. In 1796, the estate was sold to John Holroyd, created Baron Sheffield in 1781. It is particularly noted for its plantings of trees selected for autumn colour, including many Black Tupelos.
Rhododendron in Sheffield Park Garden
By 1885, an arboretum was being established, consisting of both exotic and native trees. After Arthur Gilstrap Soames purchased the estate in 1910, he continued large-scale planting. During World War II the house and garden became the headquarters for a Canadian armoured division, and Nissen huts were sited in the garden and woods. The estate was split up and sold in lots in 1953. The National Trust purchased approximately 40 ha in 1954, now up to 80 ha with subsequent additions. It is home to the National Collection of Ghent azaleas.
In 1876 the third Earl of Sheffield laid out a cricket pitch. It was used on 12 May 1884 for the first cricket match between England and Australia.[1] The Australian team won by an innings and 6 runs
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Harcourt Arboretum
The University of Oxford Arboretum
Acquired by the University in 1947 from the Harcourt family. It is now an integral part of the tree and plant collection of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.
The original Pinetum, which forms the core of the arboretum, was laid out by William Sawrey Gilpin in the 1830s. Gilpin was a leading promoter of the picturesque style of planting and advised the Harcourt family on the establishment and layout of the arboretum. The trees are now mature, with Giant Redwoods and Monkey-Puzzle trees in the collection.
The arboretum also contains some of the finest conifer collections in the UK all set within 130 acres of historic Capability Brown landscape. The grounds include a 10-acre typical English woodland and a 37-acre summer flowering meadow.