View allAll Photos Tagged Capability
U.S. Navy engineers from Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 133, Gulfport, Mississippi, fill in an excavated hole during an Expedient and Expeditionary Airfield Damage Repair (E-ADR) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, April 22, 2021. The demonstration field tests the “just enough, just-in-time” repair capability on a decommissioned runway at McEntire Joint National Guard Base. The Department of Defense’s E-ADR concept uses local materials and minimal personnel and equipment in order to expedite a temporary runway repair. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Lt. Col. Jim St.Clair, 169th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)
Kenworth is offering integrated battery monitoring with engine auto start and stop capability in a new option available on the company’s flagship T680 sleeper trucks. The new option is available with or without the Kenworth Idle Management System. Engine auto start monitors the starting batteries. It also monitors auxiliary batteries used with the battery-based Kenworth Idle Management System, or batteries used to power hotel loads through an inverter. When batteries get to a critical level, the Kenworth T680 automatically turns on the engine to begin battery charging.
[1]
Broadway Tower was inspired by the famous Capability Brown and completed in 1799 from designs by the renowned architect James Wyatt. It was built for the Earl of Coventry as a folly to his Springhill Estate and dedicated to his wife Peggy.
Legend has it Broadway Tower was used as a signalling tower between Springhill Estate and Croome Court near Worcester, which can be seen from the roof platform.
Many famous people have had association with Broadway Tower, including Sir Thomas Phillips and the pre-Raphaelite artists William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Rosetti.
Broadway Tower is open to the public allowing you to travel into the past of this important building and visit the viewing platform constituting the highest point in the Cotswolds at 1089 feet or 331.6 metres altitude.
[2]
Broadway Tower is a folly located 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 55 feet (17 metres) high.
The "Saxon" tower was designed by James Wyatt in 1794 to resemble a mock castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1799. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered if a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester - approximately 22 miles (35 km) away - and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. The beacon could be seen clearly.
Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillips, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s.
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. 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.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Entrance / way in.
Hulne Park, near Alnwick, Northumberland
Nature as man intended, crafted by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 18th century.
Rail ties awaiting refurbishment at Jinja, Uganda, Sept. 14, 2010.
U.S. Army photo by John Hanson
Railways, the technology that transformed Europe and America in the 19th century, may yet play a significant role in the future economic development of Uganda.
Two U.S. Army logisticians, John Hanson from U.S. Army Africa’s G-4 Programs and Policy Branch, and Lloyd Coakley, from the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s Transportation Engineering Agency, conducted a four-day assessment of Ugandan railway infrastructure Sept. 13-17 at the request of the Uganda People’s Defense Force’s Engineer Brigade.
The mission was to determine the current operational status of the Uganda railway system and its rolling stock, to assess the capability of UPDF personnel to rehabilitate the network, and to identify potential sites for training and repair operations. USARAF and SDDC were invited to contribute their expertise by Brig. Gen. Timothy Sabiiti, commander of the Uganda People’s Defense Force’s Engineer Brigade, Hanson said.
“He’s been charged with assisting in the rehabilitation of the railways. It would have a very positive economic impact, including natural resource development. It’s a five-year plan, a complete rehabilitation of the railroad. That’s why they’re doing it. It’s all civil development, but the railroad would be used by the military, too. It would enhance their mobility,” Hanson said.
Ugandan assessment team members included Engineer Murungi Daudi, Brig. Gen. George Etyang, Nakaliika Rahmat, Lt. Col. Luke Arikosi, and Engineer Kyamugambi Kasingye. Hanson, Coakley, and their Ugandan hosts, accompanied by a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, assessed the railroad stations and infrastructure in Jinja, Tororo, Mbale, Kumi, Soroti, Lira and Gulu. They also toured the Nalukolongo Railway Repair Facility in Kampala, he said.
“It’s a significant percentage of the railroad, the majority of the rail lines. We saw almost the entire rail line that has not been completely abandoned,” Hanson said.
The assessment team found the condition of the Ugandan system to vary greatly by region. The railway is still fully functional and operating in the Jinja-Tororo area, Hanson said. Tororo is the easternmost link on the line before it crosses into Kenya, heading for the coast at Mombasa.
As the team progressed north, however, damaged rails were common place, and track along the western section, from Gulu to Pakwach, is in general disrepair, a result of the area being for years under control of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
“It’s been pretty much abandoned since then,” Hanson said.
Nonetheless, the Ugandan-American team could clearly see the potential for future reconstruction.
“The Ugandan government and the UPDF are committed to returning their railway system to a fully operational status. SDDC and USARAF can assist in this effort to help build capacity, not only in Uganda, but eventually throughout the region,” Coakley said.
“It was great to partner with another Army Service Component Command on the continent,” said Hanson. “The engineers from SDDC have a lot of experience and expertise that can assist USARAF in finding solutions to the transportation and mobility issues we face throughout most of Africa.”
The railroads came to East Africa just before the turn of the 20th century, in the hey-day of European colonial expansion, and England and Germany in particular were in competition to build systems to extract the natural resources of what are today Kenya and Uganda. Beginning in the 1890s, both countries undertook mammoth engineering projects to build railroads from the Indian Ocean coast to Lake Victoria in the interior.
The development had profound economic and demographic impacts on the entire region. The influx of workers from British India to build the railways resulted in thriving Indian diaspora communities in both present day Uganda and Kenya; the growth of rail construction centers and nodes stimulated the establishment of such urban centers as Kisumu (then called Port Florence) and Nairobi, both in Kenya.
The Ugandan rail line finally reached Kampala in 1931. The northern branch, beginning in Tororo, was extended to Soroti by 1929 and reached Pakwach only in 1964.
The presently serviceable rolling stock consists of approximately 1,000 wagons and 35 diesel hydraulic locomotives, said Hanson, and though activity has been dormant in some areas for decades, and clearly in need of rehabilitation, the Ugandan system holds great promise for the future.
“SDDC has produced numerous studies on African seaports and infrastructure in the past. USARAF needs to synchronize our efforts with SDDC as they identify future locations to conduct their analyses,” Hanson said.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica
Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica
DPAC & UK Uncut protest against benefit cuts at DWP - 31.08.2012
Following their earlier joint protest that morning at the Euston headquarters of ATOS Origin - the French IT company which has sponsored the paralympics, despite its role in forcing tens of thousands of severely sick and disabled people off their life-saving benefits after declaring them "Fit for Work" following the seriously flawed Work Capability Assessment stipulated by the Dept. fo0r Work and Pensions (DWP), DPAC and UK Uncut activists descended on the Westminster headquarters of the DWP and protested outside.
Several activists managed to get inside the entrance foyer of the government building, which was the trigger for a short-but-overly-aggressive encounter with a large number of Territorial Support Group police who waded into the disabled and able-bodied protesters to force them away from the front of the building which houses the offices of Secretary for State for Work and Pensions Ian Duncan Smith and Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller.
During the quite unnecessary action against the peaceful protesters - several in wheelchairs - one disabled man was thrown out of his wheelchair to the ground, breaking his shoulder. Another man's motorised wheelchair was broken in the fracas, and one man was arrested.
Some of the protesters managed to speak to Maria Miller, MP, and told her to her facve how much misery and human despair her department's policies of demonisation of the disabled - portraying them publicly as workshy scroungers and benefits cheats, even though Disability Benefit fraud is extremely small, only 0.4% of the overall benefits budget, despite frequent, outrageous lies peddled by the DWP and minister Ian Duncan Smith as it behaves no better than the German government in the years running up to World War II as they turn the public against the very weakest, most vulnerable members of the British population, blaming disabled people for the country's economic misery - cause by corrupt bankers.
All photos © 2012 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or reblog my images without my written permission.
Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application
Media buyers should email me directly or view this story on <a href="http://www.demotix.com/users/pete-riches/profile.
Standard NUJ rates apply.
A ceremony to commemorate the production, handover and acceptance of the first group of Mobile Surveillance Capability vehicles for enhanced situational awareness along our Nation's borders with Office of Border Patrol and FLIR Systems inc. photo by James Tourtellotte
A ceremony to commemorate the production, handover and acceptance of the first group of Mobile Surveillance Capability vehicles for enhanced situational awareness along our Nation's borders with Office of Border Patrol and the FLIR Systems Inc. photo by James Tourtellotte
A cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is one of several trenchless rehabilitation methods used to repair existing pipelines. CIPP is a jointless, seamless, pipe-within-a-pipe with the capability to rehabilitate pipes ranging in diameter from 0.1–2.8 meter (4"–110").
Roche Abbey, near Maltby, showing the late twelfth century eastern gable of the Cistercian foundation's abbey church. The secluded site, partially landscaped by 'Capability' Brown during the 1700s, is in the care of English Heritage.
From the sand dunes of Essaouira to the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, the all-new Range Rover demonstrates its full breadth of capability in Morocco.
The house was built in the 1750s for the Coventry family and designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and assisted by Sanderson Miller. Much of the interior work was undertaken by Robert Adam. Brown also landscaped the grounds and designed the estate church.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Entrance / way in.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Entrance / way in.
One last look at the exterior. With tea room on right.
Joint capability demonstration.
Trident Juncture 2018 is NATO’s largest exercise in many years, bringing together around 50,000 personnel from all 29 Allies, plus partners Finland and Sweden. Around 65 vessels, 250 aircraft and 10,000 vehicles will participate.
Harewood House, near Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Harewood House is a Grade 1 Country House near Leeds in West Yorkshire.
It was designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam and built between 1759 and 1771 for wealthy plantation and slave owner Edwin Lascelles - the 1st Baron Harewood, and is still home to the Lascelles family.
The 1000 acre grounds were designed by Capability Brown.
The house is one of the ten 'Treasure Houses of England'.
[1]
Broadway Tower was inspired by the famous Capability Brown and completed in 1799 from designs by the renowned architect James Wyatt. It was built for the Earl of Coventry as a folly to his Springhill Estate and dedicated to his wife Peggy.
Legend has it Broadway Tower was used as a signalling tower between Springhill Estate and Croome Court near Worcester, which can be seen from the roof platform.
Many famous people have had association with Broadway Tower, including Sir Thomas Phillips and the pre-Raphaelite artists William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Rosetti.
Broadway Tower is open to the public allowing you to travel into the past of this important building and visit the viewing platform constituting the highest point in the Cotswolds at 1089 feet or 331.6 metres altitude.
[2]
Broadway Tower is a folly located 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 55 feet (17 metres) high.
The "Saxon" tower was designed by James Wyatt in 1794 to resemble a mock castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1799. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered if a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester - approximately 22 miles (35 km) away - and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. The beacon could be seen clearly.
Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillips, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s.
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. 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.
Wildcat Industry Day/Evening. Picture: LA(Phot) Abbie Herron
Wildcat fielding team host various members of the Armed Forces and Civilian Industries to introduce the new Wildcat aircraft. The Wildcat will eventually replace the current Lynx helicopter.
Various stances of equipment and capability were presented to the guests to show off what the Wildcat can do. Two aircraft landed on outside the hangar to show the aircraft in action.
Joint capability demonstration.
Trident Juncture 2018 is NATO’s largest exercise in many years, bringing together around 50,000 personnel from all 29 Allies, plus partners Finland and Sweden. Around 65 vessels, 250 aircraft and 10,000 vehicles will participate.
One of my favourite views of Croome landscape Park and Court in the beautiful county of Worcestershire.
Capability Brown was born on this day in 1715.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).
Talk to any Gainsborough oldtimer - someone like me - or, in fact, any Gainsborough native older than about 40, and they will doubtless be able to regale you with tales of derring-do as they shot down the steep pedestrian Pingle Hill on pushbikes, soap-box trolleys or even on roller skates: down the hill, and through this bridge that carries the railway line over the path. You got up to a fair old lick, I can tell you, and no matter how many times you did it, you always ducked as you sped into this tunnel - the height is only about seven feet, and on a bike your head felt very vulnerable!
To the relief, no doubt, of passing pedestrians and anxious parents, such shenanigans are sadly now longer available to the youth of today - in the early 1980s, Pingle Hill was cut drastically short, so that the end of the road came just beyond the tunnel - by then, your intrepid cyclist would be travelling at speeds far beyond the capability of his brakes to stop without the (many years gone) safe run-out of former years.
Camera: Nikon F5
Lens: Nikkor 28-80mm Zoom
Film: Kodak TMax 100 Developed in D-76
Epson V600 scan
A visit to Charlecote Park for an afternoon visit to this National Trust property in Warwickshire. Near Stratford-upon-Avon. A deer park with a country house in the middle of it.
Charlecote Park (grid reference SP263564) is a grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles (6 km) east of Stratford-upon-Avon and 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Lucy family owned the land since 1247. Charlecote Park was built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy, and Queen Elizabeth I stayed in the room that is now the drawing room. Although the general outline of the Elizabethan house remains, nowadays it is in fact mostly Victorian. Successive generations of the Lucy family had modified Charlecote Park over the centuries, but in 1823, George Hammond Lucy (High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1831) inherited the house and set about recreating the house in its original style.
Charlecote Park covers 185 acres (75 ha), backing on to the River Avon. William Shakespeare has been alleged to have poached rabbits and deer in the park as a young man and been brought before magistrates as a result.
From 1605 to 1640 the house was organised by Sir Thomas Lucy. He had twelve children with Lady Alice Lucy who ran the house after he died. She was known for her piety and distributing alms to the poor each Christmas. Her eldest three sons inherited the house in turn and it then fell to her grandchild Sir Davenport Lucy.
In the Tudor great hall, the 1680 painting Charlecote Park by Sir Godfrey Kneller, is said to be one of the earliest depictions of a black presence in the West Midlands (excluding Roman legionnaires). The painting, of Captain Thomas Lucy, shows a black boy in the background dressed in a blue livery coat and red stockings and wearing a gleaming, metal collar around his neck. The National Trust's Charlecote brochure describes the boy as a "black page boy". In 1735 a black child called Philip Lucy was baptised at Charlecote.
The lands immediately adjoining the house were further landscaped by Capability Brown in about 1760. This resulted in Charlecote becoming a hostelry destination for notable tourists to Stratford from the late 17th to mid-18th century, including Washington Irving (1818), Sir Walter Scott (1828) and Nathaniel Hawthorn (c 1850).
Charlecote was inherited in 1823 by George Hammond Lucy (d 1845), who married Mary Elizabeth Williams of Bodelwyddan Castle, from who's extensive diaries the current "behind the scenes of Victorian Charlecote" are based upon. GH Lucy's second son Henry inherited the estate from his elder brother in 1847. After the deaths of both Mary Elizabeth and Henry in 1890, the house was rented out by Henry's eldest daughter and heiress, Ada Christina (d 1943). She had married Sir Henry Ramsay-Fairfax, (d 1944), a line of the Fairfax Baronets, who on marriage assumed the name Fairfax-Lucy.
From this point onwards, the family began selling off parts of the outlying estate to fund their extensive lifestyle, and post-World War II in 1946, Sir Montgomerie Fairfax-Lucy, who had inherited the residual estate from his mother Ada, presented Charlecote to the National Trust in-lieu of death duties. Sir Montgomerie was succeeded in 1965 by his brother, Sir Brian, whose wife, Lady Alice, researched the history of Charlecote, and assisted the National Trust with the restoration of the house.
Charlecote Park House is a Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
CHARLECOTE
SP2556 CHARLECOTE PARK
1901-1/10/19 Charlecote Park
06/02/52
(Formerly Listed as:
Charlecote Park House)
GV I
Formerly known as: Charlecote Hall.
Country house. Begun 1558; extended C19. Partly restored and
extended, including east range, 1829-34 by CS Smith;
north-east wing rebuilt and south wing extended 1847-67 by
John Gibson. For George and Mary Elizabeth Lucy.
MATERIALS: brick, that remaining from original building has
diapering in vitrified headers, but much has been replaced in
C19; ashlar dressings; tile roof with brick stacks with
octagonal ashlar shafts and caps.
PLAN: U-plan facing east, with later west range and south
wing.
EXTERIOR: east entrance front of 2 storeys with attic;
3-window range with long gabled projecting wings. Ashlar
plinth, continuous drip courses and coped gables with finials,
sections of strapwork balustrading between gables; quoins.
2-storey ashlar porch has round-headed entrance with flanking
pairs of Ionic pilasters and entablature, round-headed
entrance has panelled jambs, impost course and arch with lion
mask to key and 2 voussoirs, strapwork spandrels and stained
glass to fanlight over paired 4-panel doors; first floor has
Arms of Elizabeth I below projecting ovolo-moulded
cross-mullion window, with flanking pairs of Composite
detached columns; top balustrade with symmetrical balusters
supports Catherine wheel and heraldic beasts holding spears;
original diapered brick to returns.
3-light mullioned and transomed window to each floor to left,
that to first floor with strapwork apron. Large canted bay
window to right of 1:3:1 transomed lights with pierced
rosettes to parapet modelled on that to gatehouse (qv) and
flanked by cross-mullioned windows, all with moulded reveals
and small-paned sashes; C19 gables have 3-light
ovolo-mullioned windows with leaded glazing.
Wings similar, with 2 gables to 5-window inner returns,
ovolo-moulded cross-mullioned windows. Wing to south has much
diaper brickwork and stair window with strapwork apron.
East gable ends have 2-storey canted bay windows dated 1852 to
strapwork panels with Lucy Arms between 1:3:1-light transomed
windows; 3-light attic windows, that to north has patch of
reconstructed diaper brickwork to left.
Octagonal stair turrets to outer angles with 2-light windows,
top entablatures and ogival caps with wind vanes, that to
south mostly original, that to north with round-headed
entrance with enriched key block over studded plank door.
North side has turret to each end, that to west is wholly C19;
3 gables with external stacks with clustered shafts between;
cross-mullioned windows and 3-light transomed stair window on
strapwork apron; 2-light single-chamfered mullioned windows to
turrets.
Single-storey east range of blue brick has 2 bay windows with
octagonal pinnacles with pepper-pot finials and arcaded
balustrades over 1:4:1-light transomed windows; central panel
with Lucy Arms in strapwork setting has date 1833; coped
parapet with 3 gables with lights; returns similar with
3-light transomed windows.
Range behind has 3 renewed central gables and 2 lateral stacks
each with 6 shafts; gable to each end, that to south over
Tudor-arched verandah with arcaded balustrade to central arch
and above, entrance behind arch to left with half-glazed door,
blocked arch to right; first floor with cross-mullioned window
and blocked window, turret to right is wholly C19. South
return has cross-mullioned window to each floor and external
stack with clustered shafts.
South-west wing of 2 storeys; west side is a 7-window range;
recessed block to north end has window to each floor, the next
4 windows between octagonal pinnacles; gabled end breaks
forward under gable with turret to angle; rosette balustrade;
stacks have diagonal brick shafts, gable has lozenge with Lucy
Arms impaling Williams Arms (for Mary Elizabeth Lucy).
Cross-mullioned windows, but 2 southern ground-floor windows
are 3-light and transomed.
South end 4-window range between turrets has cross-mullioned
windows, but each end of first floor has bracketed oriel with
strapwork apron with Lucy/Williams Arms in lozenge and dated
1866, rosette balustrade with to each end a gable with 2-light
single-chamfered mullioned window with label, and 3 similar
windows to each turret, one to each floor.
East side has 3-window range with recessed range to right.
South end has Tudor-arched entrance and 3-light transomed
window, cross-mullioned window and 3-light transomed window to
first floor and gable with lozenge to south end; gable to
full-height kitchen to north has octagonal pinnacles flanking
4-light transomed window and gable above with square panel
with Lucy/Williams Arms to shield; recessed part to north has
loggia with entrance and flanking windows, to left a
single-storey re-entrant block with cross-mullioned windows;
first floor has 5 small sashed windows. South side of
south-east wing has varied brickwork with mullioned and
transomed windows, 2 external stacks and 2 gables with 3-light
windows.
INTERIOR: great hall remodelled by Willement with wood-grained
plaster ceiling with 4-centred ribs and Tudor rose bosses;
armorial glass attributed to Eiffler, restored and extended by
Willement; wainscoting and panelled doors; ashlar fireplace
with paired reeded pilasters and strapwork to entablature, and
fire-dogs; white and pink marble floor, Italian, 1845.
Dining room and library in west wing have rich wood panelling
by JM Willcox of Warwick and strapwork cornices, and strapwork
ceilings with pendants; wallpaper by Willement; dining room
has richly carved buffet, 1858, by Willcox and simple coloured
marble fireplace, the latter with bookshelves and fireplace
with paired pilasters and motto to frieze of fireplace, paired
columns and strapwork frieze to overmantel with armorial
bearings; painted arabesques to shutter backs.
Main staircase, c1700, but probably extensively reconstructed
in C19, open-well with cut string, 3 twisted balusters to a
tread, carved tread ends and ramped handrail;
bolection-moulded panelling in 2 heights, the upper panels and
panelled ceiling probably C19.
Morning room to south of hall has Willement decoration: white
marble Tudor-arched fireplace with cusped panels; plaster
ceiling with bands.
Ebony bedroom, originally billiard room, and drawing room to
north-east wing have 1856 scheme with cornices and
Jacobean-style plaster ceilings; white marble C18-style
fireplaces, that to Ebony Bedroom with Italian inserts with
Lucy crest. Drawing room has gilded and painted cornice and
ceiling, and large pier glasses.
Rooms to first floor originally guest bedrooms: doors with
egg-and-dart and eared architraves; C18-style fireplaces, that
to end room, originally Ebony Bedroom, has wood Rococo-style
fireplace with Chinoiserie panel; 1950s stair to attic.
South-east wing has c1700 stair, probably altered in C19, with
symmetrical balusters with acanthus, closed string; first
floor has wall and ceiling paintings: land and sea battle
scenes painted on canvas, male and female grisaille busts.
First floor has to west the Green Room, with Willement
wallpaper and simple Tudor-arched fireplace with
wallpaper-covered chimney board; adjacent room has marble
fireplace.
Death Room and its dressing room to east end have wallpaper of
gold motifs on white, painted 6-panel doors and architraves,
papier-mache ceilings; bedroom has fireplace with marble
architrave. Adjacent room has bolection-moulded panelling with
c1700 Dutch embossed leather. Stair to attic has c1700
balusters with club-form on acorn. Attics over great hall and
north-east and south-east wings have lime-ash floors and
servants' rooms, each with small annex and corner fireplace;
some bells.
South wing has kitchen with high ceiling and 2
segmental-arched recesses for C19 ranges; Tudor-arched recess
with latticed chamber for smoked meats over door.
Servants' hall has dark marble bolection-moulded fireplace and
cornice; scullery has bread oven, small range, pump and former
south window retaining glass.
First floor has to south end a pair of rooms added for Mary
Elizabeth Lucy in her widowhood; bedroom to east with deep
coved cornice and Adam-style fireplace, sitting room to west
similar, with gold on white wallpaper, white marble fireplace
with painted glass armorial panels and 1830s-40s carpet; door
to spiral timber turret staircase.
Nursery has fireplace with faceted panels and C19 Delft tiles;
probably 1920s wallpaper.
Other rooms with similar fireplaces and coloured glazed tiles.
While dating back to the C16, the house is one of the best
examples of the early C19 Elizabethan Revival style. Property
of National Trust.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner, N & Wedgwood, A:
Warwickshire: Harmondsworth: 1966-: 227-9; The National Trust
Guide to Charlecote Park: 1991-; Wainwright C: The Romantic
Interior).
Listing NGR: SP2590656425
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
A look around the inside of the house / hall.
Downstairs rooms.
Dining Room
stained glass window
All-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade: Most Capable Small SUV Expands the Brand's Global Portfolio
- All-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade marks the brand's first entry in the small SUV segment
- Renegade Trailhawk model delivers best-in-class 4x4 Trail Rated capability with class-exclusive Jeep Active Drive Low, which includes 20:1 crawl ratio and Jeep Selec-Terrain system
- Designed to expand the Jeep brand globally, the all-new 2015 Renegade combines the brand's heritage with fresh new styling to appeal to youthful and adventurous customers
- Nothing else like it: Renegade displays a powerful stance with aggressive wheel-to- body proportions, plus the freedom of two My Sky open-air roof systems
- Renegade's all-new interior exudes an energetic appearance with rugged and functional details, crafted in high-quality materials and inspired colors
- All-new "small-wide 4x4 architecture" combines best-in-class off-road capability with world-class on-road driving dynamics
- Designed for global markets – with 16 fuel-efficient powertrain combinations for different markets around the world – including the world's first nine-speed automatic transmission in a small SUV
- Renegade will offer a best-in-class combination of fuel efficiency and off-road capability
- Technology once limited to premium SUVs: award-winning Uconnect Access, Uconnect touchscreen radios and the segment's largest full-color instrument cluster
- Loaded with up to 70 available advanced safety and security features
- Designed in America, crafted in Italy, the 2015 Renegade highlights the Jeep brand's global resources and dedication to meeting customer needs in more than 100 countries
The all-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade expands the brand's global vehicle lineup, entering the growing small SUV segment, while staying true to the adventurous lifestyle Jeep is known for. Renegade delivers a unique combination of best-in-class off-road capability, open-air freedom and convenience, a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission that contributes to outstanding on- road and off-road driving dynamics, fuel-efficient engines, world-class refinement, and a host of innovative safety and advanced technology offerings. The result is an efficient vehicle created to attract youthful and adventurous customers around the world to the Jeep brand.
The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade expands the brand's product portfolio and targets the rapidly expanding small SUV segment around the globe with benchmark levels of efficiency and driving dynamics, while at the same time delivering best-in-class 4x4 capability that customers expect from Jeep,‖ said Mike Manley, President and CEO - Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. ―Renegade symbolizes the brand's renowned American design, ingenuity and innovation, marking the Jeep brand's first entry into the small SUV segment in more than 100 markets around the globe.
Best-in-class off-road capability thanks to two all-new 4x4 systems
Leveraging 4x4 technology from the all-new Jeep Cherokee, the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade offers two of the most advanced and intelligent 4x4 systems in its class, all to deliver best-in-class off-road capability. Both systems can provide up to 100 percent of the engine's available torque to the ground, through any wheel, for optimal grip.
- Jeep Active Drive – full-time 4x4 system
- Jeep Active Drive Low – class-exclusive full-time 4x4 system with 20:1 crawl ratio
Innovation is also at the forefront of any new Jeep vehicle, and the Renegade is the first small SUV to feature a disconnecting rear axle and power take-off unit (PTU) – all to provide Jeep Renegade 4x4 models with enhanced fuel economy. The system instantly engages when 4x4 traction is needed.
Both Jeep Active Drive and Active Drive Low 4x4 systems include the Jeep Selec-Terrain system, providing up to five modes (Auto, Snow, Sand and Mud modes, plus exclusive Rock mode on the Trailhawk model) for the best four-wheel-drive performance on- or off-road and in any weather condition.
Trail Rated: Renegade Trailhawk 4x4 model
For customers who demand the most off-road capability from their Jeep vehicles, the Renegade Trailhawk model delivers best-in-class Trail Rated 4x4 capability with:
- Standard Jeep Active Drive Low (20:1 crawl ratio)
- Selec-Terrain system with exclusive Rock mode
- Increased ride height 20 mm (0.8 inches)
- Skid plates, and red front and rear tow hooks
- Unique fascias deliver 30.5 degree approach, 25.7 degree breakover and 34.3 degree departure angles
- 17-inch all-terrain tires
- Up to 205 mm (8.1 inches) of wheel articulation
- Hill-descent Control
- Up to 480 mm (19 inches) of water fording
- Up to 1,500 kg (3,300-lb.) towing capability with MultiJet II diesel engine and 907 kg (2,000- lb.) towing capability with 2.4-liter Tigershark engine, with available tow package
A global Jeep design for a rapidly growing global brand
From the start, Jeep designers knew the Renegade would need to deliver best-in-class off-road capability with city-sized proportions that exuded the brand's rugged style while at the same time enhancing versatility, maneuverability and style. Additionally designers were tasked to create an all- new SUV that would symbolize the brand's renowned American design and ingenuity, as it would mark the Jeep brand's first entry into the small SUV segment in more than 100 markets around the globe. Last, Renegade had to offer the open-air freedom that dates back to its 1941 roots with the Willys MB Jeep.
The result is the all-new 2015 Renegade, a vehicle that builds on the Jeep Wrangler's powerful stance, and features fresh new styling with rugged body forms and aggressive proportions that enable best-in-class approach and departure angles purposely designed to deliver best-in-class off- road capability. And for segment-exclusive panoramic views, two available My Sky open-air roof panel systems conveniently stow to provide passengers open-air freedom with ease.
All-new interior exudes a rugged and energetic appearance
The all-new Jeep Renegade interior features a rugged and energetic appearance that builds upon Jeep's legendary brand heritage. Its precisely crafted detail, innovative and high-quality color and material appointments, state-of-the-art technology, and clever storage features draw inspiration from contemporary extreme sports gear and lifestyles.
The interior of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade has a distinctive form language which Jeep designers have titled ―Tek-Tonic.‖ This new design theme is defined by the intersections of soft and tactile forms with rugged and functional details. Major surfaces such as the sculpted soft-touch instrument panel are intersected with bold functional elements like the passenger grab handle – indispensable for off-road adventures and borrowed from its big brother, the legendary Jeep Wrangler. Unique ―protective clamp fasteners,‖ anodized design accents and inspired colors are derived from extreme sports equipment, while the newly familiar ―X‖ shapes inspired by its roof and tail lamps add to Renegade's Tek-Tonic interior look. And to make sure all of the needed passenger gear fits, the Renegade is designed with an efficient and flexible interior package that includes a removable, reversible and height-adjustable cargo floor panel and fold-forward front-passenger seat.
My Sky: continuing Jeep open-air freedom since 1941
Keeping the tradition of the legendary 1941 Willys MB Jeep, the all-new 2015 Renegade offers open-air freedom with two available My Sky open-air roof systems. With a manual removable, or removable with premium power tilt/slide feature, the segment-exclusive My Sky roof-panel systems quickly bring the outdoors inside. Designed for convenience, the honeycomb fiberglass polyurethane roof panels are lightweight and stow neatly in the rear cargo area. For added design detail, both My Sky roof systems feature a debossed ―X‖ stamped into the roof that exude strength and play on the brand's utilitarian history.
Best-in-class off-road capability with world-class on-road driving dynamics
Designed and engineered to first and foremost deliver legendary Jeep 4x4 capability, the all-new 2015 Renegade is the first small SUV from Chrysler Group to use the all-new ―small-wide 4x4 architecture.‖
With its fully independent suspension capable of up to 205 mm (8.1 inches) of wheel articulation and 220 mm (8.7 inches) of ground clearance (Trailhawk), Renegade raises the bar in the small SUV segment with best-in-class off-road capability. Extensive use of advanced steels, composites and advanced computer-impact simulations enable the all-new 2015 Renegade's architecture to deliver world-class torsional stiffness and Jeep brand's durability required for Trail Rated adventures.
The all-new Renegade is the first Jeep to integrate Koni's frequency selective damping (FSD) front and rear strut system. This damping system enables the Jeep Renegade to deliver world-class road-holding and handling characteristics.
Designed for global markets: 16 powertrain combinations
True to the Jeep brand, the all-new Renegade will offer customers in global markets maximum off- road capability and fuel efficiency. The Renegade will offer up to 16 strategic powertrain combinations – the most ever in a Jeep vehicle – customized to markets around the world to meet a range of performance and efficiency needs. Powertrain options include:
- Four MultiAir gasoline engine offerings
- Two MultiJet II diesel engine offerings
- Efficient and flex-fuel capable E.torQ engine
- Emissions and fuel-saving Stop&Start technology
- Segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission
- Two manual and one dual-dry clutch transmission (DDCT) offerings
World's first small SUV with nine-speed automatic transmission
Like the new Jeep Cherokee, the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade has raised the bar - this time in the small SUV class - with the first available nine-speed automatic transmission. When paired with either the 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel engine, or 2.4-liter MultiAir2 gas engine, the nine-speed transmission delivers numerous benefits customers will appreciate, including aggressive launches, smooth power delivery at highway speeds and improved fuel efficiency versus a six-speed automatic transmission.
Segment-exclusive technologies once found only on higher classed SUVs
The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade offers technology features once found only in upper-segment vehicles, and makes them attainable to customers in the growing small SUV segment – including award-winning Uconnect Access, Uconnect touchscreens and the segment's largest full-color instrument cluster.
- Uconnect Access: Utilizes embedded cellular technology to allow Jeep Renegade occupants to get directly in contact with local emergency-service dispatchers – all with the push of the 9-1-1 Assist button on the rearview mirror. Uconnect Access applies the same logic to roadside assistance. One push of the ―ASSIST‖ button summons help directly from Chrysler Group's roadside assistance provider, or the Vehicle Customer Care Center. Further peace of mind comes from the system's ability to receive text messages, announce receipt of texts, identify senders and then ―read‖ the messages aloud with Bluetooth-equipped cell phones. AOL Autos named Uconnect Access its ―Technology of the Year for 2013.‖ (Uconnect services may vary in different markets)
- Uconnect touchscreen radio systems: Award-winning in-vehicle handsfree communication, entertainment and available navigation. Key features available on the Uconnect 5.0 and 6.5AN systems include a 5.0-inch or 6.5-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth connectivity, single or dual-turner, radio data system capability (RDS), digital audio broadcast (DAB), HD Radio, digital media broadcasting (DMB), SiriusXM Radio, SiriusXM Travel Link, SiriusXM Travel Link, USB port and auxiliary audio jack input. (Uconnect services may vary in different markets)
- Segment's largest full-color instrument cluster display: Filling the Jeep Renegade's gauge cluster in front of the driver is an available 7-inch, full-color, premium multiview display, featuring a reconfigurable function that enables drivers to personalize information inside the instrument cluster. The information display is designed to visually communicate information, using graphics and text, quickly and easily.
Renegade features up to 70 advanced safety and security features
Safety and security were at the forefront in the development of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, setting the stage for up to 70 available safety and security features – including the availability of Forward Collision Warning-Plus and LaneSense Departure Warning-Plus.
In addition, engineers added both active and passive safety and security features, including Blind- spot Monitoring; Rear Cross Path detection; ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic grid lines; electronic stability control (ESC) with electronic roll mitigation and seven standard air bags.
Jeep brand's global resources
Designed in America and crafted in Italy, the 2015 Renegade continues the Jeep brand's dedication to the global marketplace and demonstrates the depths of its available resources. The final assembly location for the Renegade will be at the Melfi Assembly Plant. The Renegade's global portfolio of powertrain production includes the United States, Italy and Brazil.
A visit to Charlecote Park for an afternoon visit to this National Trust property in Warwickshire. Near Stratford-upon-Avon. A deer park with a country house in the middle of it.
Charlecote Park (grid reference SP263564) is a grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles (6 km) east of Stratford-upon-Avon and 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Lucy family owned the land since 1247. Charlecote Park was built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy, and Queen Elizabeth I stayed in the room that is now the drawing room. Although the general outline of the Elizabethan house remains, nowadays it is in fact mostly Victorian. Successive generations of the Lucy family had modified Charlecote Park over the centuries, but in 1823, George Hammond Lucy (High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1831) inherited the house and set about recreating the house in its original style.
Charlecote Park covers 185 acres (75 ha), backing on to the River Avon. William Shakespeare has been alleged to have poached rabbits and deer in the park as a young man and been brought before magistrates as a result.
From 1605 to 1640 the house was organised by Sir Thomas Lucy. He had twelve children with Lady Alice Lucy who ran the house after he died. She was known for her piety and distributing alms to the poor each Christmas. Her eldest three sons inherited the house in turn and it then fell to her grandchild Sir Davenport Lucy.
In the Tudor great hall, the 1680 painting Charlecote Park by Sir Godfrey Kneller, is said to be one of the earliest depictions of a black presence in the West Midlands (excluding Roman legionnaires). The painting, of Captain Thomas Lucy, shows a black boy in the background dressed in a blue livery coat and red stockings and wearing a gleaming, metal collar around his neck. The National Trust's Charlecote brochure describes the boy as a "black page boy". In 1735 a black child called Philip Lucy was baptised at Charlecote.
The lands immediately adjoining the house were further landscaped by Capability Brown in about 1760. This resulted in Charlecote becoming a hostelry destination for notable tourists to Stratford from the late 17th to mid-18th century, including Washington Irving (1818), Sir Walter Scott (1828) and Nathaniel Hawthorn (c 1850).
Charlecote was inherited in 1823 by George Hammond Lucy (d 1845), who married Mary Elizabeth Williams of Bodelwyddan Castle, from who's extensive diaries the current "behind the scenes of Victorian Charlecote" are based upon. GH Lucy's second son Henry inherited the estate from his elder brother in 1847. After the deaths of both Mary Elizabeth and Henry in 1890, the house was rented out by Henry's eldest daughter and heiress, Ada Christina (d 1943). She had married Sir Henry Ramsay-Fairfax, (d 1944), a line of the Fairfax Baronets, who on marriage assumed the name Fairfax-Lucy.
From this point onwards, the family began selling off parts of the outlying estate to fund their extensive lifestyle, and post-World War II in 1946, Sir Montgomerie Fairfax-Lucy, who had inherited the residual estate from his mother Ada, presented Charlecote to the National Trust in-lieu of death duties. Sir Montgomerie was succeeded in 1965 by his brother, Sir Brian, whose wife, Lady Alice, researched the history of Charlecote, and assisted the National Trust with the restoration of the house.
Laundry and Brewhouse and Stables and Coach House.
Also Tack Room & Second-Hand Book Shop.
Grade I Listed Building
Laundry and Brewhouse and Stables and Coach House Immediately South of Charlecote Park
Listing Text
CHARLECOTE
SP2556 CHARLECOTE PARK
1901-1/10/25 Laundry, brewhouse, stables and
05/04/67 coach house immediately S of
Charlecote Park
(Formerly Listed as:
Outbuildings at Charlecote Park)
GV I
Laundry, brewhouse, coach house, stables and deer
slaughterhouse. Laundry and brewhouse: C16 with later
restoration. Brick laid to English bond with limestone
dressings and high plinth; steeply pitched old tile roof with
octagonal brick ridge and internal stacks. L-plan.
Stables: C16 with early C19 cladding and interior alterations.
Brick laid to Flemish bond with diaper pattern in vitrified
headers; old tile roof.
EXTERIOR: laundry/brewhouse wing: south side of 2 storeys plus
attic; 5-window range; 2 cross-gables. To right, 2 entrances
have 4-centred heads and plank doors and flank 2 C19
round-headed coach entrances with keystones and paired doors.
Double-chamfered mullioned windows of 2, 3 or 8 lights with
leaded glazing. Left end has entrance to brewhouse and blocked
windows. Lead rainwater goods.
Slaughterhouse for deer attached to east end; gabled
single-storey structure with modillioned brick cornice; north
entrance has grille to overlight and to south an entrance and
2-light window.
Stables: 2 storeys; 8-window range with cross-wing and cupola
to left of centre. Moulded stone plinth and first-floor drip
course; stone-coped brick parapet. Wing breaks forward with
coped gable; elliptical-arched carriageway with moulded
responds and arch and groin vault; oriel has 1:2:1-light
transomed windows over panels (central panel has Lucy Arms)
and pierced parapet copied from gatehouse (qv).
Ground floor to left of wing: 2 coach house entrances as above
and entrance with single-chamfered Tudor arch with label mould
and fanlight to paired panelled doors and a 3-light
ovolo-mullioned window with 4/4 sashes to right. To right of
wing: 2 similar stable entrances but with plank doors each
with similar window to left.
First floor has 2-light double-chamfered mullioned windows
with decorative leaded glazing and returns to drip, 3 to left
and 4 to right. South end similar, with 3-light windows.
Rear has plain arch to carriageway with 2-light window above
and small stack; to left of wing C16 brick to ground floor
with C19 brick corbelled out above; to right some C16 diapered
brick with ashlar opening to 8/8 sash and attached loose-box
block with stone-coped parapet over 3 Tudor-headed entrances
with overlights to plank doors; coped gable with finial;
attached brick gate pier with plank gate; 2 loose boxes in
gabled rear range.
INTERIOR: brewhouse has mostly C18 brewing equipment, water
pumps, coppers and stalls. Laundry has hearth and coppers; 3
segmental-headed recesses to one wall; slaughterhouse has
channels to brick/flag floor and a hoist.
Stables: full-height tack room has fittings including gallery
to 3 sides and bolection-moulded fireplace; stables to south
have stop-chamfered beams and posts; stable and loose-box
partitions; loft above has wall posts supporting 5 trusses
with braced tie beams, collars and struts, that to north with
lath and plaster infill, one with plank partition; double
purlins, wind braces and riven rafters.
The brewhouse is a particularly interesting survival complete
with equipment; the deer slaughterhouse is a rare example of
its kind.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner, N & Wedgwood, A:
Warwickshire: Harmondsworth: 1966-: 228-9; Charlecote Park:
guidebook: 1991-: 38-44).
Listing NGR: SP2594556378
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
Brewhouse
Knifefish is a medium-class Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Knifefish UUV provides the mine warfare commander with enhanced mine-hunting capability by detecting, classifying and identifying both buried mines and mines in high clutter environments. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Brooks/RELEASED)
From the sand dunes of Essaouira to the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, the all-new Range Rover demonstrates its full breadth of capability in Morocco.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Medallions portrait busts on the wall.
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.
Stowe House Gardens, Buckingham. A dramatic sky over the surrounding fields to Stowe Gardens
The Gardens were designed by Charles Bridgeman, William Kent and Capability Brown over a period from 1711 to 1751. They are now in the care of the National Trust.
Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England - Stowe Landscape Gardens
September 2021
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
Cuba-born and New York-based saxophonist and clarinet player Paquito D'Rivera has balanced a career in Latin jazz with commissions as a classical composer and appearances with symphony orchestras. Classical New Jersey wrote, "whether playing Bach or post-bop, D'Rivera's mastery of the instruments and [his] expressive capability is unquestionable." D'Rivera inherited his understanding of music from his father, Tito, a classical saxophonist and conductor. At the age of five, he began being tutored in musical theory by his father. Within a year, he was playing well enough to be paid as a musician. By the age of seven, he became the youngest musician to endorse a musical instrument (Selmer saxophones). Three years later, he performed with the National Theater Orchestra of Havana. Although he initially played soprano saxophone, D'Rivera switched to the alto after teaching himself to play via the book Jimmy Dorsey Saxophone Method: A School of Rhythmic Saxophone Playing. Strengthening his knowledge of music and playing techniques, D'Rivera began studying at the Havana Conservatory of Music in 1960. In 1965, he became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. After playing with the Cuban Army Band, he joined pianist Chu Chu Valdez to found the Orchestra Cubana de Musica Moderna, and served as the band's conductor for two years. In 1973, he joined eight members of the Orchestra Cubana de Musica Moderna to form Irakere. The group, which fused jazz, rock, classical, and traditional Cuban music, became the first post-Castro Cuban group to sign with an American record label. Along with the band, D'Rivera toured the world and Irakere became a top-rated jazz ensemble. In 1979, the group joined American jazz and rock performers for a music festival, Havana Jam, that was recorded and released the following year. In 1981, D'Rivera defected from Cuba and moved to the United States. Before long, he was playing with such American musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, David Amram, and Mario Bauza. According to Bauza, D'Rivera is "the only musician I know on the scene playing the real Latin jazz, all others are playing Afro-Cuban jazz." D'Rivera's debut solo album, Blowin', released in June 1981, was followed by Mariel a year later. Time magazine wrote, "the bopped-up, romantic, salty and sensuous jazz that he makes recognizes no real political boundary. It has its roots equally in the hothouse Latin rhythms of his homeland and in the high flying horns of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Lee Konitz." In 1988, D'Rivera was invited to become a charter member of Gillespie's 15-piece all-star group, the United Nations Orchestra. The same year, he was a guest soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra for their world premier performance of Roger Kellaway's David Street Blues at the John F. Kennedy Center. He continued to be involved with a variety of projects. In addition to performing with the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band, the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet, a chamber music group, Triangulo, and a calypso and salsa band, the Caribbean Jazz Project, he began to accept commissions to compose for chamber groups and orchestras. In 1989, he composed "New York Suite" for the Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet, and five years later, he composed "Aires Tropicales" for the Aspen Wind Quintet. The piece has subsequently been performed by at least four quintets. In 1997, D'Rivera's album Portraits of Cuba received a Grammy award as "Best Latin Jazz Performance." During the summer of 1999, he collaborated with Germany's Chamber Orchestra Werneck in a series of programs, D'Rivera Meets Mozart. D'Rivera was artist-in-residence for the New Jersey Performing Arts Commission and artistic director in charge of jazz programming for the New Jersey Chamber Music Society. His autobiography, My Saxual Life, was published by the Spanish book publisher Seix Barral, along with a novel, En Tus Brazos Morenos, scheduled to follow shortly afterwards. The album Live at the Blue Note appeared in the spring of 2000, and Habanera followed in early 2001. In 2001, D'Rivera released the Clarinetist, Vol. 1, his first recording to rely exclusively on the strengths of its woodwind namesake. 2002 saw the release of Brazilian Dreams, a live recording featuring the New York Voices and trumpeter Claudio Roditi. It was followed by the swinging Big Band Time in 2003, Music of Both Worlds, Tribute to Cal Tjader and Riberas in 2004. and the Jazz Chamber Trio in 2005. ~ Craig Harris
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).
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.
2LT Zach Sizemore, of the Kentucky National Guard's Company A, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Battalion, calls for fire on enemy positions during a training exercise at the Infantry Platoon Battle Course on July 22, 2019, at Fort Pickett, Va. during an eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) rotation. (Photo taken by SGT. Jeff Clements)
Pointe du Hoc
is a prominent 100 ft (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France. During World War II it was the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. The Germans fortified the area with concrete casements and gun pits. On D-Day (6 June 1944) the United States Army Ranger Assault Group successfully assaulted Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.
Pointe du Hoc lies 4 mi (6.4 km) west of the center of Omaha Beach part of the Atlantic Wall fortifications, the prominent clifftop location was fortified by the Germans. The battery was initially built in 1943 to house six captured French First World War vintage GPF 155 mm K418 cannons positioned in open concrete gun pits. The battery was occupied by the 2nd Battery of Army Coastal Artillery Regiment 1260 (2/HKAA.1260).To defend the promontory from attack elements of the 352nd Infantry Division were stationed at the battery.
To provide increased defensive capability, the Germans began upgrading the battery in the Spring of 1944 with fully enclosed H671 concrete casements. The plan was to build six casements but two were unfinished when the location was attacked. These casements were built over and in front of the circular gun pits that housed the 155mm French cannons. Also built was a H636 observation bunker and L409a mounts for 20mm Flak 30 anti-aircraft cannon. The 105mm guns would have threatened the Allied landings on both Omaha and Utah beaches when finished, risking heavy casualties to the landing forces.
The location was bombed in April 1944 and following this the Germans removed the French 155mm cannons. During preparation for Operation Overlord it was determined that Pointe du Hoc would still need to be attacked by ground forces to prevent the Germans using the casements for observation purposes. The U.S. 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions were given the task of assaulting the strong point early on D-Day. Elements of the 2nd Battalion went in to attack Pointe du Hoc but initial delays meant the remainder of the 2nd Battalion and the complete 5th Battalion landed at Omaha Beach as their secondary landing position.
Though the Germans had removed the main armament from Pointe du Hoc, the beachheads were shelled from the nearby Maisy battery. The rediscovery of the battery at Maisy has shown that it was responsible for firing on the Allied beachheads until June 9, 1944.
LA POINTE DU HOC
Elle fut le théâtre d'une des opérations du débarquement allié en Normandie le 6 juin 1944. Située entre les plages de Utah Beach (à l’ouest) et Omaha Beach (à l'est), la pointe avait été fortifiée par les Allemands et, selon les reconnaissances aériennes alliées était équipée de pièces d'artillerie lourde dont la portée menaçait les deux plages voisines. Il avait été jugé primordial, pour la réussite du débarquement, que les pièces d'artillerie soient mises hors service le plus rapidement possible.
Cette mission fut confiée au 2e bataillon de Rangers américain qui réussit à prendre le contrôle du site au prix de lourdes pertes. Par la suite, les pièces d'artillerie se révèleront avoir été déplacées par les Allemands peu de temps auparavant et installées 1,3 km en arrière, à l'intérieur des terres.
La stratégie :
Avant le débarquement du 2e bataillon de rangers prévu le 6 juin à 6 h 30, l'aviation et la marine alliée doivent au préalable bombarder la pointe afin de neutraliser la garnison en place, à savoir 125 fantassins et 80 artilleurs allemands.
Pour ce faire, le 25 avril 1944 à 17h55, une puissante formation de bombardiers alliés venant de la terre avait survolé la Pointe du Hoc en trois vagues successives. Les premières bombes touchèrent l'importante ferme Guelinel qui n'était plus occupée que par les allemands, la famille Guelinel ayant dû évacuer les lieux précédemment. Tous les bâtiments furent détruits, y compris les baraquements de la cantine construite en annexe ainsi que les étables et la plupart des chevaux chargés de tracter les batteries de canons.
Selon des soldats allemands (Benno Müller, Emil Kaufman), au cours de cette action deux encuvements furent détruits, et trois des six canons à long tube furent gravement endommagés ou rendus inutilisables. Dans la nuit du 25 avril au 26 avril les pièces intactes furent déplacées vers l'intérieur des terres, 1300 mètres en amont, dans un chemin creux où elles étaient prêtes à tirer. Pour donner le change aux futurs vols de reconnaissances alliés, le commandant de la batterie fit construire à la hâte des canons factices dans les encuvements inoccupés, ainsi que des poteaux télégraphiques. L'organisation TODT cessa d'ailleurs à partir de cette date toute nouvelle construction sur le site considéré à risques1. Le dernier bombardement dit de préparation pour le D-Day eut lieu le 4 juin avec 85 Douglas A-20 Havoc qui déversèrent près de 100 tonnes de bombes sur la Pointe. Le résultat fut jugé satisfaisant.
Puis ce furent les bombardiers lourds de l'Opération Flashlamp, 35 Boeing B-17, qui pilonnèrent de nouveau le site au matin du 5 juin avec de nouveau 100 tonnes de bombes déversées, détruisant un canon et un bunker de munitions. Endommageant à peine, malgré des coups directs, trois bunkers à l'épreuve des bombes où étaient stationnés les personnels. Ceci malgré les matériels employés, notamment des bombes de 500 livres hautement explosives qui furent insuffisantes pour percer les abris conçus pour résister à des bombes de 1000 livres. Avant le D-Day proprement dit, environ 380 tonnes de bombes furent larguées sur La Pointe du Hoc2.
À 4 h 30, dix LCA (Landing Craft Assault) ainsi que quatre DUKW doivent être mis à l’eau. Deux des DUKW emmènent chacun une échelle de pompier de 33 mètres de haut empruntée aux pompiers de Londres, alors que les LCA sont équipés de lance-fusées qui enverront des cordes et des échelles de cordes au sommet de la falaise, ainsi que des échelles extensibles qui seront assemblées sur place. À 6 h 30, les 225 hommes de James Earl Rudder doivent débarquer sur la plage puis escalader la falaise pour détruire l'artillerie allemande.
Les compagnies E et F débarquent à l’est de la pointe, alors que la compagnie D débarque à l’ouest.
Une fois la zone maîtrisée, ils peuvent tirer une fusée éclairante afin de recevoir les 225 rangers du 5e bataillon en renfort, en attendant d’être rejoints par le 116e régiment d’infanterie américain débarquant à Omaha Beach. Si à 7 h aucune fusée n’est tirée, les renforts seront détournés sur Omaha Beach dans le secteur Charlie.
Le déroulement des opérations:
Rangers escaladant la pointe du Hoc.
Le bombardement naval préliminaire débuta à 5 h 50, tiré par les USS Texas, USS Satterlee et HMS Talybont, suivi par une vague de 19 Martin B-26 Marauder de la 9e Air Force.
L’opération commence par la perte du LCA 860 peu après la mise à l’eau ; dans ce bateau se trouvait le commandant de la compagnie D, le capitaine Slater ; celui-ci rejoindra ses camarades le 9 juin.
À cause du courant et de la fumée du bombardement, les barges furent déportées vers la pointe de la Percée à deux kilomètres à l’est du lieu de débarquement prévu. Cette erreur de navigation entraîna un retard de quarante minutes et la perte d’un DUKW.
Le bataillon de rangers débarquera à 7 h 10 à l'endroit prévu. Aucune fusée éclairante n'ayant été tirée à 7 h, les renforts prévus furent déployés sur Omaha Beach. Le retard pris par les rangers leur enleva l'effet de surprise, mais l'attaque se déroula relativement bien grâce, notamment, au feu support de destroyers alliés.
Une fois la falaise escaladée, les rangers prirent les bunkers allemands et découvrirent que les 6 pièces d'artillerie initiales, des canons français de 155 mm GPF modèle 1917, avaient été déplacées et remplacées par des pylônes en bois.
À 8 h, la route côtière était sous le contrôle des rangers. Vers 9 h, une patrouille découvrit les pièces d’artillerie sans aucune défense plus à l'intérieur des terres et les détruisit.
Isolés:
Les renforts ayant été détournés sur Omaha Beach, le 2e bataillon de rangers se retrouve isolé.
Dans l’après-midi, le lieutenant-colonel Rudder envoya le message « Sommes à Pointe-du-Hoc — mission accomplie - munitions et renforts nécessaires - beaucoup de pertes4 » à l'USS Satterlee qui lui répondit « aucun renfort disponible - tous les rangers sont déployés ». Les seuls renforts que reçurent les rangers du 2e bataillon furent les survivants de la compagnie A du 5e bataillon de rangers qui avaient débarqué à Omaha Beach. Ces renforts amenèrent le 2e bataillon de rangers à environ 85 combattants.
La situation des rangers était critique et ils subirent de nombreuses attaques dans la nuit de la part d'une compagnie du 914.IR de la 352.Infanteriedivision. Vers 3 h, la compagnie D qui couvrait le flanc ouest fut submergée, vingt rangers sous les ordres du sergent Petty restèrent en arrière afin de permettre à cinquante de leurs camarades de se replier et furent fait prisonniers.
Au matin du 7 juin, seuls 90 hommes étaient encore en état de combattre.
Le 7 juin dans l’après-midi, une force de secours constituée d’éléments du 5e bataillon de rangers, du 116e d’infanterie et des chars du 743e bataillon arrivèrent enfin.
Ce n’est que le 8 juin au matin que les soldats américains repoussèrent les Allemands et prirent le village de Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, village le plus proche de la pointe, à 1,5 km au sud-est.
Le bilan :
Sur les 225 rangers qui débarquèrent ce jour-là, 135, au 8 juin 1944, (en comptant les hommes du LCA 860) furent tués. Le lieutenant-colonel James Earl Rudder lui-même fut blessé par deux fois durant cette opération.
En janvier 1979, la France a légué une partie des terrains de la pointe du Hoc aux États-Unis. Elle abrite un monument en l'honneur du sacrifice des troupes américaines et est l'un des lieux de commémoration du débarquement. Le président Ronald Reagan y assista à une cérémonie lors des commémorations du 40e anniversaire du débarquement en juin 1984. De nombreux blockhaus et cratères de bombardement sont encore visibles et le site est aménagé pour la visite.
Pointe du Hoc (en francés: Pointe du Hoc), es una zona situada en la cima de un acantilado en la costa de Normandía, norte de Francia, a 30 metros de altura sobre el nivel del mar. Se encuentra a 6,4 kilómetros al oeste de Omaha Beach.
Batalla de Pointe du Hoc
Se trata de un punto de ataque usado por el Ejército de los Estados Unidos durante la Batalla de Normandía en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Los aliados tenían conocimiento de la existencia de una batería de cañones de 155 mm en este lugar y prepararon el asalto.
Los Rangers, un cuerpo de élite del ejército estadounidense, escalaron hasta la cima utilizando cuerdas bajo el fuego de las fuerzas alemanas hasta conquistarla. Poco después pudieron comprobar que los cañones no se encontraban allí, los alemanes los habían ocultado tierra adentro. El puñado de rangers supervivientes localizaron e inutilizaron los cañones, y mantuvieron la posición dos días frente a repetidos ataques alemanes hasta que fueron relevados.
Como resultado, la fuerza de asalto estadounidense inicialmente constituida por 225 hombres, se vio reducida a tan sólo unos 90 en condiciones de combatir.
En la actualidad, en Pointe du Hoc se ubican un memorial y un museo dedicados a la batalla. Gran parte de las fortificaciones del lugar fueron retiradas y por toda la zona se pueden encontrar multitud de cráteres originados por los bombardeos Aliados previos al asalto ranger.
Crímenes de guerra estadounidenses:
Como secuelas de la batalla, es de destacar el hecho de que algunos Rangers estaban convencidos de que civiles franceses habían tomado parte en la lucha en el bando alemán. Algunos de ellos fueron ejecutados tras ser acusados de disparar contra las fuerzas estadounidenses o de servir como observadores de artillería para los alemanes.
Temple Newsam is a 15th centuryTudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, famous as the birthplace of Lord Darnley, the ill-fated husband of Mary, Queen of Scots and with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.
The manor of Newsam was owned by the Knights Templar in the 12th century before the estate passed to the Darcy family, and Thomas, Lord Darcy built the first manor house here in about 1500. One wing of Darcy's original manor survives as the central block of the current house.
Darcy was executed for treason for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1537and his lands were seized by the crown. Henry VIII gave Newsam to the Countess of Lennox, and her son, Henry, Lord Darnley was born and raised here. After Darnley's murder, Elizabeth I seized the estate, and the house languished in a state of neglect until 1622 when it was purchased by Sir Arthur Ingram. Ingram tore down much of the earlier manor house and built two large new wings to form the basis of the house we see today.
In 1758 Charles, 9th Lord Irwin, married a rich heiress and used her money to transform the interior of Temple Newsam and fill it with a collection of fine art including Old Master works. They hired James Wyatt to build a grand staircase, and Capability Brown to create the landscape garden that surrounds the house.
The house was the home of the Ingram family for over 300 years until 1922 when Lord Halifax sold the park and house to Leeds Corporation for a nominal sum, placing covenants over them to ensure their preservation for the future. The house and estate are now owned by Leeds City Council and open to the public.
At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.
The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.
The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.
Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
ROTHESAY DRIVE
1.
5187 Highcliffe Castle
(formerly listed under
Lymington Road)
SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.
I
2.
The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either
by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of
the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript
building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle
was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne
who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials
from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the
father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England
on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being
demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,
where it was re-erected.
The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys
and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte
cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with
a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined
vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over
it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over
an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.
The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each
with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and
parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the
roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular
tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet
between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and
has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is
made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal
oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced
parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular
projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with
octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window
on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south
end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which
was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely
made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east
side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this
front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows
with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave
mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"
in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The
east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window
on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a
porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the
Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine
de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side
of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are
again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2
tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles
of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions
and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.
The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been
removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the
Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"
in 1907.
Listing NGR: SZ2030693208
Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).
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
A ceremony to commemorate the production, handover and acceptance of the first group of Mobile Surveillance Capability vehicles for enhanced situational awareness along our Nation's borders with Office of Border Patrol and FLIR Systems inc. photo by James Tourtellotte
The run takes a scenic route around the trails and paths of Blenheim Palace, taking you past the Palace and over theGrandBridge, before a spectacular lakeside section. Entry to the race includes entry to the grounds, designed by Capability Brown ad described as “the finest view in England.”
The Junior race, open to under 15s, starts just after the main 7k and makes the event a great family day out. And entry entitles you to entry to the grounds, so after the race take your time to enjoy the surroundings, or visit the Palace (not included).
The 7k course is suitable for all ages and abilities. It offers a challenging run for the more experienced, and beautiful surroundings for the beginner or anyone who wants to take a more leisurely pace.
All competitors receive a medal, and there are prizes for the first man and woman, first man over 40, 50, and 60 and first woman over 35, 45, and 55, as well as the first girl and boy under 15.
For the junior race, there are prizes for the first girl and boy, and first girl and boy under 15, 12, and 9.
The new Sony Alpha A7 full frame camera has the capability to also accept lenses designed for usage on cameras with the APS-C sensor. Thus,lenses designed for Sony’s APS-C sensor-based 'NEX’ camera line, when used on Sony's full frame A7 body, affectively will provide a 1.5x reach because of the APS-C lenses 1.5x crop factor.
The larger 28-70mm full frame lens pictured here is the kit lens which comes with the full frame Sony A7. The smaller pancake zoom 16-50mm lens is the kit lens for the NEX-6. When the pancake-zoom 16-50mm is docked to the Sony A7 full frame, that essentially provides the equivalent of 24-75mm focal length range because of the 1.5x crop factor, or roughly the same focal length range of the larger camera.
A nice aspect of the Sony Alpha A7 full frame is, one can have the best of two worlds, full frame and APS-C. When you want to use the A7 camera as designed as full frame, there is the larger 28-70mm full frame lens. If one desires a more compact, lightweight setup, and/or gain added reach for ‘free’, then docking the pancake-zoom 16-50mm provides added reach, more compactness and more compact design.
In this album, I compare both bodies without lenses. Then, I show the equivalent lens for each camera. Finally, I show what the Sony A7 looks like with it’s full frame 28-70mm lens attached to the body and then when attaching the NEX APS-C lens, 16-50mm pancake zoom lens.
The new Alpha A7 has an APS-C mode setting option to accommodate APS-C lenses. The setting can be OFF (vignetting will occur), AUTO (detects whether FF or APS-C lens is attached) or ON (forces APS-C mode to accommodate legacy manual lenses). Thus, the Alpha A7 offers both worlds, full frame and APS-C. The gains…. More compactness, lighter weight, greater reach. (i.e, a 55-210mm APS-C lens will effectively provide 82mm to 315mm) accompanied by reduction in size and weight. Of course the trade off is, you will be reduced to using the equivalent of an APS-C sensor on a full frame body. But hey, what the heck! APS-C is still mainstream for the most part.
Now that I have acquired the new Alpha A7 as it’s replacement, the Sony NEX-6 is being sold on auction.
Camera Used for Photos: iPhone 5