Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to Norfolk-based 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team operate the AN/TPQ-50 Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar July 18, 2019, during eXportable Combat Training Capability Rotation 19-4 at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Read more about XCTC at go.usa.gov/xyPx6. (U.S. National Guard photo by Spc. Lauren Sam)

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.

The luxurious #RangeRover Autobiography proved its outstanding capability yesterday as it towed the 7.3 tonne #VirginGalactic #SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity for its global debut. #Space #Adventure #AboveAndBeyond by landrover ift.tt/24gQABo ift.tt/1OlhlZH ift.tt/1pZRVvM

Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Location[edit]

Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]

House[edit]

Croome Court South Portico

History[edit]

The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]

In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]

The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]

A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]

The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]

During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]

In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]

The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]

In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]

From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]

The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]

Exterior[edit]

The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]

Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]

A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]

Interior[edit]

The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]

The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]

The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]

To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]

At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery

wikipedia

The capability of the Q with a macro lens never fails to amaze me.

I would have needed a long lens + reversed 50mm and still crop a lot to get to this.

And then struggle with the limited range of focusing due to the reversed lens.

But with the Q, its easy peasy....

just focus at the distance I need.

Soldiers and Airmen from the South Carolina National Guard’s Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC) team supported Southern Exposure 15 by providing voice and data capabilities to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Mission Control Center in Florence, South Carolina, July 20-23, 2015. Southern Exposure 15 was a full-scale interagency exercise designed to address the local, state, and federal response to a nuclear power plant incident involving a radiological material release.

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Signs around the gardens.

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

www.bowood.org

Purchased by the 1st Earl of Shelburne (1705–1761) in the mid 18th century, Bowood House and Gardens have been improved by successive generations up to the present day. Many famous architects and garden designers have been employed, including Henry Keene, Robert and James Adam, ‘Capability’ Brown, C.R. Cockerell and Sir Charles Barry.

A visitor to Bowood today will see fine 18th-century architecture and splendid interiors: the Adam Orangery, the Chapel and Library by C.R. Cockerell, the New Hall, the Sculpture Gallery and the Laboratory where Dr Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774. There is also a series of exhibition rooms with a wealth of fine furniture, costumes, pocelain, jewellery and paintings on display. Outside, the house is surrounded by ‘Capability’ Brown’s stunning park; there are magnificent formal gardens, a ‘Picturesque’ rockwork garden; and the renowned pinetum and arboretum

The first house at Bowood was built c.1725, on the site of a hunting lodge in the former Royal Forest of Chippenham. The house and park were bought by the 1st Earl in 1754, who employed architect Henry Keene to extend the house, including an imposing portico, and to build an extensive E-shaped service wing behind it.

Soon after his father’s death, the 2nd Earl (1737–1805) commissioned the Adam Brothers to decorate the important rooms and to screen the service courts with a grand orangery. An Adam mausoleum for the 1st Earl was also constructed in the park. At the same time, ‘Capability’ Brown was employed to remove the earlier semi-formal gardens and create an open, gentle landscape, with a sinuous lake and belts of trees, all typical of his style. A ha-ha was constructed near the house and a ‘pleasure ground’, for interesting trees and shrubs, was formed behind the house.

In the 1770s, the two parts of the house at Bowood (the ‘Big House’ and the ‘Little house’) were joined together by the building of an enormous drawing room. During the following decade, a ‘Picturesque’ rockwork garden, with a beautiful cascade, grottoes and a hermit’s cave, was formed at the head of the lake.

The 2nd Earl, Prime Minister from 1782 to 1783, was created Marquess of Lansdowne for negotiating peace with America after the War of Independence. He furnished Bowood and his London Home, Lansdowne House, with superb collections of paintings, furniture and Classical sculpture.

His father having died deeply in debt, the 2nd Marquess (1765–1809) stayed away from Bowood after the contents were sold. It was the 3rd Marquess (1780–1863), Chancellor of the Exchequer at 25, who restored the house, commissioning C.R.Cockerell to design the chapel and alter the library, and Sir Charles Barry to build the clock tower. The famous terrace gardens also date to this period as do the pinetum and arboretum in the Pleasure Grounds and the first planting of rhododendrons.

A distinguished statesman, the 3rd Marquess served in the House of Lords under eight prime ministers, and formed another great collection of paintings and sculpture, rivalling those of his father. A number of these works are seen at Bowood today.

The 4th Marquess (1816–1866) married Emily de Flahault, granddaughter of Prince Talleyrand and daughter of the Comte de Flahault who was Napoleon’s aide de camp; and it was through this connection that the fascinating Napoleonic Collection at Bowood came into the family. The 4th Marquess was responsible for having the small Doric Temple removed from the Pleasure Grounds to the far side of the lake [illus].

When the 5th Marquess (1845–1927) succeeded, the family fortunes were again in decline. He became Governor-General of Canada and Viceroy of India. On his return to Bowood in 1894, the Big House was used only for entertaining and the family lived in the Little House. The situation remained unchanged during the life of the 6th Marquess (1872–1936) and up until the Second World War.

Both the 7th Marquess and his brother were killed in action in 1944, the title and property passing to their cousin. During the War, the Big House was occupied by a school, then by the RAF. Afterwards, it was left empty, and by 1955 it was so dilapidated that the 8th Marquess decided to demolish it, employing architect F. Sortain Samuels to convert the Little House into a more comfortable home.

The grounds have been developed over the years to become one of the special glories of Bowood, encompassing almost every phase of English garden design from the early Georgian period onwards. The present Marquis of Lansdowne opened the house and gardens to the public in 1975. He has maintained and improved Bowood’s many magnificent features over the last 30 years, initiating major replanting schemes and introducing new plantings, such as the daffodils in Lake Field and the tree ferns in the Rhododendron Walks.

The park remains much as ‘Capability’ Brown intended, with a fine lake, gently sloping lawns and drifts of trees. The late 18th century ‘Picturesque’ rockwork valley remains below the lake dam, incorporating the cascade and caves. Closer to the house are the great 19th-century Italianate terraces: originally lying in the angle between the Big and Little Houses, they now form the south front to the house.

170807-N-KB401-446 THE MINCH, Scotland (Aug. 7, 2017) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), the Royal Navy Duke-class frigate HMS Wesminster (F237), and the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate Helge Ingstad (F313), and the Royal Navy type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234) transit the Minch, Scotland, during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 7. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael B. Zingaro/Released)

This magnificent informal landscape garden was laid out in the 18th century by 'Capability' Brown and further developed in the early years of the 20th century by its owner, Arthur G. Soames. The original four lakes form the centrepiece. There are dramatic shows of daffodils and bluebells in spring, and the rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular in early summer. Autumn brings stunning colours from the many rare trees and shrubs, and winter walks can be enjoyed in this garden for all seasons. Visitors can now also explore South Park, 107 hectares (265 acres) of historic parkland, with stunning views.

Class 60 60002 'Capability Brown' on Leicester depot in 1991.

Savernake Forest, lying between Marlborough and Hungerford, is privately owned by the Earl of Cardigan and his family, and is held in Trust. It extends to some 4,500 acres, and is the only-privately owned Forest in Britain. Much of its timber rights are leased to the Forestry Commission. Running right through the middle of the Forest is Capability Brown's 'Grand Avenue'. This avenue of beech trees - now a Private Road - was laid out in the late 1790's, and at just over 4 miles long it stands in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest Avenue in Britain.

www.savernakeestate.co.uk/

Ugbrooke House

Ugbrooke House is a stately home in the parish of Chudleigh, Devon, England, situated in a valley between Exeter and Newton Abbot.

It dates back over 900 years, having featured in the Domesday Book. Before the Reformation the land belonged to the Church and the house was occupied by Precentors to the Bishop of Exeter. It has been the seat of the Clifford family for over four hundred years, and the owners have held the title Baron Clifford of Chudleigh since 1672.

The 9th Baron Clifford was an aide-de-camp to Edward VII and entertained royalty, both Edward VII and George V, at Ugbrooke Park.

The house, now a Grade I listed building, was remodelled by Robert Adam, while the grounds were redesigned by Capability Brown in 1761.The grounds featured what were possibly the earliest plantings of the European White Elm Ulmus laevis in the UK.The gardens are now Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[4] The house and gardens are open to the public for a limited number of days each summer.

Baron Clifford of Chudleigh

Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, of Chudleigh in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Thomas Clifford. The title was created as "Clifford of Chudleigh" rather than simply "Clifford" to differentiate it from several other Clifford Baronies previously created for members of this ancient family, including the Barony of de Clifford (1299), which is extant but now held by a branch line of the Russell family, having inherited through several female lines.

Baron Clifford of Chudleigh is the major surviving male representative of the ancient Norman family which later took the name de Clifford which arrived in England during the Norman Conquest of 1066, feudal barons of Clifford, first seated in England at Clifford Castle in Herefordshire, created Baron de Clifford by writ in 1299. The family seat is Ugbrooke Park, near Chudleigh, Devon.

Notable members of this branch of the Clifford family include antiquarian Arthur Clifford (grandson of the 3rd Baron), Victoria Cross recipient Sir Henry Hugh Clifford (son of the 7th Baron), Catholic clergyman William Clifford (son of the 7th Baron) and colonial administrators Sir Bede Clifford (son of the 10th Baron) and Sir Hugh Clifford (grandson of the 7th Baron). The family is also related to the notable recusant Weld family, of Lulworth Castle, through the 7th Baron's marriage to the daughter of Cardinal Thomas Weld.

Barons Clifford of Chudleigh (1672)

Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1630–1673)

Hugh Clifford, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1663–1730)

Hugh Clifford, 3rd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1700–1732)

Hugh Clifford, 4th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1726–1783)

Hugh Edward Henry Clifford, 5th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1756–1793)

Charles Clifford, 6th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1759–1831)

Hugh Charles Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1790–1858)

Charles Hugh Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1819–1880)

Lewis Henry Hugh Clifford, 9th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1851–1916)

William Hugh Clifford, 10th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1858–1943)

Charles Oswald Hugh Clifford, 11th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1887–1962)

Lewis Joseph Hugh Clifford, 12th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1889–1964)

Lewis Hugh Clifford, 13th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1916–1988)

Thomas Hugh Clifford, 14th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (b. 1948)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Alexander Thomas Hugh Clifford (b. 1985)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This magnificent informal landscape garden was laid out in the 18th century by 'Capability' Brown and further developed in the early years of the 20th century by its owner, Arthur G. Soames. The original four lakes form the centrepiece. There are dramatic shows of daffodils and bluebells in spring, and the rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular in early summer. Autumn brings stunning colours from the many rare trees and shrubs, and winter walks can be enjoyed in this garden for all seasons. Visitors can now also explore South Park, 107 hectares (265 acres) of historic parkland, with stunning views.

SURABAYA, EAST JAVA, INDONESIA, August 9, 2019 - U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment conduct MOUT training with Indonesian Marines during the Korps Marinir (KORMAR) Platoon Exchange 2019 program in Surabaya, Indonesia, August 9, 2019. The KORMAR platoon exchange program between Indonesia and the U.S. involves each country sending a platoon of Marines to live and train together at the other's military base. This program enhances the capability of both services and displays their continued commitment to share information and increase the ability to respond to crisis together. (U.S. Marine corps photo by Cpl. Eric Tso) 190809-M-TL103-0005

These are a fine, high quality Leicaflex variant with fully programmable exposure and TTL flash metering.

One of the later film Leicaflexes, these were very fast handling and versatile, and had motor winder capability, but no high speed motor setup.

DPAC and TUC Disabled Workers block Tottenham Court Road - London 22.05.2013

Activists from DPAC and disabled workers attending the TUC Disabled Workers Conference blocked Tottenham Court Road in Central London for an hour and a half as they protested loudly against punitive government cuts to disability benefits and services which is impacting disastrously - and already fatally - on our most vulnerable citizens.

**From the DPAC website **

On the day of the success of the High Court ruling ruling against the Work Capability Assessment, activists from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and disabled workers attending the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Disabled Workers Conference blocked Tottenham Court Road in an unprecedented act of solidarity.

Mandy Hudson, co-chair of the TUC disabled workers committee said: "Trade unionists would like to send a clear message to this government that trade unions, workers and grass roots disabled groups stand together against the onslaught of vicious cuts rained down upon us by the Condems."

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The Fort Knox energy team demonstrated during an Energy Security Project ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday the installation’s capability to operate independently of external power sources using natural gas from beneath the post’s surface – a first for a U.S. military installation.

The project was originally conceived to address mission readiness issues experienced in 2009 when an ice storm left Fort Knox and much of Kentucky without power for several consecutive days.

The harvesting of renewable methane gas on post in recent years and the installation’s six new energy substations that include gas generators now allow Fort Knox to continue 100 percent of its operations if power from the external utility provider is cut off. The post’s 3.7 megawatts of solar arrays and 6 million square feet of building space that is heated and cooled using geothermal energy has allowed the post to reduce its dependency on using other power sources, such as gas, as well.

“We’re giving back gold to the taxpayers,” said Garrison Commander Col. T.J. Edwards. “Our (Directorate of Public Works) estimates that we will save about $8 million per year from peak shaving.”

Peak shaving des-cribes another primary purpose of the Energy Security Project – switching to Fort Knox-produced power when energy demand strains the off-post energy utility, which is also when costs to purchase energy are at its highest. Com- bined with the savings achieved through geothermal heating and cooling, Fort Knox’s annual energy utility bill is projected to be $18 million less.

“Our energy team is special,” said Edwards. “We’ve won nine conse- cutive Secretary of the Army energy awards. But we don’t sit on our laurels. We’re constantly getting after it, asking how do we get better.”

Katherine Ham-mack, the assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, addressed the criticality for installations to maintain operating capability at all times.

“Energy security underwrites our unique ability to rapidly de- ploy, employ and sustain military forces around the globe, she

said. “And it’s for that

reason the Army is moving toward building resilience into our installations.”

Fort Knox’s ability to achieve this “resilience” was credited by the secretary and garrison commander as a result of Fort Knox Director-ate of Public Works, contracting command and legal officials working to establish partnerships with third parties whose expertise is in the energy field. As an example, Edwards singled out Brandon Marcum, an engineer and Harshaw Trane subcontractor for Nolin RECC, as a central figure in creating and developing the concept that became the Energy Security Project.

“We have authorities to work with third parties, leveraging core competency, capability and funding to enable us to meet our mission,” said Hammack. “The private sector partners have stepped up to help the Army in meeting our mission requirements.”

Nolin RECC staff gave the audience of about 150 area and military leaders, Fort Knox employees and area community members an inside look at its energy security bunker through a live video stream. Attendees were told how all of the systems function to achieve energy independence and peak shave. The built-in redundancies to prevent power failure – such as an off-site energy security bunker and the multiple, secured substations – were touted as well during the demonstration.

The formal celebration of the occasion involved a unique twist. Dignitaries and Army leaders didn’t cut a ribbon, they unplugged a ribbon. The ribbon was an LED cord, and when it was unplugged in the middle, the side connected to the Fort Knox power source stayed lit, symbolizing Fort Knox’s energy independence.

“Kentucky is very proud of the efforts here,” said Dave Thompson, Kentucky Commission on Mili-tary Affairs executive director. “We see Fort Knox as a growing in- stallation with undeniable potential for the future. Job well done.”

For more information about Fort Knox’s energy initiatives, read Capt. Jo Smoke’s story in the March 26 edition of The Gold Standard, titled “The Army’s only green island: 20 years of energy investments pay off,” which can be found at bit.ly/1FY4MT5. To learn more about the Energy Security Project visit youtu.be/CxNH7m0cdfw.

Photo By Renee Rhodes Fort Knox Photo

So hard that we only got as far as this first corner when both our waterproofs gave out and we decided to squelch our way back to the car.

Both literally soaked to the skin. Can’t describe the pleasure of getting home, into dry clothes and now drinking strong hot coffee with hot cross buns.

Designed by Capability Brown, one of my favourite places to go. Weather permitting 🤔

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Various paths.

Trees

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Various paths.

Trees

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

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.

Lacking distribution capability, and seeking higher volume to reduce production costs, in 1951,Freightliner entered into an agreement to sell their trucks through the White Motor Company, of Cleveland, OH, and their dealer network in the US and Canada. This relationship endured for the next quarter century, and the co-branded "White Freightliner" cab-over-engine models became a familiar sight on the highways across the continent.

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Trees

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

Bowood House

The Bowood Estate was bought in 1754 by the 1st Earl of Shelburne. His descendants have lived here ever since.

The house sits within 100 acres of beautifully landscaped ‘Capability’ Brown Parkland.

The house and gardens have featured in several Film and TV drama productions including Sanditon, Downton Abbey and Poldark.

Grade I Listed

www.bowood.org/bowood-house-gardens/bowood-house

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowood_House

Marquess of Landsdown

Since 1754 the estate has been the seat of the Earls of Shelburne, created Marquesses of Lansdowne in 1784.

Marquess of Lansdowne is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1784. It is held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Lansdowne

Terrace Gardens

The south-facing Terrace Gardens in front of the Georgian House were commissioned by the 3rd Marquess to remind him of his time in Italy.

The upper terrace, designed by Sir Robert Smirke, was completed in 1818 and the lower terrace, designed by George Kennedy, was added in 1851.

The upper and lower terraces are separated by ornamental stone balustrades decorated with urns which, during the summer months, overflow with colourful flowers.

The distinctive leaning yews were planted in 1900, and over the years they have grown towards the sun creating a unique design.

The terrace gardens provide a view of the magnificent parkland, created by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.

www.bowood.org/bowood-house-gardens/gardens-grounds

Reclining Female

by David Wynne

1978

Stone

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fredericksburg-based 229th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team use heavy equipment to construct defensive fighting positions July 19, 2019, during the eXportable Combat Training Capability Rotation 19-4 at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Read more about the XCTC at go.usa.gov/xyPx6. (U.S. National Guard photo by Cotton Puryear)

The Fort Knox energy team demonstrated during an Energy Security Project ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday the installation’s capability to operate independently of external power sources using natural gas from beneath the post’s surface – a first for a U.S. military installation.

The project was originally conceived to address mission readiness issues experienced in 2009 when an ice storm left Fort Knox and much of Kentucky without power for several consecutive days.

The harvesting of renewable methane gas on post in recent years and the installation’s six new energy substations that include gas generators now allow Fort Knox to continue 100 percent of its operations if power from the external utility provider is cut off. The post’s 3.7 megawatts of solar arrays and 6 million square feet of building space that is heated and cooled using geothermal energy has allowed the post to reduce its dependency on using other power sources, such as gas, as well.

“We’re giving back gold to the taxpayers,” said Garrison Commander Col. T.J. Edwards. “Our (Directorate of Public Works) estimates that we will save about $8 million per year from peak shaving.”

Peak shaving des-cribes another primary purpose of the Energy Security Project – switching to Fort Knox-produced power when energy demand strains the off-post energy utility, which is also when costs to purchase energy are at its highest. Com- bined with the savings achieved through geothermal heating and cooling, Fort Knox’s annual energy utility bill is projected to be $18 million less.

“Our energy team is special,” said Edwards. “We’ve won nine conse- cutive Secretary of the Army energy awards. But we don’t sit on our laurels. We’re constantly getting after it, asking how do we get better.”

Katherine Ham-mack, the assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, addressed the criticality for installations to maintain operating capability at all times.

“Energy security underwrites our unique ability to rapidly de- ploy, employ and sustain military forces around the globe, she

said. “And it’s for that

reason the Army is moving toward building resilience into our installations.”

Fort Knox’s ability to achieve this “resilience” was credited by the secretary and garrison commander as a result of Fort Knox Director-ate of Public Works, contracting command and legal officials working to establish partnerships with third parties whose expertise is in the energy field. As an example, Edwards singled out Brandon Marcum, an engineer and Harshaw Trane subcontractor for Nolin RECC, as a central figure in creating and developing the concept that became the Energy Security Project.

“We have authorities to work with third parties, leveraging core competency, capability and funding to enable us to meet our mission,” said Hammack. “The private sector partners have stepped up to help the Army in meeting our mission requirements.”

Nolin RECC staff gave the audience of about 150 area and military leaders, Fort Knox employees and area community members an inside look at its energy security bunker through a live video stream. Attendees were told how all of the systems function to achieve energy independence and peak shave. The built-in redundancies to prevent power failure – such as an off-site energy security bunker and the multiple, secured substations – were touted as well during the demonstration.

The formal celebration of the occasion involved a unique twist. Dignitaries and Army leaders didn’t cut a ribbon, they unplugged a ribbon. The ribbon was an LED cord, and when it was unplugged in the middle, the side connected to the Fort Knox power source stayed lit, symbolizing Fort Knox’s energy independence.

“Kentucky is very proud of the efforts here,” said Dave Thompson, Kentucky Commission on Mili-tary Affairs executive director. “We see Fort Knox as a growing in- stallation with undeniable potential for the future. Job well done.”

For more information about Fort Knox’s energy initiatives, read Capt. Jo Smoke’s story in the March 26 edition of The Gold Standard, titled “The Army’s only green island: 20 years of energy investments pay off,” which can be found at bit.ly/1FY4MT5. To learn more about the Energy Security Project visit youtu.be/CxNH7m0cdfw.

Photo By Renee Rhodes Fort Knox Photo

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

The River Cerne passing through the gardens with waterfalls.

The stone bridge over the River Cerne (with grass on it).

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

Mortarmen from 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, shoot a M120 Mortar on June 20, 2017 at Fort Stewart, Ga during the eXportable Combat Training Capability exercise. The exercise is part of the Associated Units program to allow National Guard, Reserve and active duty units to train and deploy together. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Garbarino)

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Signs around the gardens.

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

DPAC activists Paula Peters (centre) and Roger Lewis (right) stand outside the Royal Courts of justice during the vigil supporting the judicial review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

DPAC, Mental Health Resistance Network & WinVisible vigil at High Court supporting judicial review of Work Capability Assessment (WCA) London - 08.07.2014

Disabled activists representing Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), the Mental Health Resistance Network (MHRN) and WinVisible (Women With Invisible Disabilities held a dignified vigil on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice to show support for the judicial review taking place this week intended to make the Dept. for Work and Pensions (DWP) prove to the court that they are abiding by a previous court order that they make reasonable adjustments to the Work Capability Assessment testing process to make it fit for purpose and to abide by the Equalities Act 2010.

A previous judicial review had ruled that the WCA was clearly biased against people with mental health disabilities, and great harm has been done to many people as the DWP has refused to take into consideration any medical evidence or evidence crucial to any understanding of how a claimant's mental illness affects their daily lives and their ability to work. This cruel process has put people with mental health problems at a substantial disadvantage. The testing process has caused a great deal of distress, anxiety and fear, and there is clear evidence that there has been a significant number of suicides by claimants going through the Work Capability Assessment process, run up till now by disgraced French IT firm ATOS.

This photo © Pete Riches

Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit, blog or otherwise exploit my images without my written permission. I remain at all times the copyright owner of this image.

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Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) & UK Uncut blockade Trafalgar Square - London, 18.04..2012

On 18th April 2012, around a hundred activists from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Disabled Activists Network (DAN), Right to Work Campaign and anti-corporate tax-avoidance campaigners UK Uncut joined forces on 18.04.2012 to carry out a demonstration and acts of civil disobedience to protest against the ongoing savage cuts being made to disability benefits by the Coalition Government led by Old Etonian, ex-Bullingdon Club member and ex-PR man, prime minister David Cameron, who has overseen a concerted public attack on the weakest, most vulnerable members of British society - the sick, the disabled and the dying - who are seeing the welfare benefits they depend on to survive slashed at the same time as they have been publicly demonised and branded work-shy scroungers by a compliant right-wing press, in order to slash the welfare budget.

Congregating at Leicester Square, the activists marched down Charing Cross Road - stopping twice mid-way to bring traffic to a halt - and proceeded to Trafalgar Square where there was already an advanced party of activists armed with heavy chains and padlocks waiting for them, where they proceeded to completely block off two roads by chaining their wheelchairs to lampposts and railings on either side of the road.

Frustrated police eventually brought chain-cutters, but the protesters refuses to move from their positions, and at that point, beyond begging them to move, the police had to stand by and wait until the protesters decided - two hours later - to move. The protest caused massive traffic jams in Central London, causing much irate frustration amongst many drivers (as was to be expected), but generally there was a very supportive mood from the public when the reason for the protest was explained to them.

All photos © 2012 Pete Riches

Do not reproduce, alter 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.

Standard NUJ rates apply.

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170805-N-KB401-464 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 5, 2017) An F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to the "Blacklions" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213 launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as it sails through the Atlantic Ocean during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 5. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael B. Zingaro/Released)

170805-N-KB401-245 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 5, 2017) An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to the "Ragin' Bulls" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 37, prepares to land on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as it sails through the Atlantic Ocean during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 5. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael B. Zingaro/Released)

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.

New equipment that will enable scientists to determine subtle differences in plutonium processing products was unveiled before Domestic Nuclear Detection Office sponsors.

Terms of Use: Our images are freely and publicly available for use with the credit line, "Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory"; Please use provided caption information for use in appropriate context.

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Signs around the gardens.

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

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

On yet another day out blighted by the rain, we visited Chillington Hall, a Grade I Georgian country house in Staffordshire. Owned by the Giffard family since the 12th century (no relation, sadly) it was initially designed by Francis Smith of Warwick in 1724 and later by John Soane in 1785. Its extensive grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown and contain several temples and buildings of note, none which we saw, unfortunately. This is a vista created by Capability Brown, which certainly draws the eye to the horizon (even in dismal weather).

Full Operational Capability Ceremony.

A late April 2019 visit to Croome in Worcestershire, the estate is now run by the National Trust. Croome Park is quite big, and you can walk around the grounds and see the various landmarks there.

Croome Court

Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for the 6th Earl of Coventry, and were Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the mansion's rooms were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust which operates it as a tourist attraction. The National Trust owns the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Croome Court is a Grade I listed building.

Listing Text

SO 84 SE CROOME D'ABITOT CROOME COURT

3/12 Croome Court

(formerly listed as

Croome Court with Stables,

11.8.52 Garden Room or Temple,

Principal Lodge, Lodge on

west, and Panorama)

GV I

Country House 1751-2 by Lancelot (Capability) Brown with advice from Sanderson

Miller. Interior work from 1760 by Robert Adam. Built for 6th Earl of

Coventry. Limestone ashlar Palladian mansion with principal North and South

fronts of 11 bays. Basement and 2 storeys with 3 storey end pavilions. Slate

roofs, pyramidal over corner towers and 3 paired axial chimneys, pair linked

by arches. 1-3-3-3-1 division with pedimented centre to North and fine pro-

jecting Ionic tetrastyle portico to South. Modillion cornice and balustrade to

flanking wings. Moulded window architraves enriched with flat cornices on

ground floor main range, pediments to North front pavilions and Venetian win-

dows to South front pavilions. Roman Doric curved pediment doorcase to North

front, flat cornice on consoles over South door. Chamfered quoins to project-

ing centre and to end pavilions. Fine 2 armed balustraded stair to North door

and broad straight flight up to South door flanked by cast stone sphinxes.

INTERIOR partly Brown with plasterwork by G Vassalli, partly Robert Adam with

plaster by J Rose Jr. 2 Adam rooms removed to New York and London. Spine

corridor with stone stair at East end with moulded underside and iron balu-

strade. NORTH SIDE: Entrance hall with 4 fluted Doric columns and Palladian

moulded doorcases, to East, dining-room with plaster cornice and ceiling,

original pelmets, to West, billiard-room with fielded panelling, plaster cor-

nice and rococo fireplace. These rooms, probably decorated c.1758-9, probably

by Brown. SOUTH SIDE: Fine central Saloon with elaborate deep coved ceiling

with 3 embellished panels and rich cornice, fine Palladian doorcases and 2

marble Ionic columned fireplaces. Room probably by Brown and Vassalli. To

East former tapestry room now dismantled; ceiling a copy of original by R Adam

and J Rose. Beyond, former library by R Adam, largely dismantled; marble fire-

place. To West, drawing-room with shallow rococo-style plaster and marble

fireplace. At WEST END, Gallery by R Adam 1764, with half-hexagonal bay to

garden, elaborate octagonal panelled ceiling by J Rose, plaster reliefs of

griffins, painted grisaille panels and marble caryatid fireplace by J Wilton.

Attached at East end, SERVICE WING: L plan, red brick and stone with slate

hipped roofs. 2 storey. Stone plinth, band, moulded eaves cornice and

Chamfered quoins. Glazing bar sash windows with gauged brick heads. Red brick

wall joins service wing to stable court beyond: 2 rusticated stone gate piers,

one still with ball finial. CL 10.4.1915. A T Bolton: The architecture of

R and J Adam 1922. D Stroud: Capability Brown 1975. G Bead: Decorative

Plasterwork 1975. R Adam and Croome Court Connoisseur October 1953.

Listing NGR: SO8849444596

This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.

Sphinxes seen from the back of the house.

A walk around Minterne Gardens in Dorset.

The garden walk is about 1 mile in a horseshoe shape.

You can take different paths on the last leg of the walk, we went on the upper path.

Signs around the gardens.

Information below from leaflet from Minterne Gardens:

The Minterne Valley, landscapped in the manner of Capability Brown in the 18th century, has been the home of the Churchill and Digby families for 350 years. The gardens are laid out in a horseshoe below Minterne House, with a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams. They contain an important collection of Himalayan Rhodocdendrons and Azaleas, with Spring bulbs, Cherries, Maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its Autumn colouring.

Of particular note are the large plants of Magnolia Campbellii which flower in March and April, together with a profusion of spring bulbs. Many flowering cherries were brought from Japan in 1920 and the Pieris Forrestii with their brilliant scarlet shoots, originally came from Wakehurst. A very fine collection of Davidia Involucrata (the pocket handkerchief tree) produce striking bracts in late May and early June, when the streams are lined with primulas, astilbes and other water plants.

Roche Abbey is situated in the valley of the Maltby Beck. The site was enclosed by steep limestone cliffs and bordered on Bruneswald, later known as Sherwood Forest. This was a choice location for the monks: it provided privacy and solitude, as well as vital natural resources - water, woodland and stone.

This Cistercian monastery was founded in 1147 when the stone buildings were raised on the north side of the beck. When the monks first arrived in South Yorkshire from Newminster Abbey in Northumberland, they chose the most suitable side of the stream that runs through the valley, on which to build their new monastery. Twenty-five years later, at the end of the century, the Norman Gothic great church had been finished, as well as most of the other buildings.

By the time of the dissolution full control of Roche Abbey was held by Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, who came in for numerous grants at the Dissolution as he was married to the niece of King Henry VIII.

After the dissolution the abbey was left in ruin in ruin and the land passed through many private hands until the 4th Earl of Scarbrough decided it needed revitalising to enhance his adjoining family seat at Sandbeck Park. Lord Scarborough enlisted the talents of Capability Brown. Brown demolished buildings, built large earth mounds and turfed the whole site. Until the end of the 19th century Roche Abbey remained buried beneath Brown's work and wooded parkland. But subsequent excavation in the 1920s returned Roche to its former splendour

Compton Verney, Warwickshire

Incredibly rare shots of an Atlantic puffin were taken by photographer Sam Hobson on the Sony RX10 III, which features an extended 600mm super-telephoto zoom lens and silent shutter capability, to ensure the endangered animal was not disturbed

A late April 2019 visit to Croome in Worcestershire, the estate is now run by the National Trust. Croome Park is quite big, and you can walk around the grounds and see the various landmarks there.

Croome Court

Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for the 6th Earl of Coventry, and were Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the mansion's rooms were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust which operates it as a tourist attraction. The National Trust owns the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Croome Court is a Grade I listed building.

Listing Text

SO 84 SE CROOME D'ABITOT CROOME COURT

3/12 Croome Court

(formerly listed as

Croome Court with Stables,

11.8.52 Garden Room or Temple,

Principal Lodge, Lodge on

west, and Panorama)

GV I

Country House 1751-2 by Lancelot (Capability) Brown with advice from Sanderson

Miller. Interior work from 1760 by Robert Adam. Built for 6th Earl of

Coventry. Limestone ashlar Palladian mansion with principal North and South

fronts of 11 bays. Basement and 2 storeys with 3 storey end pavilions. Slate

roofs, pyramidal over corner towers and 3 paired axial chimneys, pair linked

by arches. 1-3-3-3-1 division with pedimented centre to North and fine pro-

jecting Ionic tetrastyle portico to South. Modillion cornice and balustrade to

flanking wings. Moulded window architraves enriched with flat cornices on

ground floor main range, pediments to North front pavilions and Venetian win-

dows to South front pavilions. Roman Doric curved pediment doorcase to North

front, flat cornice on consoles over South door. Chamfered quoins to project-

ing centre and to end pavilions. Fine 2 armed balustraded stair to North door

and broad straight flight up to South door flanked by cast stone sphinxes.

INTERIOR partly Brown with plasterwork by G Vassalli, partly Robert Adam with

plaster by J Rose Jr. 2 Adam rooms removed to New York and London. Spine

corridor with stone stair at East end with moulded underside and iron balu-

strade. NORTH SIDE: Entrance hall with 4 fluted Doric columns and Palladian

moulded doorcases, to East, dining-room with plaster cornice and ceiling,

original pelmets, to West, billiard-room with fielded panelling, plaster cor-

nice and rococo fireplace. These rooms, probably decorated c.1758-9, probably

by Brown. SOUTH SIDE: Fine central Saloon with elaborate deep coved ceiling

with 3 embellished panels and rich cornice, fine Palladian doorcases and 2

marble Ionic columned fireplaces. Room probably by Brown and Vassalli. To

East former tapestry room now dismantled; ceiling a copy of original by R Adam

and J Rose. Beyond, former library by R Adam, largely dismantled; marble fire-

place. To West, drawing-room with shallow rococo-style plaster and marble

fireplace. At WEST END, Gallery by R Adam 1764, with half-hexagonal bay to

garden, elaborate octagonal panelled ceiling by J Rose, plaster reliefs of

griffins, painted grisaille panels and marble caryatid fireplace by J Wilton.

Attached at East end, SERVICE WING: L plan, red brick and stone with slate

hipped roofs. 2 storey. Stone plinth, band, moulded eaves cornice and

Chamfered quoins. Glazing bar sash windows with gauged brick heads. Red brick

wall joins service wing to stable court beyond: 2 rusticated stone gate piers,

one still with ball finial. CL 10.4.1915. A T Bolton: The architecture of

R and J Adam 1922. D Stroud: Capability Brown 1975. G Bead: Decorative

Plasterwork 1975. R Adam and Croome Court Connoisseur October 1953.

Listing NGR: SO8849444596

This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.

This view from the top of the hill near the church.

Leominster (pronounced 'Lemster') is an historic market town which dates back to the 7th century.

Berrington Hall

A neo-classical mansion built to a design by Henry Holland, set in superb gardens by Capability Brown.

The exterior is restrained classical design, the interiors are stunningly ornate, with painted ceilings and an exceptionally fine entry staircase.

The House

Built in 1778-81 for Thomas Harley, son of the 3rd Earl of Oxford, Berrington Hall is one of the few masterpieces of the architect Henry Holland to survive intact. The interiors are characteristic of Holland’s refined Louis XVI manner and the house is set amidst a park with an artificial 14-acre lake laid out by the landscape designer ‘Capability Brown’ who was also Holland’s business partner and father-in-law.

Thomas Harley made a fortune supplying the British army with clothing and when he decided he needed a new house to showcase his family's prestige and wealth, he called on landscape gardener Capability Brown. It was Brown who chose the location for Berrington Hall, selecting a site that gave sweeping views to the Black Mountains of Wales. While Brown busied himself with creating the parkland and semi-natural landscapes, for which he was famous, the task of building the house itself fell to Brown's son in law, the architect Henry Holland.

Holland began work in 1778 and the house was completed in 1783. He drew upon the popular neo-classical style to create a house with two very different characters. The exterior is plain, sparingly adorned and formal whilst the interior is a riot of lavish colour and ornate decoration.

The interior decoration is unrestrained, with wonderful painted ceilings, ornate plasterwork, and a high dome shedding light onto a spectacular entry staircase. The elegant Georgian theme is augmented by fine furniture most of it French.

Lord Admiral Lord George Rodney was a family friend and visited Berrington Hall frequently. The dining room is hung with huge paintings by Luny depicting Rodney's famous sea battles.

There is also a fascinating glimpse of life 'below stairs', with the Laundry, Butler's Pantry, and Dairy being the highlights.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/berrington-hall/features/the-man...

The Back Hall

The day-to-day entrance for the family and tenants.

Originally known as The Justice Room when it was most likely usd as the Estate Office.

Views of the grounds to Blenheim Palace in Autumn 2012.

Blenheim is noted for its grounds, created around 1770 after the palace was built by Capability Brown. A particular feature is the lake, which was achieved by flooding what were originally wet meadows, also by taking in a former mill pond. The Island was created at the same time. The original Woodstock manor overlooks the lake; this is where the future Queen Elizabeth was imprisoned by Queen Mary. The island is called 'Queen Elizabeth Island' but in fact it was not there (neither was the lake) at the time when Queen Elizabeth was imprisoned. The Manor was demolished when the Palace was constructed, and its rubble went into the Grand Bridge.

The Palace and its grounds are a UNESCO World heritage site.

Beautiful and Intimate 18th Century Landscape Garden.

One of only four Palladian bridges of this design in the world can be crossed at Prior Park, which was created in the 18th Century by local entrepreneur Ralph Allen, with advice from Capability Brown and the poet Alexander Pope.

The garden is set in a sweeping valley where visitors can enjoy magnificent views of Bath. Restoration of the 'Wilderness' has reinstated the Serpentine Lake, Cascade and Cabinet.

A five minute walk leads to the Bath Skyline, a six mile circular route encompassing beautiful woodlands and meadows, an Iron Age hill fort, Roman settlements, 18th Century follies and spectacular views.

The Palladian bridge has been designated as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument. The garden is Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.