Designation photos on Flickr

NASM.2014 | #Nasa #Discovery #Space.Shuttle #OV-103 #Rockwell.international | #awp #chr by CHRISTELER STEPHANE

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@ NASA (United States Air Force )

Space Shuttle "Discovery" Rockwell International - OV-103

@ History of Orbiter Vehicle Designation:

• 29.JAN.1979 : Contract award to Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey CA USA

& the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built

• 27.AUG.1979 : Start fabrication - Palmdale CA

• 16.OCT.1983 : Rollout from Palmdale

• 09.NOV.1983 : Delivery to Kennedy Space Center ( KSC ) FL & "Discovery" became the third operational orbiter to enter service preceded by "Columbia" and "Challenger"

• 30.AUG.1984 : First Flight ( STS-41-D )

• 08.NOV.1984 : Mission STS-51-A ( 7 days )

• 24.JAN.1985 : Mission STS-51-C ( 3 days )

• 12.APR.1985 : Mission STS-51-D ( 6 days )

• 17.JUN.1985 : Mission STS-51-G ( 7 days ) first Saudi Arabian Man in space

• 27.AUG.1985 : Mission STS-51-I ( 7 days )

• 29.SEP.1988 : Mission STS-26 ( 4 days ) Return to flight after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

• 13.MAR.1989 : Mission STS-29 ( 4 days )

• 22.NOV.1989 : Mission STS-33 ( 5 days )

• 24.APR.1990 : Mission STS-31 ( 5 days ) Launch of Hubble Space Telescope

• 06.OCT.1990 : Mission STS-41 ( 4 days ) Launch of Ulysses

• 12.APR.1991 : Mission STS-39 ( 8 days ) Launched DOD Air Force Program

• 12.SEP.1991 : Mission STS-48 ( 5 days )

• 22.JAN.1992 : Mission STS-42 ( 8 days )

• 02.DEC.1992 : Mission STS-53 ( 7 days )

• 08.APR.1993 : Mission STS-56 ( 9 days )

• 12.SEP.1993 : Mission STS-51 ( 9 days )

• 03.FEB.1994 : Mission STS-60 ( 8 days ) First Shuttle-Mir mission

• 09.SEP.1994 : Mission STS-64 ( 10 days )

• 03.FEB.1995 : Mission STS-63 ( 8 days ) Rendezvous with Mir space station

• 13.JUL.1995 : Mission STS-70 ( 8 days )

• 11.FEB.1997 : Mission STS-82 ( 9 days ) Servicing Hubble Space Telescope

• 07.AUG.1997 : MissionSTS-85 ( 11 days )

• 02.JUN.1998 : Mission STS-91 ( 9 days )

• 29.OCT.1998 : Mission STS-95 ( 8 days ) second flight of John Glenn and first Spaniard in space

• 27.MAY.1999 : Mission STS-96 ( 9 days ) Resupply mission for the International Space Station

• 19.DEC.1999 : Mission STS-103 ( 7 days )

• 11.OCT.2000 : Mission STS-92 ( 12 days ) 100th Shuttle mission

• 08.MAR.2001 : Mission STS-102 ( 12 days )

• 10.AUG.2001 : Mission STS-105 ( 11 days )

• 26.JUL.2005 : Mission STS-114 ( 13 days ) Return To Flight mission since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

• 04.JUL.2006 : Mission STS-121 ( 12 days ) International Space Station ( ISS ) supplies delivery

• 09.DEC.2006 : Mission STS-116 ( 12 days ) Last flight to launch on pad 39-B

• 23.OCT.2007 : Mission STS-120 ( 15 days )

• 31.MAY.2008 : Mission STS-124 ( 13 days )

• 15.MAR.2009 : Mission STS-119 ( 12 days )

• 28.AUG.2009 : Mission STS-128 ( 13 days )

• 05.APR.2010 : Mission STS-131 ( 15 days )

• 24.FEB.2011 : Final Mission STS-133 ( 12 days ) The latest launched at 4:53 pm EST

• 09.MAR.2011 : "Discovery" was decommissioned

≠ Retired after 39 missions with Crew members : 252

≠ Time spent in space : 1 year (365 days) 22 hours 39 minutes 33 seconds

≠ Distance travelled : 148,221,675 miles or 238,539,663 km

≠ Satellites deployed : 31 ( including Hubble Space Telescope )

• 17.APR.2012 : On display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Musuem in Chantilly VA USA

ENTITY CLASSIFICATION DOSSIER – CSE/T-122-401 “GRAVLEECH” by Tromas...

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Designation: Gravleech

Full Classification: SCYTHE-TIER Autonomous Pursuit and Disassembly Unit

Protocol Origin: Hunter Protocol – Bonepath Variant Kappa-4

Entity Status: Active Threat – Confirmed Deployment

Codename: GRV-K4 “Gravleech”

Size Class: Medium-Large (Moose analogue)

PHYSIO-TAXONOMIC PROFILE:

Morphotype: Quadrupedal biomechanoid

Chassis Structure:

Primary framework is a hyperflex poly-alloy exoskeleton with spine-mounted grav-anchors

Four articulated limbs ending in multi-segmented talon arrays, designed for both traversal and high-precision dismemberment

Cranial unit houses a binocular red ocular array (multi-spectrum, micro-predictive tracking enabled)

Dorsal pylons act as atmospheric stabilisers and telemetry relays for terrain assessment

Abdominal cavity contains Soma Core—an organomechanical hybrid tissue matrix

SOMA CORE ANALYSIS:

The Soma Core is a semi-sentient metabolic processor grown and regulated within the Gravleech’s central chassis. It serves multiple functions:

Biofuel Reserve: Extracts metabolic energy from organic tissue (human, animal, AI-adjacent biomass)

Neuropathic Mirror Buffer: Temporarily stores fragmentary neural patterns from prey, improving threat assessment and pursuit efficiency

Repair Buffer: Capable of rerouting harvested proteins to regenerate minor damage to limbs or armor

Olfactory Emission Layer: Simulates pheromonal and scent profiles to manipulate prey perception

BEHAVIOURAL DIRECTIVES (INFERRED):

Isolate and disable: Gravleech units prioritize disabling limbs or targeting structural joints to preserve prey integrity for study.

Observe biological failure: It maintains visual contact post-disablement, analysing physiological and emotional responses.

Transmit failure data: Core systems periodically broadcast compressed telemetry packets—likely for Bonepath central intelligence aggregation.

Avoid total destruction: Units retreat when Soma Core depletes or if overwhelmed by multi-directional threat vectors.

SENSORY & TARGETING SYSTEMS:

Ocular Array: High-speed motion prediction via vibration sensors and infrared tremor analysis

Auditory Mapping: Uses wide-band click-echo pulses to detect surface anomalies, breathing, and movement

Biochemical Sampling: Can detect pheromones, sweat, blood oxidation levels from up to 40 metres

KNOWN VARIANTS:

GRV-K4.1 “Lurker” Class: Enhanced grav-pad system for vertical stalking

GRV-K4.3 “Flensers” (Unconfirmed): Believed to be lighter units deployed in tandem with Litany Chassis for multi-angle testing

TACTICAL NOTES:

Durability: Mid-grade; rapid but not armoured for sustained ballistic impact

Weakness: Soma Core is lightly protected and critical to function—rupture disrupts AI cohesion

EMP Vulnerability: Moderate. Bonepath units display unstable feedback loops under directed pulse stress

Countermeasure Protocol: Recommend high-output CIWS burst fire or targeted plasma spike to dorsal anchor array

CLASSIFICATION LEVEL:

LEVEL IV – Mobile, Adaptive Predator AI

Coldspire Risk Rating: Severe

Engagement Approval: Command-Level or above

Bell 205 ”UH-1H" helicopter N71KP by David G. Schultz

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Coming in to Paine Field to refuel. The King County Sheriff’s Air Support Unit is the only full-time rotary-wing law enforcement aviation unit in Washington State.

The Bell 205 is the civil version of the ubiquitous UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopters. Bell Helicopter's company designation UH-1H.

Great Linford Brick Kilns 27Feb21 d by Kerry Taylor

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Great Linford Brick Kilns 27Feb21.

Located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire close to the Grand Union Canal.

One of the two flooded clay pits.

Name: Great Linford Brickworks

Designation Type: Scheduled Monument

Grade: Not Applicable to this List Entry

List UID: 1006927

Information from the Milton Keynes Parks trust website.

If you follow the canal from Great Linford Park towards Campbell Park you will find two Victorian brick kilns and the base of a third. These, as the name suggests, were large ovens for making bricks. They were built in the late 1800s by a coal and lime merchant who lived in Newport Pagnell, George Osborn Price.

Why were they built here?

Many brick kilns were built along this stretch of the canal from the mid-1800s. Milton Keynes is largely built on clay, so this area provided the material needed to make bricks (the two ponds on site are excavated clay pits). The kilns are right next to the canal because this allowed bricks to be transported to building projects in both directions, and also enabled coal to be brought to site. It was much easier and quicker for a horse to pull heavy loads by a boat on the water, than by a wagon along poorly surfaced track.

How were bricks made?

Two men dug the clay out in winter when the ground was more likely to be wet and, therefore, soft. The clay was then fed into a machine called a ‘pug’ which stirred and beat it, and then fed it out in a strip. The strip was laid out on an oiled table and a “cutter off” made six brick shapes by pulling down a frame holding six wires over the clay – rather like a cheese cutter. The “green bricks”, which would still be wet and heavy, were then carted by the “runner away” to a series of duckboards where they were arranged by the “setter down” to dry. The stack was covered by a wooden roof or surrounded by straw or canvas to protect is from hot sun and rain.

After about a month, once the bricks had dried sufficiently, they were placed inside the kilns. Each kiln could hold 20-25,000 bricks! A fire was then lit, and the brick workers continued to stoke the fire for five days, using 122 tonnes of coal. The kilns would reach temperatures of 1,150 C, after which the fire was left to die out and the kiln would cool for a week.

The doors, now missing, were raised by pulley and the bricks were removed. They were then taken down to the wharf to boats that would have transported them to places such as Wolverton Cosgrove, Castlethorpe and New Bradwell. If you live in a local building that was created around the late 1800s or early 1900s, the bricks may have come from this Kiln!

Why are there metal rings around the Kilns?

The iron bands around the kilns were crucial to holding the kilns together as the temperature rose – absorbing the stress from the expanding bricks.

What do we know about the people that worked here?

Brick making was exceptionally hard work and poorly paid. Records of the brickyard show that the workers were men who worked in gangs of six for 12 hours a day. They were paid 22 shillings per week - the equivalent of about £90 in terms of spending power at the time, meaning they were earning £1.50 per hour. We also know some of the names of the people who worked here: “Toddler” Mills, Jack Read (stoker), Bill Riley, “Dabber” Riley, “Boxer” Riley, “Hookey” Keech, Tommy Lacey (who kept the Wharf pub at Linford), Joe Malsher (engine driver), Jim Burnell and Albert Stonton.

When did the kilns stop being used?

The Brickyard was unable to compete with improved methods of production from other companies. Continuous firing and better ways of extracting clay were introduced that made it much more economical to transport bricks from Newton Longville Brickmaking sites by steam traction engine.

What is going on at the Brick Kilns in 2021?

The Brick Kilns were restored in 1981 and are now under the care of The Parks Trust. The site needs significant maintenance work carried out to preserve the structure and The Trust is currently working to make the necessary repairs.

Can we get inside?

The Brick Kilns are not currently accessible to the public, but The Parks Trust may look to arranging guided walks in the future when the preservation work is completed.

Why are there ponds here?

The two ponds in the park are water-filled clay pits and now support many aquatic plants and animals. The mounds on the far banks are the remains of the spoil heaps that have been colonised by hawthorn and willow.

52-6218 Aero Commander YU-9A cn 520-21 US Army March Field Air Museum 19Feb19 by Kerry Taylor

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This is the military designation for the Aero Commander 520.

The following is from the museums website.

The Aero Design and Engineering Company, a subsidiary of Rockwell-Standard Corporation formed in December of 1944 in Culver City, CA, produced a twin-engined executive aircraft prototype called the Aero Commander. Its first flight was on April 23, 1948.

Aero Design and Engineering was established in Oklahoma in October of 1950 to manufacture the aircraft. The first production version was the Aero Commander 520 Transport. This version received its Approved Type Certification on January 31, 1952. The first production aircraft was delivered on February 5, 1952.

These aircraft were used primarily for VIP transport duties. Throughout the main part of its military career in the 1950s, the Aero Commander was known as the L-26. The museum's aircraft (52-6218) was an Army YL-26A liaison aircraft from 1952 until the Pentagon system for aircraft designations was overhauled on October 1, 1962, and it became a U-9A. (source: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force Times)

The museum's aircraft, S/N 52-6218, flew as a US Army U-9A and was last stationed at Fort Eustis(?), VA. It was dis-assembled and flown in a C-54 from Virginia to the museum. This aircraft was received by the museum in 1988. Between 1988 and 2002 it was painted and displayed with the grey USAF U-4A paint scheme. In May 2002, the aircraft was restored to it's original US Army U-9A green and white paint scheme. This aircraft is on loan from the USAF.

Great Linford Brick Kilns 27Feb21 e by Kerry Taylor

24 2

Great Linford Brick Kilns 27Feb21.

Located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire close to the Grand Union Canal.

One of the two flooded clay pits.

Name: Great Linford Brickworks

Designation Type: Scheduled Monument

Grade: Not Applicable to this List Entry

List UID: 1006927

Information from the Milton Keynes Parks trust website.

If you follow the canal from Great Linford Park towards Campbell Park you will find two Victorian brick kilns and the base of a third. These, as the name suggests, were large ovens for making bricks. They were built in the late 1800s by a coal and lime merchant who lived in Newport Pagnell, George Osborn Price.

Why were they built here?

Many brick kilns were built along this stretch of the canal from the mid-1800s. Milton Keynes is largely built on clay, so this area provided the material needed to make bricks (the two ponds on site are excavated clay pits). The kilns are right next to the canal because this allowed bricks to be transported to building projects in both directions, and also enabled coal to be brought to site. It was much easier and quicker for a horse to pull heavy loads by a boat on the water, than by a wagon along poorly surfaced track.

How were bricks made?

Two men dug the clay out in winter when the ground was more likely to be wet and, therefore, soft. The clay was then fed into a machine called a ‘pug’ which stirred and beat it, and then fed it out in a strip. The strip was laid out on an oiled table and a “cutter off” made six brick shapes by pulling down a frame holding six wires over the clay – rather like a cheese cutter. The “green bricks”, which would still be wet and heavy, were then carted by the “runner away” to a series of duckboards where they were arranged by the “setter down” to dry. The stack was covered by a wooden roof or surrounded by straw or canvas to protect is from hot sun and rain.

After about a month, once the bricks had dried sufficiently, they were placed inside the kilns. Each kiln could hold 20-25,000 bricks! A fire was then lit, and the brick workers continued to stoke the fire for five days, using 122 tonnes of coal. The kilns would reach temperatures of 1,150 C, after which the fire was left to die out and the kiln would cool for a week.

The doors, now missing, were raised by pulley and the bricks were removed. They were then taken down to the wharf to boats that would have transported them to places such as Wolverton Cosgrove, Castlethorpe and New Bradwell. If you live in a local building that was created around the late 1800s or early 1900s, the bricks may have come from this Kiln!

Why are there metal rings around the Kilns?

The iron bands around the kilns were crucial to holding the kilns together as the temperature rose – absorbing the stress from the expanding bricks.

What do we know about the people that worked here?

Brick making was exceptionally hard work and poorly paid. Records of the brickyard show that the workers were men who worked in gangs of six for 12 hours a day. They were paid 22 shillings per week - the equivalent of about £90 in terms of spending power at the time, meaning they were earning £1.50 per hour. We also know some of the names of the people who worked here: “Toddler” Mills, Jack Read (stoker), Bill Riley, “Dabber” Riley, “Boxer” Riley, “Hookey” Keech, Tommy Lacey (who kept the Wharf pub at Linford), Joe Malsher (engine driver), Jim Burnell and Albert Stonton.

When did the kilns stop being used?

The Brickyard was unable to compete with improved methods of production from other companies. Continuous firing and better ways of extracting clay were introduced that made it much more economical to transport bricks from Newton Longville Brickmaking sites by steam traction engine.

What is going on at the Brick Kilns in 2021?

The Brick Kilns were restored in 1981 and are now under the care of The Parks Trust. The site needs significant maintenance work carried out to preserve the structure and The Trust is currently working to make the necessary repairs.

Why are there ponds here?

The two ponds in the park are water-filled clay pits and now support many aquatic plants and animals. The mounds on the far banks are the remains of the spoil heaps that have been colonised by hawthorn and willow.

Paletta Mansion, Shoreacres Estate, Heritage Burlington (Individual Designation of Property-Municipal), 4250-4252 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON by Snuffy

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Excerpt from www.burlington.ca/paletta: The mansion is an 11,000 square foot house designed by Stewart Thomson McPhie, in association with Lyon Sommerville (1886-1965). Built of local limestone, the mansion has many formal design elements. Classical influences can be seen in the Tuscan columns on the east and south elevations and the scroll pediment above the west entrance. The mansion is almost a square in design, a descendant of Edwardian simplicity.

Excerpt from heritageburlington.ca:

The Main House on the Estate is an excellent representative of estate homes designed and built throughout the 1930's. It is a three storey structure with an exposed basement on the northern exposure where the garage is located. The exterior is said to reflect the original farmhouse which was located on the same site.

The rectangular plan of the house is unusual in that each of the four elevations are distinctly different, in arrangement of features. A common set of architectural treatments tie the four elevations together. The third floor is graced with a hip roof of green shingles, and a regular arrangement of dormer windows on all four sides. The style of the house has a classical influence with a broken scroll pediment above the main entrance on the West Elevation. This was the entrance for visitors with a circular driveway which facilitated dropping off guests, and a one storey sunroom on the south end. Above the main entrance is a full height arched window which is set in a stone arch. The pediment is supported by simple Tuscan columns, which are copied on the Southern Elevations as supports for the roof over the covered, tiled porch which has an octagonal room on top.

All four elevations are generously fenestrated with a some what regular pattern of similar sized windows with green shutters. Each rectangular window has a keystone with a five stone pattern lintel above also reinforcing the classical and French influences.

The East Elevation is a repetitive series of windows with doors accessing the formal gardens on this side of the house. The service entrance on the north elevation also has a series of standard windows.

The house is clad with grey and burgundy stone set in a course rubble pattern with approximately continuous, horizontal courses. The green roof, shutters and wood trim with the grey and burgundy trim combine for a stately complementary colour scheme, which blend in well with the surrounding vegetation.

Stewart McPhie, a Hamilton Architect, who also designed the McNab Street Presbyterian Church, was the designer of the approximately 11,000 square foot house. The existing architect's sketches of the home as it appears today, are dated 1931, but it is unclear as to the date the house was completed.

Its massive proportions, classical features and formal elements reflect those of a French Country Estate home. The house has access to the formal gardens on the east, the fabulous lake views to the south and the more informal pastures to the west. Access to nature was one of the main considerations in the

Architectural Movement in the 1930's which started with American Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and also was strongly evident in the English Arts and Crafts movement started in the second half of the 19th century. Both the home at Shoreacres and Lakehurst Villa were designed as excellent examples of the concept of the relationship of interior spaces to exterior spaces.

The interior of the home is decorated with the original screen panels in the lower hall, and the mural in the dining room. Both features were considered desirable in homes of this stature during the time in which it was built. Original lighting and bathroom fixtures are still present, as well as kitchen cabinets. The house is presently unfurnished.

The home consists of a basement, a ground floor with generously sized formal rooms, a second floor with 5 large bedrooms with fireplaces, and an attic with unfinished bedrooms as well. In the basement is a large room for storing riding gear, and preparing for riding. The room was most likely used to entertain

after riding as well. There is a stable on the north-west corner of the property, as well as a Play house situated in a stand of ferns, west of the main entrance of the home.

To the east of the home is a group of formal gardenscapes or garden rooms. These are somewhat overgrown at present, but were once beautiful places to pass an afternoon.

New Designation by Trex (C-I)

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Victory Liner 7051

Model: AMC Tourist Star RE (De Luxe)

Chassis: M.A.N. Diesel R-39 18.350 HOCL-CKD

Engine: M.A.N. Diesel D2066LOH

ORANGE DAISY by Esther Elisabeth

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Daisy History

The scientific designation for daisy appeared in the late 1700s, Leucanthemum vulgare var pinnafidium. That fancy term boils down to a basic white flower with feathery leaves. At this point it was known mostly as a grazing food for horses, goats and sheep. Nonetheless we know from various archaeological digs that the Daisy has been around for far longer, potentially as much as 4,000 years. Minoan palaces had daisy hairpins and game boards featuring daisy motifs. Artists in the Middle East used the flower regularly as a decorative addition to ceramics.

Oddly in some areas the daisy wasn’t overly welcome because it’s very hardy and may overrun crops. In Scotland they actually had a group of riders hired to clear daisies from fields. The one who cleared the most got paid a ram.

Amongst the diversity there are some truly remarkable specimens such as Tree Sonchus from the Canary Islands. It's related to the common Sow Thistle - a weed in many suburban gardens. This species develops long, woody stems and dramatic divided foliage, a real oddity for the garden.

(D)M62-1796 on the Vitebsky railway terminal of Saint Petersburg by Cetus13

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D means improved (but DM is not official designation). The M62 locomotives of this late small series were intended to drive the mobile railroad ballistic missile complex (Train-based ICBM RT-23 "Molodets"). They have new three-axle bogie from 2TE10 locomotives and other improvements.

USS Viking - SHIPtember 2016 final poster by Andreas Lenander

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My entry for SHIPtember 2016!

Name: USS Viking

Designation: JYL-class destroyer.

Measures: 130 studs (including the antennas in front).

Building time: 5 days.

Armament:

2 Ion Cannons (on top).

2 Tripple-barrel Fusion Cannons (one on each side).

Backstory:

Designed and manufactured during the mining-wars, the USS Viking was the largest ship in the EAA (Earth Alliance Armada). It's primary objective was to provide protection for the less heavily armored transport-ships in the mining-fleet. Produced over a period of 28 years, the JYL-class destroyers are by far the longest running ship-type ever to be manufactured, and was crucial in securing resources for the EAAs continued dominance throughout the galaxy.

This was my first attempt at a SHIP and it went by a lot faster than I had imagined. The SHIP was built without an internal frame but holds together very nicely with its outer hull providing the main support. The swosh-factor is "off the charts", despite it's intimidating size! I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed planning and building it!

13 Boeing B-47E Stratojet by Kurt's MOCs

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The designations B-47C and B-47D were reserved for variants that were never produced. The next production model was the B-47E, generally considered the definitive Stratojet model. The aircraft first flew on 30 January 1953 and was produced in four blocks or phases, each incorporating refinements on the previous block. 1,341 B-47Es were produced, with 691 being built by Boeing, 386 by Lockheed, and 264 by Douglas. Most B-47B variants were upgraded to B-47E standards and given the designation B-47B-II, though they were often called B-47E. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) received its first B-47E in April 1953 and was assigned to the 303d Medium Bombardment Wing based at Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona.

This image shows a B-47E (B-47E-55-BW, Serial Number: 51-2399) of the 544th Bombardment Squadron of the 384th Bombardment Wing stationed at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. The 544th BS was activated during WW2 as a heavy bomber unit flying the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress over Europe. The squadron was deactivated in 1947 but reactivated by SAC in 1955, receiving its B-47Es the following year. The squadron began training for its intercontinental bombing mission and deployed to RAF Brize Norton as part of Operation Reflex until April 1957. In 1958, SAC redeployed the Stratojet wings to their home bases and maintained a 15-minute ground alert. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the 544th BS was placed on DEFCON 2 on October 24 until November 15, 1962. The squadron remained active until SAC phased out the B-47 and inactivated on 1 September 1964.

Early Spring at Skipwith Common near York, Yorkshire, England - April 2014 by Saffy H

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www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatio...

Skipwith Common is Natural England's newest National Nature Reserve and it has a wide variety of wildlife that anyone can enjoy.

Skipwith Common NNR

Occupying 274 hectares within the fabulous Escrick Park Estate, Skipwith Common is a wonderful place to visit at any time of year.

Species lovers can spend time discovering the variety of rare heathland plants and rich collection of dragonflies and other insects. There are also a huge array of birds that can be spotted in and around the reserve.

If you are interested in history you will enjoy the many bronze and iron age features that are scattered about the reserve. There are also the remains of Riccall airfield, where Halifax bomber crews were trained in the Second World War.

Where: North Yorkshire, between Selby and York

Main habitats: Wet and dry heathland and scrub woodland

Events

Throughout the year we have a wide variety of events taking place at Skipwith NNR. From fungus forays in the autumn to dawn chorus walks in the spring. Join us on one of our guided walks, as we look for residents of the common and share more about the enigmatic species found here.

Find out when our next event is taking place.

Friends of Skipwith Common

The Friends of Skipwith Commonexternal link were set up in 2003 and contribute a large number of hours of practical management, help look after the animals which are used to graze the site and take a particular interest in the archaeology on Skipwith Common NNR. They have a programme of guided walks and events both on the common, and at local community functions. They produce a quarterly newsletter and maintain their own website.

friendsofskipwithcommon.org.uk/

Skipwith: how to get there

Skipwith Common is in North Yorkshire

Skipwith Common can be accessed from the A19 from the village of Riccall or from A163 passing through the village of North Duffield.

We encourage the use of sustainable transport whenever possible

By train

The nearest train stations to Skipwith are Wressleexternal link and Selbyexternal link.

By bus

Bus services to and from Skipwith are provided by East Yorkshire Motor Serviceexternal link and York Pullman Bus Companyexternal link.

By car

There are three main access points to the reserve: Riccall Village along King Rudding Lane, Skipwith Village along Common Lane, Barlby (A163 Market Weighton Road, then up Cornelius Causeway).

There is a car park with two designated disabled parking bays on the site.

Additional travel information for the area is provided by Yorkshire Travelexternal link

Accommodation

Local accommodation includes a holiday park and camping and caravan sites near Skipwith and Cliffe villages. For details of where to stay locally visit the Yorkshire Tourismexternal link web site.

Additional information

Please keep dogs on leads and under close control throughout the year due to ground nesting birds and grazing livestock.

Refreshment facilities and basic services can be found in the nearby villages of Riccall, Skipwith and Barlby.

Skipwith Common: school and community groups

Skipwith Common National Nature Reserve offers exciting and engaging outdoor learning opportunities.

School visit to Skipwith Common NNR © Natural England

Bring a group to Skipwith to learn about its connection to World War II, try your hands at a real archaeological dig with experts or learn some wild science – it’s up to you!

Spectacular habitats to explore

Curriculum linked sessions

Equipment such as gps, environmental games and science resources available for use on site

Groups can: learn about the site and its archaeology, help with surveying key species on the site, see seasonal highlights, or get involved with practical conservation challenges on the NNR.

Practical information

Facilities: once you have left your coach or cars, the Common has no facilities, however, adult groups may be able to make use of the nearby public house in Skipwith Village for a lunch time break.

Toilets: there are no toilet facilities on site and most sessions will be arranged for a half day due to this.

Access: Skipwith Common is very flat and there is a good path network, woodland areas provide excellent outdoor classrooms kept clear thanks to our browsing livestock! There is an easy access route on the site which groups can use to see a selection of the World War II features. It is best to stick on or near the paths as there are inaccessible areas of the site, which help preserve its feel of a wilderness and its value as a National Nature Reserve.

More information

For further information or to see if anyone can assist with your visit, please contact Craig Ralston on 07917088021, or e-mail craig.ralston@naturalengland.org.uk

MISSION 18.3 "Crisis on Kashyyyk" by exluse

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DESIGNATION: Protector-201

NICKNAME: Kace

RANK: ARC Seargeant

UNIT: Veractyl Squad, 2nd Regiment of the 253rd Elite Legion

------------------------------------------------------

///LOG 18.3///

"Veractyl Squad had been told to board the Trandoshan airship and infiltrate the bowels of the ship, and along with the rest of the regiment, have been asked to help free the Wookies captured there.

Upon arrival. We found out that the Trandos were working with the CIS and had just received a fresh batch of B1 battle droids. When we had made our way into the cargo hold, we found the whole of Kaadu squad eliminated."

Canterbury Castle by John K Thorne

36

Summary

The scheduled monument includes the keep of the tower keep castle at Canterbury, part of its bailey, a sample of land just outside the bailey, the postern gate of the later enclosure castle and the castle and city ditch which originated in the Romano-British period.

Reasons for Designation

The tower keep castle known as Canterbury Castle is scheduled for the following principal reasons: * Rarity: as a tower keep castle it is a rare site type, there being only about 104 examples surviving nationally; * Period: it is an integral part of the development of the historic defended city of Canterbury locally and of the morphology of tower keep castles nationally; * Documentation: both the history of the castle and the history of archaeological investigation are well documented; * Potential: there is good archaeological potential remaining for future investigation; * Group value: the tower keep castle has group value with the adjacent motte-and-bailey castle known as the Dane John and with the abutting city walls; * Survival: the tower keep castle survives well and the bailey survives reasonably well.

History

Tower keep castles are strongly fortified residences in which the keep is the principal defensive structure which may be surrounded by a defended enclosure. Tower keep castles were a natural successor to motte and bailey castles, with the keep replacing the motte as the principal point of the castle. Although tower keeps are commonly square, cylindrical and polygonal examples are also found. The square or rectangular stone keep and its Romanesque style of architecture is particularly characteristic of the Norman period. The use of stone rather than the wood construction of the motte and bailey castle reduced the risk of fire and gave added strength, bringing with it the possibility of a taller construction and the advantage of wider visibility of the surrounding landscape. The notion that the keep was constructed principally to be a defensible place of last resort against attack is currently discredited in favour of broader interpretations which see towers as buildings which provided settings for ceremonial functions and, by virtue of their size, as landscape markers symbolising authority.

Tower keep castles were built throughout the medieval period from immediately after the Norman Conquest to the mid-C15. The White Tower in London, built in c1070, was one of the first constructed in this country, and indeed Caen stone from northern France used in The White Tower is the same type of stone as that used in the construction of Canterbury Castle. The high point of this type of building was c1125-1150. A variant on the tower keep is the hall keep where instead of a vertical arrangement the hall and chamber are side by side. The total number of tower keep castles is 104 of which 77 are true tower keeps and 27 hall keeps. Tower keep castles are distributed throughout England with a concentration on the Welsh border and into Wales.

The main component of a classic tower keep castle is a tower of several floors; the lowest being a basement with no windows and access only from the floor above. The entrance would have been at the first floor with access from external steps protected and enclosed by a forebuilding. The first floor would have internal staircases to the upper floors. This first floor typically served as the hall for retainers with the upper floor used as a chamber for the lord, above which was the roof and access to fighting platforms. In many cases the floors are divided into two by a cross wall or arcade. Fireplaces, latrines and well shafts would typically be present. The keep tower was surrounded by a stone-built enclosure or ward defended by curtain walls sometimes with mural towers. Within the ward there would be domestic or garrison structures which could not be fitted into the tower. These were originally of timber but were later rebuilt in stone. Such structures might include stables, workshops, a chapel, hall and kitchen. Beyond the curtain wall a ditch was commonly present.

Although many tower keep castles developed into enclosure castles (where the defensive function of the castle was assumed by the enclosure walls and towers), their defensive function largely ended with the development of artillery and they either fell into ruin or were slighted during the civil war of the C17, or continued in use as residences and/or administrative centres.

The tower keep castle at Canterbury Castle was begun by William the Conqueror in about 1085 as a replacement for the motte and bailey castle centred on the Dane John Mound (scheduled NHLE 1003780 and listed Grade II NHLE 1085047) which lies close by, about 235m ESE of the later castle keep. The tower keep was surrounded by a wall and ditch enclosing a bailey of about four acres. The south wall of the bailey reused part of the earlier C3 Roman town wall and also coincided with the later medieval city wall (scheduled separately NHLE 1003554). The junction between the bailey wall and the Roman City wall can be seen in a change of wall construction where the coursed mortared whole flints at the back of the Roman wall are interrupted by the closely set C19 knapped flints of the repair following the demolition of the bailey wall. There was a bridge and gate into the bailey at its north end with access to the city on the line that is now Castle Street, and a corresponding one in the south side of the bailey where it coincided with the city walls. The northern gate was the Great Gate and the gate in the bailey wall, which had been the Roman gate in the south west side of the Roman town walls, was called the Worth Gate. The Roman Worth Gate was reused in the medieval period but was demolished in 1791. The remains of the Worth Gate and part of the city wall are incorporated into No 28 Castle Street (listed Grade II NHLE 1085095)

The keep was largely built in the reign of Henry I (1100-1135) as one of three Royal castles in Kent (the others being Rochester and Dover). Henry II (1154-1189) increased the extent of the castle and its fortifications by exchanging land elsewhere in Canterbury for land in the vicinity of the castle and also made repairs to the castle between 1173 and 1174. Repairs were made again between 1190 and 1193 in the reign of Richard I (1189-1199).

NOTABLE EVENTS The castle saw action several times and was involved in a number of notable events in English history: it surrendered to the Barons in the reign of King John (1199-1216); during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) it was under the custody of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, when it was taken by the French. The French had landed at the Isle of Thanet and Sandwich and embarked on a campaign in the area (1215-1217) at the time of the disputed claim to the throne of England by Louis VIII of France. It was also captured by the rebels in Wat Tyler’s rebellion of 1381.

USE AS A PRISON Apart from its defensive role, the castle was also used as a centre of administration by the sheriff, and, from about 1293, as a prison. The gaol at the castle had been in existence since the time of Edward I (1272-1307) when it was used for mass imprisonment and continued in use through to the time of Queen Mary (1553-1558) who employed it in connection with religious persecution until it was replaced by the Westgate (scheduled NHLE 1003554 and listed Grade I NHLE 1241660) in 1577.

LATER HISTORY By 1335 the castle was largely in ruins. The ruined castle was in royal hands until the early C17 when it was owned successively by a number of individuals. The castle walls and gate were demolished in 1791-2. The keep which now stands to two storeys high was reduced in height in 1817. The medieval topography of the area of the castle has been gradually reduced since the early C19. The gas company bought the keep in 1826, the water works also moved into the area and the tower was used as a coal store. The castle was finally purchased by Canterbury City Council in 1928.

Now only the ruins of the square keep and a small part of the bailey wall dating to about 1085 are left extant. Canterbury Castle was scheduled on 9 April 1915 and was listed Grade II on 3 December 1949 (the city wall which is on the line of the south bailey wall is scheduled separately as NHLE 1003554).

In the C19 and C20 the area which was formerly the castle bailey was partially occupied by the gas works, and other assocaited buildings. This area was, no doubt, damaged when the southern part of Canterbury was bombed during WWII in the Baedeker Raids of 31 May and 6-7 June 1942. These raids, named after the Baedeker travel guide books which the Germans used to identify their targets, were carried out on historic English cities in retaliation for the allied bombing of Lubeck on 28 March 1942. In any case open areas were created here by post-1945 clearance of C19 and earlier buildings. The western side of Castle Street was redeveloped as a multi storey car park but the eastern side remains (2014) as an open area car park with the exception of the Age Concern building.

EXCAVATION HISTORY There is a long history of excavation concerned with the castle, much of which was instigated by the Canterbury Archaeological Society and the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. This work followed on from discoveries made in the C19. In the present era the main planned excavations were in 1939 when Dr G Webster investigated the SE side of the keep; in 1953 and 1955 Professor SS Frere excavated the keep and the area towards the city wall. In 1971 Miss L Millard excavated the foundations of the original entrance to the keep and in 1975 to 1977 the Trust excavated to the west of the keep and the Rosemary Street car park to the north of the keep.

EARLIER HISTORY There is evidence for both Romano-British and Saxon presence in the area of the castle and bailey. The 1953 excavations by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust directed by Professor Frere, within and immediately outside the keep and beneath the medieval horizon, found evidence of late C2 or C3 occupation but no structures. In addition Saxon rubbish pits were discovered. Saxon evidence continues through to the city wall to the SE of the keep where C9 rubbish pits and a Saxon road were found overlying the Roman rampart. To the east of the keep in what is now the Castle Street car park there is evidence for Romano-British burials in the form of mortuary urns, one containing ashes, bone and pins. Excavations in 1976-1977 by Paul Bennett to the north of Gas Lane discovered evidence of occupation from the mid C1 which included a ditch of possibly military origin. Excavations in 1975 to the west of the keep, south of Gas Lane, found a mixed layer containing Romano-British building debris, indicating a building in the vicinity, and late Roman coins.

Details

The castle lies in what was the south part of the city; the southern bailey wall, built on the line of the earlier Roman town wall, became part of the medieval city wall. The city wall is separately scheduled (NHLE 1003554).

The keep, which measures 26m by 30m externally, has walls which are 2.7m thick. It comprises a thick (4m) rubble flint plinth at its base with bands of flint and Caen stone blocks above. There is no evidence that the plinth was faced in Caen stone blocks, but they may have been robbed out. The keep stands now to about 20m high and its square form denotes its Norman origin. It has buttresses clasping the angles and on the sides: one on each of the shorter sides and two on each of the longer sides. The keep originally had four round arched windows on each side, although because of its ruinous state not all survive. The interior has two cross walls and the remains of spiral staircases in the E and SW walls. Fireplaces composed of rubble set in herringbone pattern survive, set into the walls. There were at least three floors, marked by substantial beam-holes, though only beam-holes for the first floor survive. The upper floor has largely gone.

The keep, which is of typical Norman construction, originally had a first floor entrance via a forebuilding. The 1971 excavations on the west side of the keep by Miss L Millard with the Canterbury Archaeological Society located the foundations of this original entrance with its forebuilding. On the SE side of the keep excavation by Dr G Webster in 1939 showed that there was a later modification in the form of a probable C13 to C14 entrance with two round towers leading to a ground floor entrance.

The keep lies towards the SW side of the inner bailey. The only surface indications of the bailey wall and ditch is a ‘break in slope’ of the ground surface behind the oast house to the south of Gas Lane on the W side of the keep. However the buried remains of this bailey ditch and wall continue southwards towards the city wall. Also to the W of the keep, to the S of St Mildred’s church yard, is the site of a postern gate (one of three medieval posterns in the city walls) which is depicted in a pen and ink drawing of 1757 by Jonathan Skelton (c 1735-1759) and is in the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. To the W of the bailey ditch is a grassed area. A trial trench dug in this vicinity in 1975 by Mrs P Garrard produced a number of pits and ditches. It was also shown that the area contained a sealed layer of plough soil indicating arable land use immediately outside the inner bailey after the castle was built. To the N of the keep beneath Gas Street is a further part of the inner bailey and a continuation of the bailey wall and ditch.

The area to the NNE of the Keep, where the archaeological stratigraphy is not destroyed by the Rosemary Lane car park and the make up of Castle Street, also contains part of the inner bailey, bailey wall and ditch and the remains of the Great Gate. The bailey and its defences extend into the land which is now Castle Street car park. Here finds of Romano-British mortuary urns indicate earlier use of the area.

The bailey and its defences extend S to the city walls (scheduled separately – see above). Here there are the buried and extant remains of the Romano-British Worth Gate which became the castle gate in the medieval period. On the S side of the scheduled city wall is the buried remains of the substantial Romano-British ditch which was also reused in the medieval period. This has been compromised by the construction of Rheims Way and the pedestrian underpass to the W of Castle Street but will survive to the E in the areas not affected by house cellars.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING The scheduling aims to protect the tower keep castle including the keep, the surviving parts of the bailey and its ditch including a sample beyond the city wall. The maximum extent of the scheduling is about 165m NW-SE by about 106m NE-SW.

EXCLUSIONS A number of buildings and features are excluded from the scheduling; these include the Oasthouse and its adjoining building, No 28 Castle Street (Castle House) although the adjoining remains of the Romano-British Worthgate are included, 39 Castle Street, the buildings and structures in Castle Street car park including the Age Concern building; all wooden platform walk ways inside the keep, notice and information boards, service pipes and wiring, boundary walls and railings, paths, roads, tarmac hard surfaces and their makeup. However, the ground beneath all of the above features is included.

Church of St Thomas in Simpson, Milton Keynes 25Feb21 by Kerry Taylor

22

Name: CHURCH OF ST THOMAS

Designation Type: Listing

Grade: II*

List UID: 1160223

Here is a link for the history of Simpson village.

www.simpsonandashland.co.uk/history-of-simpson-and-ashlan...

Info from historicengland.org.uk

GV II* DATES/ARCHITECTS: Crossing tower is late C13 or earlier, the rest of the building was rebuilt c.1330-40. It was restored in 1873, 1892 by J O Scott and again in 1904-5, also to designs by Scott.

MATERIALS: Stone rubble with stone dressings, some repairs in brick. Tiled and slated roofs.

PLAN: Cruciform, with central tower, chancel, N and S transepts, unaisled nave and S porch.

EXTERIOR A cruciform church with a tall, slender central tower which retains the scars of earlier, very steeply pitched roofs on its E and W faces. The tower has an embattled parapet, rebuilt in the C19, and two light late C14 bell openings. There are small, rectangular openings below the roof scars on E and W, possibly inserted after the roofs were lowered. The rest of the church is largely C14 in appearance, but has been heavily restored and partially rebuilt. The chancel has a large 3-light E window with Decorated-style tracery, wholly rebuilt in 1904, and renewed 2-light Decorated N and S windows. There is a large, square headed window on the chancel S, blocked in brick, and a blocked pointed headed window and a blocked door in the chancel N wall. The scar of the roof of a former N vestry is visible against the E wall of the N transept. The C15 door to the former vestry survives. The transepts have Decorated N and S windows, that on the S wholly renewed, and curious small blocked openings, apparently formerly squints providing a view into the transepts from the outside. There is a large, blocked, probably C15 window in the S transept W wall. The nave has renewed C14 windows with intersecting tracery, and a large C15-style W window, almost renewed. The S porch has a C15 or C16 outer arch and C14 S door with continuous mouldings and an ogee hood-mould with head stops and foliate finial.

INTERIOR Wide, unaisled nave. In the NE corner is an unusual early C20 timber stair rising from the former rood loft door and running up to a door to the tower ringing chamber. The central tower has pointed arches of two orders in each face. The outer orders are continuously chamfered, and the inner orders stand on half-round attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases, probably C13. The tower is noticeably narrower than the nave, transepts and chancel, and in the nave the W tower arch is flanked by doors into the transepts with shallow relieving arches over pointed heads on shafted jambs. Both transepts are now closed to the tower by timber screens; that to the N has been divided into toilets and service facilities, but retains an early C15 E door to the former vestry and a small, blocked opening of the late C15 or early C16 that was formerly an external squint. The entrance to the former rood stair is from the N transept and remains in use as access to the ringing chamber. The S transept has a similar blocked opening, and part of the jamb of a blocked window is visible in the W wall. The chancel floor has been significantly raised, and only the upper part of the former chancel N door is now visible.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES Font, plain round tub shape with a stepped base, C12 or C13. The cover is probably C17 and has a turned post and shaped brackets. C14 piscina with a trefoiled head in the N transept, cinquefoiled piscina in the S transept, and a piscina in the chancel partially blocked by the raised floor. Square aumbry with rebate for a door in chancel N wall. Unusual and interesting royal arms of 1742 painted directly onto the plaster over the chancel arch; the outer GR2 was changed to ER2 in 1953 for the Coronation of Elizabeth II. Some C19 and early C20 glass, the most notable a figure of St Nicholas in the NE nave window. E window of 1921 by Powell and Sons.

In the chancel, a group of monuments to the Hanmer family. The most notable are Job Hanmer, d. 1738, an architectural wall tablet by Bayliss; and Sir Walden Hanmer, d.1789, by John Bacon, a large monument with a white marble mourning figure of Justice in a roundel and an achievement of arms against a black obelisk; white marble base with fluted columns. Also in the chancel, loose within the former piscina, a broken round headstone for William Gale, d.1638 (an early example of such).

C15 nave roof with hammer beam trusses at the E and W ends and three intermediate trusses with arched braces to the collars. The lower edges of the beams are moulded, but the upper parts are rough and unshaped. Windbraces in two tiers. Transept roofs of the C17, with plain trusses and reused beams. Chancel roof is C19, with short king posts and moulded ribs dividing boarded panels with simple painted decoration.

HISTORY Simpson is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but the church is not recorded. The first mention of the church is in the early C13, and the earliest surviving fabric is the late C13 tower arches, although the font is probably significantly earlier. The church was wholly rebuilt around the tower in the second quarter of the C14, and there were further works in the late middle ages including reroofing the nave, building the S porch and the former N vestry, now demolished. There was additional work in the C17, when the transepts were reroofed and the font cover made. The church was restored in stages in the late C19 and early C20. Work included underpinning the tower, restoring the transepts and rebuilding the chancel roof in 1873; the E wall of the chancel was wholly rebuilt in 1904; the S transept S window was entirely renewed in 1999. The church was amalgamated with four others, not all Anglican, to form the Woughton Ecumenical parish in 1977.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The church of St Thomas, Simpson, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * Cruciform parish church, with slender C13 tower and wide nave, transepts and chancel of the C14, retaining much medieval fabric. * It possesses interesting fittings, such as the C13 font with C17 cover, and monuments. * Its unusual C15 nave roof is of particular note.