Choeung Ek, Cambodia

 

The judicial process of the Khmer Rouge regime, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" (which usually included some kind of free-market activity; having had contact with a foreign source, such as a U.S. missionary, international relief or government agency; or contact with any foreigner or with the outside world at all), being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean." They were then taken away to a place such as Tuol Sleng or Choeung Ek for torture and/or execution.

 

The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using poison, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Inside the Buddhist Memorial Stupa at Choeung Ek, there is evidence of bayonets, knives, wooden clubs, hoes for farming and curved scythes being used to kill victims- with images of skulls, damaged by these implements, as evidence. In some cases the children and infants of adult victims were killed by having their heads bashed against the trunks of Chankiri trees, and then were thrown into the pits alongside their parents. The rationale was to stop them growing up and taking revenge for their parents' deaths.

 

Some victims were required to dig their own graves; their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.

This manuscript was executed in 1475 by a scribe identified as Aristakes, for a priest named Hakob. It contains a series of 16 images on the life of Christ preceding the text of the gospels, as well as the traditional evangelist portraits, and there are marginal illustrations throughout. The style of the miniatures, which employ brilliant colors and emphasize decorative patterns, is characteristic of manuscript production in the region around Lake Van during the 15th century. The style of Lake Van has often been described in relation to schools of Islamic arts of the book. Numerous inscriptions (on fols. 258-60) spanning a few centuries attest to the manuscript's long history of use and revered preservation. The codex's later history included a re-binding with silver covers from Kayseri that date to approximately 1700. This jeweled and enameled silver binding bears a composition of the Adoration of the Magi on the front and the Ascension on the back.

 

To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.

 

A prisoner is led away.

 

36 people have been arrested following a crackdown on the supply of drugs in Cheetham Hill and Crumpsall.

 

Shortly after 6am today, Wednesday 10 April 2013, 40 warrants were executed at addresses across north Manchester as part of Operation Cairo, which forms part of GMP’s spring clean to sweep up criminals.

 

36 people have been arrested in relation to drugs offences and are currently in police custody. Drugs have also been recovered.

 

Superintendent Vanessa Jardine said: “Drugs make people’s lives a misery and reduce the quality of everyday life for local residents, which is why it is so important for us to remove them and act on the information the public provides us.

 

“The people of Cheetham Hill have told us that there is an issue of drug dealing in Cheetham Hill and Crumpsall, often in broad daylight, and we have already arrested more than 20 people prior to today’s operation.

 

“I hope these arrests show residents that we do listen to their concerns and we are doing something about it. But it doesn’t stop there, we will continue to act on intelligence to clean up our streets and sweep up crime by targeting these criminals and making Cheetham Hill and Crumpsall better places to live.”

 

In October 2012, 22 people were arrested and charged for drug dealing. 19 are now serving prison sentences amounting to over 60 years.

 

GMP works with local people to root out the problem and so they were invited to see the raids take place. Around 100 members of the community and the media attended the briefing and observed the arrests being made.

 

There is an increased police presence in the area today as leaflets will be dropped through letterboxes to explain what is happening. Drugs workers are also on hand to support addicts. Those seeking help for drugs abuse can speak to the drugs treatment service on 0161 253 6488.

 

Anyone with information about those involved in drug-related activity in their area should call police on 101, or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

 

For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

        

CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations and agents from the U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations execute a planned readiness exercise at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The exercise is designed to evaluate readiness and assess the capabilities of CBP facilities to make necessary preparations. November 22, 2018. CBP photo by Shawn Moore.

CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations and agents from the U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations execute a planned readiness exercise at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The exercise is designed to evaluate readiness and assess the capabilities of CBP facilities to make necessary preparations. November 22, 2018. CBP photo by SCPBO Luis Angulo.

The photo is executed in technique «LightGraphic » or «The painting of light», that assumes illumination of model by small light sources in darkness on long endurance.

Thus, all lightcloth (composition) - is one Photo Exposition, is embodied on a matrix of the camera in one click of a shutter.

 

The sketches very often executed in such a way further are drawn in the graphic editor as it would be on a canvas a brush. Plug-ins and filters are not used.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning (12 April 2023) Operation Vulcan executed 10 simultaneous warrants at a number of properties across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

 

A search of the properties resulted in large amounts of suspected class B and class C drugs and approximately £60,000 being seized by Operation Vulcan – supported by Manchester North Neighbourhood Officers and GMP Serious Organised Crime Group - as part of their investigation into the suspected drug distribution and exploitation of minors.

 

These arrests are the latest in Operation Vulcan, a proactive multi agency approach to tackling to serious organised crime in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester.

 

Detective Inspector Chris Julien, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers said: “I hope today’s arrests and seizures demonstrate that Operation Vulcan is about much more than seizing counterfeit clothing.

 

“The sale of drugs and the exploitation of young, vulnerable people is a product of the criminality that has been embedded in the area for decades, and we are absolutely committed to tackling these issues, identifying those who are responsible, and bringing them to justice.

 

“At its heart, Operation Vulcan is a partnership effort, and whilst enforcement is an important element; real, sustainable change would not be possible without the help of the local community and our dedicated partner agencies. The multi-agency approach Operation Vulcan has adopted allows for maximum intelligence and evidence sharing to make sure every victim is identified early on and safeguarded.

 

“I’d like to take this opportunity to appeal to members of the public for information. If you’ve noticed any suspicious activity in your area, or you suspect an individual may be being taken advantage of by criminal gangs, please report it. We will act on this information.”

 

Could you spot a child who is at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation?

 

Spot the signs of child exploitation: changes in behaviour; not coming home when they say they will or going missing; changes in appearance; reluctant to talk about friends/relationships and becoming secretive; struggling to engage in school; overly protective of their messages/social media; having more than one phone; accompanied by individuals older than them; concerns surrounding the use of alcohol or drugs; sudden changes/fear of people/friends.

 

If something doesn’t feel right – report it.

 

Information can be shared online at www.gmp.police.uk or by calling 101. Alternatively, details can be shared via the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A return visit to St Mary.

 

I was last here about 6 years ago, parking in the little square one warm September afternoon.

 

Much colder in March, but plenty of parking spaces, and St Mary was surprisingly open.

 

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The church stands in the village square removed from the main road. The flint rubble construction and severe restoration of the exterior does not look welcoming, but the interior is most appealing with plenty of light flooding through the clerestory windows. The rectangular piers of both north and south arcades with their pointed arches and boldly carved stops are of late twelfth-century date. Between them hang some eighteenth-century text boards. The character of the church is given in the main by late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century work. The high altar has four charmingly painted panels by John Ripley Wilmer in Pre-Raphaelite style, executed in 1907. At the opposite end of the church are the organ loft, font cover and baptistry, all designed by F.C. Eden, who restored the church in the early 1900s. He also designed the west window of the south aisle as part of a larger scheme which was not completed. In the south chancel wall are two windows of great curiosity. One contains a fifteenth-century figure of St Thomas Becket while the other shows figures of David and Saul. This dates from the nineteenth century and was painted by Frank Wodehouse who was the then vicar's brother. The face of David was based on that of Mme Carlotta Patti, the opera singer, while Gladstone and Disraeli can be identified hovering in the background! It is a shame that it has deteriorated badly.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Elham

 

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ELEHAM,

OR, as it is as frequently written, Elham, lies the next parish south-eastward from Stelling. It was written in the time of the Saxons both Uleham and Æiham, in Domesday, Albam. Philipott says, it was antiently written Helham, denoting the situation of it to be a valley among the hills, whilst others suppose, but with little probability, that it took its name from the quantity of eels which the Nailbourn throws out when it begins to run. There are Seven boroughsin it, of Bladbean, Boyke, Canterwood, Lyminge, Eleham, Town, Sibton, and Hurst.

 

Eleham is said to be the largest parish in the eastern parts of this county, extending itself in length from north to south, through the Nailbourn valley, about three miles and an half; and in breadth five miles and a half, that is, from part of Stelling-minnis, within the bounds of it, across the valley to Eleham down and Winteridge, and the southern part of Swinfield-minnis, almost up to Hairn-forstal, in Uphill Folkestone. The village, or town of Eleham, as it is usually called, is situated in the above-mentioned valley, rather on a rise, on the side of the stream. It is both healthy and pleasant, the houses in it being mostly modern and wellbuilt, of brick and fashed. As an instance of the healthiness of this parish, there have been within these few years several inhabitants of it buried here, of the ages of 95, 97, and 99, and one of 105; the age of 40 years being esteemed that of a young person, in this parish. The church, with the vicarage on the side of the church-yard, is situated on the eastern side of it, and the court lodge at a small distance from it. This is now no more than a small mean cottage, thatched, of, I believe, only two rooms on a floor, and unsit for habitation. It appears to be the remains of a much larger edifice, and is built of quarry-stone, with small arched gothic windows and doors, the frames of which are of ashlar stone, and seemingly very antient indeed. It is still accounted a market-town, the market having been obtained to it by prince Edward, afterwards king Edward I. in his father's life-time, anno 35 Henry III. to be held on a Monday weekly, which, though disused for a regular constancy, is held in the market-house here once in five or six years, to keep up the claim to the right of it; besides which there are three markets regularly held, for the buying and selling of cattle, in every year, on Palm, Easter, and Whit Mondays, and one fair on Oct. 20th, by the alteration of the stile, being formerly held on the day of St. Dionis, Oct. 9, for toys and pedlary. The Nailbourn, as has been already mentioned before, in the description of Liminage, runs along this valley northward, entering this parish southward, by the hamlet of Ottinge, and running thence by the town of Eleham, and at half a mile's distance, by the hamlet of North Eleham, where there are several deep ponds, in which are from time to time quantities of eels, and so on to Brompton's Pot and Wingmere, at the northern extremity of this parish. The soil in the valley is mostly an unfertile red earth, mixed with many flints; but the hills on each side of it, which are very frequent and steep, extend to a wild romantic country, with frequent woods and uninclosed downs, where the soil consists mostly of chalk, excepting towards Stelling and Swinfield minnis's, where it partakes of a like quality to that of the valley, tance,by the hamlet of North Eleham, where there only still more poor and barren. At the north-west corner of the parish, on the hill, is Eleham park, being a large wood, belonging to the lord of Eleham manor.

 

Dr. Plot says, he was informed, that there was the custom of borough English prevailing over some copyhold lands in this parish, the general usage of which is, that the youngest son should inherit all the lands and tenements which his father had within the borough, &c. but I cannot find any here subject to it. On the contrary, the custom here is, to give the whole estate to the eldest son, who pays to the younger ones their proportions of it, as valued by the homage of the manor, in money.

 

At the time of taking the survey of Domesday, anno 1080, this place was part of the possessions of the bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in it:

 

In Honinberg hundred, the bishop of Baieux holds in demesne Alham. It was taxed at six sulins. The arable land is twenty-four carucates. In demesne there are five carucates and forty-one villeins, with eight borderers having eighteen carucates. There is a church, and eight servants, and two mills of six shillings, and twenty eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of one hundred hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth thirty pounds, now forty, and yet it yields fifty pounds. Ederic held this manor of king Edward.

 

Four years after the bishop was disgraced, and all his possessions were consiscated to the crown, whence this manor seems to have been granted to William de Albineto, or Albini, surnamed Pincerna, who had followed the Conqueror from Normandy in his expedition hither. He was succeeded by his son, of the same name, who was made Earl of Arundel anno 15 king Stephen, and Alida his daughter carried it in marriage to John, earl of Ewe, in Normandy, whose eldest son Henry, earl of Ewe, was slain at the siege of Ptolemais in 1217, leaving Alice his sole daughter and heir, who entitled her husband Ralph D'Issondon to the possession of this manor, as well as to the title of earl of Ewe. She died in the reign of king Henry III. possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the church, and sealed with Barry, a label of six points, as appears by a deed in the Surrenden library; after which it appears to have come into the possession of prince Edward, the king's eldest son, who in the 35th year of it obtained the grant of a market on a Monday, and a fair, at this manor, (fn. 1) and afterwards, in the 41st year of that reign, alienated it to archbishop Boniface, who, left he should still further inflame that enmity which this nation had conceived against him, among other foreigners and aliens, by thus increasing his possessions in it, passed this manor away to Roger de Leyborne, who died possessed of it in the 56th year of that reign, at which time it appears that there was a park here; (fn. 2) and in his name it continued till Juliana de Leyborne, daughter of Thomas, became the sole heir of their possessions, from the greatness of which she was usually called the Infanta of Kent. She was thrice married, yet she had no issue by either of her husbands, all of whom she survived, and died in the 41st year of king Edward III. upon which this manor, among the rest of her estates, escheated to the crown, there being no one who could make claim to them, by direct or even by collateral alliance. (fn. 3) Afterwards it continued in the crown till king Richard II. vested it in feoffees in trust, towards the endowment of St. Stephen's chapel, in his palace of Westminster, which he had in his 22d year, completed and made collegiate, and had the year before granted to the dean and canons this manor, among others, in mortmain. (fn. 4) All which was confirmed by king Henry IV. and VI. and by king Edward IV. in their first years; the latter of whom, in his 9th year, granted to them a fair in this parish yearly, on the Monday after Palm-Sunday, and on the Wednesday following, with all liberties, &c. In which situation it continued till the 1st year of king Edward VI. when this college was, with all its possessions, surrendered into the king's hands, where this manor did not continue long; for the king in his 5th year, granted it to Edward, lord Clinton and Saye, and he reconveyed it to the crown the same year. After which the king demised it, for the term of eighty years, to Sir Edward Wotton, one of his privy council, whose son Thomas Wotton, esq. sold his interest in it to Alexander Hamon, esq. of Acrise, who died in 1613, leaving two daughters his coheirs, the youngest of whom Catherine, married to Sir Robert Lewknor, entitled him to it; he was at his death succeeded by his son Hamon Lewknor, esq. but the reversion in see having been purchased of the crown some few years before the expiration of the above-mentioned term, which ended the last year of king James I.'s reign, to Sir Charles Herbert, master of the revels. He at the latter end of king Charles I.'s reign, alienated it to Mr. John Aelst, merchant, of London; after which, I find by the court rolls, that it was vested in Thomas Alderne, John Fisher, and Roger Jackson, esqrs. who in the year 1681 conveyed it to Sir John Williams, whose daughter and sole heir Penelope carried it in marriage to Thomas Symonds, esq. of Herefordshire, by the heirs of whose only surviving son Thomas Symonds Powell, esq. of Pengethley, in that county, it has been lately sold to Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. who is now entitled to it.

 

A court leet and court baron is held for this manor, which is very extensive. There is much copyhold land held of it. The demesnes of it are tithe-free. There is a yearly rent charge, payable for ever out of it, of 87l. 13s. 1d. to the ironmongers company, in London.

 

Shottlesfield is a manor, situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, the house standing partly in Liminge, at a small distance southward from the street or hamlet of the same name. It was, as early as the reign of king Edward II. the inheritance of a family called le Grubbe, some of whom had afterwards possessions about Yalding and Eythorne. Thomas le Grubbe was possessed of it in the 3d year of that reign, and wrote himself of Shottlesfeld, and from him it continued down by paternal descent to John Grubbe, who in the 2d year of king Richard III. conveyed it by sale to Thomas Brockman, of Liminge, (fn. 5) whose grandson Henry Brockman, in the 1st year of queen Mary, alienated it to George Fogge, esq. of Braborne, and he, in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign, sold it to Bing, who, before the end of that reign, passed it away to Mr. John Masters, of Sandwich, from whom it descended to Sir Edward Masters, of Canterbury, who at his decease, soon after the death of Charles I. gave it to his second son, then LL. D. from whose heirs it was alienated to Hetherington, whose last surviving son the Rev. William Hetherington, of North Cray place, died possessed of it unmarried in 1778, and by will devised it, among his other estates, to Thomas Coventry, esq. of London, who lately died possessed of it s. p. and the trustees of his will are now entitled to it.

 

The manor of Bowick, now called Boyke, is situated likewise in the eastern part of this parish, in the borough of its own name, which was in very antient times the residence of the Lads, who in several of their old evidences were written De Lad, by which name there is an antient farm, once reputed a manor, still known, as it has been for many ages before, in the adjoining parish of Acrise, which till the reign of queen Elizabeth, was in the tenure of this family. It is certain that they were resident here at Bowick in the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, and in the next of Edward IV. as appears by the registers of their wills in the office at Canterbury, they constantly stiled themselves of Eleham. Thomas Lade, of Bowick, died possessed of it in 1515, as did his descendant Vincent Lade in 1563, anno 6 Elizabeth. Soon after which it passed by purchase into the name of Nethersole, from whence it quickly afterwards was alienated to Aucher, and thence again to Wroth, who at the latter end of king Charles I.'s reign sold it to Elgar; whence, after some intermission, it was sold to Thomas Scott, esq. of Liminge, whose daughter and coheir Elizabeth, married to William Turner, esq. of the Friars, in Canterbury, at length, in her right, became possessed of it; his only surviving daughter and heir Bridget married David Papillon, esq. of Acrise, and entitled him to this manor, and his grandson Thomas Papillon, esq. of Acrise, is the present owner of it.

 

Mount and Bladbean are two manors, situated on the hills, on the opposite sides of this parish, the former near the eastern, and the latter near the western boundaries of it; the latter being antiently called Bladbean, alias Jacobs-court, a name now quite forgotten. Both these manors appear to have been in the reign of the Conqueror, part of the possessions of Anschitillus de Ros, who is mentioned in Domesday as holding much land in the western part of this county, their principal manor there being that of Horton, near Farningham. One of this family made a grant of it to the Cosentons, of Cosenton, in Aylesford, to hold of their barony of Ros, as of their manor of Horton before-mentioned, by knight's service. In the 7th year of Edward III. Sir Stephen de Cosenton obtained a charter of freewarren for his lands here. He was the son of Sir William de Cosenton, sheriff anno 35 Edward I. and was sometimes written of Cosenton, and sometimes of Mount, in Eleham. At length his descendant dying in the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, without male issue, his three daughters, married to Duke, Wood, and Alexander Hamon, esq. became his coheirs, and shared a large inheritance between them, and upon their division of it, the manor of Bladbean, alias Jacobs-court, was allotted to Wood, and Mount to Alexander Hamon.

 

The manor of Bladbean, alias Jacobs-court, was afterwards alienated by the heirs of Wood to Thomas Stoughton, esq. of St. Martin's, near Canterbury, who by will in 1591 (fn. 6) gave this manor, with its rents and services, to Elizabeth his daughter and coheir, married to Thomas Wilde, esq. of St. Martin's, whose grandson Colonel Dudley Wilde, at his death in 1653, s. p. devised it to his widow, from whom it went by sale to Hills, and Mr. James Hills, in 1683, passed it away to Mr. Daniel Woollet, whose children divided this estate among them; a few years after which John Brice became, by purchase of it at different times, possessed of the whole of it, which he in 1729 conveyed by sale to Mr. Valentine Sayer, of Sandwich, who died possessed of it in 1766, and the heirs of his eldest son Mr. George Sayer, of Sandwich, are now entitled to it.

 

The manor of Mount, now called Mount court, which was allotted as above-mentioned, to Alexander Hamon, continued down to his grandson, of the same name, who died possessed of it in 1613, leaving two daughters his coheirs, the youngest of whom, Catherine, entitled her husband Sir Robert Lewknor, to it, in whose descendants it continued till Robert Lewknor, esq. his grandson, in 1666, alienated it, with other lands in this parish, to Thomas Papillon, esq. of Lubenham, in Leicestershire, whose descendant Thomas Papillon, esq. of Acrise, is the present proprietor of it.

 

Ladwood is another manor in this parish, lying at the eastern boundary of it, likewise on the hills next to Acrise. It was written in old evidences Ladswood, whence it may with probability be conjectured, that before its being converted into a farm of arable land, and the erecting of a habitation here, it was a wood belonging to the family of Lad, resident at Bowick; but since the latter end of king Edward III.'s reign, it continued uninterrupted in the family of Rolse till the reign of king Charles II. soon after which it was alienated to Williams, in which name it remained till Penelope, daughter of Sir John Williams, carried it in marriage to Thomas Symonds, esq. the heirs of whose only surviving son Thomas Symonds Powell, esq. sold it to David Papillon, esq. whose son Thomas Papillon, esq. now possesses it.

 

The manor of Canterwood, as appears by an old manuscript, seemingly of the time of Henry VIII. was formerly the estate of Thomas de Garwinton, of Welle, lying in the eastern part of the parish, and who lived in the reigns of Edward II. and III. whose greatgrandson William Garwinton, dying s. p. Joane his kinswoman, married to Richard Haut, was, in the 9th year of king Henry IV. found to be his heir, not only in this manor, but much other land in these parts, and their son Richard Haut having an only daughter and heir Margery, she carried this manor in marriage to William Isaak. After which, as appears from the court-rolls, which do not reach very high, that the family of Hales became possessed of it, in which it staid till the end of queen Elizabeth's reign, when it went by sale to Manwood, from which name it was alienated to Sir Robert Lewknor, whose grandson Robert Lewknor, esq. in 1666 sold it, with other lands in this parish already mentioned, to Thomas Papillon, esq. of Lu benham, in Leicestershire, whose descendant Thomas Papillon, esq. of Acrise, is the present owner of it.

 

Oxroad, now usually called Ostrude, is a manor, situated a little distance eastward from North Eleham. It had antiently owners of the same name; Andrew de Oxroad held it of the countess of Ewe, in the reign of king Edward I. by knight's service, as appears by the book of them in the king's remembrancer's office. In the 20th year of king Edward III. John, son of Simon atte Welle, held it of the earl of Ewe by the like service. After which the Hencles became possessed of it, from the reign of king Henry IV. to that of king Henry VIII. when Isabel, daughter of Tho. Hencle, marrying John Beane, entitled him to it, and in his descendants it continued till king Charles I.'s reign, when it was alienated to Mr. Daniel Shatterden, gent. of this parish, descended from those of Shatterden, in Great Chart, which place they had possessed for many generations. At length, after this manor had continued for some time in his descendants, it was sold to Adams, in which name it remained till the heirs of Randall Adams passed it away by sale to Papillon, in whose family it still continues, being now the property of Thomas Papillon, esq. of Acrise.

 

Hall, alias Wingmere, is a manor, situated in the valley at the northern boundary of this parish, next to Barham, in which some part of the demesne lands of it lie. It is held of the manor of Eleham, and had most probably once owners of the name of Wigmere, as it was originally spelt, of which name there was a family in East Kent, and in several antient evidences there is mention made of William de Wigmere and others of this name. However this be, the family of Brent appear to have been for several generations possessed of this manor, and continued so till Thomas Brent, of Wilsborough, dying in 1612,s. p. it passed into the family of Dering, of Surrenden; for in king James I.'s reign Edward Dering, gent. of Egerton, eldest son of John, the fourth son of John Dering, esq, of Surren den, who had married Thomas Brent's sister, was become possessed of it; and his only son and heir Thomas Dering, gent. in 1649, alienated it to William Codd, gent. (fn. 7) of Watringbury, who was succeeded in it by his son James Codd, esq. of Watringbury, who died s. p. in 1708, being then sheriff of this county, and being possessed at his death of this manor in fee, in gavelkind; upon which it came to the representatives of his two aunts, Jane, the wife of Boys Ore, and Anne, of Robert Wood, and they, in 1715, by fine levied, entitled Thomas Manley, and Elizabeth, his wife, to the possession of this manor for their lives, and afterwards to them in fee, in separate moieties. He died s. p. in 1716, and by will gave his moiety to John Pollard; on whose death s. p. it came, by the limitation in the above will, to Joshua Monger, whose only daughter and heir Rachael carried it in marriage to her husband Arthur Pryor, and they in 1750 joined in the sale of it to Mr. Richard Halford, gent. of Canterbury. The other moiety of this manor seems to have been devised by Elizabeth Manley above-mentioned, at her death, to her nephew Thomas Kirkby, whose sons Thomas, John, and Manley Kirkby, joined, in the above year, in the conveyance of it to Mr. Richard Halford above-mentioned, who then became possessed of the whole of it. He was third son of Richard Halford, clerk, rector of the adjoining parish of Liminge, descended from the Halfords, of Warwickshire, as appears by his will in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury, by which he devised to his several sons successively in tail, the estate in Warwickshire, which he was entitled to by the will of his kinsman William Halford, gent, of that county. They bear for their arms, Argent, a greybound passant, sable, on a chief of the second, three fleurs de lis, or. He died possessed of it in 1766, leaving by Mary his wife, daughter of Mr. Christopher Creed, of Canterbury, one son Richard Halford, gent. now of Canterbury; and two daughters, Mary married to Mr. John Peirce, surgeon, of Canterbury; and Sarah. In 1794, Mr. Peirce purchased the shares of Mr. Richard and Mrs. Sarah Halford, and he is now the present owner of this manor. He bears for his arms, Azure field, wavy bend, or, two unicorns heads, proper.

 

The manor OF Clavertigh is situated on the hills at the north-west boundary of this parish, next to Liminge, which antiently belonged to the abbey of Bradsole, or St. Radigund, near Dover, and it continued among the possessions of it till the 27th year of king Henry VIII. when by the act then passed, it was suppressed, as not having the clear yearly revenue of two hundred pounds, and was surrendered into the king's hands, who in his 29th year, granted the scite of this priory, with all its lands and possessions, among which this manor was included, with certain exceptions, however, mentioned in it, to archbishop Cranmer, who in the 38th year of that reign, conveyed this manor of Clavertigh, with lands called Monkenlands, late belonging to the same priory in this parish, back again to the king, who that same year granted all those premises to Sir James Hales, one of the justices of the common pleas, to hold in capite, (fn. 8) and he, in the beginning of king Edward VI.'s reign, passed them away to Peter Heyman, esq. one of the gentlemen of that prince's bedchamber who seems to have had a new grant of them from the crown, in the 2d year of that reign. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ralph Heyman, esq. of Sellindge, whose descendant Sir Peter Heyman, bart. alienated the manor of Clavetigh to Sir Edward Honywood, of Evington, created a baronet in 1660, in whose descendants this manor has continued down to Sir John Honywood, bart. of Evington, who is the present possessor of it.

 

Charities.

Jonas Warley, D. D. gave by will in 1722, 50l. to be put out on good security, the produce to be given yearly in bread on every Sunday in the year, after divine service, to six poor widows, to each of them a two-penny loaf. The money is now vested in the vicar and churchwardens, and the produce of it being no more than 2l. 5s. per annum, only a three-halfpenny loaf is given to each widow.

 

Land in this parish, of the annual produce of 1l. was given by a person unknown, to be disposed of to the indigent. It is vested in the minister, churchwardens, and overseers.

 

Four small cottages were given to the parish, by a person unknown, and are now inhabited by poor persons. They are vested in the churchwardens and overseers.

 

Sir John Williams, by will in 1725, founded A CHARITY SCHOOL in this parish for six poor boys, legal inhabitants, and born in this parish, to be taught reading, writing, and accounts, to be cloathed once in two years; and one such boy to be bound out apprentice, as often as money sufficient could be raised for that use. The minister, churchwardens, and overseers to be trustees, who have power to nominate others to assist them in the management of it. The master has a house to live in, and the lands given to it are let by the trustees.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about seventy-five, casually fifty-five.

 

Eleham is within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of its own name.

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is large and handsome, consisting of three isles, the middle one having an upper range of windows, and one chancel, having a tower steeple, with a spire shast on it, at the west end, in which are eight bells, a clock, and chimes. Within the altar-rails is a memorial for John Somner, gent. son of the learned William Somner, of Canterbury, obt. 1695; arms, Ermine, a chevron voided. In the chancel a brass plate for Michael Pyx, of Folkestone, mayor and once high bailisf to Yarmouth, obt. 1601. Another for Nicholas Moore, gent. of Bettenham, in Cranbrooke; he died at Wingmer in 1577. In the middle isle a memorial for Captain William Symons, obt. 1674; arms, Parted per pale, and fess, three trefoils slipt. A brass plate for John Hill, dean and vicar of Eleham, obt. 1730. In this church was a lamp burning, called the light of Wyngmer, given before the year 1468, probably by one of the owners of that manor.

 

The church of Eleham was given by archbishop Boniface, lord of the manor of Eleham, and patron of this church appendant to it, at the instance of Walter de Merton, then canon of St. Paul's, and afterwards bishop of Rochester, to the college founded by the latter in 1263, at Maldon, in Surry. (fn. 9) After which the archbishop, in 1268, appropriated this church to the college, whenever it should become vacant by the death or cession of the rector of it, saving a reasonable vicarage of thirty marcs, to be endowed by him in it, to which the warden of the college should present to him and his successors, a fit vicar, as often as it should be vacant, to be nominated to the warden by the archbishop; otherwise the archbishop and his successors should freely from thence dispose of the vicarage for that turn. (fn. 10)

 

¶The year before this, Walter de Merton had begun a house in Oxford, whither some of the scholars were from time to time to resort for the advancement of their studies, to which the whole society of Maldon was, within a few years afterwards, removed, and both societies united at Oxford, under the name of the warden and fellows of Merton college. This portion of thirty marcs, which was a stated salary, and not tithes, &c. to that amount, was continued by a subsequent composition or decree of archbishop Warham, in 1532; but in 1559, the college, of their own accord, agreed to let the vicarial tithes, &c. to Thomas Carden, then vicar, at an easy rent, upon his discharging the college from the before-mentioned portion of thirty marcs: and this lease, with the like condition, has been renewed to every subsequent vicar ever since; and as an addition to their income, the vicars have for some time had another lease, of some wood grounds here, from the college. (fn. 11)

 

The appropriation or parsonage of this church is now held by lease from the warden and fellows, by the Rev. John Kenward Shaw Brooke, of Town-Malling. The archbishop nominates a clerk to the vicarage of it, whom the warden and fellows above-mentioned present to him for institution.

 

This vicarage is valued in the king's books at twenty pounds, (being the original endowment of thirty marcs), and the yearly tenths at two pounds, the clear yearly certified value of it being 59l. 15s. 2d. In 1640 it was valued at one hundred pounds per annum. Communicants six hundred. It is now of about the yearly value of one hundred and fifty pounds.

 

All the lands in this parish pay tithes to the rector or vicar, excepting Parkgate farm, Farthingsole farm, and Eleham-park wood, all belonging to the lord of Eleham manor, which claim a modus in lieu of tithes, of twenty shillings yearly paid to the vicar. The manor farm of Clavertigh, belonging to Sir John Honywood, bart and a parcel of lands called Mount Bottom, belonging to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Tournay, of Dover, claim a like modus in lieu of tithes.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol8/pp95-110

What craziness is this, a day in that London on a weekday? Well, working one day last weekend, and another next weekend, meant I took a day in Lieu.

 

So there.

 

And top of my list of places to visit was St Magnus. This would be the fifth time I have tried to get inside, and the first since I wrote to the church asking whether they would be open a particular Saturday, and then any Saturday. Letters which were ignored

 

So, I walked out of Monument Station, down the hill there was St Magnus: would it be open?

 

It was, and inside it was a box, nay a treasure chest of delights.

 

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

 

St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge is a Church of England church and parish within the City of London. The church, which is located in Lower Thames Street near The Monument to the Great Fire of London,[1] is part of the Diocese of London and under the pastoral care of the Bishop of London and the Bishop of Fulham.[2] It is a Grade I listed building.[3] The rector uses the title "Cardinal Rector". [4]

St Magnus lies on the original alignment of London Bridge between the City and Southwark. The ancient parish was united with that of St Margaret, New Fish Street, in 1670 and with that of St Michael, Crooked Lane, in 1831.[5] The three united parishes retained separate vestries and churchwardens.[6] Parish clerks continue to be appointed for each of the three parishes.[7]

St Magnus is the guild church of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, and the ward church of the Ward of Bridge and Bridge Without. It is also twinned with the Church of the Resurrection in New York City.[8]

Its prominent location and beauty has prompted many mentions in literature.[9] In Oliver Twist Charles Dickens notes how, as Nancy heads for her secret meeting with Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie on London Bridge, "the tower of old Saint Saviour's Church, and the spire of Saint Magnus, so long the giant-warders of the ancient bridge, were visible in the gloom". The church's spiritual and architectural importance is celebrated in the poem The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, who adds in a footnote that "the interior of St. Magnus Martyr is to my mind one of the finest among Wren's interiors".[10] One biographer of Eliot notes that at first he enjoyed St Magnus aesthetically for its "splendour"; later he appreciated its "utility" when he came there as a sinner.

 

The church is dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr, earl of Orkney, who died on 16 April in or around 1116 (the precise year is unknown).[12] He was executed on the island of Egilsay having been captured during a power struggle with his cousin, a political rival.[13] Magnus had a reputation for piety and gentleness and was canonised in 1135. St. Ronald, the son of Magnus's sister Gunhild Erlendsdotter, became Earl of Orkney in 1136 and in 1137 initiated the construction of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.[14] The story of St. Magnus has been retold in the 20th century in the chamber opera The Martyrdom of St Magnus (1976)[15] by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, based on George Mackay Brown's novel Magnus (1973).

 

he identity of the St Magnus referred to in the church's dedication was only confirmed by the Bishop of London in 1926.[16] Following this decision a patronal festival service was held on 16 April 1926.[17] In the 13th century the patronage was attributed to one of the several saints by the name of Magnus who share a feast day on 19 August, probably St Magnus of Anagni (bishop and martyr, who was slain in the persecution of the Emperor Decius in the middle of the 3rd century).[18] However, by the early 18th century it was suggested that the church was either "dedicated to the memory of St Magnus or Magnes, who suffer'd under the Emperor Aurelian in 276 [see St Mammes of Caesarea, feast day 17 August], or else to a person of that name, who was the famous Apostle or Bishop of the Orcades."[19] For the next century historians followed the suggestion that the church was dedicated to the Roman saint of Cæsarea.[20] The famous Danish archaeologist Professor Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821–85) promoted the attribution to St Magnus of Orkney during his visit to the British Isles in 1846-7, when he was formulating the concept of the 'Viking Age',[21] and a history of London written in 1901 concluded that "the Danes, on their second invasion ... added at least two churches with Danish names, Olaf and Magnus".[22] A guide to the City Churches published in 1917 reverted to the view that St Magnus was dedicated to a martyr of the third century,[23] but the discovery of St Magnus of Orkney's relics in 1919 renewed interest in a Scandinavian patron and this connection was encouraged by the Rector who arrived in 1921

 

A metropolitan bishop of London attended the Council of Arles in 314, which indicates that there must have been a Christian community in Londinium by this date, and it has been suggested that a large aisled building excavated in 1993 near Tower Hill can be compared with the 4th-century Cathedral of St Tecla in Milan.[25] However, there is no archaeological evidence to suggest that any of the mediaeval churches in the City of London had a Roman foundation.[26] A grant from William I in 1067 to Westminster Abbey, which refers to the stone church of St Magnus near the bridge ("lapidee eccle sci magni prope pontem"), is generally accepted to be 12th century forgery,[27] and it is possible that a charter of confirmation in 1108-16 might also be a later fabrication.[28] Nonetheless, these manuscripts may preserve valid evidence of a date of foundation in the 11th century.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of the bridgehead was not occupied from the early 5th century until the early 10th century. Environmental evidence indicates that the area was waste ground during this period, colonised by elder and nettles. Following Alfred's decision to reoccupy the walled area of London in 886, new harbours were established at Queenhithe and Billingsgate. A bridge was in place by the early 11th century, a factor which would have encouraged the occupation of the bridgehead by craftsmen and traders.[30] A lane connecting Botolph's Wharf and Billingsgate to the rebuilt bridge may have developed by the mid-11th century. The waterfront at this time was a hive of activity, with the construction of embankments sloping down from the riverside wall to the river. Thames Street appeared in the second half of the 11th century immediately behind (north of) the old Roman riverside wall and in 1931 a piling from this was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of a nearby building. It now stands at the base of the church tower.[31] St Magnus was built to the south of Thames Street to serve the growing population of the bridgehead area[32] and was certainly in existence by 1128-33.[33]

The small ancient parish[34] extended about 110 yards along the waterfront either side of the old bridge, from 'Stepheneslane' (later Churchehawlane or Church Yard Alley) and 'Oystergate' (later called Water Lane or Gully Hole) on the West side to 'Retheresgate' (a southern extension of Pudding Lane) on the East side, and was centred on the crossroads formed by Fish Street Hill (originally Bridge Street, then New Fish Street) and Thames Street.[35] The mediaeval parish also included Drinkwater's Wharf (named after the owner, Thomas Drinkwater), which was located immediately West of the bridge, and Fish Wharf, which was to the South of the church. The latter was of considerable importance as the fishmongers had their shops on the wharf. The tenement was devised by Andrew Hunte to the Rector and Churchwardens in 1446.[36] The ancient parish was situated in the South East part of Bridge Ward, which had evolved in the 11th century between the embankments to either side of the bridge.[37]

In 1182 the Abbot of Westminster and the Prior of Bermondsey agreed that the advowson of St Magnus should be divided equally between them. Later in the 1180s, on their presentation, the Archdeacon of London inducted his nephew as parson.

 

Between the late Saxon period and 1209 there was a series of wooden bridges across the Thames, but in that year a stone bridge was completed.[39] The work was overseen by Peter de Colechurch, a priest and head of the Fraternity of the Brethren of London Bridge. The Church had from early times encouraged the building of bridges and this activity was so important it was perceived to be an act of piety - a commitment to God which should be supported by the giving of alms. London’s citizens made gifts of land and money "to God and the Bridge".[40] The Bridge House Estates became part of the City's jurisdiction in 1282.

 

Until 1831 the bridge was aligned with Fish Street Hill, so the main entrance into the City from the south passed the West door of St Magnus on the north bank of the river.[41] The bridge included a chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket[42] for the use of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury Cathedral to visit his tomb.[43] The chapel and about two thirds of the bridge were in the parish of St Magnus. After some years of rivalry a dispute arose between the church and the chapel over the offerings given to the chapel by the pilgrims. The matter was resolved by the brethren of the chapel making an annual contribution to St Magnus.[44] At the Reformation the chapel was turned into a house and later a warehouse, the latter being demolished in 1757-58.

The church grew in importance. On 21 November 1234 a grant of land was made to the parson of St Magnus for the enlargement of the church.[45] The London eyre of 1244 recorded that in 1238 "A thief named William of Ewelme of the county of Buckingham fled to the church of St. Magnus the Martyr, London, and there acknowledged the theft and abjured the realm. He had no chattels."[46] Another entry recorded that "The City answers saying that the church of ... St. Magnus the Martyr ... which [is] situated on the king's highway ... ought to belong to the king and be in his gift".[47] The church presumably jutted into the road running to the bridge, as it did in later times.[48] In 1276 it was recorded that "the church of St. Magnus the Martyr is worth £15 yearly and Master Geoffrey de la Wade now holds it by the grant of the prior of Bermundeseie and the abbot of Westminster to whom King Henry conferred the advowson by his charter.

 

In 1274 "came King Edward and his wife [Eleanor] from the Holy Land and were crowned at Westminster on the Sunday next after the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady [15 August], being the Feast of Saint Magnus [19 August]; and the Conduit in Chepe ran all the day with red wine and white wine to drink, for all such as wished."[50] Stow records that "in the year 1293, for victory obtained by Edward I against the Scots, every citizen, according to their several trade, made their several show, but especially the fishmongers" whose solemn procession including a knight "representing St Magnus, because it was upon St Magnus' day".

An important religious guild, the Confraternity de Salve Regina, was in existence by 1343, having been founded by the "better sort of the Parish of St Magnus" to sing the anthem 'Salve Regina' every evening.[51] The Guild certificates of 1389 record that the Confraternity of Salve Regina and the guild of St Thomas the Martyr in the chapel on the bridge, whose members belonged to St Magnus parish, had determined to become one, to have the anthem of St Thomas after the Salve Regina and to devote their united resources to restoring and enlarging the church of St Magnus.[52] An Act of Parliament of 1437[53] provided that all incorporated fraternities and companies should register their charters and have their ordinances approved by the civic authorities.[54] Fear of enquiry into their privileges may have led established fraternities to seek a firm foundation for their rights. The letters patent of the fraternity of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr of Salve Regina in St Magnus dated 26 May 1448 mention that the fraternity had petitioned for a charter on the grounds that the society was not duly founded.

 

In the mid-14th century the Pope was the Patron of the living and appointed five rectors to the benefice.[56]

Henry Yevele, the master mason whose work included the rebuilding of Westminster Hall and the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, was a parishioner and rebuilt the chapel on London Bridge between 1384 and 1397. He served as a warden of London Bridge and was buried at St Magnus on his death in 1400. His monument was extant in John Stow's time, but was probably destroyed by the fire of 1666.[57]

Yevele, as the King’s Mason, was overseen by Geoffrey Chaucer in his capacity as the Clerk of the King's Works. In The General Prologue of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales the five guildsmen "were clothed alle in o lyveree Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee"[58] and may be thought of as belonging to the guild in the parish of St Magnus, or one like it.[59] Chaucer's family home was near to the bridge in Thames Street.

 

n 1417 a dispute arose concerning who should take the place of honour amongst the rectors in the City churches at the Whit Monday procession, a place that had been claimed from time to time by the rectors of St Peter Cornhill, St Magnus the Martyr and St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The Mayor and Aldermen decided that the Rector of St Peter Cornhill should take precedence.[61]

St Magnus Corner at the north end of London Bridge was an important meeting place in mediaeval London, where notices were exhibited, proclamations read out and wrongdoers punished.[62] As it was conveniently close to the River Thames, the church was chosen by the Bishop between the 15th and 17th centuries as a convenient venue for general meetings of the clergy in his diocese.[63] Dr John Young, Bishop of Callipolis (rector of St Magnus 1514-15) pronounced judgement on 16 December 1514 (with the Bishop of London and in the presence of Thomas More, then under-sheriff of London) in the heresy case concerning Richard Hunne.[64]

In pictures from the mid-16th century the old church looks very similar to the present-day St Giles without Cripplegate in the Barbican.[65] According to the martyrologist John Foxe, a woman was imprisoned in the 'cage' on London Bridge in April 1555 and told to "cool herself there" for refusing to pray at St Magnus for the recently deceased Pope Julius III.[66]

Simon Lowe, a Member of Parliament and Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company during the reign of Queen Mary and one of the jurors who acquitted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton in 1554, was a parishioner.[67] He was a mourner at the funeral of Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester from 1554 to 1558 and Rector of St Magnus from 1537 to 1558, who was interred in the church on 30 November 1558 with much solemnity. In accordance with the Catholic church's desire to restore ecclesiastical pageantry in England, the funeral was a splendid affair, ending in a magnificent dinner.

 

Lowe was included in a return of recusants in the Diocese of Rochester in 1577,[69] but was buried at St Magnus on 6 February 1578.[70] Stow refers to his monument in the church. His eldest son, Timothy (died 1617), was knighted in 1603. His second son, Alderman Sir Thomas Lowe (1550–1623), was Master of the Haberdashers' Company on several occasions, Sheriff of London in 1595/96, Lord Mayor in 1604/05 and a Member of Parliament for London.[71] His youngest son, Blessed John Lowe (1553–1586), having originally been a Protestant minister, converted to Roman Catholicism, studied for the priesthood at Douay and Rome and returned to London as a missionary priest.[72] His absence had already been noted; a list of 1581 of "such persons of the Diocese of London as have any children ... beyond the seas" records "John Low son to Margaret Low of the Bridge, absent without licence four years". Having gained 500 converts to Catholicism between 1583 and 1586, he was arrested whilst walking with his mother near London Bridge, committed to The Clink and executed at Tyburn on 8 October 1586.[73] He was beatified in 1987 as one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales.

 

Sir William Garrard, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman, Sheriff of London in 1553/53, Lord Mayor in 1555/56 and a Member of Parliament was born in the parish and buried at St Magnus in 1571.[74] Sir William Romney, merchant, philanthropist, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman for Bridge Within and Sheriff of London in 1603/04[75] was married at St Magnus in 1582. Ben Jonson is believed to have been married at St Magnus in 1594.[76]

The patronage of St Magnus, having previously been in the Abbots and Convents of Westminster and Bermondsey (who presented alternatively), fell to the Crown on the suppression of the monasteries. In 1553, Queen Mary, by letters patent, granted it to the Bishop of London and his successors.[77]

The church had a series of distinguished rectors in the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th century, including Myles Coverdale (Rector 1564-66), John Young (Rector 1566-92), Theophilus Aylmer (Rector 1592-1625), (Archdeacon of London and son of John Aylmer), and Cornelius Burges (Rector 1626-41). Coverdale was buried in the chancel of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, but when that church was pulled down in 1840 his remains were removed to St Magnus.[78]

On 5 November 1562 the churchwardens were ordered to break, or cause to be broken, in two parts all the altar stones in the church.[79] Coverdale, an anti-vestiarian, was Rector at the peak of the vestments controversy. In March 1566 Archbishop Parker caused great consternation among many clergy by his edicts prescribing what was to be worn and by his summoning the London clergy to Lambeth to require their compliance. Coverdale excused himself from attending.[80] Stow records that a non-conforming Scot who normally preached at St Magnus twice a day precipitated a fight on Palm Sunday 1566 at Little All Hallows in Thames Street with his preaching against vestments.[81] Coverdale's resignation from St Magnus in summer 1566 may have been associated with these events. Separatist congregations started to emerge after 1566 and the first such, who called themselves 'Puritans' or 'Unspottyd Lambs of the Lord', was discovered close to St Magnus at Plumbers' Hall in Thames Street on 19 June 1567.

 

St Magnus narrowly escaped destruction in 1633. A later edition of Stow's Survey records that "On the 13th day of February, between eleven and twelve at night, there happened in the house of one Briggs, a Needle-maker near St Magnus Church, at the North end of the Bridge, by the carelessness of a Maid-Servant setting a tub of hot sea-coal ashes under a pair of stairs, a sad and lamentable fire, which consumed all the buildings before eight of the clock the next morning, from the North end of the Bridge to the first vacancy on both sides, containing forty-two houses; water then being very scarce, the Thames being almost frozen over."[83] Susannah Chambers "by her last will & testament bearing date 28th December 1640 gave the sum of Twenty-two shillings and Sixpence Yearly for a Sermon to be preached on the 12th day of February in every Year within the Church of Saint Magnus in commemoration of God's merciful preservation of the said Church of Saint Magnus from Ruin, by the late and terrible Fire on London Bridge. Likewise Annually to the Poor the sum of 17/6."[84] The tradition of a "Fire Sermon" was revived on 12 February 2004, when the first preacher was the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.

 

Parliamentarian rule and the more Protestant ethos of the 1640s led to the removal or destruction of "superstitious" and "idolatrous" images and fittings. Glass painters such as Baptista Sutton, who had previously installed "Laudian innovations", found new employment by repairing and replacing these to meet increasingly strict Protestant standards. In January 1642 Sutton replaced 93 feet of glass at St Magnus and in June 1644 he was called back to take down the "painted imagery glass" and replace it.[86] In June 1641 "rail riots" broke out at a number of churches. This was a time of high tension following the trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford and rumours of army and popish plots were rife. The Protestation Oath, with its pledge to defend the true religion "against all Popery and popish innovation", triggered demands from parishioners for the removal of the rails as popish innovations which the Protestation had bound them to reform. The minister arranged a meeting between those for and against the pulling down of the rails, but was unsuccessful in reaching a compromise and it was feared that they would be demolished by force.[87] However, in 1663 the parish resumed Laudian practice and re-erected rails around its communion table.[88]

Joseph Caryl was incumbent from 1645 until his ejection in 1662. In 1663 he was reportedly living near London Bridge and preaching to an Independent congregation that met at various places in the City.[89]

During the Great Plague of 1665, the City authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in the hope that the air would be cleansed. Daniel Defoe's semi-fictictional, but highly realistic, work A Journal of the Plague Year records that one of these was "just by St Magnus Church"

 

Despite its escape in 1633, the church was one of the first buildings to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.[91] St Magnus stood less than 300 yards from the bakehouse of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane where the fire started. Farriner, a former churchwarden of St Magnus, was buried in the middle aisle of the church on 11 December 1670, perhaps within a temporary structure erected for holding services.[92]

The parish engaged the master mason George Dowdeswell to start the work of rebuilding in 1668. The work was carried forward between 1671 and 1687 under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, the body of the church being substantially complete by 1676.[93] At a cost of £9,579 19s 10d St Magnus was one of Wren's most expensive churches.[94] The church of St Margaret New Fish Street was not rebuilt after the fire and its parish was united to that of St Magnus.

 

The chancels of many of Wren’s city churches had chequered marble floors and the chancel of St Magnus is an example,[95] the parish agreeing after some debate to place the communion table on a marble ascent with steps[96] and to commission altar rails of Sussex wrought iron. The nave and aisles are paved with freestone flags. A steeple, closely modelled on one built between 1614 and 1624 by François d'Aguilon and Pieter Huyssens for the church of St Carolus Borromeus in Antwerp, was added between 1703 and 1706.[97] London's skyline was transformed by Wren's tall steeples and that of St Magnus is considered to be one his finest.[98]

The large clock projecting from the tower was a well-known landmark in the city as it hung over the roadway of Old London Bridge.[99] It was presented to the church in 1709 by Sir Charles Duncombe[100] (Alderman for the Ward of Bridge Within and, in 1708/09, Lord Mayor of London). Tradition says "that it was erected in consequence of a vow made by the donor, who, in the earlier part of his life, had once to wait a considerable time in a cart upon London Bridge, without being able to learn the hour, when he made a promise, that if he ever became successful in the world, he would give to that Church a public clock ... that all passengers might see the time of day."[101] The maker was Langley Bradley, a clockmaker in Fenchurch Street, who had worked for Wren on many other projects, including the clock for the new St Paul's Cathedral. The sword rest in the church, designed to hold the Lord Mayor's sword and mace when he attended divine service "in state", dates from 1708.

Duncombe and his benefactions to St Magnus feature prominently in Daniel Defoe's The True-Born Englishman, a biting satire on critics of William III that went through several editions from 1700 (the year in which Duncombe was elected Sheriff).

 

Shortly before his death in 1711, Duncombe commissioned an organ for the church, the first to have a swell-box, by Abraham Jordan (father and son).[103] The Spectator announced that "Whereas Mr Abraham Jordan, senior and junior, have, with their own hands, joinery excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, consisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which never was in any organ before; this instrument will be publicly opened on Sunday next [14 February 1712], the performance by Mr John Robinson. The above-said Abraham Jordan gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will attend every day next week at the said Church, to accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a curiosity to hear it".[104]

The organ case, which remains in its original state, is looked upon as one of the finest existing examples of the Grinling Gibbons's school of wood carving.[105] The first organist of St Magnus was John Robinson (1682–1762), who served in that role for fifty years and in addition as organist of Westminster Abbey from 1727. Other organists have included the blind organist George Warne (1792–1868, organist 1820-26 until his appointment to the Temple Church), James Coward (1824–80, organist 1868-80 who was also organist to the Crystal Palace and renowned for his powers of improvisation) and George Frederick Smith FRCO (1856–1918, organist 1880-1918 and Professor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music).[106] The organ has been restored several times - in 1760, 1782, 1804, 1855, 1861, 1879, 1891, 1924, 1949 after wartime damage and 1997 - since it was first built.[107] Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was one of several patrons of the organ appeal in the mid-1990s[108] and John Scott gave an inaugural recital on 20 May 1998 following the completion of that restoration.[109] The instrument has an Historic Organ Certificate and full details are recorded in the National Pipe Organ Register.[110]

The hymn tune "St Magnus", usually sung at Ascensiontide to the text "The head that once was crowned with thorns", was written by Jeremiah Clarke in 1701 and named for the church.

 

Canaletto drew St Magnus and old London Bridge as they appeared in the late 1740s.[112] Between 1756 and 1762, under the London Bridge Improvement Act of 1756 (c. 40), the Corporation of London demolished the buildings on London Bridge to widen the roadway, ease traffic congestion and improve safety for pedestrians.[113] The churchwardens’ accounts of St Magnus list many payments to those injured on the Bridge and record that in 1752 a man was crushed to death between two carts.[114] After the House of Commons had resolved upon the alteration of London Bridge, the Rev Robert Gibson, Rector of St Magnus, applied to the House for relief; stating that 48l. 6s. 2d. per annum, part of his salary of 170l. per annum, was assessed upon houses on London Bridge; which he should utterly lose by their removal unless a clause in the bill about to be passed should provide a remedy.[115] Accordingly, Sections 18 and 19 of 1756 Act provided that the relevant amounts of tithe and poor rate should be a charge on the Bridge House Estates.[116]

A serious fire broke out on 18 April 1760 in an oil shop at the south east corner of the church, which consumed most of the church roof and did considerable damage to the fabric. The fire burnt warehouses to the south of the church and a number of houses on the northern end of London Bridge.

 

As part of the bridge improvements, overseen by the architect Sir Robert Taylor, a new pedestrian walkway was built along the eastern side of the bridge. With the other buildings gone St Magnus blocked the new walkway.[117] As a consequence it was necessary in 1762 to 1763 to remove the vestry rooms at the West end of the church and open up the side arches of the tower so that people could pass underneath the tower.[118] The tower’s lower storey thus became an external porch. Internally a lobby was created at the West end under the organ gallery and a screen with fine octagonal glazing inserted. A new Vestry was built to the South of the church.[119] The Act also provided that the land taken from the church for the widening was "to be considered ... as part of the cemetery of the said church ... but if the pavement thereof be broken up on account of the burying of any persons, the same shall be ... made good ... by the churchwardens"

 

Soldiers were stationed in the Vestry House of St Magnus during the Gordon Riots in June 1780.[121]

By 1782 the noise level from the activities of Billingsgate Fish Market had become unbearable and the large windows on the north side of the church were blocked up leaving only circular windows high up in the wall.[122] At some point between the 1760s and 1814 the present clerestory was constructed with its oval windows and fluted and coffered plasterwork.[123] J. M. W. Turner painted the church in the mid-1790s.[124]

The rector of St Magnus between 1792 and 1808, following the death of Robert Gibson on 28 July 1791,[125] was Thomas Rennell FRS. Rennell was President of Sion College in 1806/07. There is a monument to Thomas Leigh (Rector 1808-48 and President of Sion College 1829/30,[126] at St Peter's Church, Goldhanger in Essex.[127] Richard Hazard (1761–1837) was connected with the church as sexton, parish clerk and ward beadle for nearly 50 years[128] and served as Master of the Parish Clerks' Company in 1831/32.[129]

In 1825 the church was "repaired and beautified at a very considerable expense. During the reparation the east window, which had been closed, was restored, and the interior of the fabric conformed to the state in which it was left by its great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The magnificent organ ... was taken down and rebuilt by Mr Parsons, and re-opened, with the church, on the 12th February, 1826".[130] Unfortunately, as a contemporary writer records, "On the night of the 31st of July, 1827, [the church's] safety was threatened by the great fire which consumed the adjacent warehouses, and it is perhaps owing to the strenuous and praiseworthy exertions of the firemen, that the structure exists at present. ... divine service was suspended and not resumed until the 20th January 1828. In the interval the church received such tasteful and elegant decorations, that it may now compete with any church in the metropolis.

 

In 1823 royal assent was given to ‘An Act for the Rebuilding of London Bridge’ and in 1825 John Garratt, Lord Mayor and Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Within, laid the first stone of the new London Bridge.[132] In 1831 Sir John Rennie’s new bridge was opened further upstream and the old bridge demolished. St Magnus ceased to be the gateway to London as it had been for over 600 years. Peter de Colechurch[133] had been buried in the crypt of the chapel on the bridge and his bones were unceremoniously dumped in the River Thames.[134] In 1921 two stones from Old London Bridge were discovered across the road from the church. They now stand in the churchyard.

Wren's church of St Michael Crooked Lane was demolished, the final service on Sunday 20 March 1831 having to be abandoned due to the effects of the building work. The Rector of St Michael preached a sermon the following Sunday at St Magnus lamenting the demolition of his church with its monuments and "the disturbance of the worship of his parishioners on the preceeding Sabbath".[135] The parish of St Michael Crooked Lane was united to that of St Magnus, which itself lost a burial ground in Church Yard Alley to the approach road for the new bridge.[136] However, in substitution it had restored to it the land taken for the widening of the old bridge in 1762 and was also given part of the approach lands to the east of the old bridge.[137] In 1838 the Committee for the London Bridge Approaches reported to Common Council that new burial grounds had been provided for the parishes of St Michael, Crooked Lane and St Magnus, London Bridge.

 

Depictions of St Magnus after the building of the new bridge, seen behind Fresh Wharf and the new London Bridge Wharf, include paintings by W. Fenoulhet in 1841 and by Charles Ginner in 1913.[139] This prospect was affected in 1924 by the building of Adelaide House to a design by John James Burnet,[140] The Times commenting that "the new ‘architectural Matterhorn’ ... conceals all but the tip of the church spire".[141] There was, however, an excellent view of the church for a few years between the demolition of Adelaide Buildings and the erection of its replacement.[142] Adelaide House is now listed.[143] Regis House, on the site of the abandoned King William Street terminus of the City & South London Railway (subsequently the Northern Line),[144] and the Steam Packet Inn, on the corner of Lower Thames Street and Fish Street Hill,[145] were developed in 1931.

 

By the early 1960s traffic congestion had become a problem[147] and Lower Thames Street was widened over the next decade[148] to form part of a significant new east-west transport artery (the A3211).[149] The setting of the church was further affected by the construction of a new London Bridge between 1967 and 1973.[150] The New Fresh Wharf warehouse to the east of the church, built in 1939, was demolished in 1973-4 following the collapse of commercial traffic in the Pool of London[151] and, after an archaeological excavation,[152] St Magnus House was constructed on the site in 1978 to a design by R. Seifert & Partners.[153] This development now allows a clear view of the church from the east side.[154] The site to the south east of The Monument (between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane), formerly predominantly occupied by fish merchants,[155] was redeveloped as Centurion House and Gartmore (now Providian) House at the time of the closure of old Billingsgate Market in January 1982.[156] A comprehensive redevelopment of Centurion House began in October 2011 with completion planned in 2013.[157] Regis House, to the south west of The Monument, was redeveloped by Land Securities PLC in 1998.[158]

The vista from The Monument south to the River Thames, over the roof of St Magnus, is protected under the City of London Unitary Development Plan,[159] although the South bank of the river is now dominated by The Shard. Since 2004 the City of London Corporation has been exploring ways of enhancing the Riverside Walk to the south of St Magnus.[160] Work on a new staircase to connect London Bridge to the Riverside Walk is due to commence in March 2013.[161] The story of St Magnus's relationship with London Bridge and an interview with the rector featured in the television programme The Bridges That Built London with Dan Cruickshank, first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 June 2012.[162] The City Corporation's 'Fenchurch and Monument Area Enhancement Strategy' of August 2012 recommended ways of reconnecting St Magnus and the riverside to the area north of Lower Thames Street.

 

A lectureship at St Michael Crooked Lane, which was transferred to St Magnus in 1831, was endowed by the wills of Thomas and Susannah Townsend in 1789 and 1812 respectively.[164] The Revd Henry Robert Huckin, Headmaster of Repton School from 1874 to 1882, was appointed Townsend Lecturer at St Magnus in 1871.[165]

St Magnus narrowly escaped damage from a major fire in Lower Thames Street in October 1849.

 

During the second half of the 19th century the rectors were Alexander McCaul, DD (1799–1863, Rector 1850-63), who coined the term 'Judaeo Christian' in a letter dated 17 October 1821,[167] and his son Alexander Israel McCaul (1835–1899, curate 1859-63, rector 1863-99). The Revd Alexander McCaul Sr[168] was a Christian missionary to the Polish Jews, who (having declined an offer to become the first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem)[169] was appointed professor of Hebrew and rabbinical literature at King's College, London in 1841. His daughter, Elizabeth Finn (1825–1921), a noted linguist, founded the Distressed Gentlefolk Aid Association (now known as Elizabeth Finn Care).[170]

In 1890 it was reported that the Bishop of London was to hold an inquiry as to the desirability of uniting the benefices of St George Botolph Lane and St Magnus. The expectation was a fusion of the two livings, the demolition of St George’s and the pensioning of "William Gladstone’s favourite Canon", Malcolm MacColl. Although services ceased there, St George’s was not demolished until 1904. The parish was then merged with St Mary at Hill rather than St Magnus.[171]

The patronage of the living was acquired in the late 19th century by Sir Henry Peek Bt. DL MP, Senior Partner of Peek Brothers & Co of 20 Eastcheap, the country's largest firm of wholesale tea brokers and dealers, and Chairman of the Commercial Union Assurance Co. Peek was a generous philanthropist who was instrumental in saving both Wimbledon Common and Burnham Beeches from development. His grandson, Sir Wilfred Peek Bt. DSO JP, presented a cousin, Richard Peek, as rector in 1904. Peek, an ardent Freemason, held the office of Grand Chaplain of England. The Times recorded that his memorial service in July 1920 "was of a semi-Masonic character, Mr Peek having been a prominent Freemason".[172] In June 1895 Peek had saved the life of a young French girl who jumped overboard from a ferry midway between Dinard and St Malo in Brittany and was awarded the bronze medal of the Royal Humane Society and the Gold Medal 1st Class of the Sociâetâe Nationale de Sauvetage de France.[173]

In November 1898 a memorial service was held at St Magnus for Sir Stuart Knill Bt. (1824–1898), head of the firm of John Knill and Co, wharfingers, and formerly Lord Mayor and Master of the Plumbers' Company.[174] This was the first such service for a Roman Catholic taken in an Anglican church.[175] Sir Stuart's son, Sir John Knill Bt. (1856-1934), also served as Alderman for the Ward of Bridge Within, Lord Mayor and Master of the Plumbers' Company.

 

Until 1922 the annual Fish Harvest Festival was celebrated at St Magnus.[176] The service moved in 1923 to St Dunstan in the East[177] and then to St Mary at Hill, but St Magnus retained close links with the local fish merchants until the closure of old Billingsgate Market. St Magnus, in the 1950s, was "buried in the stink of Billingsgate fish-market, against which incense was a welcome antidote".

 

A report in 1920 proposed the demolition of nineteen City churches, including St Magnus.[179] A general outcry from members of the public and parishioners alike prevented the execution of this plan.[180] The members of the City Livery Club passed a resolution that they regarded "with horror and indignation the proposed demolition of 19 City churches" and pledged the Club to do everything in its power to prevent such a catastrophe.[181] T. S. Eliot wrote that the threatened churches gave "to the business quarter of London a beauty which its hideous banks and commercial houses have not quite defaced. ... the least precious redeems some vulgar street ... The loss of these towers, to meet the eye down a grimy lane, and of these empty naves, to receive the solitary visitor at noon from the dust and tumult of Lombard Street, will be irreparable and unforgotten."[182] The London County Council published a report concluding that St Magnus was "one of the most beautiful of all Wren's works" and "certainly one of the churches which should not be demolished without specially good reasons and after very full consideration."[183] Due to the uncertainty about the church's future, the patron decided to defer action to fill the vacancy in the benefice and a curate-in-charge temporarily took responsibility for the parish.[184] However, on 23 April 1921 it was announced that the Revd Henry Joy Fynes-Clinton would be the new Rector. The Times concluded that the appointment, with the Bishop’s approval, meant that the proposed demolition would not be carried out.[185] Fr Fynes-Clinton was inducted on 31 May 1921.[186]

The rectory, built by Robert Smirke in 1833-5, was at 39 King William Street.[187] A decision was taken in 1909 to sell the property, the intention being to purchase a new rectory in the suburbs, but the sale fell through and at the time of the 1910 Land Tax Valuations the building was being let out to a number of tenants. The rectory was sold by the diocese on 30 May 1921 for £8,000 to Ridgways Limited, which owned the adjoining premises.[188] The Vestry House adjoining the south west of the church, replacing the one built in the 1760s, may also have been by Smirke. Part of the burial ground of St Michael Crooked Lane, located between Fish Street Hill and King William Street, survived as an open space until 1987 when it was compulsorily purchased to facilitate the extension of the Docklands Light Railway into the City.[189] The bodies were reburied at Brookwood Cemetery.

 

The interior of the church was restored by Martin Travers in 1924, in a neo-baroque style,[191] reflecting the Anglo-Catholic character of the congregation[192] following the appointment of Henry Joy Fynes-Clinton as Rector.[193] Fr Fynes, as he was often known, served as Rector of St Magnus from 31 May 1921 until his death on 4 December 1959 and substantially beautified the interior of the church.[194]

Fynes-Clinton held very strong Anglo-Catholic views, and proceeded to make St Magnus as much like a baroque Roman Catholic church as possible. However, "he was such a loveable character with an old-world courtesy which was irresistible, that it was difficult for anyone to be unpleasant to him, however much they might disapprove of his views".[195] He generally said the Roman Mass in Latin; and in personality was "grave, grand, well-connected and holy, with a laconic sense of humour".[196] To a Protestant who had come to see Coverdale's monument he is reported to have said "We have just had a service in the language out of which he translated the Bible".[197] The use of Latin in services was not, however, without grammatical danger. A response from his parishioners of "Ora pro nobis" after "Omnes sancti Angeli et Archangeli" in the Litany of the Saints would elicit a pause and the correction "No, Orate pro nobis."

 

In 1922 Fynes-Clinton refounded the Fraternity of Our Lady de Salve Regina.[198] The Fraternity's badge[199] is shown in the stained glass window at the east end of the north wall of the church above the reredos of the Lady Chapel altar. He also erected a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham and arranged pilgrimages to the Norfolk shrine, where he was one of the founding Guardians.[200] In 1928 the journal of the Catholic League reported that St Magnus had presented a votive candle to the Shrine at Walsingham "in token of our common Devotion and the mutual sympathy and prayers that are we hope a growing bond between the peaceful country shrine and the church in the heart of the hurrying City, from the Altar of which the Pilgrimages regularly start".[201]

Fynes-Clinton was General Secretary of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union and its successor, the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, from 1906 to 1920 and served as Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Eastern Churches Committee from 1920 to around 1924. A Solemn Requiem was celebrated at St Magnus in September 1921 for the late King Peter of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

At the midday service on 1 March 1922, J.A. Kensit, leader of the Protestant Truth Society, got up and protested against the form of worship.[202] The proposed changes to the church in 1924 led to a hearing in the Consistory Court of the Chancellor of the Diocese of London and an appeal to the Court of Arches.[203] Judgement was given by the latter Court in October 1924. The advowson was purchased in 1931, without the knowledge of the Rector and Parochial Church Council, by the evangelical Sir Charles King-Harman.[204] A number of such cases, including the purchase of the advowsons of Clapham and Hampstead Parish Churches by Sir Charles, led to the passage of the Benefices (Purchase of Rights of Patronage) Measure 1933.[205] This allowed the parishioners of St Magnus to purchase the advowson from Sir Charles King-Harman for £1,300 in 1934 and transfer it to the Patronage Board.

 

St Magnus was one of the churches that held special services before the opening of the second Anglo-Catholic Congress in 1923.[207] Fynes-Clinton[208] was the first incumbent to hold lunchtime services for City workers.[209] Pathé News filmed the Palm Sunday procession at St Magnus in 1935.[210] In The Towers of Trebizond, the novel by Rose Macauley published in 1956, Fr Chantry-Pigg's church is described as being several feet higher than St Mary’s Bourne Street and some inches above even St Magnus the Martyr.[211]

In July 1937 Fr Fynes-Clinton, with two members of his congregation, travelled to Kirkwall to be present at the 800th anniversary celebrations of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. During their stay they visited Egilsay and were shown the spot where St Magnus had been slain. Later Fr Fynes-Clinton was present at a service held at the roofless church of St Magnus on Egilsay, where he suggested to his host Mr Fryer, the minister of the Cathedral, that the congregations of Kirkwall and London should unite to erect a permanent stone memorial on the traditional site where Earl Magnus had been murdered. In 1938 a cairn was built of local stone on Egilsay. It stands 12 feet high and is 6 feet broad at its base. The memorial was dedicated on 7 September 1938 and a bronze inscription on the monument reads "erected by the Rector and Congregation of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge and the Minister and Congregation of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall to commemorate the traditional spot where Earl Magnus was slain, AD circa 1116 and to commemorate the Octocentenary of St Magnus Cathedral 1937"

 

A bomb which fell on London Bridge in 1940 during the Blitz of World War II blew out all the windows and damaged the plasterwork and the roof of the north aisle.[213] However, the church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950[214] and repaired in 1951, being re-opened for worship in June of that year by the Bishop of London, William Wand.[215] The architect was Laurence King.[216] Restoration and redecoration work has subsequently been carried out several times, including after a fire in the early hours of 4 November 1995.[217] Cleaning of the exterior stonework was completed in 2010.

 

Some minor changes were made to the parish boundary in 1954, including the transfer to St Magnus of an area between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane. The site of St Leonard Eastcheap, a church that was not rebuilt after the Great Fire, is therefore now in the parish of St Magnus despite being united to St Edmund the King.

Fr Fynes-Clinton marked the 50th anniversary of his priesthood in May 1952 with High Mass at St Magnus and lunch at Fishmongers' Hall.[218] On 20 September 1956 a solemn Mass was sung in St Magnus to commence the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the restoration of the Holy House at Walsingham in 1931. In the evening of that day a reception was held in the large chamber of Caxton Hall, when between three and four hundred guests assembled.[219]

Fr Fynes-Clinton was succeeded as rector in 1960 by Fr Colin Gill,[220] who remained as incumbent until his death in 1983.[221] Fr Gill was also closely connected with Walsingham and served as a Guardian between 1953 and 1983, including nine years as Master of the College of Guardians.[222] He celebrated the Mass at the first National Pilgrimage in 1959[223] and presided over the Jubilee celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Shrine in 1981, having been present at the Holy House's opening.[224] A number of the congregation of St Stephen's Lewisham moved to St Magnus around 1960, following temporary changes in the form of worship there.

 

In 1994 the Templeman Commission proposed a radical restructuring of the churches in the City Deanery. St Magnus was identified as one of the 12 churches that would remain as either a parish or an 'active' church.[226] However, the proposals were dropped following a public outcry and the consecration of a new Bishop of London.

The parish priest since 2003 has been Fr Philip Warner, who was previously priest-in-charge of St Mary's Church, Belgrade (Diocese in Europe) and Apokrisiarios for the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Serbian Orthodox Church. Since January 2004 there has been an annual Blessing of the Thames, with the congregations of St Magnus and Southwark Cathedral meeting in the middle of London Bridge.[227] On Sunday 3 July 2011, in anticipation of the feast of the translation of St Thomas Becket (7 July), a procession from St Magnus brought a relic of the saint to the middle of the bridge.[228]

David Pearson specially composed two new pieces, a communion anthem A Mhànais mo rùin (O Magnus of my love) and a hymn to St Magnus Nobilis, humilis, for performance at the church on the feast of St Magnus the Martyr, 16 April 2012.[229] St Magnus's organist, John Eady, has won composition competitions for new choral works at St Paul's Cathedral (a setting of Veni Sancte Spiritus first performed on 27 May 2012) and at Lincoln Cathedral (a setting of the Matin responsory for Advent first performed on 30 November 2013).[230]

In addition to liturgical music of a high standard, St Magnus is the venue for a wide range of musical events. The Clemens non Papa Consort, founded in 2005, performs in collaboration with the production team Concert Bites as the church's resident ensemble.[231] The church is used by The Esterhazy Singers for rehearsals and some concerts.[232] The band Mishaped Pearls performed at the church on 17 December 2011.[233] St Magnus featured in the television programme Jools Holland: London Calling, first broadcast on BBC2 on 9 June 2012.[234] The Platinum Consort made a promotional film at St Magnus for the release of their debut album In the Dark on 2 July 2012.[235]

The Friends of the City Churches had their office in the Vestry House of St Magnus until 2013.

 

Martin Travers modified the high altar reredos, adding paintings of Moses and Aaron and the Ten Commandments between the existing Corinthian columns and reconstructing the upper storey. Above the reredos Travers added a painted and gilded rood.[237] In the centre of the reredos there is a carved gilded pelican (an early Christian symbol of self-sacrifice) and a roundel with Baroque-style angels. The glazed east window, which can be seen in an early photograph of the church, appears to have been filled in at this time. A new altar with console tables was installed and the communion rails moved outwards to extend the size of the sanctuary. Two old door frames were used to construct side chapels and placed at an angle across the north-east and south-east corners of the church. One, the Lady Chapel, was dedicated to the Rector's parents in 1925 and the other was dedicated to Christ the King. Originally, a baroque aumbry was used for Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, but later a tabernacle was installed on the Lady Chapel altar and the aumbry was used to house a relic of the True Cross.

The interior was made to look more European by the removal of the old box pews and the installation of new pews with cut-down ends. Two new columns were inserted in the nave to make the lines regular. The Wren-period pulpit by the joiner William Grey[238] was opened up and provided with a soundboard and crucifix. Travers also designed the statue of St Magnus of Orkney, which stands in the south aisle, and the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.[239]

On the north wall there is a Russian Orthodox icon, painted in 1908. The modern stations of the cross in honey-coloured Japanese oak are the work of Robert Randall and Ashley Sands.[240] One of the windows in the north wall dates from 1671 and came from Plumbers' Hall in Chequer Yard, Bush Lane, which was demolished in 1863 to make way for Cannon Street Railway Station.[241] A fireplace from the Hall was re-erected in the Vestry House. The other windows on the north side are by Alfred Wilkinson and date from 1952 to 1960. These show the arms of the Plumbers’, Fishmongers’ and Coopers’ Companies together with those of William Wand when Bishop of London and Geoffrey Fisher when Archbishop of Canterbury and (as noted above) the badge of the Fraternity of Our Lady de Salve Regina.

The stained glass windows in the south wall, which are by Lawrence Lee and date from 1949 to 1955, represent lost churches associated with the parish: St Magnus and his ruined church of Egilsay, St Margaret of Antioch with her lost church in New Fish Street (where the Monument to the Great Fire now stands), St Michael with his lost church of Crooked Lane (demolished to make way for the present King William Street) and St Thomas Becket with his chapel on Old London Bridge.[242]

The church possesses a fine model of Old London Bridge. One of the tiny figures on the bridge appears out of place in the mediaeval setting, wearing a policeman's uniform. This is a representation of the model-maker, David T. Aggett, who is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers and was formerly in the police service.[243]

The Mischiefs by Fire Act 1708 and the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774 placed a requirement on every parish to keep equipment to fight fires. The church owns two historic fire engines that belonged to the parish of St Michael, Crooked Lane.[244] One of these is in storage at the Museum of London. The whereabouts of the other, which was misappropriated and sold at auction in 2003, is currently unknown.

In 1896 many bodies were disinterred from the crypt and reburied at the St Magnus's plot at Brookwood Cemetery, which remains the church's burial ground.

 

Prior to the Great Fire of 1666 the old tower had a ring of five bells, a small saints bell and a clock bell.[246] 47 cwt of bell metal was recovered[247] which suggests that the tenor was 13 or 14 cwt. The metal was used to cast three new bells, by William Eldridge of Chertsey in 1672,[248] with a further saints bell cast that year by Hodson.[249] In the absence of a tower, the tenor and saints bell were hung in a free standing timber structure, whilst the others remained unhung.[250]

A new tower was completed in 1704 and it is likely that these bells were transferred to it. However, the tenor became cracked in 1713 and it was decided to replace the bells with a new ring of eight.[251] The new bells, with a tenor of 21 cwt, were cast by Richard Phelps of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Between 1714 and 1718 (the exact date of which is unknown), the ring was increased to ten with the addition of two trebles given by two former ringing Societies, the Eastern Youths and the British Scholars.[252] The first peal was rung on 15 February 1724 of Grandsire Caters by the Society of College Youths. The second bell had to be recast in 1748 by Robert Catlin, and the tenor was recast in 1831 by Thomas Mears of Whitechapel,[253] just in time to ring for the opening of the new London Bridge. In 1843, the treble was said to be "worn out" and so was scrapped, together with the saints bell, while a new treble was cast by Thomas Mears.[254] A new clock bell was erected in the spire in 1846, provided by B R & J Moore, who had earlier purchased it from Thomas Mears.[255] This bell can still be seen in the tower from the street.

The 10 bells were removed for safe keeping in 1940 and stored in the churchyard. They were taken to Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1951 whereupon it was discovered that four of them were cracked. After a long period of indecision, fuelled by lack of funds and interest, the bells were finally sold for scrap in 1976. The metal was used to cast many of the Bells of Congress that were then hung in the Old Post Office Tower in Washington, D.C.

A fund was set up on 19 September 2005, led by Dickon Love, a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths, with a view to installing a new ring of 12 bells in the tower in a new frame. This was the first of three new rings of bells he has installed in the City of London (the others being at St Dunstan-in-the-West and St James Garlickhythe). The money was raised and the bells were cast during 2008/9 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The tenor weighed 26cwt 3qtr 9 lbs (1360 kg) and the new bells were designed to be in the same key as the former ring of ten. They were consecrated by the Bishop of London on 3 March 2009 in the presence of the Lord Mayor[256] and the ringing dedicated on 26 October 2009 by the Archdeacon of London.[257] The bells are named (in order smallest to largest) Michael, Margaret, Thomas of Canterbury, Mary, Cedd, Edward the Confessor, Dunstan, John the Baptist, Erkenwald, Paul, Mellitus and Magnus.[258] The bells project is recorded by an inscription in the vestibule of the church.

 

The first peal on the twelve was rung on 29 November 2009 of Cambridge Surprise Maximus.[260] Notable other recent peals include a peal of Stedman Cinques on 16 April 2011 to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of a Royal Charter to the Plumbers' Company,[261] a peal of Cambridge Surprise Royal on 28 June 2011 when the Fishmongers' Company gave a dinner for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at their hall on the occasion of his 90th birthday[262] and a peal of Avon Delight Maximus on 24 July 2011 in solidarity with the people of Norway following the tragic massacre on Utoeya Island and in Oslo.[263] On the latter occasion the flag of the Orkney Islands was flown at half mast. In 2012 peals were rung during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June and during each of the three Olympic/Paralympic marathons, on 5 and 12 August and 9 September.

The BBC television programme, Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells, broadcast on 14 December 2011, included an interview at St Magnus with the Tower Keeper, Dickon Love,[264] who was captain of the band that rang the "Royal Jubilee Bells" during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June 2012 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[265] Prior to this, he taught John Barrowman to handle a bell at St Magnus for the BBC coverage.

The bells are currently rung every Sunday around 12:15 (following the service) by the Guild of St Magnus.

 

Every other June, newly elected wardens of the Fishmongers' Company, accompanied by the Court, proceed on foot from Fishmongers' Hall[267] to St Magnus for an election service.[268] St Magnus is also the Guild Church of The Plumbers' Company. Two former rectors have served as master of the company,[269] which holds all its services at the church.[270] On 12 April 2011 a service was held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the granting of the company's Royal Charter at which the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres KCVO, gave the sermon and blessed the original Royal Charter. For many years the Cloker Service was held at St Magnus, attended by the Coopers' Company and Grocers' Company, at which the clerk of the Coopers' Company read the will of Henry Cloker dated 10 March 1573.[271]

St Magnus is also the ward church for the Ward of Bridge and Bridge Without, which elects one of the city's aldermen. Between 1550 and 1978 there were separate aldermen for Bridge Within and Bridge Without, the former ward being north of the river and the latter representing the City's area of control in Southwark. The Bridge Ward Club was founded in 1930 to "promote social activities and discussion of topics of local and general interest and also to exchange Ward and parochial information" and holds its annual carol service at St Magnus.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Magnus-the-Martyr

 

This nose job was excellently executed by the Elisha Cuthbert Plastic Surgery and as a result it looks very natural and not overdone.

 

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Denver Comic Con 2013

 

www.facebook.com/adamantiumcostuming/

 

www.instagram.com/adamantiumcostuming/

This marble bust of Louis XIV, situated in Salon de Diane, was executed in 1665 by Gianlorenzo Bernini when the Roman was calld to rebuild the Louvre--a project that was never undertaken. It is one of the few portraits for which Louis XIV agreed to pose and it shows the 27-year-old man as young, handsome, and majestic. The monarch is depicted at the start of his climb to glory, just a few years after having decided to govern alone, fully exercising what he called "a king's craft".

 

The Salon de Diane (Diane Drawing Room) was used by Louis XIV as a billiard room. Louis XIV was a master at pool, and the table stood in the center of the room covered with crimson velvet carpet fringed in gold. The bleachers, where women sat to watch, were covered with Persian carpets embroidered in gold and silver.

 

Louis XIV (baptised as Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715) ruled as King of France and of Navarre.

 

He acceded to the throne on May 14, 1643, a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his First Minister ("premier ministre"), Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661. Louis would remain on the throne till his death just prior to his seventy-seventh birthday in 1715.

 

The reign of Louis XIV, known as The Sun King (in French Le Roi Soleil) or as Louis the Great (in French Louis le Grand, or simply Le Grand Monarque, "the Great Monarch"), spanned seventy-two years—the longest reign of any major European monarch. During that period of time he increased the power and influence of France in Europe, fighting three major wars—the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession—and two minor conflicts—the War of Devolution, and the War of the Reunions.

 

The political and military scene in France during his reign was filled with such illustrious names as Mazarin, Fouquet, Colbert, Michel le Tellier, Le Tellier's son Louvois, the Great Condé, Turenne, Vauban, Villars and Tourville. Under his reign, France achieved not only political and military pre-eminence, but also cultural dominance with various cultural figures such as Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Le Brun, Rigaud, Louis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin Mansart, Claude Perrault and Le Nôtre. The cultural achievements accomplished by these figures contributed to the prestige of France, its people, its language and its king.

 

Louis XIV worked successfully to create a centralized state governed from the capital in order to sweep away the fragmented feudalism which had hitherto persisted in France, thus giving rise to the modern state. As a result of his efforts, which seemed absolutist, Louis XIV became the archetype of such a monarch. The phrase "L'État, c'est moi" ("I am the State") is frequently attributed to him, though this is considered by historians to be a historical inaccuracy and is more likely to have been conceived by political opponents as a way of confirming the stereotypical view of the absolutism he represented. Quite contrary to that apocryphal quote, Louis XIV is actually reported to have said on his death bed: "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours." ("I am going away, but the State will always remain").

 

Sean Heuston was one of the sixteen men executed for their role in leading the 1916 uprising.

 

This memorial, by Laurence Campbell, is located in the People’s Garden in the Phoenix Park and I have seen it described as “a magnificent statue of Sean Heuston”.

 

The three-quarter scale statue was unveiled and blessed by his brother Rev. M. Heuston in Phoenix Park in 1943.

 

Nearby Heuston Railway Station, orginally known as "Kingsbridge" station, was renamed "Heuston" station in honor of Sean Heuston on October 9th of 1966.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning (12 April 2023) Operation Vulcan executed 10 simultaneous warrants at a number of properties across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

 

A search of the properties resulted in large amounts of suspected class B and class C drugs and approximately £60,000 being seized by Operation Vulcan – supported by Manchester North Neighbourhood Officers and GMP Serious Organised Crime Group - as part of their investigation into the suspected drug distribution and exploitation of minors.

 

These arrests are the latest in Operation Vulcan, a proactive multi agency approach to tackling to serious organised crime in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester.

 

Detective Inspector Chris Julien, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers said: “I hope today’s arrests and seizures demonstrate that Operation Vulcan is about much more than seizing counterfeit clothing.

 

“The sale of drugs and the exploitation of young, vulnerable people is a product of the criminality that has been embedded in the area for decades, and we are absolutely committed to tackling these issues, identifying those who are responsible, and bringing them to justice.

 

“At its heart, Operation Vulcan is a partnership effort, and whilst enforcement is an important element; real, sustainable change would not be possible without the help of the local community and our dedicated partner agencies. The multi-agency approach Operation Vulcan has adopted allows for maximum intelligence and evidence sharing to make sure every victim is identified early on and safeguarded.

 

“I’d like to take this opportunity to appeal to members of the public for information. If you’ve noticed any suspicious activity in your area, or you suspect an individual may be being taken advantage of by criminal gangs, please report it. We will act on this information.”

 

Could you spot a child who is at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation?

 

Spot the signs of child exploitation: changes in behaviour; not coming home when they say they will or going missing; changes in appearance; reluctant to talk about friends/relationships and becoming secretive; struggling to engage in school; overly protective of their messages/social media; having more than one phone; accompanied by individuals older than them; concerns surrounding the use of alcohol or drugs; sudden changes/fear of people/friends.

 

If something doesn’t feel right – report it.

 

Information can be shared online at www.gmp.police.uk or by calling 101. Alternatively, details can be shared via the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The church is dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr, earl of Orkney, who died on 16 April 1118. He was executed on the island of Egilsay having been captured during a power struggle with his cousin, a political rival. Magnus had a reputation for piety and gentleness and was canonised in 1135.

 

The identity of the St Magnus referred to in the church's dedication was only confirmed by the Bishop of London in 1926. Following this decision a patronal festival service was held on 16 April 1926. In the 13th century the patronage was attributed to one of the several saints by the name of Magnus who share a feast day on 19 August, probably St Magnus of Anagni (bishop and martyr, who was slain in the persecution of the Emperor Decius in the middle of the 3rd century). However, by the early 18th century it was suggested that the church was either "dedicated to the memory of St Magnus or Magnes, who suffer'd under the Emperor Aurelian in 276 [see St Mammes of Caesarea, feast day 17 August], or else to a person of that name, who was the famous Apostle or Bishop of the Orcades." For the next century historians followed the suggestion that the church was dedicated to the Roman saint of Cæsarea. The famous Danish archaeologist Professor Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821–85) promoted the attribution to St Magnus of Orkney during his visit to the British Isles in 1846-7, when he was formulating the concept of the 'Viking Age', and a history of London written in 1901 concluded that "the Danes, on their second invasion ... added at least two churches with Danish names, Olaf and Magnus". A guide to the City Churches published in 1917 reverted to the view that St Magnus was dedicated to a martyr of the third century, but the discovery of St Magnus of Orkney's relics in 1919 renewed interest in a Scandinavian patron and this connection was encouraged by the Rector who arrived in 1921.

 

A metropolitan bishop of London attended the Council of Arles in 314, which indicates that there must have been a Christian community in Londinium by this date, and it has been suggested that a large aisled building excavated in 1993 near Tower Hill can be compared with the 4th-century Cathedral of St Tecla in Milan. However, there is no archaeological evidence to suggest that any of the mediaeval churches in the City of London had a Roman foundation. A grant from William I in 1067 to Westminster Abbey, which refers to the stone church of St Magnus near the bridge ("lapidee eccle sci magni prope pontem"), is generally accepted to be 12th century forgery, and it is possible that a charter of confirmation in 1108-16 might also be a later fabrication. Nonetheless, these manuscripts may preserve valid evidence of a date of foundation in the 11th century.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of the bridgehead was not occupied from the early 5th century until the early 10th century. Environmental evidence indicates that the area was waste ground during this period, colonised by elder and nettles. Following Alfred's decision to reoccupy the walled area of London in 886, new harbours were established at Queenhithe and Billingsgate. A bridge was in place by the early 11th century, a factor which would have encouraged the occupation of the bridgehead by craftsmen and traders. A lane connecting Botolph's Wharf and Billingsgate to the rebuilt bridge may have developed by the mid-11th century. The waterfront at this time was a hive of activity, with the construction of embankments sloping down from the riverside wall to the river. Thames Street appeared in the second half of the 11th century immediately behind (north of) the old Roman riverside wall and in 1931 a piling from this was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of a nearby building. It now stands at the base of the church tower. St Magnus was built to the south of Thames Street to serve the growing population of the bridgehead area and was certainly in existence by 1128-33.

 

The small ancient parish extended about 110 yards along the waterfront either side of the old bridge, from 'Stepheneslane' (later Churchehawlane or Church Yard Alley) and 'Oystergate' (later called Water Lane or Gully Hole) on the West side to 'Retheresgate' (a southern extension of Pudding Lane) on the East side, and was centred on the crossroads formed by Fish Street Hill (originally Bridge Street, then New Fish Street) and Thames Street. The mediaeval parish also included Drinkwater's Wharf (named after the owner, Thomas Drinkwater), which was located immediately West of the bridge, and Fish Wharf, which was to the South of the church. The latter was of considerable importance as the fishmongers had their shops on the wharf. The tenement was devised by Andrew Hunte to the Rector and Churchwardens in 1446. The ancient parish was situated in the South East part of Bridge Ward, which had evolved in the 11th century between the embankments to either side of the bridge.

 

In 1182 the Abbot of Westminster and the Prior of Bermondsey agreed that the advowson of St Magnus should be divided equally between them. Later in the 1180s, on their presentation, the Archdeacon of London inducted his nephew as parson.

 

Between the late Saxon period and 1209 there was a series of wooden bridges across the Thames, but in that year a stone bridge was completed. The work was overseen by Peter de Colechurch, a priest and head of the Fraternity of the Brethren of London Bridge. The Church had from early times encouraged the building of bridges and this activity was so important it was perceived to be an act of piety - a commitment to God which should be supported by the giving of alms. London’s citizens made gifts of land and money "to God and the Bridge". The Bridge House Estates became part of the City's jurisdiction in 1282.

 

Until 1831 the bridge was aligned with Fish Street Hill, so the main entrance into the City from the south passed the West door of St Magnus on the north bank of the river. The bridge included a chapel dedicated to St Thomas à Becket for the use of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury Cathedral to visit his tomb. The chapel and about two thirds of the bridge were in the parish of St Magnus. After some years of rivalry a dispute arose between the church and the chapel over the offerings given to the chapel by the pilgrims. The matter was resolved by the brethren of the chapel making an annual contribution to St Magnus. At the Reformation the chapel was turned into a house and later a warehouse, the latter being demolished in 1757-58.

 

The church grew in importance. On 21 November 1234 a grant of land was made to the parson of St Magnus for the enlargement of the church. The London eyre of 1244 recorded that in 1238 "A thief named William of Ewelme of the county of Buckingham fled to the church of St. Magnus the Martyr, London, and there acknowledged the theft and abjured the realm. He had no chattels." Another entry recorded that "The City answers saying that the church of ... St. Magnus the Martyr ... which [is] situated on the king's highway ... ought to belong to the king and be in his gift". The church presumably jutted into the road running to the bridge, as it did in later times. In 1276 it was recorded that "the church of St. Magnus the Martyr is worth £15 yearly and Master Geoffrey de la Wade now holds it by the grant of the prior of Bermundeseie and the abbot of Westminster to whom King Henry conferred the advowson by his charter."

 

In 1274 "came King Edward and his wife (Eleanor) from the Holy Land and were crowned at Westminster on the Sunday next after the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (15 August), being the Feast of Saint Magnus (19 August); and the Conduit in Chepe ran all the day with red wine and white wine to drink, for all such as wished." Stow records that "in the year 1293, for victory obtained by Edward I against the Scots, every citizen, according to their several trade, made their several show, but especially the fishmongers" whose solemn procession including a knight "representing St Magnus, because it was upon St Magnus' day".

 

An important religious guild, the Confraternity de Salve Regina, was in existence by 1343, having been founded by the "better sort of the Parish of St Magnus" to sing the anthem 'Salve Regina' every evening. The Guild certificates of 1389 record that the Confraternity of Salve Regina and the guild of St Thomas the Martyr in the chapel on the bridge, whose members belonged to St Magnus parish, had determined to become one, to have the anthem of St Thomas after the Salve Regina and to devote their united resources to restoring and enlarging the church of St Magnus. An Act of Parliament of 1437 provided that all incorporated fraternities and companies should register their charters and have their ordinances approved by the civic authorities. Fear of enquiry into their privileges may have led established fraternities to seek a firm foundation for their rights. The letters patent of the fraternity of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr of Salve Regina in St Magnus dated 26 May 1448 mention that the fraternity had petitioned for a charter on the grounds that the society was not duly founded.

 

In the mid-14th century the Pope was the Patron of the living and appointed five rectors to the benefice.

 

Henry Yevele, the master mason whose work included the rebuilding of Westminster Hall and the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, was a parishioner and rebuilt the chapel on London Bridge between 1384 and 1397. He served as a warden of London Bridge and was buried at St Magnus on his death in 1400. His monument was extant in John Stow's time, but was probably destroyed by the fire of 1666.

 

Yevele, as the King’s Mason, was overseen by Geoffrey Chaucer in his capacity as the Clerk of the King's Works. In The General Prologue of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales the five guildsmen "were clothed alle in o lyveree Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee" and may be thought of as belonging to the guild in the parish of St Magnus, or one like it. Chaucer's family home was near to the bridge in Thames Street.

 

In 1417 a dispute arose concerning who should take the place of honour amongst the Rectors in the City churches at the Whit Monday procession, a place that had been claimed from time to time by the Rectors of St Peter Cornhill, St Magnus the Martyr and St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The Mayor and Aldermen decided that the Rector of St Peter Cornhill should take precedence.

 

St Magnus Corner at the north end of London Bridge was an important meeting place in mediaeval London, where notices were exhibited, proclamations read out and wrongdoers punished. As it was conveniently close to the River Thames, the church was chosen by the Bishop between the 15th and 17th centuries as a convenient venue for general meetings of the clergy in his diocese. In pictures from the mid-16th century the old church looks very similar to the present-day St Giles without Cripplegate in the Barbican. According to the martyrologist John Foxe, a woman was imprisoned in the 'cage' on London Bridge in April 1555 and told to "cool herself there" for refusing to pray at St Magnus for the recently-deceased Pope Julius III.

 

Simon Lowe, a Member of Parliament and Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company during the reign of Queen Mary and one of the jurors who acquitted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton in 1554, was a parishioner. He was a mourner at the funeral of Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester from 1554 to 1558 and Rector of St Magnus from 1537 to 1558, who was interred in the church on 30 November 1558 with much solemnity. In accordance with the Catholic church's desire to restore ecclesiastical pageantry in England, the funeral was a splendid affair, ending in a magnificent dinner.

 

Lowe was included in a return of recusants in the Diocese of Rochester in 1577, but was buried at St Magnus on 6 February 1578. Stow refers to his monument in the church. His eldest son, Timothy (died 1617), was knighted in 1603. His second son, Alderman Sir Thomas Lowe (1550–1623), was Master of the Haberdashers' Company on several occasions, Sheriff of London in 1595/96, Lord Mayor in 1604/05 and a Member of Parliament for London. His youngest son, Blessed John Lowe (1553–1586), having originally been a Protestant minister, converted to Roman Catholicism, studied for the priesthood at Douay and Rome and returned to London as a missionary priest. His absence had already been noted; a list of 1581 of "such persons of the Diocese of London as have any children ... beyond the seas" records "John Low son to Margaret Low of the Bridge, absent without licence four years". Having gained 500 converts to Catholicism between 1583 and 1586, he was arrested whilst walking with his mother near London Bridge, committed to The Clink and executed at Tyburn on 8 October 1586. He was beatified in 1987 as one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales.

 

Sir William Garrard, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman, Sheriff of London in 1553/53, Lord Mayor in 1555/56 and a Member of Parliament was born in the parish and buried at St Magnus in 1571. Sir William Romney, merchant, philanthropist, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman for Bridge Within and Sheriff of London in 1603/04 was married at St Magnus in 1582. Ben Jonson is believed to have been married at St Magnus in 1594.

 

The patronage of St Magnus, having previously been in the Abbots and Convents of Westminster and Bermondsey (who presented alternatively), fell to the Crown on the suppression of the monasteries. In 1553, Queen Mary, by letters patent, granted it to the Bishop of London and his successors.

 

The church had a series of distinguished Rectors in the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th century, including Myles Coverdale (Rector 1564-66), John Young (Rector 1566-92), Theophilus Aylmer (Rector 1592-1625), (Archdeacon of London and son of John Aylmer), and Cornelius Burges (Rector 1626-41). Coverdale was buried in the chancel of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, but when that church was pulled down in 1840 his remains were removed to St Magnus.

 

On 5 November 1562 the churchwardens were ordered to break, or cause to be broken, in two parts all the altar stones in the church. Coverdale, an anti-vestiarian, was Rector at the peak of the vestments controversy. In March 1566 Archbishop Parker caused great consternation among many clergy by his edicts prescribing what was to be worn and by his summoning the London clergy to Lambeth to require their compliance. Coverdale excused himself from attending. Stow records that a non-conforming Scot who normally preached at St Magnus twice a day precipitated a fight on Palm Sunday 1566 at Little All Hallows in Thames Street with his preaching against vestments. Coverdale's resignation from St Magnus in summer 1566 may have been associated with these events. Separatist congregations started to emerge after 1566 and the first such, who called themselves 'Puritans' or 'Unspottyd Lambs of the Lord', was discovered close to St Magnus at Plumbers' Hall in Thames Street on 19 June 1567.

 

St Magnus narrowly escaped destruction in 1633. A later edition of Stow's Survey records that "On the 13th day of February, between eleven and twelve at night, there happened in the house of one Briggs, a Needle-maker near St Magnus Church, at the North end of the Bridge, by the carelessness of a Maid-Servant setting a tub of hot sea-coal ashes under a pair of stairs, a sad and lamentable fire, which consumed all the buildings before eight of the clock the next morning, from the North end of the Bridge to the first vacancy on both sides, containing forty-two houses; water then being very scarce, the Thames being almost frozen over." Susannah Chambers "by her last will & testament bearing date 28th December 1640 gave the sum of Twenty-two shillings and Sixpence Yearly for a Sermon to be preached on the 12th day of February in every Year within the Church of Saint Magnus in commemoration of God's merciful preservation of the said Church of Saint Magnus from Ruin, by the late and terrible Fire on London Bridge. Likewise Annually to the Poor the sum of 17/6. "The tradition of a "Fire Sermon" was revived on 12 February 2004, when the first preacher was the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.

 

Parliamentarian rule and the more Protestant ethos of the 1640s led to the removal or destruction of "superstitious" and "idolatrous" images and fittings. Glass painters such as Baptista Sutton, who had previously installed "Laudian innovations", found new employment by repairing and replacing these to meet increasingly strict Protestant standards. In January 1642 Sutton replaced 93 feet of glass at St Magnus and in June 1644 he was called back to take down the "painted imagery glass" and replace it. In June 1641 "rail riots" broke out at a number of churches. This was a time of high tension following the trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford and rumours of army and popish plots were rife. The Protestation Oath, with its pledge to defend the true religion "against all Popery and popish innovation", triggered demands from parishioners for the removal of the rails as popish innovations which the Protestation had bound them to reform. The minister arranged a meeting between those for and against the pulling down of the rails, but was unsuccessful in reaching a compromise and it was feared that they would be demolished by force. However, in 1663 the parish resumed Laudian practice and re-erected rails around its communion table.

 

Joseph Caryl was incumbent from 1645 until his ejection in 1662. In 1663 he was reportedly living near London Bridge and preaching to an Independent congregation that met at various places in the City.

 

During the Great Plague of 1665, the City authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in the hope that the air would be cleansed. Daniel Defoe's semi-fictictional, but highly realistic, work A Journal of the Plague Year records that one of these was "just by St Magnus Church".

 

Despite its escape in 1633, the church was one of the first buildings to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. St Magnus stood less than 300 yards from the bakehouse of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane where the fire started. Farriner, a former churchwarden of St Magnus, was buried in the middle aisle of the church on 11 December 1670, perhaps within a temporary structure erected for holding services.

 

The parish engaged the master mason George Dowdeswell to start the work of rebuilding in 1668. The work was carried forward between 1671 and 1687 under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, the body of the church being substantially complete by 1676. At a cost of £9,579 19s 10d St Magnus was one of Wren's most expensive churches. The church of St Margaret New Fish Street was not rebuilt after the fire and its parish was united to that of St Magnus.

 

The chancels of many of Wren’s city churches had chequered marble floors and the chancel of St Magnus is an example, the parish agreeing after some debate to place the communion table on a marble ascent with steps and to commission altar rails of Sussex wrought iron. The nave and aisles are paved with freestone flags. A steeple, closely modelled on one built between 1614 and 1624 by François d'Aguilon and Pieter Huyssens for the church of St Carolus Borromeus in Antwerp, was added between 1703 and 1706. London's skyline was transformed by Wren's tall steeples and that of St Magnus is considered to be one his finest.

 

The large clock projecting from the tower was a well-known landmark in the city as it hung over the roadway of Old London Bridge. It was presented to the church in 1709 by Sir Charles Duncombe (Alderman for the Ward of Bridge Within and, in 1708/09, Lord Mayor of London). Tradition says "that it was erected in consequence of a vow made by the donor, who, in the earlier part of his life, had once to wait a considerable time in a cart upon London Bridge, without being able to learn the hour, when he made a promise, that if he ever became successful in the world, he would give to that Church a public clock ... that all passengers might see the time of day." The maker was Langley Bradley, a clockmaker in Fenchurch Street, who had worked for Wren on many other projects, including the clock for the new St Paul's Cathedral. The sword rest in the church, designed to hold the Lord Mayor's sword and mace when he attended divine service "in state", dates from 1708.

 

Duncombe and his benefactions to St Magnus feature prominently in Daniel Defoe's The True-Born Englishman, a biting satire on critics of William III that went through several editions from 1700 (the year in which Duncombe was elected Sheriff).

 

Shortly before his death in 1711, Duncombe commissioned an organ for the church, the first to have a swell-box, by Abraham Jordan (father and son). The Spectator announced that "Whereas Mr Abraham Jordan, senior and junior, have, with their own hands, joinery excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, consisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which never was in any organ before; this instrument will be publicly opened on Sunday next [14 February 1712], the performance by Mr John Robinson. The above-said Abraham Jordan gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will attend every day next week at the said Church, to accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a curiosity to hear it".

 

The organ case, which remains in its original state, is looked upon as one of the finest existing examples of the Grinling Gibbons's school of wood carving. The first organist of St Magnus was John Robinson (1682–1762), who served in that role for fifty years and in addition as organist of Westminster Abbey from 1727. Other organists have included the blind organist George Warne (1792–1868, organist 1820-26 until his appointment to the Temple Church), James Coward (1824–80, organist 1868-80 who was also organist to the Crystal Palace and renowned for his powers of improvisation) and George Frederick Smith FRCO (1856–1918, organist 1880-1918 and Professor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music). The organ has been restored several times - in 1760, 1782, 1804, 1855, 1861, 1879, 1891, 1924, 1949 after wartime damage and 1997 - since it was first built. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was one of several patrons of the organ appeal in the mid-1990s and John Scott gave an inaugural recital on 20 May 1998 following the completion of that restoration. The instrument has an Historic Organ Certificate and full details are recorded in the National Pipe Organ Register.

 

The hymn tune "St Magnus", usually sung at Ascensiontide to the text "The head that once was crowned with thorns", was written by Jeremiah Clarke in 1701 and named for the church.

 

Canaletto drew St Magnus and old London Bridge as they appeared in the late 1740s. Between 1756 and 1762, under the London Bridge Improvement Act of 1756 (c. 40), the Corporation of London demolished the buildings on London Bridge to widen the roadway, ease traffic congestion and improve safety for pedestrians. The churchwardens’ accounts of St Magnus list many payments to those injured on the Bridge and record that in 1752 a man was crushed to death between two carts. After the House of Commons had resolved upon the alteration of London Bridge, the Rev Robert Gibson, Rector of St Magnus, applied to the House for relief; stating that £48 6s. 2d. per annum, part of his salary of £170 per annum, was assessed upon houses on London Bridge; which he should utterly lose by their removal unless a clause in the bill about to be passed should provide a remedy. Accordingly, Sections 18 and 19 of 1756 Act provided that the relevant amounts of tithe and poor rate should be a charge on the Bridge House Estates.

 

A serious fire broke out on 18 April 1760 in an oil shop at the south east corner of the church, which consumed most of the church roof and did considerable damage to the fabric. The fire burnt warehouses to the south of the church and a number of houses on the northern end of London Bridge.

 

As part of the bridge improvements, overseen by the architect Sir Robert Taylor, a new pedestrian walkway was built along the eastern side of the bridge. With the other buildings gone St Magnus blocked the new walkway. As a consequence it was necessary in 1762 to 1763 to remove the vestry rooms at the West end of the church and open up the side arches of the tower so that people could pass underneath the tower. The tower’s lower storey thus became an external porch. Internally a lobby was created at the West end under the organ gallery and a screen with fine octagonal glazing inserted. A new Vestry was built to the South of the church. The Act also provided that the land taken from the church for the widening was "to be considered ... as part of the cemetery of the said church ... but if the pavement thereof be broken up on account of the burying of any persons, the same shall be ... made good ... by the churchwardens".

 

Soldiers were stationed in the Vestry House of St Magnus during the Gordon Riots in June 1780.

 

By 1782 the noise level from the activities of Billingsgate Fish Market had become unbearable and the large windows on the north side of the church were blocked up leaving only circular windows high up in the wall. At some point between the 1760s and 1814 the present clerestory was constructed with its oval windows and fluted and coffered plasterwork. J. M. W. Turner painted the church in the mid-1790s.

 

The rector of St Magnus between 1792 and 1808, following the death of Robert Gibson on 28 July 1791, was Thomas Rennell FRS. Rennell was President of Sion College in 1806/07. There is a monument to Thomas Leigh (Rector 1808-48 and President of Sion College 1829/30, at St Peter's Church, Goldhanger in Essex. Richard Hazard (1761–1837) was connected with the church as sexton, parish clerk and ward beadle for nearly 50 years and served as Master of the Parish Clerks' Company in 1831/32.

 

In 1825 the church was "repaired and beautified at a very considerable expense. During the reparation the east window, which had been closed, was restored, and the interior of the fabric conformed to the state in which it was left by its great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The magnificent organ ... was taken down and rebuilt by Mr Parsons, and re-opened, with the church, on the 12th February, 1826". Unfortunately, as a contemporary writer records, "On the night of the 31st of July, 1827, [the church's] safety was threatened by the great fire which consumed the adjacent warehouses, and it is perhaps owing to the strenuous and praiseworthy exertions of the firemen, that the structure exists at present. ... divine service was suspended and not resumed until the 20th January 1828. In the interval the church received such tasteful and elegant decorations, that it may now compete with any church in the metropolis."

 

In 1823 royal assent was given to ‘An Act for the Rebuilding of London Bridge’ and in 1825 John Garratt, Lord Mayor and Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Within, laid the first stone of the new London Bridge. In 1831 Sir John Rennie’s new bridge was opened further upstream and the old bridge demolished. St Magnus ceased to be the gateway to London as it had been for over 600 years. Peter de Colechurch had been buried in the crypt of the chapel on the bridge and his bones were unceremoniously dumped in the River Thames. In 1921 two stones from Old London Bridge were discovered across the road from the church. They now stand in the churchyard.

 

Wren's church of St Michael Crooked Lane was demolished, the final service on Sunday 20 March 1831 having to be abandoned due to the effects of the building work. The Rector of St Michael preached a sermon the following Sunday at St Magnus lamenting the demolition of his church with its monuments and "the disturbance of the worship of his parishioners on the preceeding Sabbath". The parish of St Michael Crooked Lane was united to that of St Magnus, which itself lost a burial ground in Church Yard Alley to the approach road for the new bridge. However, in substitution it had restored to it the land taken for the widening of the old bridge in 1762 and was also given part of the approach lands to the east of the old bridge. In 1838 the Committee for the London Bridge Approaches reported to Common Council that new burial grounds had been provided for the parishes of St Michael, Crooked Lane and St Magnus, London Bridge.

 

Depictions of St Magnus after the building of the new bridge, seen behind Fresh Wharf and the new London Bridge Wharf, include paintings by W. Fenoulhet in 1841 and by Charles Ginner in 1913. This prospect was affected in 1924 by the building of Adelaide House to a design by John James Burnet, The Times commenting that "the new ‘architectural Matterhorn’ ... conceals all but the tip of the church spire". There was, however, an excellent view of the church for a few years between the demolition of Adelaide Buildings and the erection of its replacement. Adelaide House is now listed. Regis House, on the site of the abandoned King William Street terminus of the City & South London Railway (subsequently the Northern Line), and the Steam Packet Inn, on the corner of Lower Thames Street and Fish Street Hill, were developed in 1931.

 

By the early 1960s traffic congestion had become a problem and Lower Thames Street was widened over the next decade to form part of a significant new east-west transport artery (the A3211). The setting of the church was further affected by the construction of a new London Bridge between 1967 and 1973. The New Fresh Wharf warehouse to the east of the church, built in 1939, was demolished in 1973-4 following the collapse of commercial traffic in the Pool of London and, after an archaeological excavation, St Magnus House was constructed on the site in 1978 to a design by R. Seifert & Partners. This development now allows a clear view of the church from the east side. The site to the south east of The Monument (between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane), formerly predominantly occupied by fish merchants, was redeveloped as Centurion House and Gartmore (now Providian) House at the time of the closure of old Billingsgate Market in January 1982. A comprehensive redevelopment of Centurion House began in October 2011 with completion planned in 2013. Regis House, to the south west of The Monument, was redeveloped by Land Securities PLC in 1998.

 

The vista from The Monument south to the River Thames, over the roof of St Magnus, is protected under the City of London Unitary Development Plan, although the South bank of the river is now dominated by The Shard. Since 2004 the City of London Corporation has been exploring ways of enhancing the Riverside Walk to the south of St Magnus. Work on a new staircase to connect London Bridge to the Riverside Walk is due to commence in March 2013. The story of St Magnus's relationship with London Bridge and an interview with the rector featured in the television programme The Bridges That Built London with Dan Cruickshank, first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 June 2012. The City Corporation's 'Fenchurch and Monument Area Enhancement Strategy' of August 2012 recommended ways of reconnecting St Magnus and the riverside to the area north of Lower Thames Street.

 

www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/history/history-church

Two men have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a drive-by shooting in north Manchester earlier this year.

 

yesterday officers executed six warrants at addresses in the north Manchester and Failsworth areas.

 

Police arrested two men - aged 31 and 39 - who have been taken to custody to be questioned on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

 

The arrests come as part of Central Park CID's investigation into a firearms discharge on Briscoe Lane in the Newton Heath area of the city on the afternoon of Tuesday 19 January 2021.

 

A total of eight arrests have been made as part of the investigation so far and one man has been charged with possession of a shortened shotgun.

 

Detective Inspector Claire Moss, of GMP's City of Manchester North, said: "This was an incident that caused great concern in the community at the time and we were committed to ensure that we were able to catch those responsible for this recklessness and prevent this incident from escalating.

 

"Our team of detectives have worked tirelessly in order to gather further evidence and progress this investigation to the point of these arrests today, where we have been able to detain two men and speak to them about what was an incredibly dangerous daylight shooting.

 

"It is not too late for anyone who witnessed this incident to come forward to police or Crimestoppers anonymously and I encourage you to come forward with any information you may have."

 

Anyone with information should call 0161 856 1146 quoting incident 1373 of 19/01/2021. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Panorama of the City of New York:

Scale model commissioned by Robert Moses for the 1964 World's Fair.

Designed and executed by Raymond Lester Associates.

Sporadically updated since.

 

"9,335 square foot architectural model includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs; that is a total of 895,000 individual structures."

 

"The Panorama was built by a team of 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester Associates in the three years before the opening of the 1964 World’s Fair. In planning the model, Lester Associates referred to aerial photographs, insurance maps, and a range of other City material; the Panorama had to be accurate, indeed the initial contract demanded less than one percent margin of error between reality and the model. The Panorama was one of the most successful attractions at the ‘64 Fair with a daily average of 1,400 people taking advantage of its 9 minute simulated helicopter ride around the City."

 

"Until 1970 all of the changes in the City were accurately recreated in the model by Lester’s team. After 1970 very few changes were made until 1992, when again Lester Associates changed over 60,000 structures to bring it up-to-date. In the Spring of 2009 the Museum launched its Adopt-A-Building program with the installation of the Panorama’s newest addition, Citi Field, to continue for the ongoing care and maintenance of this beloved treasure."

 

www.queensmuseum.org/exhibitions/visitpanorama

www.queensmuseum.org/visi/donate/adopt-a-building

www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/arts/design/02pano.html

www.flickr.com/groups/1025012@N21/

 

Red Lines Housing Crisis Learning Center:

2009 exhibition by Damon Rich of the Center for Urban Pedagogy, hosted by the Queens Museum of Art

Larissa Harris, Commissioning curator; Project Coordinator for Queens Museum Installation: Rana Amirtahmasebi

Museum Director: Tom Finkelpearl

 

"The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project collected the foreclosure information. . . . The Regional Plan Association, an independent planning group, then crunched the numbers using the Geographic Information System — a mapping program — to create maps of every inch of the city indicating where there had been foreclosures of single- to four-family homes in 2008."

 

"Red Lines Housing Crisis Learning Center is funded by grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Artists & Communities, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, which is made possible by major funding from Johnson & Johnson, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. A publication funded by The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts will be available during the exhibition. Additional support provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts."

 

www.queensmuseum.org/2632/red-lines-housing-crisis-learni...

community.queensmuseum.org/lang/en/blog/corona-plaza/redl...

www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/arts/design/08panorama.html?_r=0

www.cjr.org/the_audit/go_to_queens_museum_get_mad.php

www.flickr.com/photos/panoramaqueensmuseum/sets/721576210...

artforum.com/words/id=23001

www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=0&pkg=1510...

www.citylimits.org/news/articles/3789/on-exhibit-housing

video.foxbusiness.com/v/3894109/ny-panorama-highlights-fo...

video.corriere.it/?vxSiteId=404a0ad6-6216-4e10-abfe-f4f69... (in Italian)

www.clairebarliant.com/artwriting/adaptive-reuse/

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08935691003625372

www.businessinsider.com/irvington-new-jersey-sub-prime-pr...

www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/nyregion/new-jersey/17newarknj...

  

Queens Museum of Art:

Architect: Aymar Embury II

Opened: 1939

Renovated 1964 by Daniel Chait.

Renovated in 1994 by Rafael Viñoly.

Expansion scheduled in 2013, under the helm of Grimshaw Architects with Ammann & Whitney as engineers.

 

"Built to house the New York City Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair, where it housed displays about municipal agencies. . . . It is now the only surviving building from the 1939/40 Fair. After the World’s Fair, the building became a recreation center for the newly created Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The north side of the building, now the Queens Museum, housed a roller rink and the south side offered an ice rink. . . . From 1946 to 1950 . . . it housed the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations. . . . In 1972 the north side of the New York City Building was handed to the Queens Museum of Art (or as it was then known, the Queens Center for Art and Culture)."

 

The other half of the building was an ice-skating rink from 1939–2009.

 

www.queensmuseum.org

www.queensmuseum.org/about/aboutbuilding-history

twitter.com/QueensMuseum

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens_Museum_of_Art

www.facebook.com/QueensMuseum

vimeo.com/queensmuseum

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aymar_Embury_II

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammann_%26_Whitney

grimshaw-architects.com

artsengaged.com/bcnasamples/chapter-fifteen-being-good-ne...

In November 2013 the first survey after more than 30 years was executed by the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen.

Myanmar is probably among the countries in Southeast Asia with the most intact marine environment, but our findings in 2013 indicate that fish stocks have been reduced and fish communities changed structure since the surveys in 1980. This has serious consequences for the availability of fish for food, jobs and income for coastal population in Myanmar.

Based on the findings the Department of Fisheries in Myanmar asked FAO and CDCF to conduct a follow-up study to confirm the results and also to identify any seasonality in the ecosystem. This survey will be conducted from April 28 to June 2 this year. We will repeat the survey made in 2013 and try to verify results. In addition, we will map the biodiversity and the marine environment. Among the participants there is Merete Kvalsund that will provide a glimpse of work and life on board. The work is part of the EAF-Nansen Project.

 

Photo credits to Peter Psomadakis

 

This manuscript was executed in 1475 by a scribe identified as Aristakes, for a priest named Hakob. It contains a series of 16 images on the life of Christ preceding the text of the gospels, as well as the traditional evangelist portraits, and there are marginal illustrations throughout. The style of the miniatures, which employ brilliant colors and emphasize decorative patterns, is characteristic of manuscript production in the region around Lake Van during the 15th century. The style of Lake Van has often been described in relation to schools of Islamic arts of the book. Numerous inscriptions (on fols. 258-60) spanning a few centuries attest to the manuscript's long history of use and revered preservation. The codex's later history included a re-binding with silver covers from Kayseri that date to approximately 1700. This jeweled and enameled silver binding bears a composition of the Adoration of the Magi on the front and the Ascension on the back.

 

To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.

 

Executed the VGS (Vacuum Gain System) mod for the Bypass Valve, which helps build up boost faster and keeping the valve closed when boost is building.

 

It really works, but I will change the valve anyway (and do the VGS mod again :) ).

 

Partnr: 11617568423

Ministry of Defence Police patrol boat executing a very fast turn to starboard

One of many absurdities executed in our country with the historical heritage: the long promised but never opened railway museum in the place of El Clot del Moro. The lack of political commitment, and personnel mismanagement on the part of its director, was for many years preserved vehicles were abandoned in the open and subject to the effects of the harsh climate of the pre-Pyrenees.

 

In this picture you can see a former Barcelona fire truck; behind him diesel railcar type "Zaragoza" (Wismar), modified; and in foreground a industrial locomtoive. (Photo scanned from an original paper).

________________________________________________

 

Uno de tantos despropósitos ejecutados en nuestro país con el patrimonio histórico: el siempre prometido, pero nunca abierto, museo del ferrocarril en el paraje del Clot del Moro. La falta de compromiso político, y una pésima gestión personal por parte de su director, llevó a que durante muchos años los vehículos preservados fueran abandonados a la intemperie y sometidos a los efectos del duro clima del pre-Pirineo.

 

En esta foto se pueden ver un antiguo camión de bomberos de Barcelona; detrás suyo un automotor diésel tipo "Zaragoza" (Wismar) modificado; y en primer plano una locomotora industrial. (Foto escaneada de un original de papel).

A remarkable depiction of Salome executing a back-flip or, at least, a back bend, during her dance for Herod, for which he promised her anything she wanted. (Her request, of course, was the head of John the Baptist.) At least, I thought it remarkable until I saw another medieval depiction of her in the same position (I can't remember where). A little research produced the following: "From a wooden carving found on the underside of a choir stall in a medieval English cathedral can be discovered a scene in which Salome is depicted as doing a back flip in front of Herod's table." --http://srufaculty.sru.edu/john.nichols/research/womensport.htm

I also found an article, "The Medieval Dance," originally published in 1935, in which appears the following: "Women dancers or glee-maidens were also tumblers.... Salome is frequently shown on her hands, her seven veils reduced to a single flying night-dress.... A pious French writer of the thirteenth century attributes John Baptist's death to the 'well-skilled tumbling and cheating tricks' of that dancing-girl." --http://www.oldandsold.com/articles06/dance-19.shtml

So, perhaps this depiction of Salome is not so strange, merely showing a form of dancing as it was known in the Middle Ages. As for the eroticism usually associated with Salome's dance, it is hardly apparent here at first glance, but note that although Herod is looking at Herodias and not at her daughter, he seems to have his hand on Salome's tummy! If he is not actually touching her, the gesture is still suggestive.

Choeung Ek is the site of a former orchard and mass graves of victims of the Khmer Rouge – killed between 1975 and 1979 – in Dangkao Section, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) south of the Phnom Penh city centre. It is the best-known of the approximately 300 sites known as killing fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime executed over one million people as part of their Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979.

 

Description

Mass graves containing 8,895 bodies were discovered at Choeung Ek after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. Many of the dead were former political prisoners who the Khmer Rouge kept in their Tuol Sleng detention center and in other Cambodian detention centers.

 

Today, Choeung Ek is a memorial, marked by a Buddhist stupa. The stupa has acrylic glass sides and is filled with over 5,000 human skulls. Some lower levels are opened during the day so that the skulls can be seen directly. Many have been shattered or smashed in.

 

Tourists are encouraged by the Cambodian government to visit Choeung Ek. Apart from the stupa, there are pits from which the bodies were exhumed. Human bones still litter the site.

 

On May 3, 2005, the Municipality of Phnom Penh announced that they had entered into a 30-year agreement with JC Royal Co. to develop the memorial at Choeung Ek. As part of the agreement, they are not to disturb the remains still present in the field.

 

In popular culture

The film The Killing Fields is a dramatised portrayal of events like those that took place at Choeung Ek.

 

The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than 1,000,000 people were killed and buried by the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Khmer Rouge rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975). The mass killings were part of the broad, state-sponsored Cambodian genocide.

 

Analysis of 20,000 mass grave sites by the DC-Cam Mapping Program and Yale University indicates at least 1,386,734 victims of execution. Estimates of the total deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including death from disease and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million out of a 1975 population of roughly 8 million. In 1979, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime, ending the genocide.

 

The Cambodian journalist Dith Pran coined the term "killing fields" after his escape from the regime.

 

The Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Thai, ethnic Chinese, ethnic Cham, Cambodian Christians, and Buddhist monks were the demographic targets of persecution. As a result, Pol Pot has been described as "a genocidal tyrant". Martin Shaw described the Cambodian genocide as "the purest genocide of the Cold War era".

 

Ben Kiernan estimates that about 1.7 million people were killed. Researcher Craig Etcheson of the Documentation Center of Cambodia suggests that the death toll was between 2 and 2.5 million, with a "most likely" figure of 2.2 million. After five years of researching some 20,000 grave sites, he concludes that "these mass graves contain the remains of 1,386,734 victims of execution". A United Nations investigation reported 2–3 million dead, while UNICEF estimated 3 million had been killed. Demographic analysis by Patrick Heuveline suggests that between 1.17 and 3.42 million Cambodians were killed, while Marek Sliwinski suggests that 1.8 million is a conservative figure. Even the Khmer Rouge acknowledged that 2 million had been killed—though they attributed those deaths to a subsequent Vietnamese invasion. By late 1979, UN and Red Cross officials were warning that another 2.25 million Cambodians faced death by starvation due to "the near destruction of Cambodian society under the regime of ousted Prime Minister Pol Pot", who were saved by international aid after the Vietnamese invasion.

 

Process

The judicial process of the Khmer Rouge regime, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education," which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" (which usually included some kind of free-market activity; having had contact with a foreign source, such as a U.S. missionary, international relief or government agency; or contact with any foreigner or with the outside world at all), being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean." They were then taken away to a place such as Tuol Sleng or Choeung Ek for torture and/or execution.[citation needed]

 

The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using poison or improvised weapons such as sharpened bamboo sticks, hammers, machetes and axes. Inside the Buddhist Memorial Stupa at Choeung Ek, there is evidence of bayonets, knives, wooden clubs, hoes for farming and curved scythes being used to kill victims, with images of skulls, damaged by these implements, as evidence. In some cases the children and infants of adult victims were killed by having their heads bashed against the trunks of Chankiri trees, and then were thrown into the pits alongside their parents. The rationale was "to stop them growing up and taking revenge for their parents' deaths."[citation needed]

 

Prosecution for crimes against humanity

In 1997 the Cambodian government asked for the UN's assistance in setting up a genocide tribunal. It took nine years to agree to the shape and structure of the court—a hybrid of Cambodian and international laws—before the judges were sworn in, in 2006. The investigating judges were presented with the names of five possible suspects by the prosecution on 18 July 2007. On 19 September 2007 Nuon Chea, second in command of the Khmer Rouge and its most senior surviving member, was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. He faced Cambodian and foreign judges at the special genocide tribunal and was convicted on 7 August 2014 and received a life sentence. On 26 July 2010 Kang Kek Iew (aka Comrade Duch), director of the S-21 prison camp, was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment. His sentence was reduced to 19 years, as he had already spent 11 years in prison. On 2 February 2012, his sentence was extended to life imprisonment by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. He died on 2 September 2020.

 

Legacy

The best known monument of the Killing Fields is at the village of Choeung Ek. Today, it is the site of a Buddhist memorial to the victims, and Tuol Sleng has a museum commemorating the genocide. The memorial park at Choeung Ek has been built around the mass graves of many thousands of victims, most of whom were executed after interrogation at the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh. The majority of those buried at Choeung Ek were Khmer Rouge killed during the purges within the regime. Many dozens of mass graves are visible above ground, many which have not been excavated yet. Commonly, bones and clothing surface after heavy rainfalls due to the large number of bodies still buried in shallow mass graves. It is not uncommon to run across the bones or teeth of the victims scattered on the surface as one tours the memorial park. If these are found, visitors are asked to notify a memorial park officer or guide.

 

A survivor of the genocide, Dara Duong, founded The Killing Fields Museum in Seattle, US.

 

The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by then Chief of State Norodom Sihanouk to describe his country's heterogeneous, communist-led dissidents, with whom he allied after his 1970 overthrow.

 

The Khmer Rouge army was slowly built up in the jungles of eastern Cambodia during the late 1960s, supported by the North Vietnamese army, the Viet Cong, the Pathet Lao, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although it originally fought against Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge changed its position and supported Sihanouk following the CCP's advice after he was overthrown in a 1970 coup by Lon Nol who established the pro-American Khmer Republic. Despite a massive American bombing campaign (Operation Freedom Deal) against them, the Khmer Rouge won the Cambodian Civil War when they captured the Cambodian capital and overthrew the Khmer Republic in 1975. Following their victory, the Khmer Rouge, who were led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Khieu Samphan, immediately set about forcibly evacuating the country's major cities. In 1976, they renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea.

 

The Khmer Rouge regime was highly autocratic, totalitarian, and repressive. Many deaths resulted from the regime's social engineering policies and the "Moha Lout Plaoh", an imitation of China's Great Leap Forward which had caused the Great Chinese Famine. The Khmer Rouge's attempts at agricultural reform through collectivization similarly led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, including the supply of medicine, led to the death of many thousands from treatable diseases such as malaria.

 

The Khmer Rouge regime murdered hundreds of thousands of their perceived political opponents, and its racist emphasis on national purity resulted in the genocide of Cambodian minorities. Summary executions and torture were carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during genocidal purges of its own ranks between 1975 and 1978. Ultimately, the Cambodian genocide which took place under the Khmer Rouge regime led to the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people, around 25% of Cambodia's population.

 

In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge were largely supported and funded by the Chinese Communist Party, receiving approval from Mao Zedong; it is estimated that at least 90% of the foreign aid which was provided to the Khmer Rouge came from China. The regime was removed from power in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia and quickly destroyed most of its forces. The Khmer Rouge then fled to Thailand, whose government saw them as a buffer force against the Communist Vietnamese. The Khmer Rouge continued to fight against the Vietnamese and the government of the new People's Republic of Kampuchea until the end of the war in 1989. The Cambodian governments-in-exile (including the Khmer Rouge) held onto Cambodia's United Nations seat (with considerable international support) until 1993, when the monarchy was restored and the name of the Cambodian state was changed to the Kingdom of Cambodia. A year later, thousands of Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrendered themselves in a government amnesty.

 

In 1996, a new political party called the Democratic National Union Movement was formed by Ieng Sary, who was granted amnesty for his role as the deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge. The organisation was largely dissolved by the mid-1990s and finally surrendered completely in 1999. In 2014, two Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were jailed for life by a United Nations-backed court which found them guilty of crimes against humanity for their roles in the Khmer Rouge's genocidal campaign.

 

The Cambodian genocide was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Communist Party of Kampuchea general secretary Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population in 1975 (c. 7.8 million).

 

Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge had long been supported by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its chairman, Mao Zedong; it is estimated that at least 90% of the foreign aid which the Khmer Rouge received came from China, including at least US$1 billion in interest-free economic and military aid in 1975 alone. After it seized power in April 1975, the Khmer Rouge wanted to turn the country into an agrarian socialist republic, founded on the policies of ultra-Maoism and influenced by the Cultural Revolution. Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge officials met with Mao in Beijing in June 1975, receiving approval and advice, while high-ranking CCP officials such as Politburo Standing Committee member Zhang Chunqiao later visited Cambodia to offer help. To fulfill its goals, the Khmer Rouge emptied the cities and forced Cambodians to relocate to labor camps in the countryside, where mass executions, forced labor, physical abuse, malnutrition, and disease were rampant. In 1976, the Khmer Rouge renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea.

 

The massacres ended when the Vietnamese military invaded in 1978 and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime. By January 1979, 1.5 to 2 million people had died due to the Khmer Rouge's policies, including 200,000–300,000 Chinese Cambodians, 90,000–500,000 Cambodian Cham (who are mostly Muslim), and 20,000 Vietnamese Cambodians. 20,000 people passed through the Security Prison 21, one of the 196 prisons the Khmer Rouge operated, and only seven adults survived. The prisoners were taken to the Killing Fields, where they were executed (often with pickaxes, to save bullets) and buried in mass graves. Abduction and indoctrination of children was widespread, and many were persuaded or forced to commit atrocities. As of 2009, the Documentation Center of Cambodia has mapped 23,745 mass graves containing approximately 1.3 million suspected victims of execution. Direct execution is believed to account for up to 60% of the genocide's death toll, with other victims succumbing to starvation, exhaustion, or disease.

 

The genocide triggered a second outflow of refugees, many of whom escaped to neighboring Thailand and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam. In 2003, by agreement between the Cambodian government and the United Nations, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (Khmer Rouge Tribunal) were established to try the members of the Khmer Rouge leadership responsible for the Cambodian genocide. Trials began in 2009. On 26 July 2010, the Trial Chamber convicted Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The Supreme Court Chamber increased his sentence to life imprisonment. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were tried and convicted in 2014 of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. On 28 March 2019, the Trial Chamber found Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan guilty of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and genocide of the Vietnamese ethnic, national and racial group. The Chamber additionally convicted Nuon Chea of genocide of the Cham ethnic and religious group under the doctrine of superior responsibility. Both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were sentenced to terms of life imprisonment.

It has been a busy few weeks, planning and executing a seven part project for one of my favorite clients and squeaking in other work between those shoots. Between at project and my other responsibilities, I have pulled almost a month (maybe more, who can remember) for 7 day work weeks. So, I am headed up to lake Bruin with a few friends for a much-needed couple of days off.

 

Before I go, I thought I’d throw a few images up on the site that were outtakes from the recent shoots. It’s been a fun project where I had a lot of creative latitude. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be able to make a living doing something I really love, namely taking pictures. But, when I am doing client work, I am sometimes restricted in what I can post. Such is the life of the freelancer.

 

Although I do plan on doing some work on a wedding that I recent photographed, this weekend will be more about play than work. Depending on the conditions, I would like to get some shooting in while I am up there. Readers of this blog won’t be surprised to know that I love north Louisiana and the photographs I am occasionally able to capture from the mystical, empty place.

 

I hope you all have a good weekend and just to keep this site active (I’ve been slack about posting, I know). Here are some of the shots I took recently but which probably won’t make the cut with the client.

 

Check out more at my blog, for lots of photos, recipes, tech talk, travel writing and other ramblings. I appreciate any feedback but, please do not post graphic awards or invitations in the comments, I'm just not crazy about them. Also, if you want to use any of my Commercial Commons licensed photos please link the attribution back to my blog (listed above) and use my full name, Frank McMains. Thanks! Sorry, but you have to pay to use fully copyright protected photos.

The outstanding feature of this solid Victorian church, built by John Oldrid Scott in 1871, is the series of windows by the firm of Morris and Co. The east window of the north aisle represents some early saints including Alban and Aidan, while that in the west end shows six angels. Nearby is an early representation of Kentish saints, whose popularity was increasing in the middle of the nineteenth century, including Augustine, Ethelbert and Bertha. The east window is by the same firm, but dates from after the death of Burne-Jones and is not so finely executed. The oak reredos was added by Charles Oldrid Scott in 1925, who also worked on the altar rails and low chancel screen. In the churchyard there is a good monument made of Coade artificial stone in 1807.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Speldhurst

 

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SPELDHURST

IS the last parish remaining undescribed in this lath. It lies the next adjoining parish south eastward from Penshurst, and was sometimes written, in antient records, Speleberste, but in the Tex t u Rossensis, Speldburst.

 

THE PARISH of Speldhurst is about three miles across each way; the north-west part, in which the church stands, and Hallborough, is within the hundred of Somerden, as is the hamlet of Groombridge, three miles from the church, at the southern boundary of it, where a branch of the river Medway separates this county from Sussex, throughout all which the soil remains a stiff clay; the remaining part of this parish is in the hundred of Warchlingstone, which stretches across a narrow district, by Mitchell's and Tophill farms, and towards the parish of Ashurst, which it includes, thus entirely separates that part of the hundred of Somerden in which the hamlet of Groombridge lies, and surrounds three sides of it, from the other in which the church stands. The soil in the eastern part of this parish changes to an uninterrupted scene of losty hills, with deep vallies intersecting, the soils are a stiff loam and a barren sand, which covers a continued bed of rock stone, several of which appear above it, of large size and dimensions, greatly abounding with iron ore, which renders the springs of it more or less chalybeate; at the south east boundary of the parish is the noted resort of Tunbridge-wells, (of which a further account will be given hereafter) situated thirty-five miles from London, and five from Tunbridge town; here the high road branches off to the right, by Rust-hall, and the hamlets of Bishopsdown and Rust-hall common, on by Groombridge, across the branch of the Medway into Sussex.

 

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

¶The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

  

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

THE MANOR OF SPELDHURST, in the reign of king Edward III. was in the possession of Sir John de Pulteneye, lord of the neighbouring manor of Penshurst, a man of great account at that time, as has been already noticed before, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation he had begun of a college in the parish of St. Lawrence, Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Laurence Poultney, settled the manor with the church of Speldshurst on it.

 

¶It remained part of the possessions of the college till its suppression in the reign of king Edward VI. when it was granted among other premises, by the description of the manor of Speldhurst and Harwarton (then demised to Sir William Waller, at the rent of 16s. 8d. per annum) of the clear yearly value of 13l. 14s. 1d. together with the patronage of the church appendant to the manor, parcel of the late college of St. Laurence, Poultney, London, to Henry Polsted. (fn. 4) How the manor of Speldhurst passed afterwards I have not found, only that after several intermediate owners, it came into the name of Goodhugh, and in the latter end of the reign of king George I. was possessed by Richard Goodhugh, esq. from which name it passed by a female heir, Sarah, in marriage to Mr. Rich. Round, whose son, Mr. Richard Round, of Stonepit, in Seale, died possessed of it, and the trustees of his insant children are now in the possession of it.

  

SPELDHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and deanry of Malling.

 

The church, which was dedicated to St. Mary, was a neat building, having a spire steeple at the west end of it, in which hung four bells.

 

On Thursday, October 22, 1791, a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning happened in these parts, which set fire to this church, a ball of fire being observed to enter the center of the shingled part of the spire, and instantly a thick smoke, followed by slames issued from it, and there being no help at hand, every thing contributed to its destruction. The high wind, the rain and hail having ceased, drove the flames from the steeple on the church, and in about four hours this beautiful structure was totally reduced to a heap of ruins, The bells were melted by the intense heat, the monuments in it, and every thing else which could become a prey to the fiery element were reduced to ashes; the stone walls only were left, but in so ruinous a condition as not to be fit for future use, and what is extraordinary, the font, though left entire, was turned upside down; the tombs and head stones near the church were considerably damaged. A brief was obtained towards the re-building of it, but the work, though the size of it has been greatly reduced, the new church, consisting but of one isle and a very small chancel, has gone on but slowly, and at this time is not near finished, and neither steeple nor bells are yet agreed upon, the brief not producing so much as was expected.

 

In the old church, before it was burnt down, there were the following monuments and inscriptions:— In the chancel, on the south wall, an antient and beautiful monument,. with the arms of Waller, with the augmentation and several quarterings, for Sir Walter Waller; a brass plate for John Waller, esq. obt. 1517. In the nave, were several brass plates for the same family, one of them for William Waller, esq. of Groombridge, obt. 1555. The porch was very curious, over which was an antique shield, cut in stone, being the arms of France, with a file of three flambeaux, for Charles, duke of Orleans, mentioned before. He built this porch, and was a good benefactor to the repairs of the church itself. (fn. 19)

 

By a fine levied in the 39th year of king Henry III. before Gilbert de Preston, and others justices itinerant, Walter de la Dene, the possessor of this advowson, granted it to the Walter Fitzwalter in tail general, to hold of him and his heirs for ever, at the yearly rent of one penny, and performing all other services due from thence to the capital lords of the fee.

 

¶Roger de Padlesworth was patron of the church of Speldhurst in the 48th year of the same reign, and he then released his right to certain rent and service due for lands granted to the chapel of Gromenebregge, situated within his manor of Speldhurst. In the reign of king Edward III. the manor and church of Speldhurst were part of the possessions of Sir John de Pulteneye, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation and endowment of his college in the parish of St. Lawrence, in Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Lawrence Poultney, settled both manor and advowson on it. (fn. 20) Three years after which, anno 1347, Hamo, bishop of Rochester, at the instance and petition of Sir John de Pulteneye, by his instrument appropriated this church to that college for ever, reserving out of it nevertheless a fit portion to the perpetual vicar serving in it, to be presented to the bishop and his successors, by the master or guardian and the chaplains of the college, by which he might be supported decently, and be enabled to discharge the episcopal dues and other burthens incumbent on him; and he decreed, that they should take possession of this church immediately on the death or cession of Sir Thomas, then rector of it (whom he by no means intended to prejudice by this appropriation) without any further licence or authority obtained for that purpose, saving, nevertheless, and reserving to himself and his successors canonical obedience from the master or guardian and chaplains or their successors, on account of their holding this church as aforesaid, and the visitation of it, and other rights due to the church and the bishop of Rochester, and to the archdeacon of the place, either of custom or of right, and all other rights and customs in every thing whatsoever; and saving and reserving in the church a perpetual vicarage, which he then decreed should take effect at the death or resignation of the rector of it. And he willed, that a sit and competent portion should be assigned out of the fruits, rents and produce of it to such vicar to serve in it, who should first be presented by the master, &c. to be instituted and admitted by the bishop, or his successor, into it, before his admission, according as circumstances required, to the use of him and his successors for ever. And he willed and decreed, that the portion above-mentioned should for ever consist of the tithes of filva cedua, pannage, apples, and fruits of other trees, hay, herbage, flax, hemp, wool, milk, butter and cheese, lambs, calves, pigs, swans, pidgeons, fowlings, huntings, mills, fisheries, merchandizing, and in all other small tithes and dues of the church, oblations and obventions whatsoever belonging to the altarage, together with competent buildings situate on the soil of the church, to be assigned for the habitation of the vicar, and in which the visitors of the ordinary might be commodiously received. And he willed and decreed, that the vicar for the time being, (after the books and vestments belonging by custom to the rector to provide, should have been sufficiently provided by the master, &c.) should cause the books to be bound, and the vestments to be washed, repaired and amended, as often as need should be; and should find and provide, at his own expence, bread, wine, and processional tapers, and other lights necessary in the chancel, and the accustomed attendants in the church; and should keep and maintain in a proper state, at his own costs, the buildings allotted to his vicarage, after they should have been once sufficiently repaired, and assigned as an habitation for him and his successors, and should wholly pay all episcopal dues, and archidiaconal procurations, and should undergo and acknowledge all other extraordinary burthens, which should be incumbent or laid on him, according to the taxation of his portion, which, so far as related to them, he estimated and taxed at sixty shillings sterling; but that the master, &c. should undergo and acknowledge, at his and their own costs for ever, all other ordinaries and extraordinaries, according to the taxation of their portion, which he estimated at six marcs and an half. Lastly, that his cathedral church of Rochester might not be in any manner hurt, or prejudiced by this appropriation, he, in recompence of such loss, as it might happen to receive from it, either in the not receiving the profits of it whilst it should become vacant, or otherwise, reserved a certain annual pension of seven shillings sterling from this church to him and his successors, to be yearly paid at the feast of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the master, &c. as soon as they should have obtained effectual and full possession of it, &c. (fn. 21)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

The outstanding feature of this solid Victorian church, built by John Oldrid Scott in 1871, is the series of windows by the firm of Morris and Co. The east window of the north aisle represents some early saints including Alban and Aidan, while that in the west end shows six angels. Nearby is an early representation of Kentish saints, whose popularity was increasing in the middle of the nineteenth century, including Augustine, Ethelbert and Bertha. The east window is by the same firm, but dates from after the death of Burne-Jones and is not so finely executed. The oak reredos was added by Charles Oldrid Scott in 1925, who also worked on the altar rails and low chancel screen. In the churchyard there is a good monument made of Coade artificial stone in 1807.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Speldhurst

 

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SPELDHURST

IS the last parish remaining undescribed in this lath. It lies the next adjoining parish south eastward from Penshurst, and was sometimes written, in antient records, Speleberste, but in the Tex t u Rossensis, Speldburst.

 

THE PARISH of Speldhurst is about three miles across each way; the north-west part, in which the church stands, and Hallborough, is within the hundred of Somerden, as is the hamlet of Groombridge, three miles from the church, at the southern boundary of it, where a branch of the river Medway separates this county from Sussex, throughout all which the soil remains a stiff clay; the remaining part of this parish is in the hundred of Warchlingstone, which stretches across a narrow district, by Mitchell's and Tophill farms, and towards the parish of Ashurst, which it includes, thus entirely separates that part of the hundred of Somerden in which the hamlet of Groombridge lies, and surrounds three sides of it, from the other in which the church stands. The soil in the eastern part of this parish changes to an uninterrupted scene of losty hills, with deep vallies intersecting, the soils are a stiff loam and a barren sand, which covers a continued bed of rock stone, several of which appear above it, of large size and dimensions, greatly abounding with iron ore, which renders the springs of it more or less chalybeate; at the south east boundary of the parish is the noted resort of Tunbridge-wells, (of which a further account will be given hereafter) situated thirty-five miles from London, and five from Tunbridge town; here the high road branches off to the right, by Rust-hall, and the hamlets of Bishopsdown and Rust-hall common, on by Groombridge, across the branch of the Medway into Sussex.

 

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

¶The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

  

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

THE MANOR OF SPELDHURST, in the reign of king Edward III. was in the possession of Sir John de Pulteneye, lord of the neighbouring manor of Penshurst, a man of great account at that time, as has been already noticed before, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation he had begun of a college in the parish of St. Lawrence, Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Laurence Poultney, settled the manor with the church of Speldshurst on it.

 

¶It remained part of the possessions of the college till its suppression in the reign of king Edward VI. when it was granted among other premises, by the description of the manor of Speldhurst and Harwarton (then demised to Sir William Waller, at the rent of 16s. 8d. per annum) of the clear yearly value of 13l. 14s. 1d. together with the patronage of the church appendant to the manor, parcel of the late college of St. Laurence, Poultney, London, to Henry Polsted. (fn. 4) How the manor of Speldhurst passed afterwards I have not found, only that after several intermediate owners, it came into the name of Goodhugh, and in the latter end of the reign of king George I. was possessed by Richard Goodhugh, esq. from which name it passed by a female heir, Sarah, in marriage to Mr. Rich. Round, whose son, Mr. Richard Round, of Stonepit, in Seale, died possessed of it, and the trustees of his insant children are now in the possession of it.

  

SPELDHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and deanry of Malling.

 

The church, which was dedicated to St. Mary, was a neat building, having a spire steeple at the west end of it, in which hung four bells.

 

On Thursday, October 22, 1791, a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning happened in these parts, which set fire to this church, a ball of fire being observed to enter the center of the shingled part of the spire, and instantly a thick smoke, followed by slames issued from it, and there being no help at hand, every thing contributed to its destruction. The high wind, the rain and hail having ceased, drove the flames from the steeple on the church, and in about four hours this beautiful structure was totally reduced to a heap of ruins, The bells were melted by the intense heat, the monuments in it, and every thing else which could become a prey to the fiery element were reduced to ashes; the stone walls only were left, but in so ruinous a condition as not to be fit for future use, and what is extraordinary, the font, though left entire, was turned upside down; the tombs and head stones near the church were considerably damaged. A brief was obtained towards the re-building of it, but the work, though the size of it has been greatly reduced, the new church, consisting but of one isle and a very small chancel, has gone on but slowly, and at this time is not near finished, and neither steeple nor bells are yet agreed upon, the brief not producing so much as was expected.

 

In the old church, before it was burnt down, there were the following monuments and inscriptions:— In the chancel, on the south wall, an antient and beautiful monument,. with the arms of Waller, with the augmentation and several quarterings, for Sir Walter Waller; a brass plate for John Waller, esq. obt. 1517. In the nave, were several brass plates for the same family, one of them for William Waller, esq. of Groombridge, obt. 1555. The porch was very curious, over which was an antique shield, cut in stone, being the arms of France, with a file of three flambeaux, for Charles, duke of Orleans, mentioned before. He built this porch, and was a good benefactor to the repairs of the church itself. (fn. 19)

 

By a fine levied in the 39th year of king Henry III. before Gilbert de Preston, and others justices itinerant, Walter de la Dene, the possessor of this advowson, granted it to the Walter Fitzwalter in tail general, to hold of him and his heirs for ever, at the yearly rent of one penny, and performing all other services due from thence to the capital lords of the fee.

 

¶Roger de Padlesworth was patron of the church of Speldhurst in the 48th year of the same reign, and he then released his right to certain rent and service due for lands granted to the chapel of Gromenebregge, situated within his manor of Speldhurst. In the reign of king Edward III. the manor and church of Speldhurst were part of the possessions of Sir John de Pulteneye, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation and endowment of his college in the parish of St. Lawrence, in Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Lawrence Poultney, settled both manor and advowson on it. (fn. 20) Three years after which, anno 1347, Hamo, bishop of Rochester, at the instance and petition of Sir John de Pulteneye, by his instrument appropriated this church to that college for ever, reserving out of it nevertheless a fit portion to the perpetual vicar serving in it, to be presented to the bishop and his successors, by the master or guardian and the chaplains of the college, by which he might be supported decently, and be enabled to discharge the episcopal dues and other burthens incumbent on him; and he decreed, that they should take possession of this church immediately on the death or cession of Sir Thomas, then rector of it (whom he by no means intended to prejudice by this appropriation) without any further licence or authority obtained for that purpose, saving, nevertheless, and reserving to himself and his successors canonical obedience from the master or guardian and chaplains or their successors, on account of their holding this church as aforesaid, and the visitation of it, and other rights due to the church and the bishop of Rochester, and to the archdeacon of the place, either of custom or of right, and all other rights and customs in every thing whatsoever; and saving and reserving in the church a perpetual vicarage, which he then decreed should take effect at the death or resignation of the rector of it. And he willed, that a sit and competent portion should be assigned out of the fruits, rents and produce of it to such vicar to serve in it, who should first be presented by the master, &c. to be instituted and admitted by the bishop, or his successor, into it, before his admission, according as circumstances required, to the use of him and his successors for ever. And he willed and decreed, that the portion above-mentioned should for ever consist of the tithes of filva cedua, pannage, apples, and fruits of other trees, hay, herbage, flax, hemp, wool, milk, butter and cheese, lambs, calves, pigs, swans, pidgeons, fowlings, huntings, mills, fisheries, merchandizing, and in all other small tithes and dues of the church, oblations and obventions whatsoever belonging to the altarage, together with competent buildings situate on the soil of the church, to be assigned for the habitation of the vicar, and in which the visitors of the ordinary might be commodiously received. And he willed and decreed, that the vicar for the time being, (after the books and vestments belonging by custom to the rector to provide, should have been sufficiently provided by the master, &c.) should cause the books to be bound, and the vestments to be washed, repaired and amended, as often as need should be; and should find and provide, at his own expence, bread, wine, and processional tapers, and other lights necessary in the chancel, and the accustomed attendants in the church; and should keep and maintain in a proper state, at his own costs, the buildings allotted to his vicarage, after they should have been once sufficiently repaired, and assigned as an habitation for him and his successors, and should wholly pay all episcopal dues, and archidiaconal procurations, and should undergo and acknowledge all other extraordinary burthens, which should be incumbent or laid on him, according to the taxation of his portion, which, so far as related to them, he estimated and taxed at sixty shillings sterling; but that the master, &c. should undergo and acknowledge, at his and their own costs for ever, all other ordinaries and extraordinaries, according to the taxation of their portion, which he estimated at six marcs and an half. Lastly, that his cathedral church of Rochester might not be in any manner hurt, or prejudiced by this appropriation, he, in recompence of such loss, as it might happen to receive from it, either in the not receiving the profits of it whilst it should become vacant, or otherwise, reserved a certain annual pension of seven shillings sterling from this church to him and his successors, to be yearly paid at the feast of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the master, &c. as soon as they should have obtained effectual and full possession of it, &c. (fn. 21)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

 

Officers investigating the recent spate of firearms discharges in Salford have executed a series of warrants in Little Hulton and Eccles.

 

In the early hours of this morning, Friday 16 October 2015, officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Salford Division searched nine properties throughout the division in the hunt for firearms linked to the recent shootings in the area.

 

The warrants were executed as part of a Project Gulf operation designed to tackle organised crime. Gulf is part of Programme Challenger, the Greater Manchester approach to tackling organised criminality across the region.

 

Seven men and one woman have been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, ranging from possession with intent to supply to handling stolen goods.

 

A significant amount of Class A and Class B drugs were seized as part of the operation, though no firearms were found.

 

Detective Inspector Alan Clitherow said: “This series of warrants are just one element of the continuing and relentless operation being orchestrated to tackle organised crime gangs in Salford.

 

“They came about as a result of the on-going investigation into the recent spate of firearms discharges in Salford, including the horrific attack of young Christian Hickey and his mother Jayne.

 

“We wanted to show our communities that we are leaving no stone unturned in the hunt for those responsible for the abhorrent attack on an innocent child and his mother, and that we will not stand for the spate of shootings taking place on our streets in recent weeks.

 

“But there is still more to do and, as with any fight against organised crime groups embedded in our city, we need residents to come to us with information so we can put a stop to this criminality.

 

“There has been much said about people breaking this wall of silence in Salford, and once again I urge people to search their consciences and please come forward.

 

“You could provide the information that may help prevent any further innocent lives being touched by this senseless violence, and prevent further children being injured by thugs that many people within Salford seem so intent on protecting.

 

“I want to stress that if you come forward with what you know, we can offer you complete anonymity and I assure you that you will have our full support. Or if you don’t feel you can talk to police but you have information, you can speak to Crimestoppers anonymously.”

 

A dedicated information hotline has been set up on 0161 856 9775, or people can also pass information on by calling 101, or the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

 

Choeung Ek, Cambodia

 

The judicial process of the Khmer Rouge regime, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" (which usually included some kind of free-market activity; having had contact with a foreign source, such as a U.S. missionary, international relief or government agency; or contact with any foreigner or with the outside world at all), being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean." They were then taken away to a place such as Tuol Sleng or Choeung Ek for torture and/or execution.

 

The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using poison, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Inside the Buddhist Memorial Stupa at Choeung Ek, there is evidence of bayonets, knives, wooden clubs, hoes for farming and curved scythes being used to kill victims- with images of skulls, damaged by these implements, as evidence. In some cases the children and infants of adult victims were killed by having their heads bashed against the trunks of Chankiri trees, and then were thrown into the pits alongside their parents. The rationale was to stop them growing up and taking revenge for their parents' deaths.

 

Some victims were required to dig their own graves; their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.

The outstanding feature of this solid Victorian church, built by John Oldrid Scott in 1871, is the series of windows by the firm of Morris and Co. The east window of the north aisle represents some early saints including Alban and Aidan, while that in the west end shows six angels. Nearby is an early representation of Kentish saints, whose popularity was increasing in the middle of the nineteenth century, including Augustine, Ethelbert and Bertha. The east window is by the same firm, but dates from after the death of Burne-Jones and is not so finely executed. The oak reredos was added by Charles Oldrid Scott in 1925, who also worked on the altar rails and low chancel screen. In the churchyard there is a good monument made of Coade artificial stone in 1807.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Speldhurst

 

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SPELDHURST

IS the last parish remaining undescribed in this lath. It lies the next adjoining parish south eastward from Penshurst, and was sometimes written, in antient records, Speleberste, but in the Tex t u Rossensis, Speldburst.

 

THE PARISH of Speldhurst is about three miles across each way; the north-west part, in which the church stands, and Hallborough, is within the hundred of Somerden, as is the hamlet of Groombridge, three miles from the church, at the southern boundary of it, where a branch of the river Medway separates this county from Sussex, throughout all which the soil remains a stiff clay; the remaining part of this parish is in the hundred of Warchlingstone, which stretches across a narrow district, by Mitchell's and Tophill farms, and towards the parish of Ashurst, which it includes, thus entirely separates that part of the hundred of Somerden in which the hamlet of Groombridge lies, and surrounds three sides of it, from the other in which the church stands. The soil in the eastern part of this parish changes to an uninterrupted scene of losty hills, with deep vallies intersecting, the soils are a stiff loam and a barren sand, which covers a continued bed of rock stone, several of which appear above it, of large size and dimensions, greatly abounding with iron ore, which renders the springs of it more or less chalybeate; at the south east boundary of the parish is the noted resort of Tunbridge-wells, (of which a further account will be given hereafter) situated thirty-five miles from London, and five from Tunbridge town; here the high road branches off to the right, by Rust-hall, and the hamlets of Bishopsdown and Rust-hall common, on by Groombridge, across the branch of the Medway into Sussex.

 

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

¶The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

  

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

THE MANOR OF SPELDHURST, in the reign of king Edward III. was in the possession of Sir John de Pulteneye, lord of the neighbouring manor of Penshurst, a man of great account at that time, as has been already noticed before, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation he had begun of a college in the parish of St. Lawrence, Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Laurence Poultney, settled the manor with the church of Speldshurst on it.

 

¶It remained part of the possessions of the college till its suppression in the reign of king Edward VI. when it was granted among other premises, by the description of the manor of Speldhurst and Harwarton (then demised to Sir William Waller, at the rent of 16s. 8d. per annum) of the clear yearly value of 13l. 14s. 1d. together with the patronage of the church appendant to the manor, parcel of the late college of St. Laurence, Poultney, London, to Henry Polsted. (fn. 4) How the manor of Speldhurst passed afterwards I have not found, only that after several intermediate owners, it came into the name of Goodhugh, and in the latter end of the reign of king George I. was possessed by Richard Goodhugh, esq. from which name it passed by a female heir, Sarah, in marriage to Mr. Rich. Round, whose son, Mr. Richard Round, of Stonepit, in Seale, died possessed of it, and the trustees of his insant children are now in the possession of it.

  

SPELDHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and deanry of Malling.

 

The church, which was dedicated to St. Mary, was a neat building, having a spire steeple at the west end of it, in which hung four bells.

 

On Thursday, October 22, 1791, a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning happened in these parts, which set fire to this church, a ball of fire being observed to enter the center of the shingled part of the spire, and instantly a thick smoke, followed by slames issued from it, and there being no help at hand, every thing contributed to its destruction. The high wind, the rain and hail having ceased, drove the flames from the steeple on the church, and in about four hours this beautiful structure was totally reduced to a heap of ruins, The bells were melted by the intense heat, the monuments in it, and every thing else which could become a prey to the fiery element were reduced to ashes; the stone walls only were left, but in so ruinous a condition as not to be fit for future use, and what is extraordinary, the font, though left entire, was turned upside down; the tombs and head stones near the church were considerably damaged. A brief was obtained towards the re-building of it, but the work, though the size of it has been greatly reduced, the new church, consisting but of one isle and a very small chancel, has gone on but slowly, and at this time is not near finished, and neither steeple nor bells are yet agreed upon, the brief not producing so much as was expected.

 

In the old church, before it was burnt down, there were the following monuments and inscriptions:— In the chancel, on the south wall, an antient and beautiful monument,. with the arms of Waller, with the augmentation and several quarterings, for Sir Walter Waller; a brass plate for John Waller, esq. obt. 1517. In the nave, were several brass plates for the same family, one of them for William Waller, esq. of Groombridge, obt. 1555. The porch was very curious, over which was an antique shield, cut in stone, being the arms of France, with a file of three flambeaux, for Charles, duke of Orleans, mentioned before. He built this porch, and was a good benefactor to the repairs of the church itself. (fn. 19)

 

By a fine levied in the 39th year of king Henry III. before Gilbert de Preston, and others justices itinerant, Walter de la Dene, the possessor of this advowson, granted it to the Walter Fitzwalter in tail general, to hold of him and his heirs for ever, at the yearly rent of one penny, and performing all other services due from thence to the capital lords of the fee.

 

¶Roger de Padlesworth was patron of the church of Speldhurst in the 48th year of the same reign, and he then released his right to certain rent and service due for lands granted to the chapel of Gromenebregge, situated within his manor of Speldhurst. In the reign of king Edward III. the manor and church of Speldhurst were part of the possessions of Sir John de Pulteneye, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation and endowment of his college in the parish of St. Lawrence, in Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Lawrence Poultney, settled both manor and advowson on it. (fn. 20) Three years after which, anno 1347, Hamo, bishop of Rochester, at the instance and petition of Sir John de Pulteneye, by his instrument appropriated this church to that college for ever, reserving out of it nevertheless a fit portion to the perpetual vicar serving in it, to be presented to the bishop and his successors, by the master or guardian and the chaplains of the college, by which he might be supported decently, and be enabled to discharge the episcopal dues and other burthens incumbent on him; and he decreed, that they should take possession of this church immediately on the death or cession of Sir Thomas, then rector of it (whom he by no means intended to prejudice by this appropriation) without any further licence or authority obtained for that purpose, saving, nevertheless, and reserving to himself and his successors canonical obedience from the master or guardian and chaplains or their successors, on account of their holding this church as aforesaid, and the visitation of it, and other rights due to the church and the bishop of Rochester, and to the archdeacon of the place, either of custom or of right, and all other rights and customs in every thing whatsoever; and saving and reserving in the church a perpetual vicarage, which he then decreed should take effect at the death or resignation of the rector of it. And he willed, that a sit and competent portion should be assigned out of the fruits, rents and produce of it to such vicar to serve in it, who should first be presented by the master, &c. to be instituted and admitted by the bishop, or his successor, into it, before his admission, according as circumstances required, to the use of him and his successors for ever. And he willed and decreed, that the portion above-mentioned should for ever consist of the tithes of filva cedua, pannage, apples, and fruits of other trees, hay, herbage, flax, hemp, wool, milk, butter and cheese, lambs, calves, pigs, swans, pidgeons, fowlings, huntings, mills, fisheries, merchandizing, and in all other small tithes and dues of the church, oblations and obventions whatsoever belonging to the altarage, together with competent buildings situate on the soil of the church, to be assigned for the habitation of the vicar, and in which the visitors of the ordinary might be commodiously received. And he willed and decreed, that the vicar for the time being, (after the books and vestments belonging by custom to the rector to provide, should have been sufficiently provided by the master, &c.) should cause the books to be bound, and the vestments to be washed, repaired and amended, as often as need should be; and should find and provide, at his own expence, bread, wine, and processional tapers, and other lights necessary in the chancel, and the accustomed attendants in the church; and should keep and maintain in a proper state, at his own costs, the buildings allotted to his vicarage, after they should have been once sufficiently repaired, and assigned as an habitation for him and his successors, and should wholly pay all episcopal dues, and archidiaconal procurations, and should undergo and acknowledge all other extraordinary burthens, which should be incumbent or laid on him, according to the taxation of his portion, which, so far as related to them, he estimated and taxed at sixty shillings sterling; but that the master, &c. should undergo and acknowledge, at his and their own costs for ever, all other ordinaries and extraordinaries, according to the taxation of their portion, which he estimated at six marcs and an half. Lastly, that his cathedral church of Rochester might not be in any manner hurt, or prejudiced by this appropriation, he, in recompence of such loss, as it might happen to receive from it, either in the not receiving the profits of it whilst it should become vacant, or otherwise, reserved a certain annual pension of seven shillings sterling from this church to him and his successors, to be yearly paid at the feast of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the master, &c. as soon as they should have obtained effectual and full possession of it, &c. (fn. 21)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

3rd c. CE, executed by a mosaicist from the mosaic school at Daphne near Antioch, as attested by a fragmentary inscription.

From the triclinium of the 'House of Dionysos', near the Plateia Agoras in Khania, excavated in 1977.

 

Archaeological Museum of Chania, Crete - Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Χανίων (Interkriti, Wikipedia)

Chania, Ancient Cydonia / Kydonia / Κυδωνία (Pleiades; Wikipedia)

  

(note: this is the old, pre-2020, location; a new purpose-built museum opened in 2022)

Performance by Joan Morey, "BAREBACK. Fenomenología de la comunión [BAREBACK: Phenomenology of Communion] 2010. Reenactment executed by Manuel Segade, original performer and author of the text. Presented in the framework of the exhibition "COLLAPSE. Desiring machine, working machine", Centre d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona - Fabra i Coats, 15 November 2018. Photo: Noemi Jariod. Courtesy the artist.

 

Each of the six programmed performance reenactments is extracted from its original context as studies or scenes from earlier projects and given an independent life. These live-action fragments encompass ritualistic exercises following the artist’s rules, tableaux vivants, and dramatic orations based on texts by the artist or by playwrights such as Samuel Beckett. Whenever possible the performances maintain their original interpreters, yet inevitably they are reinforced or degraded through their repetition, adding another layer to the artist’s exploration of control.

 

This reading was originally conceived as the closing performance of ‘BAREBACK: Power and death’ (2010), which took place at the former chapel of la Casa de la Misericòrdia in Palma de Mallorca. The speaker, dressed in the clerical attire of a priest, delivers a personal and theoretical address, a form of self-reflective homily or sermon, accompanied by an image of a billboard showing an unmade double bed with the hollows left by two heads in the pillows. This image documents artist Félix González-Torres’s ‘Untitled’ (1991), a public-art project about private loss, a memorial to the artist’s partner who had recently died of an AIDS-related illness. The text begins as a reflection on the experience of the act of lending authority to the voice and announces itself as a series of digressions around its ostensible topic: the practice of unprotected sex and the homosexual “barebacking” subculture, in which the risk of HIV infection is considered irrelevant or even desirable. The speech hinges on the elision of the words community—in particular the gay community—and communion. While acknowledging the Christian ceremonial connotations of the latter, the text more abstractly deals with communion as the intimate union of feelings and bodies, and the compounding of the private, political, and philosophical spheres in the life and work of individuals such as Michel Foucault, Roland Barthes, and the speaker himself.

 

© Text by Latitudes

 

—

 

Since the late 1990s, Joan Morey (Mallorca, 1972) has produced an expansive body of live events, videos, installations, sound and graphic works, that has explored the intersection of theatre, cinema, philosophy, sexuality, and subjectivity. Morey’s work both critiques and embodies one of the most thorny and far-reaching aspects of human consciousness and behaviour – how we relate ourselves to others, as the oppressed or the oppressor. This central preoccupation with the exercise of power and authority seemingly accounts for the black and ominous tenor of his art.

 

COLLAPSE encompasses three parts. The first is presented over two floors of the Contemporary Art Centre of Barcelona - Fabra i Coats. ‘Desiring machine, Working machine’ is a survey of ten projects from the last fifteen years of the artist’s work. An exhibition display based around vitrines and video screens deployed as if sarcophagi or reliquaries, is presented alongside a continuous programme of audio works and a schedule of live performance extracts.

 

The second part of COLLAPSE takes place at the Centre d’Art Tecla Sala, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (23 November 2018–13 January 2019) and is the definitive version of the touring exhibition ‘Social Body’.

 

Titled ‘Schizophrenic Machine’, the third and final part of the project comprises a major new performance event which will take place on January 10, 2019, at an especially resonant – yet deliberately undisclosed – location in Barcelona, where live action will be integrated within the longer narrative of the site’s physical and discursive past.

 

COLLAPSE is curated by Latitudes.

 

—> info: www.lttds.org/projects/morey/

—> info: ajuntament.barcelona.cat/centredart/en/projectes/3396

The outstanding feature of this solid Victorian church, built by John Oldrid Scott in 1871, is the series of windows by the firm of Morris and Co. The east window of the north aisle represents some early saints including Alban and Aidan, while that in the west end shows six angels. Nearby is an early representation of Kentish saints, whose popularity was increasing in the middle of the nineteenth century, including Augustine, Ethelbert and Bertha. The east window is by the same firm, but dates from after the death of Burne-Jones and is not so finely executed. The oak reredos was added by Charles Oldrid Scott in 1925, who also worked on the altar rails and low chancel screen. In the churchyard there is a good monument made of Coade artificial stone in 1807.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Speldhurst

 

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SPELDHURST

IS the last parish remaining undescribed in this lath. It lies the next adjoining parish south eastward from Penshurst, and was sometimes written, in antient records, Speleberste, but in the Tex t u Rossensis, Speldburst.

 

THE PARISH of Speldhurst is about three miles across each way; the north-west part, in which the church stands, and Hallborough, is within the hundred of Somerden, as is the hamlet of Groombridge, three miles from the church, at the southern boundary of it, where a branch of the river Medway separates this county from Sussex, throughout all which the soil remains a stiff clay; the remaining part of this parish is in the hundred of Warchlingstone, which stretches across a narrow district, by Mitchell's and Tophill farms, and towards the parish of Ashurst, which it includes, thus entirely separates that part of the hundred of Somerden in which the hamlet of Groombridge lies, and surrounds three sides of it, from the other in which the church stands. The soil in the eastern part of this parish changes to an uninterrupted scene of losty hills, with deep vallies intersecting, the soils are a stiff loam and a barren sand, which covers a continued bed of rock stone, several of which appear above it, of large size and dimensions, greatly abounding with iron ore, which renders the springs of it more or less chalybeate; at the south east boundary of the parish is the noted resort of Tunbridge-wells, (of which a further account will be given hereafter) situated thirty-five miles from London, and five from Tunbridge town; here the high road branches off to the right, by Rust-hall, and the hamlets of Bishopsdown and Rust-hall common, on by Groombridge, across the branch of the Medway into Sussex.

 

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

¶The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

  

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

THE MANOR OF SPELDHURST, in the reign of king Edward III. was in the possession of Sir John de Pulteneye, lord of the neighbouring manor of Penshurst, a man of great account at that time, as has been already noticed before, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation he had begun of a college in the parish of St. Lawrence, Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Laurence Poultney, settled the manor with the church of Speldshurst on it.

 

¶It remained part of the possessions of the college till its suppression in the reign of king Edward VI. when it was granted among other premises, by the description of the manor of Speldhurst and Harwarton (then demised to Sir William Waller, at the rent of 16s. 8d. per annum) of the clear yearly value of 13l. 14s. 1d. together with the patronage of the church appendant to the manor, parcel of the late college of St. Laurence, Poultney, London, to Henry Polsted. (fn. 4) How the manor of Speldhurst passed afterwards I have not found, only that after several intermediate owners, it came into the name of Goodhugh, and in the latter end of the reign of king George I. was possessed by Richard Goodhugh, esq. from which name it passed by a female heir, Sarah, in marriage to Mr. Rich. Round, whose son, Mr. Richard Round, of Stonepit, in Seale, died possessed of it, and the trustees of his insant children are now in the possession of it.

  

SPELDHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and deanry of Malling.

 

The church, which was dedicated to St. Mary, was a neat building, having a spire steeple at the west end of it, in which hung four bells.

 

On Thursday, October 22, 1791, a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning happened in these parts, which set fire to this church, a ball of fire being observed to enter the center of the shingled part of the spire, and instantly a thick smoke, followed by slames issued from it, and there being no help at hand, every thing contributed to its destruction. The high wind, the rain and hail having ceased, drove the flames from the steeple on the church, and in about four hours this beautiful structure was totally reduced to a heap of ruins, The bells were melted by the intense heat, the monuments in it, and every thing else which could become a prey to the fiery element were reduced to ashes; the stone walls only were left, but in so ruinous a condition as not to be fit for future use, and what is extraordinary, the font, though left entire, was turned upside down; the tombs and head stones near the church were considerably damaged. A brief was obtained towards the re-building of it, but the work, though the size of it has been greatly reduced, the new church, consisting but of one isle and a very small chancel, has gone on but slowly, and at this time is not near finished, and neither steeple nor bells are yet agreed upon, the brief not producing so much as was expected.

 

In the old church, before it was burnt down, there were the following monuments and inscriptions:— In the chancel, on the south wall, an antient and beautiful monument,. with the arms of Waller, with the augmentation and several quarterings, for Sir Walter Waller; a brass plate for John Waller, esq. obt. 1517. In the nave, were several brass plates for the same family, one of them for William Waller, esq. of Groombridge, obt. 1555. The porch was very curious, over which was an antique shield, cut in stone, being the arms of France, with a file of three flambeaux, for Charles, duke of Orleans, mentioned before. He built this porch, and was a good benefactor to the repairs of the church itself. (fn. 19)

 

By a fine levied in the 39th year of king Henry III. before Gilbert de Preston, and others justices itinerant, Walter de la Dene, the possessor of this advowson, granted it to the Walter Fitzwalter in tail general, to hold of him and his heirs for ever, at the yearly rent of one penny, and performing all other services due from thence to the capital lords of the fee.

 

¶Roger de Padlesworth was patron of the church of Speldhurst in the 48th year of the same reign, and he then released his right to certain rent and service due for lands granted to the chapel of Gromenebregge, situated within his manor of Speldhurst. In the reign of king Edward III. the manor and church of Speldhurst were part of the possessions of Sir John de Pulteneye, who, in the 19th year of that reign, on his perfecting the foundation and endowment of his college in the parish of St. Lawrence, in Canon-street, London, afterwards called the College of St. Lawrence Poultney, settled both manor and advowson on it. (fn. 20) Three years after which, anno 1347, Hamo, bishop of Rochester, at the instance and petition of Sir John de Pulteneye, by his instrument appropriated this church to that college for ever, reserving out of it nevertheless a fit portion to the perpetual vicar serving in it, to be presented to the bishop and his successors, by the master or guardian and the chaplains of the college, by which he might be supported decently, and be enabled to discharge the episcopal dues and other burthens incumbent on him; and he decreed, that they should take possession of this church immediately on the death or cession of Sir Thomas, then rector of it (whom he by no means intended to prejudice by this appropriation) without any further licence or authority obtained for that purpose, saving, nevertheless, and reserving to himself and his successors canonical obedience from the master or guardian and chaplains or their successors, on account of their holding this church as aforesaid, and the visitation of it, and other rights due to the church and the bishop of Rochester, and to the archdeacon of the place, either of custom or of right, and all other rights and customs in every thing whatsoever; and saving and reserving in the church a perpetual vicarage, which he then decreed should take effect at the death or resignation of the rector of it. And he willed, that a sit and competent portion should be assigned out of the fruits, rents and produce of it to such vicar to serve in it, who should first be presented by the master, &c. to be instituted and admitted by the bishop, or his successor, into it, before his admission, according as circumstances required, to the use of him and his successors for ever. And he willed and decreed, that the portion above-mentioned should for ever consist of the tithes of filva cedua, pannage, apples, and fruits of other trees, hay, herbage, flax, hemp, wool, milk, butter and cheese, lambs, calves, pigs, swans, pidgeons, fowlings, huntings, mills, fisheries, merchandizing, and in all other small tithes and dues of the church, oblations and obventions whatsoever belonging to the altarage, together with competent buildings situate on the soil of the church, to be assigned for the habitation of the vicar, and in which the visitors of the ordinary might be commodiously received. And he willed and decreed, that the vicar for the time being, (after the books and vestments belonging by custom to the rector to provide, should have been sufficiently provided by the master, &c.) should cause the books to be bound, and the vestments to be washed, repaired and amended, as often as need should be; and should find and provide, at his own expence, bread, wine, and processional tapers, and other lights necessary in the chancel, and the accustomed attendants in the church; and should keep and maintain in a proper state, at his own costs, the buildings allotted to his vicarage, after they should have been once sufficiently repaired, and assigned as an habitation for him and his successors, and should wholly pay all episcopal dues, and archidiaconal procurations, and should undergo and acknowledge all other extraordinary burthens, which should be incumbent or laid on him, according to the taxation of his portion, which, so far as related to them, he estimated and taxed at sixty shillings sterling; but that the master, &c. should undergo and acknowledge, at his and their own costs for ever, all other ordinaries and extraordinaries, according to the taxation of their portion, which he estimated at six marcs and an half. Lastly, that his cathedral church of Rochester might not be in any manner hurt, or prejudiced by this appropriation, he, in recompence of such loss, as it might happen to receive from it, either in the not receiving the profits of it whilst it should become vacant, or otherwise, reserved a certain annual pension of seven shillings sterling from this church to him and his successors, to be yearly paid at the feast of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary, by the master, &c. as soon as they should have obtained effectual and full possession of it, &c. (fn. 21)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

Queen Victoria Vista-class cruise ship inbound for the CLT, Liverpool. She would execute a port swing before stemming the tide south of the stage awaiting Viking Venus' departure.

 

IMO: 9320556

 

Vessel Type - Detailed: Passenger Ship

 

MMSI: 310624000

 

Call Sign: ZCEF3

 

Flag: Bermuda

 

Gross Tonnage: 90746

 

Summer DWT: 7685 t

 

Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 294 x 32.29 m

 

Max Draught: 8 metres

 

Decks: 16 total with 12 passenger decks

 

Year Built: 30 Nov 2007

 

Ship manager/Commercial manager & ISM: CARNIVAL PLC

 

Registered owner: CARNIVAL PLC

 

Ordered: 3 December 2004

 

Shipyard: Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy at a cost of £270 million

 

Hull Number: 6127

 

Laid down: 12 May 2006

 

Launched: 15 January 2007 she was floated out

 

Christened: 10 December 2007

 

Maiden voyage: 11 December 2007

 

Main Engine: x6 Sulzer ZA40 x4 16 cylinder and x2 12 cylinder @ 63,400 kW (85,000 hp) (combined)

 

Propulsion: Two ABB Azipods (x2 16.7MW)

 

x3 bow thrusters 2.2MW each

 

Speed: 23.7 knots (43.9 km/h; 27.3 mph) maximum, service speed 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)

 

Capacity: 2,081 passengers

 

Crew: 900

 

Stabilisers: Queen Victoria will have one pair of folding fin stabilisers and each fin will have an area of 20 m²

According to the Algoma University archives:

 

On March 16, 1880, William H. Brown executed a deed in trust in favour of the Right Reverend Frederick Dawson Fauquier, first Bishop of Algoma, for a church in Baysville, Ont.

 

The St. Ambrose’s Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.) started under the administration of the minister of Bracebridge. The first stage of the church was a bare-minimum structure completed late in 1882 for the expected arrival of the Bishop of Algoma. On January 16, 1883 the Bishop held a service in the evening and a meeting the next day to plan the completion of the building. By the end of 1884 the congregation had raised enough money for a decent roof, plaster, windows, and a fence.

 

In these early years, St. Ambrose’s and St. Peter’s Anglican Church (Stoneleigh, Ont.) were administered to by St. Thomas’ Anglican Church (Bracebridge, Ont.). Rev. James Boydell, who traveled by bicycle from church to church was the last pastor from St. Thomas’ to minister at St. Ambrose’s. In the mid to late 1890s the church separated from Bracebridge and became its own mission with funding from the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge.

 

St. Ambrose’s was opened February 12, 1899 under the ministry of the Reverend A. W. Hazelhurst; it was dedicated to St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397) who is considered one of the four original doctors of the Church, and is the patron saint of Milan. The first church was repurposed for use as a Parish Hall and Sunday School. The new church had a nave, chancel, apse, vestry and porch, with a crypt underneath, large enough for a furnace-room and guild-hall. The church was consecrated in 1901 by Rev. Thornelow, Bishop of Algoma.

 

In August 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Brown gifted an acre of land to Rev. and Mrs. Hazlehurst, who in turn gifted it to the Diocese in November 1911 for use as a cemetery. The land was consecrated October 17, 1915. But on September 3, 1919 St. Ambrose was destroyed in a fire. The community moved quickly and within two weeks new lots adjacent the old church were purchased for construction of a new church. The old school house on one of these lots was used as a makeshift church.

 

The congregation had difficulty raising enough money to build the new church, mostly due to the post-war inflation. A committee was formed to work on fundraising for the new church. In spring of 1921 the foundation was begun, and about a year later the structure built. On November 9, 1922 the Bishop Thornelow visited to perform a service, but the church was not officially opened until July 29th, 1923.

 

After Rev. A.P. Banks left the parsonage in 1940, it was sold and has since been a private residence. Permanent rectors now live in the rectory in Dorset, which is more central to the Lake of Bays Mission. In 1940 the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Bracebridge, Ont.) took over the mission; it was administered to by the Cowley Fathers until 1955. In 1955 the parish became known as the Lake of Bays Mission and it included: St. Ambrose’s Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.), St. Peter’s Anglican Church (Stoneleigh, Ont.), St. Mary’s Anglican Church (Norway Point, Ont.), St. James’ Anglican Church (Port Cunnington, Ont.), St. Mary’s Magdalene’s Anglican Church (Dorset, Ont.), and St. John’s Anglican Church (Fox Point, Ont.).

 

The congregation of St. Ambrose celebrated their centenary in 1998.

 

Incumbents have included: Rev. Canon Alexander William Hazelhurst (1894-1927), Rev. Richard Cartwright Warder (1927-1933), Rev. H. Alfred Rogers (1933-1934), Rev. W. Ruthford Tindle (1934-1938), Rev. Canon Alfred Percy Banks, (1938-1940), S.S.J.E. (Cowley Fathers) (1940-1955), Rev. Roy H. Nixon (1955-1959), Rev. Tom James (1959-1963), Rev. James Francom (1963-1967), Rev. Robert Lumley (1967-1973), Rev. Jonathan Patrick Earle (1973-1975), Rev. Murray Bradford (1975-1983), Rev. Ray B. Porth (1983-1989), Rev. Michael Cottrell (1989-1993), and Rev. Thomas Cunningham (1994-).

 

I drive through Baysville on the way to Dorset and the Frost Centre. I really need to explore it one day, it looks like a nice little town.

 

This church is right on the highway, and I was able to catch it at sunrise this trip. (Mostly because I slept later than I planned.) It’s tricky to get a view that doesn’t have wires strung across the church, but I managed this one.

 

This High Dynamic Range image was tone-mapped from three hand-held bracketed photographs with Photomatix, processed with Color Efex, and touched up in Affinity Photo and Aperture.

 

Location: Baysville, Ontario, Canada

Detail of the Baptistry Window, a masterpiece of abstract stained glass designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens.

 

Coventry's Cathedral is a unique synthesis of old a new, born of wartime suffering and forged in the spirit of postwar optimism, famous for it's history and for being the most radically modern of Anglican cathedrals. Two cathedral's stand side by side, the ruins of the medieval building, destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1940 and the bold new building designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962.

 

It is a common misconception that Coventry lost it's first cathedral in the wartime blitz, but the bombs actually destroyed it's second; the original medieval cathedral was the monastic St Mary's, a large cruciform building believed to have been similar in appearance to Lichfield Cathedral (whose diocese it shared). Tragically it became the only English cathedral to be destroyed during the Reformation, after which it was quickly quarried away, leaving only scant fragments, but enough evidence survives to indicate it's rich decoration (some pieces were displayed nearby in the Priory Visitors Centre, sadly since closed). Foundations of it's apse were found during the building of the new cathedral in the 1950s, thus technically three cathedrals share the same site.

 

The mainly 15th century St Michael's parish church became the seat of the new diocese of Coventry in 1918, and being one of the largest parish churches in the country it was upgraded to cathedral status without structural changes (unlike most 'parish church' cathedrals created in the early 20th century). It lasted in this role a mere 22 years before being burned to the ground in the 1940 Coventry Blitz, leaving only the outer walls and the magnificent tapering tower and spire (the extensive arcades and clerestoreys collapsed completely in the fire, precipitated by the roof reinforcement girders, installed in the Victorian restoration, that buckled in the intense heat).

 

The determination to rebuild the cathedral in some form was born on the day of the bombing, however it wasn't until the mid 1950s that a competition was held and Sir Basil Spence's design was chosen. Spence had been so moved by experiencing the ruined church he resolved to retain it entirely to serve as a forecourt to the new church. He envisaged the two being linked by a glass screen wall so that the old church would be visible from within the new.

 

Built between 1957-62 at a right-angle to the ruins, the new cathedral attracted controversy for it's modern form, and yet some modernists argued that it didn't go far enough, after all there are echoes of the Gothic style in the great stone-mullioned windows of the nave and the net vaulting (actually a free-standing canopy) within. What is exceptional is the way art has been used as such an integral part of the building, a watershed moment, revolutionising the concept of religious art in Britain.

 

Spence employed some of the biggest names in contemporary art to contribute their vision to his; the exterior is adorned with Jacob Epstein's triumphant bronze figures of Archangel Michael (patron of the cathedral) vanquishing the Devil. At the entrance is the remarkable glass wall, engraved by John Hutton with strikingly stylised figures of saints and angels, and allowing the interior of the new to communicate with the ruin. Inside, the great tapestry of Christ in majesty surrounded by the evangelistic creatures, draws the eye beyond the high altar; it was designed by Graham Sutherland and was the largest tapestry ever made.

 

However one of the greatest features of Coventry is it's wealth of modern stained glass, something Spence resolved to include having witnessed the bleakness of Chartres Cathedral in wartime, all it's stained glass having been removed. The first window encountered on entering is the enormous 'chess-board' baptistry window filled with stunning abstract glass by John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens, a symphony of glowing colour. The staggered nave walls are illuminated by ten narrow floor to ceiling windows filled with semi-abstract symbolic designs arranged in pairs of dominant colours (green, red, multi-coloured, purple/blue and gold) representing the souls journey to maturity, and revealed gradually as one approaches the altar. This amazing project was the work of three designers lead by master glass artist Lawrence Lee of the Royal College of Art along with Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke (each artist designed three of the windows individually and all collaborated on the last).

 

The cathedral still dazzles the visitor with the boldness of it's vision, but alas, half a century on, it was not a vision to be repeated and few of the churches and cathedrals built since can claim to have embraced the synthesis of art and architecture in the way Basil Spence did at Coventry.

 

The cathedral is generally open to visitors most days. For more see below:-

www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/

The young Schubert, Vienna, ca. 1814. Oil on canvas. SAM 847

The in Vienna executed Oil painting represents the young Schubert as a young man of 17. It probably arose following his first great successes. The performances of the Mass in F major on the occasion of the 100 anniversary of the church in Lichtental (now in the 9th district of Vienna) and in the Augustinian Church in Vienna was conducted by Schubert himself.

 

Der junge Schubert, Wien, ca. 1814. Öl auf Leinwand. SAM 847.

Das in Wien ausgeführte Ölgemälde stellt den jungen Schubert als circa 17-Jährigen dar. Es dürfte im Anschluss an seine ersten großen Erfolge entstanden sein. Die Aufführungen der Messe in F-Dur anläßlich der 100 Jahr-Feier der Kirche in Lichtental und in der Augustinerkirche in Wien wurde von Schubert selbst geleitet.

The Postcard

 

A postcard published by DLG that has a divided back.

 

The card was posted in Amiens on Monday the 19th. April 1909 to:

 

Monsieur Georges Lee,

Ouvrier Marechal,

Chez M. Coengnet,

Rue Victor Hugo,

Boves,

Somme.

 

Jim 'Killer' Miller

 

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

 

Well, on the 19th. April 1909, Jim Miller escaped from prison.

 

Jim "Killer" Miller had been a terror in the southwestern United States for 25 years.

 

After Miller murdered former U.S. Marshal Gus Bobbitt in 1908, he and the three men who hired him were caught in March 1909, and placed in the Pontotoc County Jail in Ada, Oklahoma, to await trial.

 

At 2:00 a.m. on the 19th. April, the electric power to the jail was cut and more than 100 men broke in, overpowered the guards, and took the four men to a nearby livery stable.

 

Miller, along with Jess West, Joe Allen and B.B. Burwell, were hanged by their vigilante executioners.

 

William Howard Taft

 

Also on that day, William Howard Taft became the first U.S. President to attend a major league baseball game He joined Vice-President Sherman in watching the Washington Senators host the Boston Red Sox.

 

Boston won 8–4.

 

Hanging as a Means of Execution

 

The Short Drop

 

The short drop is a method of hanging in which the condemned prisoner stands on a raised support such as a stool, ladder, cart, or other vehicle, with the noose around the neck. The support is then moved away, leaving the person dangling from the rope.

 

Suspended by the neck, the weight of the body tightens the noose around the neck, effecting strangulation and death. This typically takes 10–20 minutes. This means that the prisoner can be revived before death and hung again, perhaps multiple times.

 

Before 1850, the short drop was the standard method of hanging, and it is still common in suicides and extrajudicial hangings (such as lynchings and summary executions) which do not benefit from the specialised equipment and drop-length calculation tables used in the newer methods.

 

The Pole Method

 

A short drop variant is the Austro-Hungarian "pole" method, in which the following steps take place:

 

-- The condemned is made to stand before a specialized vertical pole or pillar, approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height.

-- A rope is attached around the condemned's feet and routed through a pulley at the base of the pole.

-- The condemned is hoisted to the top of the pole by means of a sling running across the chest and under the armpits.

-- A narrow-diameter noose is looped around the prisoner's neck, then secured to a hook mounted at the top of the pole.

-- The chest sling is released, and the prisoner is rapidly jerked downward by the assistant executioners via the foot rope.

-- The executioner stands on a stepped platform approximately 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) high beside the condemned, and guides the head downward with his hand simultaneous to the efforts of his assistants. In some countries the executioner would then manually dislocate the condemned's neck.

 

This method was later also adopted by the successor states, most notably by Czechoslovakia, where the pole method was used as the only type of execution from 1918 until the abolition of capital punishment in 1990.

 

Nazi war criminal Karl Hermann Frank, executed in 1946 in Prague, was among approximately 1,000 condemned people executed in this manner in Czechoslovakia.

 

The Standard Drop

 

The standard drop involves a drop of between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 m) and came into use from 1866, when the scientific details were published by Irish doctor Samuel Haughton. Its use rapidly spread to English-speaking countries and those with judicial systems of English origin.

 

It was considered a humane improvement on the short drop, because it was intended to be enough to break the person's neck, causing immediate unconsciousness and rapid brain death.

 

This method was used to execute condemned Nazis under United States jurisdiction after the Nuremberg Trials including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. In the execution of Ribbentrop, historian Giles MacDonogh records that:

 

"The hangman botched the execution and the

rope throttled the former foreign minister for

20 minutes before he expired."

 

A Life magazine report on the execution merely says:

 

"The trap fell open and with a sound midway

between a rumble and a crash, Ribbentrop

disappeared. The rope quivered for a time,

then stood tautly straight."

 

The Long Drop

 

This process, also known as the measured drop, was introduced to Great Britain in 1872 by William Marwood as a scientific advance on the standard drop.

 

Instead of everyone falling the same standard distance, the person's height and weight were used to determine how much slack would be provided in the rope so that the distance dropped would be enough to ensure that the neck was broken, but not so much that the person was decapitated.

 

The careful placement of the knot of the noose (so that the head was jerked back as the rope tightened) contributed to breaking the neck.

 

Prior to 1892, the drop was between four and ten feet (about one to three metres), depending on the weight of the body, and was calculated to deliver an energy of 1,260 foot-pounds force (1,710 J), which fractured the neck at either the 2nd. and 3rd. or 4th. and 5th. cervical vertebrae.

 

This force resulted in some decapitations, such as the infamous case of Black Jack Ketchum in New Mexico Territory in 1901, owing to a significant weight gain while in custody not having been factored into the drop calculations.

 

Between 1892 and 1913, the length of the drop was shortened to avoid decapitation. After 1913, other factors were also taken into account, and the energy delivered was reduced to about 1,000 foot-pounds force (1,400 J).

 

The decapitation of Eva Dugan during a botched hanging in 1930 led the state of Arizona to switch to the gas chamber as its primary execution method, on the grounds that it was believed more humane.

 

One of the more recent decapitations as a result of the long drop occurred when Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was hanged in Iraq in 2007. Accidental decapitation also occurred during the 1962 hanging of Arthur Lucas, one of the last two people to be put to death in Canada.

 

Nazis executed under British jurisdiction, including Josef Kramer, Fritz Klein, Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, were hanged by Albert Pierrepoint using the variable-drop method devised by Marwood. The record speed for a British long-drop hanging was seven seconds from the executioner entering the cell to the drop. Speed was considered to be important in the British system as it reduced the condemned's mental distress.

 

Suicide by Hanging

 

Hanging is a common suicide method. The materials necessary for suicide by hanging are readily available to the average person, compared to firearms or poisons. Full suspension is not required, and for this reason, hanging is especially commonplace among suicidal prisoners.

 

A type of hanging comparable to full suspension hanging may be obtained by self-strangulation using a ligature around the neck and the partial weight of the body to tighten the ligature. When a suicidal hanging involves partial suspension the deceased is found to have both feet touching the ground, e.g., they are kneeling, crouching or standing.

 

Partial suspension is sometimes used, particularly in prisons, mental hospitals or other institutions, where full suspension support is difficult to devise, because high ligature points (e.g., hooks or pipes) have been removed.

 

In Canada, hanging is the most common method of suicide, and in the U.S., hanging is the second most common method, after self-inflicted gunshot wounds. In the United Kingdom, where firearms are less easily available, in 2001 hanging was the most common method among men, and the second most commonplace among women (after poisoning).

 

Those who survive a suicide-via-hanging, whether due to breakage of the cord, or being discovered and cut down, face a range of serious injuries, including cerebral anoxia (which can lead to permanent brain damage), laryngeal fracture, cervical spine fracture (which may cause paralysis), tracheal fracture, pharyngeal laceration, and carotid artery injury.

 

Hanging Practices Across the Globe

 

Hanging has been a method of capital punishment in many countries, and is still used by many countries to this day. Long drop hanging is mainly used by former British colonies, while short-drop and suspension hanging is common in Iran.

 

-- Afghanistan

 

Hanging is the most-used form of capital punishment in Afghanistan.

 

-- Australia

 

Capital punishment was a part of the legal system of Australia from the establishment of New South Wales as a British penal colony, until 1985, by which time all Australian states and territories had abolished the death penalty. In practice, the last execution in Australia was the hanging of Ronald Ryan on the 3rd. February 1967, in Victoria.

 

During the 19th. century, crimes that could carry a death sentence included burglary, sheep theft, forgery, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter. During the 19th. century, roughly eighty people were hanged every year throughout the Australian colonies for these crimes.

 

-- Bangladesh

 

Hanging is the only method of execution in Bangladesh, ever since its independence.

 

-- Brazil

 

Death by hanging was the customary method of capital punishment in Brazil throughout its history. Some important national heroes like Tiradentes (1792) were killed by hanging.

 

The last man to be executed in Brazil was the slave Francisco, in 1876. The death penalty was abolished for all crimes, except for those committed under extraordinary circumstances such as war or military law, in 1890.

 

-- Bulgaria

 

Bulgaria's national hero, Vasil Levski, was executed by hanging by the Ottoman court in Sofia in 1873. Every year since Bulgaria's liberation, thousands come with flowers on the date of his death, 19th. February, to his monument where the gallows stood. The last execution was in 1989, and the death penalty was abolished for all crimes in 1998.

 

-- Canada

 

Historically, hanging was the only method of execution used in Canada, and was in use as possible punishment for all murders until 1961, when murders were re-classified into capital and non-capital offences.

 

The death penalty was restricted to apply only for certain offences under the National Defence Act in 1976, and was completely abolished in 1998. The last hangings in Canada took place on the 11th. December 1962.

 

-- Egypt

 

In 1955, Egypt hanged three Israelis on charges of spying. In 1982 Egypt hanged three civilians convicted of the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

 

In 2004, Egypt hanged five militants on charges of trying to kill the Prime Minister. To this day, hanging remains the standard method of capital punishment in Egypt, which executes more people each year than any other African country.

 

-- Germany

 

In the territories occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945, strangulation hanging was a preferred means of public execution, although more criminal executions were performed by guillotine than hanging.

 

The most commonly sentenced were partisans and black marketeers, whose bodies were usually left hanging for long periods. There are also numerous reports of concentration camp inmates being hanged.

 

Hanging was continued in post-war Germany in the British and US Occupation Zones under their jurisdiction, and for Nazi war criminals, until well after (western) Germany had abolished the death penalty. The last execution ordered by a West German court was carried out by guillotine in Moabit prison in 1949.

 

The last hanging in Germany was of several war criminals in Landsberg am Lech on the 7th. June 1951. The last known execution in East Germany was in 1981 by a pistol shot to the neck.

 

-- Hungary

 

During the 1956 Revolution, the prime minister of Hungary, Imre Nagy, was secretly tried, executed by hanging, and buried unceremoniously by the new Soviet-backed Hungarian government. Nagy was later publicly exonerated by Hungary.

 

Capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1990.

 

-- India

 

All executions in India since independence have been carried out by hanging, although the law provides for military executions to be carried out by firing squad.

 

In 1949, Nathuram Godse, who had been sentenced to death for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, was the first person to be executed by hanging in independent India.

 

The Supreme Court of India has suggested that capital punishment should be given only in the "rarest of rare cases".

 

Since 2001, eight people have been executed in India. Dhananjoy Chatterjee, the 1991 rapist and murderer was executed on the 14th. August 2004 in Alipore Jail, Kolkata.

 

Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai attacks was executed on the 21st. November 2012 in Yerwada Central Jail, Pune. The Supreme Court of India had previously rejected his mercy plea, which was then rejected by the President of India. He was hanged one week later.

 

Afzal Guru, a terrorist found guilty of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, was executed by hanging in Tihar Jail, Delhi on the 9th. February 2013.

 

Yakub Memon was convicted over his involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings on the 27th. July 2007. His appeals and petitions for clemency were all rejected, and he was finally executed by hanging on 30 July 2015 in Nagpur jail. In March 2020, four prisoners convicted of rape and murder were executed by hanging in Tihar Jail.

 

-- Iran

 

Death by hanging is the primary means of capital punishment in Iran, which carries out one of the highest numbers of annual executions in the world. The method used is the short drop, which does not break the neck of the condemned, but rather causes a slower death due to strangulation.

 

Hanging is legally approved for murder, rape, and drug trafficking unless the criminal pays diyya to the victim's family, thus attaining their forgiveness.

 

If the presiding judge deems the case to be causing public outrage, he can order the hanging to take place in public at the spot where the crime was committed, typically from a mobile telescoping crane which hoists the condemned high into the air.

 

On the 19th. July 2005, two boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, aged 15 and 17 respectively, who had been convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old boy, were hanged at Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashhad, on charges of homosexuality and rape.

 

On the 15th. August 2004, a 16-year-old girl, Atefeh Sahaaleh was executed for having committed "acts incompatible with chastity".

 

At dawn on the 27th. July 2008, the Iranian government executed 29 people at Evin Prison in Tehran.

 

On the 2nd. December 2008, an unnamed man was hanged for murder at Kazeroun Prison, just moments after he was pardoned by the murder victim's family. He was quickly cut down and rushed to a hospital, where he was successfully revived.

 

The conviction and hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari caused international uproar as she was sentenced to death in 2009 and hanged on the 25th. October 2014 for murdering a former intelligence officer; according to Jabbari's testimony she stabbed him during an attempt at rape and then another person killed him.

 

-- Iraq

 

Hanging was used under the regime of Saddam Hussein, but was suspended along with capital punishment on the 10th. June 2003, when a coalition led by the United States invaded and overthrew the previous regime. The death penalty was reinstated on the 8th. August 2004.

 

In September 2005, three murderers were the first people to be executed since the restoration. Then on the 9th. March 2006, the Supreme Judicial Council confirmed that the first insurgents had been executed by hanging.

 

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, and was executed on the 30th. December 2006 at approximately 6:00 a.m. local time. During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that his neck was broken, a successful example of a long-drop hanging.

 

Barzan Ibrahim, the head of the Mukhabarat, Saddam's security agency, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge, were executed on the 15th. January 2007, also by the long-drop method, but Barzan was decapitated by the rope at the end of his fall.

 

Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan had been sentenced to life in prison, but the sentence was changed to death by hanging on the 20th. March 2007. He was the fourth and final man to be executed for the 1982 crimes against humanity. The execution went smoothly.

 

It is alleged that Iraq's government keeps the execution rate secret, and that hundreds may be carried out every year. In 2007, Amnesty International stated that 900 people were at "imminent risk" of execution in Iraq.

 

-- Israel

 

Although Israel has legal provisions for the death penalty for extraordinary crimes, it has been used only twice, and only one of those executions was by hanging. On the 31st. May 1962, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was executed by hanging.

 

-- Japan

 

All executions in Japan are carried out by long drop hanging.

 

On the 23rd. December 1948, seven men were hanged at Sugamo Prison by the U.S. occupation authorities in Allied-occupied Japan for war crimes during the Asian-Pacific theatre of World War II.

 

On 27 February 2004, the mastermind of the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, Shoko Asahara, was found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging. In 2018 Asahara and several of his cult members were hanged for committing the 1995 sarin gas attack.

 

On the 25th. December 2006, serial killer Hiroaki Hidaka and three others were hanged in Japan.

 

-- Jordan

 

Death by hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Jordan. On the 14th. August 1993, Jordan hanged two Jordanians convicted of spying for Israel.

 

Sajida al-Rishawi, "The 4th Bomber" of the 2005 Amman bombings, was executed by hanging alongside Ziad al-Karbouly on the 4th. February 2015 in retribution for the immolation of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh.

 

-- Lebanon

 

Lebanon hanged two men in 1998 for murdering a man and his sister. However, capital punishment was altogether suspended in Lebanon, as a result of staunch opposition by activists and some political factions.

 

-- Liberia

 

On the 16th. February 1979, seven men convicted of the ritual killing of the popular singer Moses Tweh, were publicly hanged at dawn in Harper.

 

-- Malaysia

 

Hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Malaysia, and has been used to execute people convicted of murder and drug trafficking. The Barlow and Chambers execution was carried out as a result of new tighter drug regulations.

 

-- Portugal

 

The last person executed by hanging in Portugal was Francisco Matos Lobos on the 16th. April 1842. Before that, it had been a common death penalty.

 

-- Pakistan

 

In Pakistan, hanging is the most common form of execution.

 

-- Russia

 

Hanging was commonly practised in the Russian Empire during the rule of the Romanov Dynasty as an alternative to impalement, which was used in the 15th. and 16th. centuries.

 

Hanging was abolished in 1868 by Alexander II, but was restored by the time of his death, and his assassins were hanged. While those sentenced to death for murder were usually pardoned and sentences commuted to life imprisonment, those guilty of high treason were usually executed.

 

This also included the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Kingdom of Poland under the Russian crown. Taavetti Lukkarinen became the last Finn to be executed this way. He was hanged for espionage and high treason in 1916.

 

The hanging was usually performed by short drop in public. The gallows were usually either a stout nearby tree branch, as in the case of Lukkarinen, or a makeshift gallows constructed for the purpose.

 

After the October Revolution in 1917, capital punishment was, on paper, abolished, but continued to be used unabated against people perceived to be enemies of the regime. Under the Bolsheviks, most executions were performed by shooting, either by firing squad or by a single firearm.

 

In 1943, hanging was restored primarily for German servicemen and native collaborators for atrocities committed against Soviet POWs and civilians. The last to be hanged were Andrey Vlasov and his companions in 1946.

 

-- Singapore

 

In Singapore, long-drop hanging is currently used as a mandatory punishment for crimes such as drug trafficking, murder and some types of kidnapping. It has also been used for punishing those convicted of unauthorised discharging of firearms.

 

-- Sri Lanka

 

Hanging was abolished in Sri Lanka in 1956, but in 1959 it was brought back and later halted in 1978. In 1975, the day before the execution of Maru Sira, he had been overdosed by the prison guards to prevent him from escaping.

 

On the day of his execution he was unconscious, so when he was brought to the gallows, he was slumped over on the trapdoor with a noose around his neck, and when the executioner pulled the lever, his execution was botched and he strangled.

 

-- Syria

 

Syria has publicly hanged people, such as two Jews in 1952, Israeli spy Eli Cohen in 1965, and a number of Jews accused of spying in 1969.

 

According to a 19th.-century report, members of the Alawite sect in Syria had a particular aversion towards being hanged, and the family of the condemned was willing to pay "considerable sums" to ensure its relatives were impaled, rather than hanged.

 

This attitude was based upon the belief that the soul ought to leave the body through the mouth, rather than leave it in any other fashion.

 

-- The United Kingdom

 

As a form of judicial execution in England, hanging is thought to date from the Anglo-Saxon period. Records of the names of British hangmen begin with Thomas de Warblynton in the 1360's and continue on to the last hangmen, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Allen, who conducted the last British executions in 1964.

 

Until 1868, hangings were performed in public. In London, the traditional site was at Tyburn, a settlement west of the City on the main road to Oxford, which was used on eight hanging days a year, though before 1865, executions had been conducted on the street outside Newgate Prison, Old Bailey, now the site of the Central Criminal Court.

 

Three British subjects were hanged after World War II, having been convicted of helping Nazi Germany in its war against Great Britain.

 

John Amery, the son of prominent British politician Leo Amery, became an expatriate in the 1930's, moving to France. He became involved in pre-war fascist politics, remained in what became Vichy France following France's defeat by Germany in 1940, and eventually went to Germany and later the German puppet state in Italy headed by Benito Mussolini.

 

Captured by Italian partisans at the end of the war and handed over to British authorities, Amery was accused of having made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, and of having attempted to recruit British prisoners of war for a Waffen SS regiment later known as the British Free Corps.

 

Amery pleaded guilty to treason charges on the 28th. November 1945, and was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 19th. December 1945.

 

William Joyce, an American-born Irishman who had lived in Great Britain and possessed a British passport, had been involved in pre-war fascist politics in the UK, fled to Nazi Germany just before the war and became a naturalised German citizen.

 

Joyce made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, becoming infamous under the nickname Lord Haw Haw. Captured by British forces in May 1945, he was tried for treason later that year. Although Joyce's defence argued that he was by birth American, and thus not subject to being tried for treason, the prosecution successfully argued that Joyce's pre-war British passport meant that he was a subject of the British Crown, and he was convicted.

 

After his appeals failed, he was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 3rd. January 1946.

 

Theodore Schurch was a British soldier captured by the Nazis who then began working for the Italian and German intelligence services by acting as a spy and informer when he was placed among other British prisoners. Schurch was arrested in Rome in March 1945 and tried under the Treachery Act 1940. After his conviction, he was hanged at HM Prison Pentonville on the 4th. January 1946.

 

The Homicide Act 1957 created the new offence of capital murder, punishable by death, with all other murders being punishable by life imprisonment.

 

In 1965, Parliament passed the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, temporarily abolishing capital punishment for murder for five years. The Act was renewed in 1969, making the abolition permanent.

 

Following the complete abolition of the death penalty, the gallows were removed from Wandsworth Prison, where they remained in full working order until that year.

 

The last woman to be hanged in the UK was Ruth Ellis on the 13th. July 1955, by Albert Pierrepoint who was a prominent hangman in the 20th. century in England.

 

The last hanging in Great Britain took place in 1964, when Peter Anthony Allen, at Walton Prison in Liverpool, and Gwynne Owen Evans, at Strangeways Prison in Manchester were executed for the murder of John Alan West.

 

Hanging was also the method used in many British colonies and overseas territories. During Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the following was written concerning those who stole a ship from the Royal Navy:

 

"If anye one practysed to steale awaye anye of

her Majesty's shippes, the captaine was to cause

him to be hanged by the heels untill his braines

were beaten out against the shippe's sides, and

then to be cutt down and lett fall intoe the sea."

 

-- The United States

 

The hangman's noose was one of the various punishments the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony applied to enforce religious and intellectual conformity on the whole community. The best known hanging carried out by the Puritans was of Mary Dyer; she was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs.

 

Capital punishment in the U.S. varies from state to state; it is outlawed in some states but used in most others. However, the death penalty under federal law is applicable in every state. Hanging is no longer used as a method of execution.

 

When Black pastor Denmark Vesey of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was suspected of plotting to launch a slave rebellion in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, 35 people, including Vesey, were judged guilty by a city-appointed court and were subsequently hanged, and the church was burned down.

 

The largest mass execution in the United States, of 38 Sioux Indians sentenced to death after being charged of massacring white settlers, was carried out by hanging in Mankato, Minnesota in 1862.

 

Originally, 303 had been sentenced to hang, but the convictions were reviewed by President Abraham Lincoln and the sentences of all but 38 were commuted.

 

A total of 40 suspected Unionists were hanged in Gainesville, Texas in October 1862.

 

On the 7th. July 1865, four people involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln—Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt—were hanged at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

 

Hanging was a popular method of lynching, for example the 1920 Duluth, Minnesota lynchings. The hangings became public spectacles for the white community to celebrate what they regarded as white supremacy.

 

While rope was most commonly used for hanging, chains had also been used (mainly during the colonial era), the first being a slave after the New York Slave Revolt of 1712. The last hanging in chains was in 1913, of John Marshall in West Virginia for murder.

 

The last public hanging in the United States (not including lynching, one of the last of which was Michael Donald in 1981) took place on the 14th. August 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky.

 

Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The execution was presided over by the first female sheriff in Kentucky, Florence Shoemaker Thompson.

 

In California, Clinton Duffy, who served as warden of San Quentin State Prison between 1940 and 1952, presided over ninety executions. He began to oppose the death penalty, and after his retirement, wrote a memoir entitled 'Eighty-Eight Men and Two Women' in support of the movement to abolish the death penalty.

 

The book documents several hangings gone wrong, and describes how they led his predecessor, Warden James B. Holohan, to persuade the California Legislature to replace hanging with the gas chamber in 1937.

 

Various methods of capital punishment have been replaced by lethal injection in most states. Many states that offered hanging as an option have since eliminated the method.

 

Condemned murderer Victor Feguer became the last inmate to be executed by hanging in the state of Iowa on the 15th. March 1963. Hanging was the preferred method of execution for capital murder cases in Iowa until 1965, when the death penalty was abolished and replaced with life imprisonment without parole.

 

Barton Kay Kirkham was the last person to be hanged in Utah, preferring it over execution by firing squad. No subsequent inmate in Utah had been hanged by the time the option was replaced with lethal injection in 1980.

 

Laws in Delaware were changed in 1986 to specify lethal injection, except for those convicted before 1986 (who were still allowed to choose hanging). If a choice was not made, or the convict refused to choose injection, then hanging would become the default method. This was the case in the 1996 execution of Billy Bailey, the most recent hanging in American history; since then, no Delaware prisoner fit the category, and the state's gallows were later dismantled.

 

The "Upright Jerker" is a method of hanging that originated in the United States in the late 19th. century, where the person to be hanged is jerked into the air by weights and pulleys. However it proved to be ineffective at breaking the neck of the condemned, and use of the method ceased in late 1930's.

•-----------•----•💀•---•-------------•

#ELDER_SCROLL_OF_MNEM_0.0♾😻

•-----------•----•💀•---•-------------•

ℹ️8️⃣📞📲📳☎️♾💁‍♂️

 

001-04 #BattlestarColumbia👾♾💍👸👑💝

 

ℹ️▶️⏯⏭↕️🔘https://youtu.be/bS5JnGBmghM

 

First of all; the #FBI does not have the clearance, to be in possession, of my nuclear codesz.

 

Load, Load, Load; you're too slow, #YouTube. And do you know what that means? It means that you are #Guilty of #HighTreason. &, do you know what that means? It means that you are #Executed by #FiringSquad.

 

Nope; your apology means nothing to me. It means, that you are still #Executed by #FiringSquad.

 

That's one☝️. Two✌️; I👆, told you💭💬📣🔊📢; I did not suggest to you – I told you, #YouTube; that I need 14-15,000 characters🔤🔡🔠🔢; &, you refused to comply. Therefore; you are shot🔫 to death – #Executed for #HighTreason, twice✌️👋😽💀😵.👀‍

 

Three3️⃣☘️; #JohnPaulMacIssac: I simply, or merely, tell💭💬📣🔊📢 the #FBI, to go & fuck themselves; & to eat shit💩🚽, & die💀😵⚰️⚱️. 👀‍

 

☎️▶️⏯⏩⏭➡️🔀↕️🔘https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qKVkhQQXEGE&feature=share

 

She asked me to cum⛲️💦💧🌊🎣🐟🔫 over, to #Steinway🎹🏭, in #Astoria👸; & then, after driving from #Pennsylvania #Pistolvania, she was on the #AOL_IM #AIM, w/ #JesseHenry. I told her that she was being rude; & she told me to go & fuck myself. So; I left, drove home🏡, & ate the cost💸 of travel. &, I went & fuckt myself. &; she was unhappy that I left; & she didn't get none. &; I don't really give a fuck. She can eat shit💩🚽, & die💀.👀‍❄️ @/#GregGutfeld #CarleyShimkus

 

#OliviaCampbellPatton #OliviaWildeNeeCockburne

 

🏰🏯🔘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya

 

By the way; it is #Ceylon; do not offend me again. This is your first(ly)☝️, & only⏳⌛️ warning⚠️⛔️☣️☢️

 

#SAP_q / #SAR_Q, how-ever, not #SAP-q / #SAR-Q; #RobertCharles #THE_COMMODORES_CIRCLE.👀‍😾😠😤😡

 

‍👀😎⚠️⛔️☣️☢️🔘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_access_program#:~:text=Special%20access%20programs%20%28SAPs%29%20in%20the%20U.S.%20Federal,that%20exceed%20those%20for%20regular%20%28collateral%29%20classified%20information.

 

☝️; there is no quick select, of 20,000+ images, on #iPhone, #Apple #TimCook. ✌️; there is no #conspicuous way to remove the #Slideslow option, on #iPhone, w/ your shitty, shitty musick selection. Therefore, I cannot turn it off. Oh, by the way; I cannot trash individual #AppCaches, neither, all of them, in a single tap. Take a wild guess what that means for you; all of you. #HighTreason = #Execution🔫 @ the #Gallows💀😵, or #Gibbet💀😵.👋👋👋

 

3️⃣; @/ #GregGutfeld‼️⚠️ : The #Saxophone🎷 is lame, gey, & any-person, who may believe it to be kool, or trendy, or even good; they may eat shit💩🚽, & die💀😵.

 

4️⃣ By the way; #SullyErna; you're a bitch.👋💀

 

🔘https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=R8pj2y39_jc&feature=share

 

•-----------•----•💀•---•-------------•

 

It is nice to see #TulsiGabbard; @/#FoxNewsCorp.

 

@/ #JennaLeeUSA I 👀‍ see ❄️🍧🍨🍦⛸ (also, #Björk) two✌️👩‍⚖️😌 #RingsOfPower ‍♀️🆗🙆‍♀️☎️🔥♨️💍🔏✍️👩‍💃👩‍💍👨‍👌🙆‍♂️🆗☑️🔲🔳▫️ℹ️🔘https://youtu.be/Pqijx0pnn3c

 

As you were excited to speak w/ me?🔘https://flic.kr/p/2nE3Sns

 

It's #Culpability, @/ #ChriselleTidrick; you either knew, or you did not know. They; the Government, do not believe in culpability, how-ever, culpability, does, indeed, & in-deed, exist. However; they have prosecuted many people, whilst ignoring #Culpability: so, therein, or there-upon; "#CasePrecedent." That said; if any-person, or agency of the Government, or government, harries you, menaces you, or threatens you in any way – ℹ️1️⃣1️⃣x the size of the #OklahomaCityBombing; &☝️ #SiolAlpin💍💝👑👸♾ will send the #LoveLetter💀☠️🌵⚰️⚱️😵 to #JoeBiden. Period.👀‍

 

You will hear the screams; much as #We heard the screams of #BattlestarColumbia, above (#StarOfCoruscant #Hoth) the "ice planet."

 

❄️🌐💍🔘https://youtu.be/-l2-HSSw-us

 

❄️🌐💍🔘https://youtu.be/Vt74HoJtbuw

 

❄️🌐💍🔘https://youtu.be/IfyNUhomMoU

 

#Owlephant

•———————————•

#ELDER_SCROLL_OF_MNEM_0.0♾😻

•———————————•

#EvanRachelWood-._•✏️📝✍️🔏🐧

 

--WRW

 

_.• ✍️🔏

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Arnold WeskerA meek, quiet man named Arnold Wesker (the first Ventriloquist) plans and executes his crimes through a dummy named Scarface, with the dress and persona of a 1920s gangster (complete with pinstripe suit, cigar, and Tommy gun). His name comes from the nickname of Al Capone, after whom Scarface is modeled.

 

Born into a powerful Mafia Family, Wesker developed Dissociative Identity Disorder after seeing his mother assassinated by thugs from a rival Family. Growing up, his only outlet was ventriloquism.

 

The issues Showcase '94 #8-9 establish an alternate origin story: After a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Wesker is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary. He is introduced to "Woody"—a dummy carved from the former gallows by cellmate Donnegan—who convinces him to escape and kill Donnegan in a fight which scars the dummy, thus resulting in the birth of Scarface.

 

Wesker lets the Scarface personality do the dirty work, including robbery and murder. He is totally dominated by Scarface, who barks orders at him and degrades him with verbal (and even physical) abuse. Wesker is unable to enunciate the letter "B" while throwing his voice, and replaces them with the letter "G" instead (for example, Scarface often calls Batman "Gatman").

 

In the 1995 Riddler story The Riddle Factory, it is revealed that a gangster named "Scarface" Scarelli had once been active in Gotham City, though he had apparently died long before Batman's era. A supernatural aspect to Scarface was hinted at in Wesker's origin story in Showcase '94, when Wesker's cellmate creates the first Scarface doll from a piece of gallows wood. 2001's Batman/Scarface: A Psychodrama reinforces this and shows the dummy to be indirectly responsible for two accidents while separated from Wesker (with at least one fatality). The dummy also retained his speech impediment while operated by a young boy and seemed to even show awareness of his name during this period.

 

In one issue of The Batman Adventures, the comic book based on Batman: The Animated Series, Wesker tries to reform by working puppets in a children's show with "Froggy", a new, friendlier puppet. However, the female star of the show is outraged when the show's cancellation is announced, and, having discovered Wesker's previous crimes with Scarface, reunites her hated boss with the murderous dummy. Later, as Wesker and Scarface are getting away, Froggy comes out to save Wesker from Scarface, resulting in a car wreck and the "death" of Froggy.[1]

 

The Ventriloquist is one of many villains in the Rogues Gallery to be confined to Arkham Asylum when Batman apprehends him. One particularly memorable series of events concerning him took place during the Knightfall saga, after Bane had destroyed Arkham and released its inmates. Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist uses a sock puppet in his place for a short time (aptly named Socko). After an ill-fated team-up with fellow escapee Amygdala,[2] he procures a number of other hand puppets to fill in for Scarface, including one of a police officer which he refers to as "Chief O'Hara" (in reference to a character from the 1960s Batman TV show). Later, when Wesker does indeed find Scarface, Scarface and Socko are set at odds until a standoff occurs, and the puppets shoot each other, leaving Wesker unconscious and bleeding from two wounded hands.[3]

 

During the events of the Cataclysm story arc, the stress caused by the earthquake apparently triggered the release of another personality within Wesker in the form of the 'Quakemaster', who claimed to have caused the earthquake himself over a video and threatened to trigger another unless he was paid $10 million. However, the seismologist Quakemaster had captured to provide him with information deliberately feeds him inaccurate scientific data to provide detectives looking for her with information as to her location. Robin subsequently deduces 'Quakemaster's' true identity due to his speeches always taking great effort to avoid saying any words with the letter 'B'.

 

In one issue, Wesker is apparently killed, and in a bizarre twist, Scarface appears to still talk and act alive before he is destroyed. This death appears to have been retconned in "One Year Later" (presumably due to the events of the Infinite Crisis crossover). Wesker appears as one of the members of the Secret Society of Super Villains that faces the Jade Canary, who pitches Scarface off the top of a roof.

  

The death of the Ventriloquist. Art by Don Kramer.In Detective Comics #818, an issue in what would later become the book Batman: Face the Face, Wesker is murdered by an unseen assailant. The puppet Scarface is stepped on and its head crushed. The dying Wesker uses Scarface's hand to leave a clue regarding his murder: a street name. Later in the storyline, it is revealed that Tally Man, acting as an enforcer for the Great White Shark, is responsible for the murder.[4]

 

During the Blackest Night crossover, Wesker is among the many deceased villains that receive a black power ring and is reanimated into a Black Lantern. Using his power ring, Wesker creates a construct of Scarface made of black energy. He is shown murdering many police officers.[5]

 

In The New 52 post-Flashpoint continuity, Arnold Wesker is now living, his death apparently erased from reality in the DC Universe. He appears in Batman: The Dark Knight #2. Implied to be in possession of the Venom steroid, he clashes briefly with Nightwing.

  

I have been to Throwley on at least three previous occasions, the fourth was going to be during Ride and Stride in September, but another crawler told me it had failed to open as per the list.

 

St Michael and All Angles is a large and from the outside and interesting looking church, looked like it had a story to tell. So, last week, I contacted the wardens through the CofE A church Near You website, I got a reply and a date and time agreed for Saturday morning.

 

We arrived 15 minutes early, and it was as locked as ever, but on a fine if frosty morning took the time to study the church ad churchyard, and saw yet more fine details we had missed previously.

 

Dead on time the warden arrived, and was very welcoming indeed. They loved to have visitors she said. Now I know how to contact them, I can see that.

 

She was clearly proud of the church, and rightly so, most impressive was the south chapel with a pair of kneeling couples on top of chest tombs, staring at each other for all eternity.

 

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

 

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

 

St Michael & All Angels is the parish church of Throwley. The first church on the site was probably built between 800 and 825. This would have been a small wooden structure, barely distinguishable from a farm building.

 

After the Norman Conquest in 1066 this was replaced by a Romanesque stone structure.

 

This was still small, but as the population of the parish increased the church was enlarged, until in about 1510 it reached its present size. Since then its appearance has changed little, although an extra storey was added to the tower - now far seen - in the 1860s.

 

The church has an elaborate Romanesque west entrance; its east window in the chancel, by Curtis, Ward & Hughes of Soho, London, is a memorial to Throwley men who gave their lives in the First World War.

 

In the Harris chapel is the church's newest stained-glass window, commemorating Dorothy Lady Harris who died in 1981. It was designed and executed in the Canterbury Cathedral Workshops by Frederick Cole (see pictures on left).

 

The church has more than its fair share of fine 16th to 19th century monuments, mainly to members of the local Sondes and Harris families, and these are all described.

 

www.faversham.org/community/churches/throwley.aspx

 

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

 

TQ 95 NE THROWLEY THROWLEY

ROAD

(west side)

4/181

Church of

St. Michael

and All

24.1.67 Angels

 

GV I

 

Parish Church. C12, C13 north chapel, C14 south chapel, C15

nave arcades, restored 1866 and tower heightened. Flint and

plain tiled roofs. Chancel, north and south chapels, nave and

aisles, south tower and south porch. West doorway, C12, with

attached shafts and 3 orders, the outer panelled with X's on

circles, the centre roll moulded with the blocks offset and

alternately projecting, the inner with more X's on circles,

with 2 offset buttresses either side of doorway. South aisle

with plinth, string course and parapet, 3 offset buttresses and

C15 Perpendicular windows. South tower of 2 stages with square

south-eastern stair turret and C16 moulded brick surround

sundial. Water spouts on each corner in the 4 Evangelical

symbols. Half-timbered C19 south porch, south doorway with

rolled and double hollow chamfered surround, and outer surround

with label and quatrefoil spandrels. North aisle under 1 roof

with nave, with C15 fenestration, and C19 chimney to north west.

North and south chapels with C14 cusped 'Y' tracery fenestration,

with hollow chamfered and ogee drip moulds. Chancel east

window C19 curvilinear style. Interior: 2 bay nave arcades,

double hollow chamfered arches on octagonal piers. C12 single

arches to north and south eastern bay, that to south recessed

and double chamfered through tower wall. Barrel roof.

Chamfered arch on corbels from south aisle to tower, itself

with corbel table on south wall, and triple arch through to south

chapel C19 chancel arch. Chancel with 2 bay double chamfered

arcade to north chapel with octagonal capitals on round piers, and

single double chamfered arch on round responds to south chapel.

Fittings: hollow chamfered piscina and sedile in window reveal in

chancel and cusped recess in north wall. C19 reredos and altar

rail. Cusped piscina and four centred arched wall recess in

south chapel. Choir stalls, some C19, the four on the south C15

with carved misericords. Monuments: south chapel C16 chest tomb,

with shields in panelled sides, moulded plinth, lozenge-shaped

flowers, fluting and frieze. Chest tomb, Sir George Sondes,

Earl of Faversham, d.1677. Black marble with blank panelled sides.

Inscription on the top panel (made 1728). Standing monument,

Sir Thomas Sondes, died 1592. Marble tomb chest, gadrooned with

achievements on side panels. Kneeling alabaster figures of

knight and his Lady on opposite sides of central prayer desk,

carrying inscription. Mary Sondes, died 1603. Smaller and

identical to Sir Thomas Sonde's monument, with 2 adults and 2

infant sons and daughters on either side of sarcophagus. Misplaced

scrolled and enriched carved achievement on floor to east of

those monuments. Wall plaque, Captain Thomas Sondes, died 1668.

Black and white marble, with draped apron, swagged and draped

sides with military trophies. Broken segmental pediment with male

bust. Signed W.S. (B.0.E. Kent II, p.477 suggests William Stanton).

North chapel C16 chest tomb, moulded plinth, panelled sides with

shields (1 panel reset in south chapel south wall). Early C16

tomb recess with moulded jambs, with rope work, crenellated,

with late Perpendicular motifs in spandrels, and tomb with 3

panelled recesses with 2 shields on each panel. Wall plaque,

Charles Harris, d.1814, by Flaxman. White plaque on white

background; dead soldier lifted from the grave by Victory, with

palms and cannon in background. Statue, to George, first Lord

Harris, life size soldier with sword and plans, on four foot

plinth. By George Rennie, 1835. Nave, wall plaque, Stephen

Bunce, d.1634. Black plaque on coved base and apron. Foliated

sides. Scrolled nowy cornice and pediment with achievement.

(See B.O.E. Kent II, 1983, 476-7.)

  

Listing NGR: TQ9883454254

 

www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-176587-church-of-st-m...

 

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LIES the next parish north-eastward from Stalisfield. It is called in the record of Domesday, Trevelei, in later records Truley and Thruley, in Latin ones Trulega and Truilla; it is now written both Throwley and Throwleigh.

 

THROWLEY is mostly situated on high ground, it is a more pleasant and open country than that last described, for though wild and romantic among the hills and woods, it is not so dreary and forlorn, nor the soil so uncomfortable, being much drier. Besides it has a more chearful and brighter aspect from the width of the principal valley which leads through it, from north to south, whence the hills rise on each side, with smaller delves interspersed among them. There is a good deal of wood-ground, mostly of beech, interspersed at places with oak and hazel, with some good timber trees of oak among them, especially in the northern and southern parts; much of the former belongs to the dean and chapter of Canterbury. The soil is mostly chalk, the rest a heavy tillage land of red cludy earth, the whole mixed with quantities of flint stones. There are some level lands, especially in the disparked grounds of Throwley park, which are tolerably good, much more so than those in the other parts of the parish; on the east side of the park are the foundations of the antient seat of the Sondes's, with the church close to them, the whole lying on high ground, with a good prospect of the surrounding country; not far from it is Town place, now only a farm-house. There is no village, excepting the few houses in Abraham-street may be so called, the rest of the houses, which are mostly cottages, standing dispersed throughout it, either single, or built round the little greens or softalls, of which there are several in different parts of the parish. On a larger one of these called Wilgate-green, there is a house belonging to the estate of Mr. Philerenis Willis's heirs, and another larger antient one, which with the estate belonging to it, was formerly the property of the Chapmans, and sold by them to Christopher Vane, lord Barnard, in 1789, gave it, with his other estates in this county, to David Papillon, esq. of Acrise, the present owner of it. (fn. 1)

 

There was a family named Wolgate, from whose residence here this green seems to have taken its name of Wolgate, or Wilgate-green. After they had remained here for some generations they ended in a daughter, for Mr. Ralph Wolgate dying in 1642, his daughter Anne married Mr. William Genery, and entitled him to her father's possessions here, at Posiers, in Borden, and other parts of this county. The Woodwards seem afterwards to have possessed their estate here, several of whom lie buried under a tomb in Throwley church-yard.

 

About half a mile distant south-westward from Wilgate-green, in Abraham-street, there is a seat, called, from its high situation and expensive prospect, BELMONT; it was built in the year 1769, by Edward Wilks, esq. storekeeper of the royal powdermills at Faversham, who inclosed a paddock or shrubbery round it, and occasionally resided here, till he alienated it in 1779 to John Montresor, esq. the present proprietor, who resides in it.

 

THE BEECH TREE flourishes in the greatest plenty, as well single to a large size, as in stubs in the coppice woods, which consist mostly of them, as well in these parts as they do in general on the range of chalk hills throughout this county, in some places extending two or three miles in width, and in others much more. The large tracts of ground in this and other counties, overspread with the beech-tree, the random situation of their stubs, and other circumstances which occur in viewing them, are strong proofs of their being the indigenous growth of this island, notwithstanding Cæfar's premptory assertion, in his Commentaries, of there being none here in this time. The Britons, he says, had every material for use and building, the same as the Gauls, excepting the fir and the beech. The former there is positive proof of his being grossly mistaken in, which will in some measure destroy that implicit credit we might otherwise give to his authority, as to the latter; indeed, the continued opposition he met with from the Britons, during his short stay here, assorded him hardly a possibility of seeing any other parts of this country than those near which he landed, and in the direct track through which he marched to wards Coway-stakes; too small a space for him to form any assertion of the general products of a whole country, or even of the neighbouring parts to him. Of those he passed through, the soil was not adapted to the growth of the beech tree; from which we may with great probability suppose, there were none growing on them, nor are there any throughout them, even at this time, a circumstance which most likely induced him to suppose, and afterwards to make the assertion beforementioned.

 

The slints, with which the cold unfertile lands in these parts, as well as some others in this county, are covered, have been found to be of great use in the bringing forward the crops on them, either by their warmth, or somewhat equivalent to it. Heretofore the occupiers of these lands were anxious to have them picked up and carried off from their grounds, but experiencing the disadvantage of it in the failure of their crops, they, never practice it themselves, and submit to the surveyors of the highways taking them off with great reluctance.

 

In the parish there are quantities of the great whitish ash coloured shell snail, which are of an unusual large size; they are found likewise near Darking, in Surry, and between Puckeridge and Ware, in Hertsordshire. They are not originally of this island, but have been brought from abroad, many of them are at this time observed in different parts of Italy.

 

MR. JACOB, in this Plantœ Favershamienses, has enumerated several scare plants observed by him in this parish, besides which, that scarce one, the Orchis myodes, or fly satrition, has been found here, growing on the side of the path, in a small wood, midway between the church and Wilgate green.

 

THIS PLACE, at the taking of the general survey of Domesday, about the 15th years of the Conqueror's reign, was part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, and earl of Kent, the king's half brother, under the general title of whose lands it is thus described in it:

 

Hersrid holds Trevelai. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is eight carucates. In demesne there is one, and twenty-four villeins, with five borderers having six carucates and an half. There is a church, and five servants. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and in the city three houses of thirty-two pence. In the time of king Edward the Conssessor it was worth seven pounds, and afterwards six pounds. Ulnod held it of king Edward.

 

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years afterwards, this among his other estates, became consiscated to the crown.

 

After which it was held of the king in capite, by barony, by Jeffry de Peverel, and together with other lands made up the barony of Peverel, as it was called, being assigned to him for the defence of Dover-castle, for which purpose he was bound to maintain a certain number of soldiers from time to time for the desence of it, and to repair and defend at this own charge a particular tower or turret there, called afterwards Turris Gattoniana, or Gatton's tower.

 

In the reign of king Henry III. Robert de Gatton, who took his name from the lordship of Gatton, in Surry, of which his ancestors had been some time owners, was in possession of the manor Thrule, and died in the 38th year of that reign, holding it by knight's service of the king, of the honor of Peverel, by reason of the escheat of that honor, &c. (fn. 2) He was succeded in it by this eldest son Hamo de Gatton, who resided here, and served the office of sheriff in the 14th year of Edward I. His eldest son of the same name left one son Edmund, then an instant, who afterwards dying under age, his two sisters became his coheirs, and divided his inheritance, of which Elizabeth entitled her husband William de Dene to this manor, and all the rest of the estates in Kent; and Margery entitled her husband Simon de Norwood to Gatton, and all the other estates in Surry.

 

William de Dene had a charter of free warren for his lands in Thurley, in the 10th year of Edward II. He died anno 15 Edward III. then holding this manor by the law of England, as of the inheritance of Elizabeth his late wife deceased, of the king in capite, as of the castle of Dover, by knight's service, and paying to the ward of that castle. His son Thomas de Dene died possessed of it in the 23d year of that reign, leaving four daughters his coheirs, of whom Benedicta, the eldest, married John de Shelving, and entitled him to this manor, on whose death likewise without male issue, his two daughters became his coheirs, of whom, Joane married John Brampton, alias Detling, of Detlingcourt, and Ellen married John de Bourne, the former of whom, in his wife's right, became possessed of this manor. He lest only one daughter Benedicta his heir, who carried it in marriage to Thomas at Town, who was possessed of much land about Charing, and bore for his arms, Argent, on a chevron, sable, three crosscrostess, ermine, which coat is in the windows of Kennington church, impaled with Ellis, of that place. He removed hither in the reign of Henry VI. and built a feat for his residence in this parish, about a quarter of a mile from the church, which he named, from himself, Town-place, soon after which he died, leaving his possessions to his three daughters and coheirs, of whom Eleanor was married to Richard Lewknor, of Challock; Bennet to William Watton, of Addington, and Elizabeth to William Sondes, of this parish and of Lingfield, in Surry, in which county his ancestors had been seated as early as the reign of Henry III. at Darking, where their seat was named, from them, Sondes-place. (fn. 3) Upon the division of their inheritance, the manor of Throwley was allotted to William Sondes, and Town-place, with the lands belonging to it in Throwley, to Richard Lewknor, who sold it to Edward Evering, the eldest son of Nicholas, third son of John Evering, of Evering, in Alkham, and his daughter and heir Mary marrying in 1565, with John Upton, of Faversham, entitled him to this estate, which he very soon afterwards alienated to Shilling, from whom it as quickly afterwards passed by sale to Anthony Sondes, esq. of this parish, whose ancestor William Sondes, on the division of the inheritance of the daughters and coheirs of Thomas at Town as before mentioned, had become possessed of the manor of Throwley, and the antient mansion of it, in which he afterwards resided, and dying in 1474, anno 15 Edward IV. was buried in the north chapel of this church, though he ordered by his will a memorial for himself to be put up in the church of Lingfield. The family of Sondes bore for their arms, Argent, three blackmores heads, couped, between two chevronels, sable, which, with the several quarterings borne by them, are painted on their monuments in this church.

 

His descendant, Anthony Sondes, esq. of Throwley, in the 31st year of Henry VIII. procured his lands in this county to be disgavelled, by the act then passed, and died in 1575, having married Joane, daughter of Sir John Fineux, chief justice of the king's bench, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and Michael, and two daughters.

 

He was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Thomas Sondes, sheriff anno 22 Elizabeth, who founded the school in this parish. He died in 1592, leaving issue only by his second wife, one daughter Frances, married to Sir John Leveson, so that on his death without male issue, his only brother Sir Michael Sondes, of Eastry, succeeded to this manor and seat of his ancestors, in which he afterwards resided. He was sheriff in the 26th year of queen Elizabeth's reign, and died in the 16th year of king James I. having had by his first wife Mary, only daughter and heir of George Fynch, esq. of Norton, six sons and six daughters.

 

Sir Richard Sondes, the eldest son, resided at Throwley, where he died in the 8th year of Charles I. having had by his two wives a numerous issue, of both sons and daughters. He was succeeded in this manor and seat, with the rest of his estates, by his eldest son Sir George Sondes, who was made a knight of the Bath at the coronation of king Charles I. soon after which he began to rebuild his seat of Lees-court, in Sheldwich, and fixed his residence there, under the description of which a more particular account of him and his descendants may be seen. Not long after which this seat was entirely pulled down, and the park adjoining to it disparked. The foundations of the former still remain, and the disparked lands still retain the name of Throwley park.

 

Sir George Sondes was afterwards created Earl of Faversham, Viscount Sondes, of Lees court, and Baron of Throwley, whose two daughters became his coheirs; Mary was married to Lewis, lord Duras, marquis of Blanquefort, and afterwards earl of Faversham, and Katherine to Lewis Watson, esq. afterwards earl of Rockingham, who each successively, in right of their respective wives, inherited this manor and estate, which has since descended in like manner as Lees-court, in Sheldwich, to the right hon. Lewis-Thomas, lord Sondes, and he is the present possessor of this manor, with Town-place and the estate belonging to it. Acourt baron is held for this manor.

 

The denne of Toppenden, alias Tappenden, in Smarden, in the Weald, is an appendage to the manor of Throwley, and is held of it.

 

WILDERTON, alias Wolderton, called also in antient deeds Wilrinton, is a manor in this parish, which was once part of the possessions of the eminent family of Badlesmere, of which Bartholomew de Badlesmere was possessed of it in the reign of Edward II. of whom, for his services in the Scottish wars, he obtained in the 9th year of it many liberties and franchises for his different manors and estates, among which was that of free-warren in the demesne lands of this manor of Wolrington. (fn. 4) Having afterwards associated himself with the discontented barons, he was taken prisoner, and executed in the 16th year of that reign. By the inquisition taken after his death, which was not till anno 2 Edward III. at which time both the process and judgement against him was reversed, it was found that he died possessed of this manor, among others, which were then restored to his son Giles de Badlesmere, who died in the 12th year of Edward III. s. p. being then possessed of this manor. Upon which his four sisters became his comanor fell to the share of Margery, wife of William, manor fell to the share of Margery, wife of William, lord Roos, of Hamlake, who survived her husband, and died in the 37th year of Edward III. possessed of it, as did her grandson John, lord Roos, in the 9th year of Henry V. leaving no issue by Margaret his wife, who survived him, and had this manor assigned to her as part of her dower. She afterwards married Roger Wentworth, esq. whom she likewise survived, and died anno 18 Edward IV.

 

On the death of John, lord Roos, her first husband, s. p. the reversion of this manor, after her death, became vested in Thomas his next surviving brother and heir, whose son Thomas afterwards became a firm friend to the house of Lancaster, for which he was attainted anno 1 Edward IV. and his lands were consiscated to the crown.

 

On the death of Margaret, the widow of Roger Wentworth, esq. the manor of Wulrington, but whether by grant or purchase, I have not found, came into the possession of Richard Lewknor, of Challock, owner likewise of Town-place, as before-mentioned, who sold it to Edward Evering, already mentioned before, whose daughter and heir Mary marrying in 1565 with Mr. John Upton, of Faversham, entitled him to it. He joined with his brother Nicholas Upton, in 1583, in the sale of the manor-house, with all the demesne lands belonging to it, excepting one small piece called the manor-croft, and a moiety of the ma nor, which, from its situation, from that time was known by the name of NORTH-WILDERTON, to Anthony Terry, of North Wilderton, yeoman, upon whose death it came to his four sons, Arnold, William, Thomas, and George Terry, who in 1601 made a partition of their father's estates, in which this manor was allotted to Arnold Terry, and William his brother, from whom it descended to Anthony Terry, of Ospringe, who in 1689 sold it to Mr. Thomas Knowler, of Faversham, who devised it to his sister Abigail for her life, and after her death to John Knowler, gent. of Ospringe, in fee. She afterwards married John Bates, and they, together with John Knowler above-mentioned, about the year 1694, joined in the sale of it to Mr. Edward Baldock, of Aylesford, and Bennet his wife. He survived her, and by deed of gift in 1717, vested the fee of it in his son Edward Baldock, who passed it away to Mr. Thomas Greenstreet, of Norton, whose niece Elizabeth marrying with Mr. Thomas Smith, of Gillingham, entitled him to this manor, which has been since sold to John Montresor, esq. of Belmont, in this parish, the present owner of it. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

There was antiently a chapel at this manor of Wilrintune, as appears by a charter, dated anno 1217, lately in the treasury of St. Bertin's monastery at St. Omers, concerning the privilege of a bell to it.

 

BUT THE REMAINING MOIETY of the manor, with a small crost called the manor-croft, lying at the west end of Hockstet green, remained with John Upton, and thenceforward acquired the name of SOUTH, alias GREAT WILDERTON. After whose death it came to his eldest son John Upton, who died possessed of it in 1635, and was buried with his ancestors in Faversham church. They bore for their arms, Quarterly, sable, and or; in the first and fourth quarters, a cross flory, argent, each charged with a trefoil, azure. (fn. 5)

 

John Upton, his eldest son, inherited this manor, and at his death in 1664, by his will gave it to his daughter Anne, wife of Charles Castle, gent. who in 1688 devised it to her brother-in-law George Naylor, and George White, the former of whom becoming solely possessed of it, in 1705 devised it to his nephew Mr. John Dalton, gent. of St. Edmundsbury, for his life, and afterwards to his son Thomas Dalton, and his issue, in consequence of which it descended to Benjamin Shuckforth, of Diss, in Norfolk, who in 1741 sold it to Mr. Giles Hilton, of Lords, in Sheldwich, on whose death it descended to his three sons, John, William, and Robert Hilton, the youngest of whom, Mr. Robert Hilton, as well as by the devise of his two elder brothers, afterwards became the sole proprietor of this manor. He died in 1782, and his son Mr. John Hilton, of Sheldwich, as next in the entail, succeeded to it, and is the present possessor of it.

 

IN THE REIGN of king Stephen there was AN ALIEN PRIORY established in this parish, as a cell to the Benedictine abbey of St. Bertin, at St. Omers, the capital of Artois, in Flanders, William de Ipre, in 1153, having given this church, with that of Chilham, to it for that purpose; which gift was confirmed by king Stephen the same year, as it was by the several archbishops afterwards, and by the charters of Henry II. and III. The charter of this gift was till lately in the treasury of the monastery of St. Bertin, as were all the others hereafter mentioned relating to this church and priory.

 

There are very few formal foundations of these cells, the lands of them being usually granted to some monastery abroad, as an increase to their revenues, after which, upon some part of them they built convenient houses, for the reception of a small convent. Some of these cells were made conventual, having a certain number of monks, who were mostly foreigners, and removeable at pleasure, sent over with a prior at their head, who were little more than stewards to the superior abbey, to which they returned the revenues of their possessions annually; others were permitted to chuse their own prior, and these were entire societies within themselves, and received their revenues for their own use and benefit, paying perhaps only a yearly pension as an acknowledgement of their subjection, or what was at first the surplusage to the foreign house.

 

The cell at Throwley was of the former sort, for which reason, during the wars between England and France, as their revenues went to support the king's enemies, these kind of houses were generally seized on by the king, and restored again upon the return of a peace. (fn. 6)

 

In the 25th year of king Edward I. Peter, prior of Triwle, as it was spelt in the record, made fine to the king at Westminster, and had a privy seal for his protection, by which he had the custody of his house and possessions committed to his care, to retain them during the king's pleasure, answering to his exchequer for the profits of them, according to the directions of him and his council.

 

The scite of this priory was that of the parsonage of the church of Throwley, which, with that of Chilham, seems to have been all their possessions in this kingdom. These were valued in the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, each at forty pounds annually, and their temporalities at 20s. 6d. at which time the parsonage of Throwley was become appropriated to this cell, and a vicarage was endowed in it. In which situation this priory remained till the general suppression of the alien priories throughout England, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, which was enacted in the parliament then held at Leicester, and all their houses, revenues, &c. were given to the king and his heirs for ever. (fn. 7)

 

This priory, with its possessions, seems to have remained in the hands of the crown till Henry VI. in his 22d year, settled them on the monastery of Sion, in Middlesex, founded by his father Henry V. with which they continued till the general suppression of religious houses, this being one of those greater monasteries dissolved by the act of the 31st year of king Henry VIII. How this priory was disposed of afterwards by the crown, may be further seen hereafter, under the description of the parsonage of the church of Throwley.

 

The only remains left of this priory are some few foundations, and two walls of flint, which support a building, standing behind the parsonage-house and garden.

 

THERE IS A FREE SCHOOL in this parish, the house of which is situated adjoining to the church-yard, which was founded by Sir Thomas Sondes, who died in 1592, who by his will devised a house and six poundes per annum to the master of it, to dwell in, and as a recompence for his pains; but having charged his executors and not his heirs to the fulfilling of this bequest, and charged the payment of the above sum, among other charitable legacies, on several leasehold estates, the terms of which expired in his nephew Sir Richard Sondes's time, and the house having tumbled down for want of repairs, Sir George Sondes, son of Sir Richard above-mentioned, thought it unreasonable, as he had none of the estates, that he should be bound to maintain the school; however, he voluntarily paid the master his salary, and gave him a house to live in, both which have been continued by the possessors of Throwley manor to this time, as far as I can learn, as of their own free gift.

 

The present right hon. lord Sondes appoints the schoolmaster as such during pleasure, and pays him a salary of twelve pounds per annum, besides which, he allots him an house and garden, worth about six pounds per annum, which his lordship repairs from time to time, and for which no parochial or church-dues are paid. There are at present fourteen boys taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, gratis, in this school, which though taken mostly from the parishes of Throwley, Badlesmere, and Leveland, are not confined to those parishes.

 

Charities.

 

CATHERINE, LADY SONDES, gave by will the sum of 40s. a year, to be received yearly on St. Barnabas's day, towards the relief of the poor, payable from a farm in it, called Bell-horn, now belonging to lord Sondes, and now of that annual produce.

 

THERE WERE three alms-houses in this parish, the gift of one of the Sondes family; one of them was some time since burnt down, and has not been rebuilt, but lord Sondes allows the person nominated to it the value of it in money yearly.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about thirty, casually double that number.

 

THROWLEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Ospringe.

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, consists of three isles and three chancels. The steeple is a square tower, and stands in the centre of the south side of it, in which there is a peal of six bells, given in 1781, at the expence of Mr. Montresor, of Belmont. In the south isle is a memorial for Francis Hosier Hart, gent. obt. 1761, leaving three daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Diana Hosier. In the middle isle is a small monument for Stephen Bunce, esq. of this parish, one of the Antients of New-Inn, who died there in 1634, and was buried in St. Clement's church, London. In the middle chancel there are two stalls of wood, which are not fixed, and in the north isle three more of the like sort, joined together, with a desk before them, which seem to have been removed from the chancel, and were both intended for the use of the religious of the priory here. In the middle of this chancel is a memorial for Dr. Thomas Horsemonden, patron and rector of Purleigh, in Essex, prebendary of Lincoln, &c. who died anno 1632. In the north and south chancel are several monuments for the family of Sondes, with their essigies, arms and quarterings; one of them in the latter, a plain altar tomb of black marble for Sir George Sondes, earl of Faversham, his lady and descendants; many more of this family, as appears by the parish register, are buried in the vault underneath, but the family of Watson burying at Rockingham, this vault has not been opened for several years. The north and south chancels above-mentioned belonged, one to the possessors of Throwley manor, the other to those of Townplace, but they both belong now to lord Sondes.

 

There were formerly in the windows the arms of Sondes, Finch, and Gatton, and in the north window this inscriptin, Pray for the good estate of Alice Martyn, the which did make this window, MCCCCXLV.

 

In the church yard, at the west end of the north isle, there is a circular door-case of stone, having several bordures of Saxon ornaments carved round it. In the church-yard is an altar tomb for William Woodward, gent. of Wilgate-green, obt. 1681, and Anne his wife.

 

It appears by the will of William Sondes, esq. anno 1474, that this church had then constantly burning in it lights, dedicated to St. Michael, the Holy Trinity, the Holy Cross, St. Mary, St. Thomas, St. Christopher, St. George, St. Katherine, St. Margaret, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Nicholas.

 

An account of the antient patronage of the church of Throwley has already been given, as first belonging to the alien priory here, and then to the monastery of Sion, to the time of the dissolution of the latter in the 31st year of Henry VIII. the year after which, the king granted the rectory, with the advowson of the vicarage of the church of Throwley, to the prebendary of Rugmer, in the cathedral church of St. Paul, London, in exchange for lands belonging to that prebend, to be inclosed within the king's park of Marybone, in pursuance of an act then passed. Since which this parsonage and advowson have continued part of the abovementioned prebend. The former is leased out by the present prebendary to the right hon. lord Sondes, but the advowson of the vicarage he retains in his own hands, and is the present patron of it.

 

¶There was a rent of 4l. 18s. 4d. reserved from the parsonage by king Henry VIII. nomine decimœ, which was granted by queen Elizabeth, in her third year, to archbishop Parker, among other premises, in exchange for several manors, lands, &c. belonging to that see, which rent still continues part of the revenue of the archbishopric.

 

A vicarage was endowed here in 1367, anno 42 king Edward III. by archbishop Langham, at which time the chapel of Wylrington belonged to it. (fn. 8)

 

It is valued in the king's books at 7l. 11s. 8d. and the yearly tenths at 15s. 2d.

 

In 1578 there were one hundred and eighty communicants here. In 1640 it was valued at forty-five pounds, communicants two hundred and twenty.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol6/pp445-461

Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio

 

•Designer: Designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, Siena 1439-1501 Siena)

•Maker: Executed under the supervision of Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, Siena 1439-1501 Siena)

•Maker: Executed in the workshop of Giuliano da Maiano (Italian, Maiano 1432-1490 Naples)

•Maker: and Benedetto da Maiano (Italian, Maiano 1442-1497 Florence)

•Date: ca. 1478-1782

•Culture: Italian, Gubbio

•Medium: Walnut, beech, rosewood, oak and fruitwoods in walnut base

•Dimensions:

oHeight: 15 ft. 10 15/16 in. (485 cm)

oWidth: 16 ft. 11 15/16 in. (518 cm)

oDepth: 12 ft. 7 3/16 in. (384 cm)

•Classification: Woodwork

•Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1939

•Accession Number: 39.153

 

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 501.

 

This detail is from a study, (or studiolo), intended for meditation and study. Its walls are carried out in a wood-inlay technique known as intarsia. The latticework doors of the cabinets, shown open or partly closed, indicate the contemporary interest in linear perspective. The cabinets display objects reflecting Duke Federico’s wide-ranging artistic and scientific interests, and the depictions of books recall his extensive library. Emblems of the Montefeltro are also represented. This room may have been designed by Francesco di Giorgio (1439-1502) and was executed by Giuliano da Majano (1432-1490). A similar room, in situ, was made for the duke’s palace at Urbino.

 

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

 

•Inscription:

oLatin inscription in elegiac couplets in frieze: ASPICIS AETERNOS VENERANDAE MATRIS ALUMNOS // DOCTRINA EXCELSOS INGENIOQUE VIROS // UT NUDA CERVICE CADANT ANTE //.. // .. GENU // IUSTITIAM PIETAS VINCIT REVERENDA NEC ULLUM // POENITET ALTRICI SUCCUBUISSE SUAE.

oTranslation: (“You see the eternal nurselings of the venerable mother // Men pre-eminent in learning and genius, // How they fall with bared neck before // …… // ………………………………………………knee. // Honored loyalty prevails over justice, and no one // Repents having yielded to his foster mother.”)

 

Provenance

 

Duke Federico da Montefeltr, Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio, Italy (ca. 1479-1482); Prince Filippo Massimo Lancellotti, Frascati (from 1874); Lancelotti family, Frascati (until 1937; sold to Adolph Loewi, Venice); [Adolph Loewi, Venice (1937-1939; sold to MMA)]

 

Timeline of Art History

 

•Essays

oCollecting for the Kunstkammer

oDomestic Art in Renaissance Italy

oRenaissance Organs

•Timelines

oFlorence and Central Italy, 1400-1600 A.D.

 

MetPublications

 

oVermeer and the Delft School

oPeriod Rooms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oPainting Words, Sculpting Language: Creative Writing Activities at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oOne Met. Many Worlds.

oMusical Instruments: Highlights of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 4, The Renaissance in Italy and Spain

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

oMasterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oMasterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

o“The Liberal Arts Studiolo from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio”: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 53, no. 4 (Spring, 1996)

oGuide to The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oThe Gubbio Studiolo and Its Conservation. Vol. 2, Italian Renaissance Intarsia and the Conservation of the Gubbio Studiolo

oThe Gubbio Studiolo and Its Conservation. Vol. 1, Federico da Montefeltro’s Palace at Gubbio and Its Studiolo

o“Carpaccio’s Young Knight in a Landscape: Christian Champion and Guardian of Liberty”: Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 18 (1983)

oThe Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look At Art

oThe Artist Project

oThe Art of Renaissance Europe: A Resource for Educators

oThe Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

oArt and Love in Renaissance Italy

  

Floor Tiles (Set of 350)

 

•Factory: San Marco Laterizi di Noale Pottery

•Date: 1995

•Culture: Italian, Venice

•Medium: Earthenware

•Dimensions:

oHeight: 10¾ in. sq. (27.3 cm. sq.)

oWidth: 1¼ in. thick (3.2 cm. thick)

•Classification: Ceramics-Pottery

•Credit Line: Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1996

•Accession Number: Inst.1996.1.1–.350

 

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 501.

 

Provenance

 

Made by San Marco Laterizi di Noale as reproductions of original tiles in the Ducal Palace in Gubbio

 

Timeline of Art History

 

•Timelines

oItalian Peninsula, 1900 A.D.-Present

A study of Beijing must by nature oscillate between a consideration of top-down planning - the "magic square" diagram that undergirds countless square, walled, Chinese cities - and bottom-up emergence. As much as the city is lines drawn by the sovereign and executed by his minions, it's also a kind of mat-building, the mere consequence of repeating, at massive scale, the same basic tissue over and over again - the fundamental piece being the narrow residenial lane, or hutong. Up until the late 20th century, most of Beijing was a network of thousands of these lanes, fronted by single-story courtyard houses (siheyuan). (In its essence, this arrangement is quite similar to the Shanghai lilong.) This typology, which solidifed by the Ming period, formed a low-rise, low-density “carpet” of a city, while responding directly to cultural norms. The extended family, living together, was sorted out in a Confucian hierarchy: the elders got the best-appointed rooms in the northern wing, younger members got the east and west, and servants and support program went to the south. A screen wall shielded views from the street, for the sake of privacy and decorum. As well, the siheyuan type respects the climate of northern China; the north/south axis catches the southern sun in the winter, while the blank north wall shelters against the northern winds. In being so arranged, the siheyuan also corresponded with feng-shui principles that labeled certain orientaons, funcons, and numbers as auspicious.

 

Thus, the grain of the hutongs is east/west, while the bigger streets, running parallel to the city’s fundamental north/south axis, contained shopping and artisan workshops. Repeat until you've filled the available land within the city; your city's population is now maximized until you build more walls, as multistory construction was reserved for monumental buildings. The hutong within the clearly delimited walled city is therefore also a model of extremely long-term social stability; dynasties rose and fell but the social order of China carried on.

 

(For a discussion of the social hierarchy of the type, and its symbolic connections to the larger city, see my discussion of the Forbidden City.)

 

But the stable order of hutongs and siheyuan has been under pressure for decades. As discussed in that Forbidden City text, the move of the capital back to Beijing in 1949 precipitated a debate over how to accommodate the government's functions. The historic-preservationist faction was in the wrong place at the wrong time: Mao's government saw China as being in a state of revolution, caught up in the exuberant hope of great social transformation. Mao was happy to capitalize on the symbolism of history by taking over the old capital - but he was fundamentally suspicious of history as a thing of value in itself.

 

The Mao-era demolitions, however, were confined to certain specific sites. The largest was Tian’anmen Square, where space was cleared for an enormous public assembly grounds, as well as new museums and the “Great Hall of the People,” cranked out in 1959 as one of the “Ten Great Constructions” celebrating the tenth anniversary of the People’s Republic. Communist urban planners, with Soviet advice, also knocked down the old city walls, filled in moats, and planned for the concentric expansion of the city with successive ring roads. But compared to many other autocratic regimes, the PRC took on few grand building projects. Most government-directed development in this period was focused on new industrial towns on greenfield sites (another Soviet-inspired idea). The top priority was to kick-start China’s economic development, through self-contained factory complexes which included their own housing, schools, and other amenities. But these complexes were on the periphery - tearing down old buildings takes time and money, after all - and Beijing remained largely intact.

 

The hutongs really began to feel the squeeze during the Cultural Revolution. In an effort to forcibly create a new urban proletariat, the government deliberately increased the population of Beijing beyond its carrying capacity (even as a parallel movement forced city dwellers back to the farm to be “re-educated”). Overpopulated siheyuan dwellers filled in the courtyards to create more inhabitable space, in the process cutting themselves off from a system of light and air that had functioned for centuries. While the street network remained the same, the lifestyle it supported was being pushed to the breaking point. By 1978 the density was one person per 3.6 square meters of living space. This put considerable strain on the buildings as well as the traditional social fabric - again, probably by design. The overpopulated siheyuan became a kind of urbanistic time bomb, storing up a huge, unresolved demand for housing. When the Deng economic reforms came to Beijing in the 1990s, and it became possible to meet this demand through new construction, the value of hutong land would rise far above what could possibly be made off one-story courtyard dwellings. The city began a wave of demolition and construction virtually unmatched in human history.

 

This development boom proceeded on a cycle similar to that which we’ve observed in Shenzhen and elsewhere, with the difference that Shenzhen began the 1980s as a handful of sleepy fishing villages, not a capital with centuries of historic fabric and millions of inhabitants. Demand for new construction was driven up both by the previous overcrowding, but also by the perceived obsolescence of sihueyuan. High rise developments offer modern conveniences, if not the same attention to tradition - or the close-knit community of the old neighborhoods. Life along a hutong, does, after all, involve dealing with unreliable utilities, failing infrastructure, and shared, unconditioned latrines. One can see how many Chinese might see the change as an unmitigated improvement, even while it’s tempting for outsiders to see the fate of Beijing as a retread of the errors of Western

urban renewal.

 

By the turn of the millennium, 2/3 of the hutongs had been demolished - before preparations for the Olympics kicked off another round of demolition and construction. The number of people needing to be relocated is huge; just building Finance Street involved relocating 45,000 people. The largest swath of still-standing siheyuan (as of this writing) seems to be the area just south and west of Tian’anmen Square; a 1999 master plan established certain historic preservation districts, but by that point the damage had been done, and it’s not clear how strict the limitations are in practice.

 

We visited a surviving cluster of siheyuan, and they do give some sense of the animated, multi-programmed street life that must have once been universal in Beijing. But the mere fact that they are clusters robs them of most of their strength. One's reminded of the strips of weedy landscape preserved as highway medians; technically, they may add up to a large amount of open green space, but being discontinuous, they can hardly support even a single animal, let alone the complex weave of a real ecosystem. A city's economy works through aggregations and multiplications brought on by sheer quantity. Beijing is more populous than ever, obviously, but if the hutong is surrounded by automobile streets, how can its shops hope to have customers? How can its residents hope to walk to their places of business?

 

I suspect that demolition is thus a self-accelerating cycle: once the city is damaged enough for life within the hutong to become affected, incentives grow to cash in and move out. As more people do so, more of the city is wiped out, and more of what remains is unable to function as it once did. There may be some effort to preserve and restore small sections, either as tourist attractions or as charming shopping districts a la Xintiandi; we saw a bit of what looked like this across from Tian'anmen. But as urbanism, it is already effectively extinct.

Romanian soldiers execute a live-fire drill with rocket-propelled grenades during Exercise Steadfast Defender 21.

 

Steadfast Defender 2021 is a NATO-led exercise involving over 9,000 troops from more than 20 NATO Allies and partners. The objective is to ensure that NATO forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction.

Webster Replying to Senator Hayne, the centerpiece painting in the Great Hall at Faneuil Hall, was executed by artist George Peter Alexander Healy from 1843-1850. The largest painting in the Hall's collection, it depicts Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster debating with South Carolina Senator Robert Y. Hayne on preserving the Union when the country was on the brink of the Civil War.

 

Faneuil Hall, part of the Boston National Historical Park and a well-known stop along the Freedom Trail, has served as a marketplace and meeting hall since 1742. Known as the "Cradle of Liberty", it was the site of several important events of the American Revolution including James Otis' re-dedication address in 1763, Samuel Adams' impassioned plea following the Boston Massacre in 1970 that eventually led to the establishment of the Committee of Correspondence here in 1772, and the first meeting in protest of the imposed tea tax in 1773 that ultimately led to the Boston Tea Party.

 

The original Hall was built by artist John Smibert in 1740–1742 in the style of an English country market, with an open ground floor and an assembly room above. The 38-pound, 52-inch gilded grasshopper weathervane on top of the building was created by silversmith Shem Drowne in 1742 and was modeled on the grasshopper weathervane on the London Royal Exchange. Funded by a wealthy Boston merchant, Peter Faneuil, who died shortly after the building was completed. Almost destroyed by a fire in 1761, it was rebuilt with funds raised by the state lottery and re-opened in 1763.

 

By 1806, the city had outgrown the hall and Charles Bulfinch was commissioned to expand the building--doubling the height and width, while managing to keep intact the walls from the original structure. Four new bays were added, to make seven in all; a third floor was added; the open arcades were enclosed; and the cupola was centered and moved to the east end of the building. Bulfinch applied Doric brick pilasters to the lower two floors, with Ionic pilasters on the third floor. This renovation added galleries around the assembly hall and increased its height. The building was entirely rebuilt in 1898–1899, of noncombustible materials. The building underwent a major internal renovation during the 1970's.

 

Faneuil Hall is now part of the larger Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which includes three long granite buildings called North Market, Quincy Market, and South Market. Its success in the late 1970s led to the emergence of similar marketplaces in other U.S. cities. Inside the Hall are dozens of paintings of famous Americans, including the mural of Webster's Reply to Hayne and Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington at Dorchester Heights. The first floor operates as a market, while the second floor is taken up by the Great Hall, where Boston's town meetings were once held. The third floor houses the museum and armory of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. Founded in 1638, this is the oldest military company in the US, and considered the third oldest in the world.

 

In recent history, Faneuil Hall was the home to President John F. Kennedy's last campaign speech and Senator John Kerry's concession speech in the 2004 presidential election.

 

The Marketplace fronted by Miss Anne Whitney's Samuel Adams statue on Congress Street.

 

In 2007, Faneuil Hall Marketplace was ranked #64 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

 

In 2008, Faneuil Hall was ranked #4 in America's 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites by Forbes Traveler.

 

National Historic Register #66000368

 

Kathleen Margaret NEUSS. Sister NFX70527 A.I.F. 10 Gen. Hosp. Australian Army Nursing Service. Born 16 October 1911 Executed (Murdered) 16 February 1942 aged 30 by the Japanese on Radji beach at Bangka Island shortly after surviving the sinking of the Steam Ship, Vyner Brooke. She and the other were ordered into the water and when they were waist deep all were machine gunned down. Daughter of John Henry and Mary Catherine Neuss, of Inverell, New South Wales, Australia.

Some notes from her Service Record. She enlisted 17 December 1940 in Emergency Unit at Victoria Barracks, Sydney, N.S.W. aged 28. Civilian occupation, nurse. She embarked on Queen Mary with the 10th Australian General Hospital on the 3 February 1941 disembarked at Singapore 18 February. Reported missing 16 February 1942. Later reported missing, believed killed on or after the 11 February 1942. Another entry on her record shows 14 February POW S.W.P.A. Presumed to be dead (Malaya)

Last entry 16 February POW S.W.P.A. Deceased while POW EXECUTED by JAPS (see her army record) Commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Singapore

One nurse survived although being shot and that was Sister Vivian Bullwinkel. She lived and testfied at the War Crime trials later on.

 

Constance Mary NICHOL. Sister 336877,Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service attached to 44 West African General Hospital died 15 August 1945 aged 22. Daughter of William and Ethel Nichol, of Brampton, Cumberland. At rest in Yaba Cemetery, Nigeria.

 

Elizabeth Lilian Fisher NICHOLSON. Hospital Sister Voluntary Aid Detachment killed 16 April 1941 aged 53 at the Royal Hospital. Burial location not known. She was born 5 December 1888, baptised 15 May 1889 at St Mary, Walton on the Hill, Lancashire daughter of William and Frances Martha Nicholson. She was residing with her parents 29 Carnarvon

Death reported by Chelsea Metropolitan Borough.

London Gazette dated 9 September 1941.

ELIZABETH LILIAN FISHER NICHOLSON,

Deceased.

Pursuant to the Trustee Act, 1925 (as amended).ALL persons having claims against the estate of Elizabeth Lilian Fisher Nicholson late of Gordon

House Royal Hospital Chelsea in the county of London Spinster a Sister at the said Royal Hospital (who died on the i6th day of April 1941 and probate

of whose Will was granted by the Principal Probate Registry on the 27th day of August 1941 to the under named Midland Bank Executor and Trustee

Company Limited) are required to send particulars thereof in writing to the under named Company at 27-32 Poultry London E.C.2 on or before the i4th

day of November 1941 after which date the under named Company will proceed to distribute the assets having rega'rd only to the claims of which the undernamed Company shall then have had notice.—Dated

this 5th day of September 1941. MIDLAND BANK EXECUTOR AND

TRUSTEE COMPANY Limited, 27-32, (137) Poultry, London, E.C.2.

 

Christina Margaret NICOLSON. Sister 238106, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 7 December 1942 aged 22. Daughter of Capt. James Henry Nicolson and Janet Elizabeth Nicolson. S.R.N. Commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Brookwood, Surrey.

 

Christina NICOL. Sister R2, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service died 6 February 1917 aged 34. Daughter of James Nicol and Helen Henderson Nicol, of Westfield, Caithness.

1911 census records she was born 1881 on the Falkland Island. She was in the army stationed at McGregor Barracks, Stanhope Line, Aldershot. Occupation, Trained Sick Nurse of Louise Margaret Hospital

GRO Death registration shows Christine Nicol aged 36 died in the registration district of St George Hanover Square, London (1st Quarter Jan-Mar 1917) At rest in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey.

 

Mary NICOL. Sister. (The CWGC have her as a civilian) She was killed at when the ship S.S.Kula was sunk on the 14 February 1942 at Pom Pong Island, the day before Singapore surrendered to the Japanese. Daughter of Mrs. Nicol, of 28 Wardmill Road, Arbroath, Angus. S.S. Kula is her resting place.

 

Ruth Mary NODDER. Nurse of the Territorial Force Nursing Service died 24 May 1918 aged 33. Daughter of the Rev.John Bourne and Mary Eleanor Margaret Nodder, of Ashover Rectory, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. At rest in Rawalpindi War Cemetery, Pakistan.

 

Jane Lauder NODWELL. Nurse, Voluntary Aid Detachment died of influenza 19 November 1918 aged 24 at Yorkhill War Hospital, Glasgow. Daughter of Samuel and Jane Nodwell of Roxburghshire In 1901 she was living with her parents and siblings in the Black Bull Hotel, Church Place, Moffat, Dumfriesshire.

 

Margaret NOLAN . Sister 238701 Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service died 7 December 1942 aged 29. Daughter of Patrick and Ellen Nolan, of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, Irish Republic. Commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey.

 

Caroline Mary NORMAN. Ambulance Sister, died 9 April 1941 aged 47. C.N.R.; S.J.A.B. Ambulance Sister. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Sore, of 16 Duke Street, Haughley, Stowmarket; wife of Henry F. Norman, of Park Hill Cottage, Gorleston Road. Died at F.A.P., Till Road. Death recorded by the Lowestoft Municipal Borough.

 

Grace Eleanor Boyd NOURSE. Nursing Sister, Canadian Army Medical Corps. (Home Service) Born 27 May 1878 in Quebec to Daughter of Elizabeth Ann Nourse of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and the late Alfred T. Nourse; sister of Kenneth Gordon, Hugh C. and Idona Ruth. Died 3 February 1916, At rest in Elmwood Cemetery, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.

 

Lily NUGENT. Staff Nurse, Australian Army Nursing Service. Attached to Staff of Camp, Clearing Hospital, Enoggera died in the morning of 21 February 1918 in St Vincent's Private Hospital, Sydney. She was suffering from Phthisis this may have caused her death. Her next of Kin was her uncle Patrick Nugent, Bloomfield, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

At rest in Rookwood Necropolis, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

 

Phyllis NUTTALL. Sister 274639, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service died 12 February 1944.

Commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey.

 

B O'BRIEN. Sister 218386 Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service died 31 July 1945. At rest in Tehran War Cemetery, Iran.

 

Moyra O'BRIEN. Staff Nurse 2/Res/O/83 Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 21 February 1917. At rest in Aldershot Military Cemetery, Hampshire.

 

Kate Elizabeth OGG. Voluntary Aid Detachment. Born 1887 in the registration district of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland to Catherine Elizabeth and John Ogg. In 1891 she resided with her parents and sister at 31 Bolingbroke Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. 1901 resided with her parents and siblings at 46 Bolingbroke Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. 1911 with her parents and siblings at 5 Havlock Street, Newcastle on Tyne, occupation, school teacher. Died 23 February 1919 of pneumonia, she may be at rest in Newcastle upon Tyne. Her last residence was 43 Elswick Row, Newcastle upon Tyne.

heatonhistorygroup.org/2016/10/02/kate-elizabeth-ogg-reme...

 

Lady Mabel Grieselda Esther Sudley OGILVY (Spinster) Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve Her parents were Lieutenant Colonel David Stanley William Ogilvy who died in 1900. Her mother was Mabel Frances Elizabeth Ogilvy, nee Gore, Countess of Airlie died in 1956 and was the Vice President of the (Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Born 22 January 1892, died 4 November 1918.

Wills and Admin, Ancestry. She resided at 56 Ashley Gardens Westminster, Middlesex and died 4 November 1918 at 17 Manchester Street, Manchester Square, Middlesex. Her estate went to The Right Honourable Mabel Frances Elizabeth Ogilvy, nee Gore, Countess of Airlie, widow.

 

Alice Margaret O'DONNELL . Sister VFX112194 Australian Army Nursing Service died 14 May 1943 aged 41. Daughter of Sidney James O'Donnell and Letitia Ann O'Donnell. of Myrtleford, Victoria. Commemorated on the Sydney Memorial, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Some notes from her service records.

She enlisted 29 October 1942 at Heidelberg and posted to 115 Heidelberg Military Hospital, Victoria aged 41 years and 7 months. Occupation, trained nurse. She embarked from Australia on Hospital Ship, Centaur on the 13 March 1943 and was reported missing believed to have been drowned by enemy action 14 May 1943. Body not recovered.

 

Amy Veda O’GRADY. Nursing Sister, Australian Army Nursing Service died 12 August 1916.

Born Castlemaine, Victoria to Daniel O'GRADY and Ellen nee EGAN and of Rev. O'Grady of Presbytery, Preston, Vic.

Enlisted 10 August 1915 aged 39 years. Trained at Melbourne Hospital

Embarked 24 August 1915 at Melbourne per 'Morea' Served in Egypt and India Died of Cholera at Colaba War Hospital, Bombay, India 12 August 1916 Buried Sewree Cemetery, Bombay plot 10 lien T grave no 3

Now commemorated on the Kiree 1914-1918 Memorial, India.

www.ozsportshistory.com/wardeaths/O'Grady_Amy_Veda.pdf

 

Margaret O’GRADY. Voluntary Aid Detachment. Drowned with her sister Mary Teresa (May) 10 October 1916 aged 24 when the ship she was on S.S. R.M.S Leinster was torpedoed and sunk by U-Boat-123 while bound for Holyhead. She was native Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare Her sister May O'Grady also a nurse was on the ship, her body was never recovered. Margaret is at rest in the family plot at Quin Abbey, County Clare Both were returning to England after a holiday with their parents Francis and Mary O'Grady

turtlebunbury.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/the-sinking-of-the...

 

Mary Teresa (May) O’GRADY. Nurse Voluntary Aid Detachment. Born 1894 at Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare, Ireland to Francis and Mary O'Grady. In 1911 she was residing with her parents and siblings at 3 Mausnarylaan (Tomfinlough Clare) Drowned with her sister Margaret 10 October 1916 aged 24 when the ship she was on S.S. R.M.S Leinster was torpedoed and sunk by U-Boat-123 while bound for Holyhead aged 24. Her body was never recovered.

 

Rosa O’KANE Sister (2nd Lieutenant) Australian Army Nursing Service. . Born 14 April 1891 daughter of Mrs. Jeanie E. O'Kane, of Charters Towers, Queensland. Died Quartine Station, Woodmans Point 21 February 1918 of influenza and pneumonia aged 28 at 1.45p.m. At rest in Quarantine Station, Woodman Point, Western Australia.

 

Elsie OKELL. Probationary Nurse died 2 June 1941 aged 20. Daughter of Percy and Elsie OKell of Liverpool Road Farm. She was one of 14 nurses killed at Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester during the blitz. She is at rest with her parents in St Matthew's Churchyard, Buckley, Hawarden, Flintshire.

 

Annie Margaret O’LOUGHLIN. Sister 234988, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 13 September 1943. aged 27 at the Salerno Campaign. Born 1916 at Templelusk, Avoca, County Wicklow, Ireland to James Joseph O'Loughlin and Rosanna Mary O'Loughlin, nee Hannigan of Avoca, Co. Wicklow, Eire. Commemorated on the Cassino Memorial, Italy.

 

CATHERINE O’LOUGHLIN. Sister 325344, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 24 June 1945. At rest in Celle War Cemetery, Niederachsen, Germany.

ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/sister-c-oloughlin-qaimns.1...

 

Eleanor Frances (Ellen) ORFORD. Nurse British Red Cross Society. (Nursing Sister, Voluntary Aid Detachment, Kingstown Division.) Born 1889 in Kildare Ireland to Thomas and Margaret and sister to Mary T, Bride and Minnie. They all in the 1911 census resided at Foxhill House 3 Foxhill, (farm) Athy, County Kildare. Died 3 September 1917 at Birkenhead of enteric fever

 

Mary JohnstonFORGIE. Nursing Sister Colonial Service, Malayan, General Hospital. Died near Pom Pong Island while on S.S. Kuala 17 February 1942 aged 34. Daughter of J. A. Forgie, of Clova, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire and of the late David Forgie. Her body was never found, what a death she must have had. R.I.P. Mary wherever you may be.

The following short extract from www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/uploads/1/0/7/3/1073876... Please read.

Preface:

This list and document have been compiled as a memorial and out of empathy and respect to the women, children and men who lost their lives in that cruel attack by Japanese bombers on the small coastal ship, converted into an auxiliary vessel, “SS. Kuala” on 14 February 1942, twelve hours after it escaped from Singapore.

This was the day before Singapore surrendered to the Japanese.

 

Many of the women and children were killed on the ship itself, but even more by continued direct bombing and machine gunning of the sea by Japanese bombers whilst they were desperately trying to swim the few hundred yards to safety on the shores of Pom Pong Island. Many others were swept away by the strong currents which are a feature around Pom Pong Island and, despite surviving for several days, only a handful made it to safety. The Captain of the “Kuala”, Lieutenant Caithness, recorded of the moment “…thirty men and women floated past on rafts and drifted east and then south – west, however only three survivors were picked up off a raft on the Indragiri River, a man and his wife and an army officer…”. The bombing continued even onto the Island itself as the survivors scrambled across slippery rocks and up the steep slopes of the jungle tangled hills of this small uninhabited island in the Indonesian Archipelago – once again,

Caithness, recorded “…but when the struggling women were between the ships and the rocks the Jap had turned and deliberately bombed the women in the sea and those struggling on the rocks…’. Several survivors including Able Seaman Gunner, John Sarney, RNZN, (who wrote it in a letter to his wife); Dr Chen Su Lan who wrote “ … every time the bombs dropped and the rattling of machine –guns was heard … “; and also friends of Mr. Tay Lian Teck who reported to his family that they saw him “… being machine gunned by Japanese planes…” recorded that the Japanese planes machine gunned the survivors trying to reach shore - this is disputed by other survivors who say there was no machine gunning. The researcher is, sadly, sure that the Japanese aircraft did machine gun survivors in the sea.

Once people reached Pom Pong Island, Caithness records, “…the lady doctors and nurses, most of whom were Australian and British nurses from various hospitals in Malaya, carried the wounded to a clearing in the jungle about a hundred feet above sea level …”. He adds”…the scene was one never to be forgotten and too awful to mention…”. Only the day before this totally unwarranted carnage occurred at Pom Pong Island, the once vibrant city of Singapore had been in its death throes as the Japanese shelled and bombed it into submission on the night of 13 February 1942. Total chaos had reigned as several thousand civilians milled in fear on the wharves on Singapore harbour whilst bombs and shells were falling amongst them and killing many. They struggled and pushed onto the ships in the harbour with no thought of Passenger Lists, so exactly who was on board that day has been a very confused picture ever since.

This document is an attempt to set the record straight.

 

Author. What a death these poor souls must have endured. I wonder who was the worse in WW2, the Germans or the Japanese.

 

Bridget Agnes O’SULLIVAN. Sister 322073, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 10 February 1946 aged 30. Daughter of Frederick and Mary O'Sullivan, of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Irish Republic. At rest in Rangoon War Cemetery, Burma.

 

Margaret Mary O’SULLIVAN. Sister 234989, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 7 December 1942. Commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Brookwood, Surrey.

 

Eva Doreen OWEN. Nurse Voluntary Aid Detachment died at sea 2 April 1943 aged 40 Daughter of Oliver Edward and Mary Ellen Owen, of Rosedale, Pickering Brook, West Australia. She died on S.S. Melbourne Star which was attacked by U-Boat 129 which fired three torpedoes at 8.23 hours. The ship blew up in less that two minutes . The ship made it twice to Malta and back without being damaged, first during Operation Substance in July 1941 and then during Operation Pedestal in August 1942.

Source uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/2841.html

 

Margaret Alice OWEN. Probationary Nurse died 3 June 1941 aged 21 from injuries received at her place of work Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester was hit during the Manchester Blitz on the 2nd June. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. David Owen of The Cornell, St Asaph, Flintshire. Her effects went Mary Jane Roberts wife of William Roberts. No record of her resting place could be found.

 

Edith Mary OXLEY. Sister, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve. She may be the following person. Born 1878 at Bermondsey, Surrey to Arthur and Elizabeth M Oxley, residing with her parents and siblings (1881) at 14 Parfitt Road, Rotherhithe, London. Died of influenza 12 December 1918 aged 45.

On the 24 January 1893 she registered into Royal British Nurses Associations. 22 December 1902 she enrolled into Military Hospital Harrismith, Orange River Coloney. At rest in Pioneer Cemetery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

 

V Anna PADMAVATHI. Cadet (Nursing) Auxiliary Nursing Service (India) 3003 died 11 August 1947 aged 27. Daughter of N. Paomanabba Pillai, of Kaitharanai, Travancore, India. Commemorated on the Delhi/Karachi 1939-1945 War Memorials, India.

 

Doris PAGE. Nurse, British Red Cross Society died 14 February 1917 aged 20 of pneumonia. She is commemorated on the Exmouth War Memorial and may be at rest in Exmouth. photo

 

Isabella PAGET. Nurse, British Red Cross Society died 2 May 1917 of pneumonia photo

 

Dorothy Agnes PAICE. Nurse Voluntary Aid Detachment died 26 August 1941 aged 22 on the Isle if Scilly Nurse of Bona Vista, St. Mary's. Daughter of Gerald Charles and Agnes Annie Paice, nee Jenkins. Died at Bona Vista. At rest on the Isle of Scilly

 

Mollie Laura Arnaud PAINTER. Sister, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Born 1904 Rochester Kent to Lt Colonel George Evelyn Painter formerly Royal Engineers and Mary Josephine Painter, nee Murphy of Epsom, Surrey. Died 5 July 1941 aged 36 in India. At rest in Madras War Cemetery, India either St Mary or St Patrick's Cemetery.

 

Maud Beatrice PARISH nee Simpson (Mrs) Nurse, British Red Cross Society/ Voluntary Aid Detachment. Born 1893 to John and Maria Elizabeth Simpson, nee Osborn. In 1911 she was residing with her parents and siblings at 3 Pedworth Road, Rotherhithe, London, occupation, mantle finisher. Died 1 September 1918 aged 25 in the registration district of Rochford, Essex . Husband of Arthur T Parish. Married 1917 in the registration district of West Ham. (Please note this person is mentioned twice on this memorial.

 

Elizabeth Kelly PARKER. Matron, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. Daughter of Joseph Donaldson Parker J.P. and Elizabeth Dobbs Parker of Castlecorner, County Kilkenny. Died 16 October 1916 aged 37 of dysentery contracted on service in Egypt. She at rest Hadra War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. photo

 

Lilian Lavinia PARKER. Nurse, British Red Cross Society. Died of pneumonia contracted on service 5 February 1919 aged 28 photo

Source for photographs www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380994

 

Amy Maud Augusta PARROTT. Sister, Australian Red Cross Society (Volunteer Aid Detachment) died of pneumonic influenza 24 October 1918 aged 37 .Daughter of Col. and Mrs. T. S. Parrott, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is at rest in Brixton Cemetery, Johnnesburg.

Photo credit S.A. War Grave Project

www.southafricawargraves.org/search/details.php?id=19687

 

Mrs Ada Betty PARRY, nee Dowie, Nurse, British Red Cross Society died 28 June 1917 of illness contracted on duty aged given as 51 (should be 56) at Nursing Home, Bartlow, Leckhampton. Born 1861, baptised 3 April 1861 at St Mary's Church, Charlton Kings, daughter of Charles, brewer and Adelaide Butt nee Chapman. Father's occupation given as farmer. In 1881 aged 20 she was residing with her mother at Sydenham House, Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire. She was married 15 September 1886 at St Mary's Church, Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire to George Marcella Parry. Both were aged 23 and resided at Charlton Kings. . At rest Charlton Kings Churchyard, Gloucestershire. Her residence at the time of death was 5 Blenheim Parade, Cheltenham Her effects went to Charles Edward Parry, Sergeant, King's African Rifles. Please note, she was baptised in 1861. Photo

 

Olga Patricia Hilton PARRY. Probationary Nurse. Born 14 August 1925 died 17 June 1944 aged 18 Daughter of William Hilton Parry, (Military Cross) surgeon and Martha Parry of Ty Newydd. 6 Castle Street, Caernarvon

Wills and Admin. She was resided at Tynewydd, Caernarvon, spinster died

17 June 1944 at St Mary Abbots Hospital, London. Her effects went to William Hilton Parry, medical practitioner.

Awarded Military Cross 1918. (Royal Army Medical Corps)

Military Cross citation, reads

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a bearer division. He led his bearer squads through shellfire with great fearlessness and devotion, in order to collect the wounded, and worked without a rest for thirty-six hours, dressing and evacuating wounded from the front line under the most trying conditions. "

 

Margaret McCullough PARKINSON, nee Stirling. Sister 308132 South African Military Nursing Service. Wife of R Parkinson of Johannesburg, South Africa died 29 November 1944. At rest in Voortrekkerhoogte Old Military Cemetery, South Africa (Source SA War Grave Project) (CWGC have the following M Stirling-Parkinson. South African Military Nursing Service died 29 November 1944. Wife of R Parkinson of Johannesburh. At rest in New Military Cemetery, Thaba Tshwane, Gauteng, South Africa.

 

Constance Harriet PARTRIDGE. Staff Nurse, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve died 5 January 1920 aged 42 at Ellerslie, Trinity Road, Ventnor. Daughter of Arthur William and Blanche Emily Partridge. Her Residence in England was Moorelands, The Edge, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. Her effects went to Sybil Marion Partridge, spinster. £4,137.14s.11d. At rest in Ventnor Cemetery, Isle of Wight.

www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk/war-graves/ven/ventnor...

 

Sengamalai PARVATHI. Cadet (Nursing) 3340 Auxiliary Nursing Service (India) died 15 March 1947 aged 19. Neice of Mr. Ramaswami Servi, of Akkhnur Tittagudi, South Arcot, India. Commemorated on the Delhi-Karchi 1939-1945 Memorial, India.

 

Olive Dorothy PASCHKE. Matron(Major) VX38812 Australian Army Nursing Service, 10th General Hospital. died 14 February 1942 aged 36 in Malaya.

Some notes from her service records. Born 19 July 1905, enlisted 3 September 1940 at the A.A.M .C. Depot, William Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, occupation, trained nurse of the Jessie McPherson Hospital, William Street. Her mother Mrs Ottilie Paschke was her next of kin. She embarked from Sydney on H.M.T Queen Mary 491 on the 3 February 1941. New Years Honours List approved by the King awarded the Royal Red Cross 1st Class on the 24 December 1941. Notified by cable, number 8052. Posted to 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station, 6 January 1942, then 10th Australian General Hospital same day. On the 13 January 1942 posted back to 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station.

Embarked Singapore 12 February 1942

Promoted to Major 23 March 1942

Reported missing believed killed on or after 11 February 1942 in Malaya.

Commemorated on the Singapore memorial, Singapore

 

Jessie Jane PATERSON. Staff Nurse Territorial Force Nursing Service. Born in 1882, she was the fourth daughter of James and Marion Paterson, of Dalbeattie. Her father was a draper. She attended Dalbeattie Higher Grade Public School. She became a nurse and worked at Darvel, Ayrshire and at Stobhill, Glasgow. She enlisted in the Teritorial Force Nursing service in 1914. She served in Macedonia and died of dysentry at Vertekop. Died 29 September 1916 aged 34 of illness in Macedonia. At rest in Mikra British Military Cemetery, Kalamaria, Greece. photo

 

Chandra Rachel PAUL. Cadet (Nursing) 1397 Auxiliary Nursing Service (India) died 31 July 1946. Daughter of Daya Sila and Sundermma Paul of Bangalore, India. Commemorated on the Delhi-Karchi 1939-1945 Memorial, India.

 

Katherine Veronica PEACH. Sister 743, Territorial Army Nursing Service. Born 1911 at Evenlode, near Stroud, Gloucestershire to Charles William and Evelyn Violet Peach nee Burder. In 1911 aged 2 months she was residing with her parents and siblings at Evenlode, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. In 1932-1936 she was at St Thomas' Hospital, London. 1939 she was with her parents at The Vicarage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, occupation, State registered Nurse. Died 8 August 1941 aged 30. At rest in Ismailia War Cemetery, Egypt.

 

Hilda Florence Letitia Anna PEARE. Nurse, British Red Cross Society

2nd Western Gen. Hospital Voluntary Aid Detachment. ( Dublin Detachment, No 24). Died from a severe attack of Scarlatina (Scarlet Fever) 14 March 1917 aged 23 at Military Hospital, Seymour Park, Manchester.

Born in Co. Wexford, Ireland in 1894 to Sarah and Richard Peare of Kilmallock House, Enniscorthy She was laid to rest with full military honors in Southern Cemetery, Manchester in PlotQ consecrated 287, grave 1 . Photo credit, Imperial War Museum. On irish soldiers

 

Phyllis Ada PEARSE. Staff Nurse, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service died of illness 29 April 1915 aged 28 contracted on service in France. Daughter of Vivian Francis and Emily Ada Pearse, of 8, Eldon Park, South Norwood. London. At rest in Ste Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France. The photo has a different date of death. No other death for a P Pearse (Female) registered with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

I have been to Throwley on at least three previous occasions, the fourth was going to be during Ride and Stride in September, but another crawler told me it had failed to open as per the list.

 

St Michael and All Angles is a large and from the outside and interesting looking church, looked like it had a story to tell. So, last week, I contacted the wardens through the CofE A church Near You website, I got a reply and a date and time agreed for Saturday morning.

 

We arrived 15 minutes early, and it was as locked as ever, but on a fine if frosty morning took the time to study the church ad churchyard, and saw yet more fine details we had missed previously.

 

Dead on time the warden arrived, and was very welcoming indeed. They loved to have visitors she said. Now I know how to contact them, I can see that.

 

She was clearly proud of the church, and rightly so, most impressive was the south chapel with a pair of kneeling couples on top of chest tombs, staring at each other for all eternity.

 

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St Michael & All Angels is the parish church of Throwley. The first church on the site was probably built between 800 and 825. This would have been a small wooden structure, barely distinguishable from a farm building.

 

After the Norman Conquest in 1066 this was replaced by a Romanesque stone structure.

 

This was still small, but as the population of the parish increased the church was enlarged, until in about 1510 it reached its present size. Since then its appearance has changed little, although an extra storey was added to the tower - now far seen - in the 1860s.

 

The church has an elaborate Romanesque west entrance; its east window in the chancel, by Curtis, Ward & Hughes of Soho, London, is a memorial to Throwley men who gave their lives in the First World War.

 

In the Harris chapel is the church's newest stained-glass window, commemorating Dorothy Lady Harris who died in 1981. It was designed and executed in the Canterbury Cathedral Workshops by Frederick Cole (see pictures on left).

 

The church has more than its fair share of fine 16th to 19th century monuments, mainly to members of the local Sondes and Harris families, and these are all described.

 

www.faversham.org/community/churches/throwley.aspx

 

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TQ 95 NE THROWLEY THROWLEY

ROAD

(west side)

4/181

Church of

St. Michael

and All

24.1.67 Angels

 

GV I

 

Parish Church. C12, C13 north chapel, C14 south chapel, C15

nave arcades, restored 1866 and tower heightened. Flint and

plain tiled roofs. Chancel, north and south chapels, nave and

aisles, south tower and south porch. West doorway, C12, with

attached shafts and 3 orders, the outer panelled with X's on

circles, the centre roll moulded with the blocks offset and

alternately projecting, the inner with more X's on circles,

with 2 offset buttresses either side of doorway. South aisle

with plinth, string course and parapet, 3 offset buttresses and

C15 Perpendicular windows. South tower of 2 stages with square

south-eastern stair turret and C16 moulded brick surround

sundial. Water spouts on each corner in the 4 Evangelical

symbols. Half-timbered C19 south porch, south doorway with

rolled and double hollow chamfered surround, and outer surround

with label and quatrefoil spandrels. North aisle under 1 roof

with nave, with C15 fenestration, and C19 chimney to north west.

North and south chapels with C14 cusped 'Y' tracery fenestration,

with hollow chamfered and ogee drip moulds. Chancel east

window C19 curvilinear style. Interior: 2 bay nave arcades,

double hollow chamfered arches on octagonal piers. C12 single

arches to north and south eastern bay, that to south recessed

and double chamfered through tower wall. Barrel roof.

Chamfered arch on corbels from south aisle to tower, itself

with corbel table on south wall, and triple arch through to south

chapel C19 chancel arch. Chancel with 2 bay double chamfered

arcade to north chapel with octagonal capitals on round piers, and

single double chamfered arch on round responds to south chapel.

Fittings: hollow chamfered piscina and sedile in window reveal in

chancel and cusped recess in north wall. C19 reredos and altar

rail. Cusped piscina and four centred arched wall recess in

south chapel. Choir stalls, some C19, the four on the south C15

with carved misericords. Monuments: south chapel C16 chest tomb,

with shields in panelled sides, moulded plinth, lozenge-shaped

flowers, fluting and frieze. Chest tomb, Sir George Sondes,

Earl of Faversham, d.1677. Black marble with blank panelled sides.

Inscription on the top panel (made 1728). Standing monument,

Sir Thomas Sondes, died 1592. Marble tomb chest, gadrooned with

achievements on side panels. Kneeling alabaster figures of

knight and his Lady on opposite sides of central prayer desk,

carrying inscription. Mary Sondes, died 1603. Smaller and

identical to Sir Thomas Sonde's monument, with 2 adults and 2

infant sons and daughters on either side of sarcophagus. Misplaced

scrolled and enriched carved achievement on floor to east of

those monuments. Wall plaque, Captain Thomas Sondes, died 1668.

Black and white marble, with draped apron, swagged and draped

sides with military trophies. Broken segmental pediment with male

bust. Signed W.S. (B.0.E. Kent II, p.477 suggests William Stanton).

North chapel C16 chest tomb, moulded plinth, panelled sides with

shields (1 panel reset in south chapel south wall). Early C16

tomb recess with moulded jambs, with rope work, crenellated,

with late Perpendicular motifs in spandrels, and tomb with 3

panelled recesses with 2 shields on each panel. Wall plaque,

Charles Harris, d.1814, by Flaxman. White plaque on white

background; dead soldier lifted from the grave by Victory, with

palms and cannon in background. Statue, to George, first Lord

Harris, life size soldier with sword and plans, on four foot

plinth. By George Rennie, 1835. Nave, wall plaque, Stephen

Bunce, d.1634. Black plaque on coved base and apron. Foliated

sides. Scrolled nowy cornice and pediment with achievement.

(See B.O.E. Kent II, 1983, 476-7.)

  

Listing NGR: TQ9883454254

 

www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-176587-church-of-st-m...

 

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LIES the next parish north-eastward from Stalisfield. It is called in the record of Domesday, Trevelei, in later records Truley and Thruley, in Latin ones Trulega and Truilla; it is now written both Throwley and Throwleigh.

 

THROWLEY is mostly situated on high ground, it is a more pleasant and open country than that last described, for though wild and romantic among the hills and woods, it is not so dreary and forlorn, nor the soil so uncomfortable, being much drier. Besides it has a more chearful and brighter aspect from the width of the principal valley which leads through it, from north to south, whence the hills rise on each side, with smaller delves interspersed among them. There is a good deal of wood-ground, mostly of beech, interspersed at places with oak and hazel, with some good timber trees of oak among them, especially in the northern and southern parts; much of the former belongs to the dean and chapter of Canterbury. The soil is mostly chalk, the rest a heavy tillage land of red cludy earth, the whole mixed with quantities of flint stones. There are some level lands, especially in the disparked grounds of Throwley park, which are tolerably good, much more so than those in the other parts of the parish; on the east side of the park are the foundations of the antient seat of the Sondes's, with the church close to them, the whole lying on high ground, with a good prospect of the surrounding country; not far from it is Town place, now only a farm-house. There is no village, excepting the few houses in Abraham-street may be so called, the rest of the houses, which are mostly cottages, standing dispersed throughout it, either single, or built round the little greens or softalls, of which there are several in different parts of the parish. On a larger one of these called Wilgate-green, there is a house belonging to the estate of Mr. Philerenis Willis's heirs, and another larger antient one, which with the estate belonging to it, was formerly the property of the Chapmans, and sold by them to Christopher Vane, lord Barnard, in 1789, gave it, with his other estates in this county, to David Papillon, esq. of Acrise, the present owner of it. (fn. 1)

 

There was a family named Wolgate, from whose residence here this green seems to have taken its name of Wolgate, or Wilgate-green. After they had remained here for some generations they ended in a daughter, for Mr. Ralph Wolgate dying in 1642, his daughter Anne married Mr. William Genery, and entitled him to her father's possessions here, at Posiers, in Borden, and other parts of this county. The Woodwards seem afterwards to have possessed their estate here, several of whom lie buried under a tomb in Throwley church-yard.

 

About half a mile distant south-westward from Wilgate-green, in Abraham-street, there is a seat, called, from its high situation and expensive prospect, BELMONT; it was built in the year 1769, by Edward Wilks, esq. storekeeper of the royal powdermills at Faversham, who inclosed a paddock or shrubbery round it, and occasionally resided here, till he alienated it in 1779 to John Montresor, esq. the present proprietor, who resides in it.

 

THE BEECH TREE flourishes in the greatest plenty, as well single to a large size, as in stubs in the coppice woods, which consist mostly of them, as well in these parts as they do in general on the range of chalk hills throughout this county, in some places extending two or three miles in width, and in others much more. The large tracts of ground in this and other counties, overspread with the beech-tree, the random situation of their stubs, and other circumstances which occur in viewing them, are strong proofs of their being the indigenous growth of this island, notwithstanding Cæfar's premptory assertion, in his Commentaries, of there being none here in this time. The Britons, he says, had every material for use and building, the same as the Gauls, excepting the fir and the beech. The former there is positive proof of his being grossly mistaken in, which will in some measure destroy that implicit credit we might otherwise give to his authority, as to the latter; indeed, the continued opposition he met with from the Britons, during his short stay here, assorded him hardly a possibility of seeing any other parts of this country than those near which he landed, and in the direct track through which he marched to wards Coway-stakes; too small a space for him to form any assertion of the general products of a whole country, or even of the neighbouring parts to him. Of those he passed through, the soil was not adapted to the growth of the beech tree; from which we may with great probability suppose, there were none growing on them, nor are there any throughout them, even at this time, a circumstance which most likely induced him to suppose, and afterwards to make the assertion beforementioned.

 

The slints, with which the cold unfertile lands in these parts, as well as some others in this county, are covered, have been found to be of great use in the bringing forward the crops on them, either by their warmth, or somewhat equivalent to it. Heretofore the occupiers of these lands were anxious to have them picked up and carried off from their grounds, but experiencing the disadvantage of it in the failure of their crops, they, never practice it themselves, and submit to the surveyors of the highways taking them off with great reluctance.

 

In the parish there are quantities of the great whitish ash coloured shell snail, which are of an unusual large size; they are found likewise near Darking, in Surry, and between Puckeridge and Ware, in Hertsordshire. They are not originally of this island, but have been brought from abroad, many of them are at this time observed in different parts of Italy.

 

MR. JACOB, in this Plantœ Favershamienses, has enumerated several scare plants observed by him in this parish, besides which, that scarce one, the Orchis myodes, or fly satrition, has been found here, growing on the side of the path, in a small wood, midway between the church and Wilgate green.

 

THIS PLACE, at the taking of the general survey of Domesday, about the 15th years of the Conqueror's reign, was part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, and earl of Kent, the king's half brother, under the general title of whose lands it is thus described in it:

 

Hersrid holds Trevelai. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is eight carucates. In demesne there is one, and twenty-four villeins, with five borderers having six carucates and an half. There is a church, and five servants. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and in the city three houses of thirty-two pence. In the time of king Edward the Conssessor it was worth seven pounds, and afterwards six pounds. Ulnod held it of king Edward.

 

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years afterwards, this among his other estates, became consiscated to the crown.

 

After which it was held of the king in capite, by barony, by Jeffry de Peverel, and together with other lands made up the barony of Peverel, as it was called, being assigned to him for the defence of Dover-castle, for which purpose he was bound to maintain a certain number of soldiers from time to time for the desence of it, and to repair and defend at this own charge a particular tower or turret there, called afterwards Turris Gattoniana, or Gatton's tower.

 

In the reign of king Henry III. Robert de Gatton, who took his name from the lordship of Gatton, in Surry, of which his ancestors had been some time owners, was in possession of the manor Thrule, and died in the 38th year of that reign, holding it by knight's service of the king, of the honor of Peverel, by reason of the escheat of that honor, &c. (fn. 2) He was succeded in it by this eldest son Hamo de Gatton, who resided here, and served the office of sheriff in the 14th year of Edward I. His eldest son of the same name left one son Edmund, then an instant, who afterwards dying under age, his two sisters became his coheirs, and divided his inheritance, of which Elizabeth entitled her husband William de Dene to this manor, and all the rest of the estates in Kent; and Margery entitled her husband Simon de Norwood to Gatton, and all the other estates in Surry.

 

William de Dene had a charter of free warren for his lands in Thurley, in the 10th year of Edward II. He died anno 15 Edward III. then holding this manor by the law of England, as of the inheritance of Elizabeth his late wife deceased, of the king in capite, as of the castle of Dover, by knight's service, and paying to the ward of that castle. His son Thomas de Dene died possessed of it in the 23d year of that reign, leaving four daughters his coheirs, of whom Benedicta, the eldest, married John de Shelving, and entitled him to this manor, on whose death likewise without male issue, his two daughters became his coheirs, of whom, Joane married John Brampton, alias Detling, of Detlingcourt, and Ellen married John de Bourne, the former of whom, in his wife's right, became possessed of this manor. He lest only one daughter Benedicta his heir, who carried it in marriage to Thomas at Town, who was possessed of much land about Charing, and bore for his arms, Argent, on a chevron, sable, three crosscrostess, ermine, which coat is in the windows of Kennington church, impaled with Ellis, of that place. He removed hither in the reign of Henry VI. and built a feat for his residence in this parish, about a quarter of a mile from the church, which he named, from himself, Town-place, soon after which he died, leaving his possessions to his three daughters and coheirs, of whom Eleanor was married to Richard Lewknor, of Challock; Bennet to William Watton, of Addington, and Elizabeth to William Sondes, of this parish and of Lingfield, in Surry, in which county his ancestors had been seated as early as the reign of Henry III. at Darking, where their seat was named, from them, Sondes-place. (fn. 3) Upon the division of their inheritance, the manor of Throwley was allotted to William Sondes, and Town-place, with the lands belonging to it in Throwley, to Richard Lewknor, who sold it to Edward Evering, the eldest son of Nicholas, third son of John Evering, of Evering, in Alkham, and his daughter and heir Mary marrying in 1565, with John Upton, of Faversham, entitled him to this estate, which he very soon afterwards alienated to Shilling, from whom it as quickly afterwards passed by sale to Anthony Sondes, esq. of this parish, whose ancestor William Sondes, on the division of the inheritance of the daughters and coheirs of Thomas at Town as before mentioned, had become possessed of the manor of Throwley, and the antient mansion of it, in which he afterwards resided, and dying in 1474, anno 15 Edward IV. was buried in the north chapel of this church, though he ordered by his will a memorial for himself to be put up in the church of Lingfield. The family of Sondes bore for their arms, Argent, three blackmores heads, couped, between two chevronels, sable, which, with the several quarterings borne by them, are painted on their monuments in this church.

 

His descendant, Anthony Sondes, esq. of Throwley, in the 31st year of Henry VIII. procured his lands in this county to be disgavelled, by the act then passed, and died in 1575, having married Joane, daughter of Sir John Fineux, chief justice of the king's bench, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and Michael, and two daughters.

 

He was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Thomas Sondes, sheriff anno 22 Elizabeth, who founded the school in this parish. He died in 1592, leaving issue only by his second wife, one daughter Frances, married to Sir John Leveson, so that on his death without male issue, his only brother Sir Michael Sondes, of Eastry, succeeded to this manor and seat of his ancestors, in which he afterwards resided. He was sheriff in the 26th year of queen Elizabeth's reign, and died in the 16th year of king James I. having had by his first wife Mary, only daughter and heir of George Fynch, esq. of Norton, six sons and six daughters.

 

Sir Richard Sondes, the eldest son, resided at Throwley, where he died in the 8th year of Charles I. having had by his two wives a numerous issue, of both sons and daughters. He was succeeded in this manor and seat, with the rest of his estates, by his eldest son Sir George Sondes, who was made a knight of the Bath at the coronation of king Charles I. soon after which he began to rebuild his seat of Lees-court, in Sheldwich, and fixed his residence there, under the description of which a more particular account of him and his descendants may be seen. Not long after which this seat was entirely pulled down, and the park adjoining to it disparked. The foundations of the former still remain, and the disparked lands still retain the name of Throwley park.

 

Sir George Sondes was afterwards created Earl of Faversham, Viscount Sondes, of Lees court, and Baron of Throwley, whose two daughters became his coheirs; Mary was married to Lewis, lord Duras, marquis of Blanquefort, and afterwards earl of Faversham, and Katherine to Lewis Watson, esq. afterwards earl of Rockingham, who each successively, in right of their respective wives, inherited this manor and estate, which has since descended in like manner as Lees-court, in Sheldwich, to the right hon. Lewis-Thomas, lord Sondes, and he is the present possessor of this manor, with Town-place and the estate belonging to it. Acourt baron is held for this manor.

 

The denne of Toppenden, alias Tappenden, in Smarden, in the Weald, is an appendage to the manor of Throwley, and is held of it.

 

WILDERTON, alias Wolderton, called also in antient deeds Wilrinton, is a manor in this parish, which was once part of the possessions of the eminent family of Badlesmere, of which Bartholomew de Badlesmere was possessed of it in the reign of Edward II. of whom, for his services in the Scottish wars, he obtained in the 9th year of it many liberties and franchises for his different manors and estates, among which was that of free-warren in the demesne lands of this manor of Wolrington. (fn. 4) Having afterwards associated himself with the discontented barons, he was taken prisoner, and executed in the 16th year of that reign. By the inquisition taken after his death, which was not till anno 2 Edward III. at which time both the process and judgement against him was reversed, it was found that he died possessed of this manor, among others, which were then restored to his son Giles de Badlesmere, who died in the 12th year of Edward III. s. p. being then possessed of this manor. Upon which his four sisters became his comanor fell to the share of Margery, wife of William, manor fell to the share of Margery, wife of William, lord Roos, of Hamlake, who survived her husband, and died in the 37th year of Edward III. possessed of it, as did her grandson John, lord Roos, in the 9th year of Henry V. leaving no issue by Margaret his wife, who survived him, and had this manor assigned to her as part of her dower. She afterwards married Roger Wentworth, esq. whom she likewise survived, and died anno 18 Edward IV.

 

On the death of John, lord Roos, her first husband, s. p. the reversion of this manor, after her death, became vested in Thomas his next surviving brother and heir, whose son Thomas afterwards became a firm friend to the house of Lancaster, for which he was attainted anno 1 Edward IV. and his lands were consiscated to the crown.

 

On the death of Margaret, the widow of Roger Wentworth, esq. the manor of Wulrington, but whether by grant or purchase, I have not found, came into the possession of Richard Lewknor, of Challock, owner likewise of Town-place, as before-mentioned, who sold it to Edward Evering, already mentioned before, whose daughter and heir Mary marrying in 1565 with Mr. John Upton, of Faversham, entitled him to it. He joined with his brother Nicholas Upton, in 1583, in the sale of the manor-house, with all the demesne lands belonging to it, excepting one small piece called the manor-croft, and a moiety of the ma nor, which, from its situation, from that time was known by the name of NORTH-WILDERTON, to Anthony Terry, of North Wilderton, yeoman, upon whose death it came to his four sons, Arnold, William, Thomas, and George Terry, who in 1601 made a partition of their father's estates, in which this manor was allotted to Arnold Terry, and William his brother, from whom it descended to Anthony Terry, of Ospringe, who in 1689 sold it to Mr. Thomas Knowler, of Faversham, who devised it to his sister Abigail for her life, and after her death to John Knowler, gent. of Ospringe, in fee. She afterwards married John Bates, and they, together with John Knowler above-mentioned, about the year 1694, joined in the sale of it to Mr. Edward Baldock, of Aylesford, and Bennet his wife. He survived her, and by deed of gift in 1717, vested the fee of it in his son Edward Baldock, who passed it away to Mr. Thomas Greenstreet, of Norton, whose niece Elizabeth marrying with Mr. Thomas Smith, of Gillingham, entitled him to this manor, which has been since sold to John Montresor, esq. of Belmont, in this parish, the present owner of it. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

There was antiently a chapel at this manor of Wilrintune, as appears by a charter, dated anno 1217, lately in the treasury of St. Bertin's monastery at St. Omers, concerning the privilege of a bell to it.

 

BUT THE REMAINING MOIETY of the manor, with a small crost called the manor-croft, lying at the west end of Hockstet green, remained with John Upton, and thenceforward acquired the name of SOUTH, alias GREAT WILDERTON. After whose death it came to his eldest son John Upton, who died possessed of it in 1635, and was buried with his ancestors in Faversham church. They bore for their arms, Quarterly, sable, and or; in the first and fourth quarters, a cross flory, argent, each charged with a trefoil, azure. (fn. 5)

 

John Upton, his eldest son, inherited this manor, and at his death in 1664, by his will gave it to his daughter Anne, wife of Charles Castle, gent. who in 1688 devised it to her brother-in-law George Naylor, and George White, the former of whom becoming solely possessed of it, in 1705 devised it to his nephew Mr. John Dalton, gent. of St. Edmundsbury, for his life, and afterwards to his son Thomas Dalton, and his issue, in consequence of which it descended to Benjamin Shuckforth, of Diss, in Norfolk, who in 1741 sold it to Mr. Giles Hilton, of Lords, in Sheldwich, on whose death it descended to his three sons, John, William, and Robert Hilton, the youngest of whom, Mr. Robert Hilton, as well as by the devise of his two elder brothers, afterwards became the sole proprietor of this manor. He died in 1782, and his son Mr. John Hilton, of Sheldwich, as next in the entail, succeeded to it, and is the present possessor of it.

 

IN THE REIGN of king Stephen there was AN ALIEN PRIORY established in this parish, as a cell to the Benedictine abbey of St. Bertin, at St. Omers, the capital of Artois, in Flanders, William de Ipre, in 1153, having given this church, with that of Chilham, to it for that purpose; which gift was confirmed by king Stephen the same year, as it was by the several archbishops afterwards, and by the charters of Henry II. and III. The charter of this gift was till lately in the treasury of the monastery of St. Bertin, as were all the others hereafter mentioned relating to this church and priory.

 

There are very few formal foundations of these cells, the lands of them being usually granted to some monastery abroad, as an increase to their revenues, after which, upon some part of them they built convenient houses, for the reception of a small convent. Some of these cells were made conventual, having a certain number of monks, who were mostly foreigners, and removeable at pleasure, sent over with a prior at their head, who were little more than stewards to the superior abbey, to which they returned the revenues of their possessions annually; others were permitted to chuse their own prior, and these were entire societies within themselves, and received their revenues for their own use and benefit, paying perhaps only a yearly pension as an acknowledgement of their subjection, or what was at first the surplusage to the foreign house.

 

The cell at Throwley was of the former sort, for which reason, during the wars between England and France, as their revenues went to support the king's enemies, these kind of houses were generally seized on by the king, and restored again upon the return of a peace. (fn. 6)

 

In the 25th year of king Edward I. Peter, prior of Triwle, as it was spelt in the record, made fine to the king at Westminster, and had a privy seal for his protection, by which he had the custody of his house and possessions committed to his care, to retain them during the king's pleasure, answering to his exchequer for the profits of them, according to the directions of him and his council.

 

The scite of this priory was that of the parsonage of the church of Throwley, which, with that of Chilham, seems to have been all their possessions in this kingdom. These were valued in the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, each at forty pounds annually, and their temporalities at 20s. 6d. at which time the parsonage of Throwley was become appropriated to this cell, and a vicarage was endowed in it. In which situation this priory remained till the general suppression of the alien priories throughout England, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, which was enacted in the parliament then held at Leicester, and all their houses, revenues, &c. were given to the king and his heirs for ever. (fn. 7)

 

This priory, with its possessions, seems to have remained in the hands of the crown till Henry VI. in his 22d year, settled them on the monastery of Sion, in Middlesex, founded by his father Henry V. with which they continued till the general suppression of religious houses, this being one of those greater monasteries dissolved by the act of the 31st year of king Henry VIII. How this priory was disposed of afterwards by the crown, may be further seen hereafter, under the description of the parsonage of the church of Throwley.

 

The only remains left of this priory are some few foundations, and two walls of flint, which support a building, standing behind the parsonage-house and garden.

 

THERE IS A FREE SCHOOL in this parish, the house of which is situated adjoining to the church-yard, which was founded by Sir Thomas Sondes, who died in 1592, who by his will devised a house and six poundes per annum to the master of it, to dwell in, and as a recompence for his pains; but having charged his executors and not his heirs to the fulfilling of this bequest, and charged the payment of the above sum, among other charitable legacies, on several leasehold estates, the terms of which expired in his nephew Sir Richard Sondes's time, and the house having tumbled down for want of repairs, Sir George Sondes, son of Sir Richard above-mentioned, thought it unreasonable, as he had none of the estates, that he should be bound to maintain the school; however, he voluntarily paid the master his salary, and gave him a house to live in, both which have been continued by the possessors of Throwley manor to this time, as far as I can learn, as of their own free gift.

 

The present right hon. lord Sondes appoints the schoolmaster as such during pleasure, and pays him a salary of twelve pounds per annum, besides which, he allots him an house and garden, worth about six pounds per annum, which his lordship repairs from time to time, and for which no parochial or church-dues are paid. There are at present fourteen boys taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, gratis, in this school, which though taken mostly from the parishes of Throwley, Badlesmere, and Leveland, are not confined to those parishes.

 

Charities.

 

CATHERINE, LADY SONDES, gave by will the sum of 40s. a year, to be received yearly on St. Barnabas's day, towards the relief of the poor, payable from a farm in it, called Bell-horn, now belonging to lord Sondes, and now of that annual produce.

 

THERE WERE three alms-houses in this parish, the gift of one of the Sondes family; one of them was some time since burnt down, and has not been rebuilt, but lord Sondes allows the person nominated to it the value of it in money yearly.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about thirty, casually double that number.

 

THROWLEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Ospringe.

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, consists of three isles and three chancels. The steeple is a square tower, and stands in the centre of the south side of it, in which there is a peal of six bells, given in 1781, at the expence of Mr. Montresor, of Belmont. In the south isle is a memorial for Francis Hosier Hart, gent. obt. 1761, leaving three daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Diana Hosier. In the middle isle is a small monument for Stephen Bunce, esq. of this parish, one of the Antients of New-Inn, who died there in 1634, and was buried in St. Clement's church, London. In the middle chancel there are two stalls of wood, which are not fixed, and in the north isle three more of the like sort, joined together, with a desk before them, which seem to have been removed from the chancel, and were both intended for the use of the religious of the priory here. In the middle of this chancel is a memorial for Dr. Thomas Horsemonden, patron and rector of Purleigh, in Essex, prebendary of Lincoln, &c. who died anno 1632. In the north and south chancel are several monuments for the family of Sondes, with their essigies, arms and quarterings; one of them in the latter, a plain altar tomb of black marble for Sir George Sondes, earl of Faversham, his lady and descendants; many more of this family, as appears by the parish register, are buried in the vault underneath, but the family of Watson burying at Rockingham, this vault has not been opened for several years. The north and south chancels above-mentioned belonged, one to the possessors of Throwley manor, the other to those of Townplace, but they both belong now to lord Sondes.

 

There were formerly in the windows the arms of Sondes, Finch, and Gatton, and in the north window this inscriptin, Pray for the good estate of Alice Martyn, the which did make this window, MCCCCXLV.

 

In the church yard, at the west end of the north isle, there is a circular door-case of stone, having several bordures of Saxon ornaments carved round it. In the church-yard is an altar tomb for William Woodward, gent. of Wilgate-green, obt. 1681, and Anne his wife.

 

It appears by the will of William Sondes, esq. anno 1474, that this church had then constantly burning in it lights, dedicated to St. Michael, the Holy Trinity, the Holy Cross, St. Mary, St. Thomas, St. Christopher, St. George, St. Katherine, St. Margaret, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Nicholas.

 

An account of the antient patronage of the church of Throwley has already been given, as first belonging to the alien priory here, and then to the monastery of Sion, to the time of the dissolution of the latter in the 31st year of Henry VIII. the year after which, the king granted the rectory, with the advowson of the vicarage of the church of Throwley, to the prebendary of Rugmer, in the cathedral church of St. Paul, London, in exchange for lands belonging to that prebend, to be inclosed within the king's park of Marybone, in pursuance of an act then passed. Since which this parsonage and advowson have continued part of the abovementioned prebend. The former is leased out by the present prebendary to the right hon. lord Sondes, but the advowson of the vicarage he retains in his own hands, and is the present patron of it.

 

¶There was a rent of 4l. 18s. 4d. reserved from the parsonage by king Henry VIII. nomine decimœ, which was granted by queen Elizabeth, in her third year, to archbishop Parker, among other premises, in exchange for several manors, lands, &c. belonging to that see, which rent still continues part of the revenue of the archbishopric.

 

A vicarage was endowed here in 1367, anno 42 king Edward III. by archbishop Langham, at which time the chapel of Wylrington belonged to it. (fn. 8)

 

It is valued in the king's books at 7l. 11s. 8d. and the yearly tenths at 15s. 2d.

 

In 1578 there were one hundred and eighty communicants here. In 1640 it was valued at forty-five pounds, communicants two hundred and twenty.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol6/pp445-461

Dawn raids saw officers in Oldham execute six drugs warrants as part of a crackdown on drug dealing in the district.

 

At around 6.15am this morning (Thursday 2 July 2020), officers from GMP’s Oldham division raided an address on Chamber Road, Coppice, and at five properties in the Glodwick area.

 

The action comes after concerns were raised in the community regarding the dealing of drugs in the area.

 

Neighbourhood Inspector Steve Prescott, of GMP’s Oldham division, said: “We hope that today’s operation demonstrates not only how keen we are to tackle drugs across the district and the Force, but also our endeavours to listen to community concerns and to act upon them.

 

“Today’s action is a significant part of tackling the issues around drugs that we see too often in our societies and the devastating impact they can have on individuals, their families and loved ones as well as the wider community.

 

“This action will have caused a huge amount of disruption for the criminals who seek to infiltrate these substances onto our streets and degrade the quality of life for so many.

 

“Anyone with concerns about the dealing of such drugs in their area should not hesitate to contact police; safe in the knowledge that we are prepared to strike back against those who operate in this destructive and illegal industry.”

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit

www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

 

You can access many of our services online at www.gmp.police.uk