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Tomnaverie Stone Circle has also been known as Mill Of Wester Coull, The Tomnaverie, Tarland Burn.
Tomnaverie Stone Circle near Tarland in Aberdeenshire is quite fantastic. It nearly killed me to reach it up one short steep slope. It would be quite easy for many people to follow the well set path. The 'after life' at the top of the path was magnificent. I feel sure that I intended to take another picture to join with this one and I failed to do.
This prominent site with marvellous views is only part of the ancient remains here that extend to further circles and mounds that are probably burial cairns. The full extent of the remains is not at all easy to see in Summer growth. Beyond and below and unfortunately most likely through the site, which does show signs of use up to the 1600s, there is also a Nuclear Watch and Fall Out point. Both medieval landscaping and concrete bunker are within a Megalithic site. We humans love to follow on in the footsteps of our predecessors current roads run close and sometimes over ancient sites and we are still drawn to the ancient stone settings which are sited in the landscape when there was less built and more opportunity to see and be seen from site to site.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
“In 1926 when there were only four stones still standing Alexander Keiller succeeded in getting the quarrying stopped after what he wrote was the "hectic riot which I created in the quarry last summer" with the landowner Lord Aberdeen. Keillor also got the monument made a scheduled monument in 1927 and taken into official state guardianship in 1930.[26][27][28] State care meant little more than erecting a fence and keeping the grass cut.[12] With Aubrey Burl in 1995 writing "Tomnaverie, ... a once fine recumbent stone circle, is a wreck ... its stones are now a jumble", Tomnaverie was chosen as the site for a major archaeological excavation in 1999 and 2000 led by Richard Bradley. Not only was the site to be closely investigated but also, so far as possible, it would subsequently be restored to something more like its original condition with its stones re-erected in their original sockets.[29][30]”
Tomnaverie stone circle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomnaverie_stone_circle
Tomnaverie Stone Circle
www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/tomnave...
Tomnaverie
Welfare, Adam (2011a). Halliday, Stratford (ed.). Great Crowns of Stone The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland Gazetteer and Appendices (PDF). RCAHMS. pp. 473–477. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2019. – only published online.
www.historicenvironment.scot/media/4427/great-crowns-ston...
In 1770 British explorer James Cook named the mountain after the Earl of Egmont, a man who never set foot in the region. In 1986, the New Zealand Geographic Board officially listed the dual names of Mt Egmont and Mt Taranaki as interchangeable ways to refer to the mountain. Following an agreement between the local Maori tribes and the Crown as a result of Treaty of Waitangi negotiations the mountain will now only carry one name: Taranaki Maunga, which translates to Mountain of Taranaki. Taranaki is the name of the district where the mountain is located. The mountain has also been granted the same legal rights as a person, becoming the third geographic feature in the country to be granted a “legal personality”. Eight local Māori tribes and the government are now sharing guardianship of the sacred mountain on the west coast of the North Island, in a long-awaited acknowledgement of the indigenous people’s relationship to the mountain, who view it as an ancestor and whanau (family member).
Bude Sea Pool, Cornwall, UK
So the north Cornwall/Devon coast faces west so trying to find sunrise locations without driving a fair way was a bit of a struggle for this 'foreigner'. I did note that the high tide at Bude was during morning golden hour so I thought it worth going to see if I could get some shots of the sea pool. As I approached I spotted a sign saying it was closed for 2 weeks for maintenance hence the gap in the wall you can see by the railings.
My only hope was that the water height would be enough - as it turned out the actual tide level was not higher than the walls of the pool but it was enough to get waves overtopping.
I spent about 90mins shooting various compositions of the sea pool and here are 4 of them. I wanted to get both the ethereal LE look and the slightly slowed down flow shots with some texture.
I thought these 4 shots worked better in B&W.
Bude Sea Pool is a massive man-made tidal pool located in Bude, Cornwall, UK, it measures 91m long by 45m wide. The pool was built in 1930 and is one of the oldest outdoor swimming pools in the country.
The pool is fed by the incoming tide and is emptied by the outgoing tide. It is popular with both locals and tourists alike.
In 2010 local authority funding to maintain and operate the pool was withdrawn and the pool was threatened with demolition. The Bude local community rallied together and Friends Of Bude Sea Pool Charity was formed to save the pool and it was subsequently devolved to their guardianship in 2012.
In recent years, the pool has undergone extensive refurbishment work to ensure that it remains safe and enjoyable for all visitors with over £400,000 being spent on repairs and restoration so far.
Whilst the pool remains free for all to use it’s thanks to the constant fundraising efforts of all the volunteers at FsOBS that keep the pool safe and open all year round.
explorecornwall.uk/attractions/bude-sea-pool/
© All rights reserved to Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Too many thoughts for too little time
and too many labels given over one lifetime;
a coat for the weathering of Spring day
together with hospitable dismay
is the path of lateral submission
for the glade is made where storms have trodden
from past months a year is duly launched
up to the Heavens and returning to be re-launched
in our vocational, subjective counterproductive eyes
is the fantastical quarter-hourly eroticism of surprise
set against the mundanity of taking sides
comes the hour that cometh the man that truly decides
and here we are seduced by mere sunlit boughs
is anything more natural than the way Nature can arouse-
the desire and need for preservation of life itself,
under the guardianship of She Herself
we alone can stride forward as a means to munify
but who or what do we defend against and indeed why?
for once let go of laterigrade viewpoints and see the zenithal dream
close your eyes skyward and feel the force of higher esteem
a fantasy? it can be real enough to the perceiving Souls that pass
through such tempting lust that momentarily nothing can surpass
let the natural flows of instinctive emotion be your fantasy
and with Nature you will subsist on the might of living wholly.
by anglia24
10h00: 01/04/2008
©2008anglia24
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is uncertain: traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. Warkworth Castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. The timber castle was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173.
Roger's son Robert inherited and improved the castle. Robert was a favourite of King John, and hosted him at Warkworth Castle in 1213. The castle remained in the family line, with periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to control their estates. King Edward I stayed overnight in 1292 and John de Clavering, descendant of Roger fitz Richard, made the Crown his inheritor. With the outbreak of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Edward II invested in castles, including Warkworth, where he funded the strengthening of the garrison in 1319. Twice in 1327 the Scots besieged the castle without success.
John de Clavering died in 1332 and his widow in 1345, at which point The 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick took control of Warkworth Castle, having been promised Clavering's property by Edward III. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, added the imposing keep overlooking the village of Warkworth in the late 14th century. The fourth earl remodelled the buildings in the bailey and began the construction of a collegiate church within the castle, but work on the latter was abandoned after his death. Although The 10th Earl of Northumberland supported Parliament during the English Civil War, the castle was damaged during the conflict. The last Percy earl died in 1670. In the mid-18th century the castle found its way into the hands of Hugh Smithson, who married the indirect Percy heiress. He adopted the surname "Percy" and founded the dynasty of the Dukes of Northumberland, through whom possession of the castle descended.
In the late 19th century, the dukes refurbished Warkworth Castle and Anthony Salvin was commissioned to restore the keep. The 8th Duke of Northumberland gave custody of the castle to the Office of Works in 1922. Since 1984 English Heritage has cared for the site, which is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Howden Minster was owned by monks from Peterborough Abbey in Saxon times, but in 1080 it was gifted to William of Calais (Bishop of Durham). Although dependent on Durham, the minster was in the Diocese of York. Rebuilding the Norman church in the Early English style seems to have been begun in 1228. It became a Collegiate Church in 1267. Rebuilding work was completed in the Decorated style around 1340. A small octagonal Chapter House was built after 1388, the last of its kind to be built in England. The church survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries as it was not a monastery, but fell victim to the Dissolution of Collegiate Churches and Chantries in 1548.
Although the minster was not destroyed in the Dissolution, the choir or chancel was allowed to fall into ruin, and only the nave was used for services. The roof eventually collapsed in 1696, and the chapter house roof collapsed in 1750. The ruins are now in the guardianship of English Heritage, preserved by the Department of the Environment, and are in the condition of a 'safe ruin'. The chapter house received a new roof in 1984. The ruins can only be seen from the outside, as they are still part of the current minster church.
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France.
Situated on the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a strategically important royal castle. During the late medieval period, it helped protect England's south-east coast from invasion. The first castle at Rochester was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. It was given to Bishop Odo, probably by his half-brother William the Conqueror. During the Rebellion of 1088 over the succession to the English throne, Odo supported Robert Curthose, the Conqueror's eldest son, against William Rufus. It was during this conflict that the castle first saw military action; the city and castle were besieged after Odo made Rochester a headquarters for the rebellion. After the garrison capitulated, this first castle was abandoned.
Between 1087 and 1089, Rufus asked Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, to build a new stone castle at Rochester. He established the current extent of the castle. Though much altered through the centuries, some parts of Gundulf's work survive. In 1127 King Henry I granted the castle to the Archbishop of Canterbury in perpetuity. William de Corbeil built the massive keep that still dominates the castle today. Throughout the 12th century the castle remained in the custody of the archbishops.
During the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it. The Barnwell chronicler remarked "Our age has not known a siege so hard pressed nor so strongly resisted". After resisting for just over seven weeks, the garrison surrendered. The castle had been greatly damaged, with breaches in the outer walls and one corner of the keep collapsed, and hunger eventually forced the defenders' hand. The castle did not stay under John's control for long: in 1216 it was captured by the French Prince Louis, who was the new leader of the baronial faction. John died and was succeeded by his son King Henry III in 1216; the next year, the war ended and the castle was taken under direct royal control.
Rochester was besieged for the third time in 1264 during the Second Barons' War (1264–1267). The castle's royal constable, Roger de Leybourne, held Rochester in support of Henry III. Rebel armies led by Simon de Montfort and Gilbert de Clare entered the city and set about trying to capture the castle. Again the castle's defenders resisted, this time with a different outcome. After a week, the rebel armies raised the siege in the face of relief from Henry himself. The garrison did not surrender, and the castle suffered extensive damage that was not repaired until the following century. The castle saw military action for the last time in 1381 when it was captured and ransacked during the Peasants' Revolt. As Rochester Castle fell out of use its materials were reused elsewhere and custodianship was relinquished by the Crown. The castle and its grounds were opened to the public in the 1870s as a park. At various points during the 19th and 20th centuries repairs were carried out. The castle is protected as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Monument. Today the ruins are in the guardianship of English Heritage and open to the public.
Beginning July 19, 1855, Charles A. Colton opened the "Pittsburgh Dollar Savings Institution".[6] The first day's deposits totaled $53.[6] On September 4, 1858, Pittsburgh Dollar Savings Institution was renamed "The Dollar Savings Bank."[6]
First Office
The Dollar Savings Bank's Fourth Avenue Building was opened in March 1871[6] and is still in operation today. The architect was Isaac H. Hobbs & Sons of Philadelphia. The building was constructed using 1,400 tons of brownstone, quarried in Connecticut, pink Quincy Granite and significant amounts of Marble and Brass.
In 1871, two stone lions were placed at the front door of the Fourth Avenue Building, as symbols of guardianship of the people's money.[6] The stately lions guarding the entrance were sculpted by Max Kohler,[6] each from a single block of quarry-bedded brownstone. A project to restore the lions began in September 2009 and was completed in June 2013. The two new exact replica lions were created by Master Carver Nicolas Fairplay. The original lions sit inside the Fourth Avenue building.[7][8][9]
The Board Room was added to The Dollar Savings Bank's Fourth Avenue Building in 1896 at a cost of $37,981.[6]
In 1906, the East and West wings were added to The Dollar Savings Bank's Fourth Avenue Building.[6]
Today, the Dollar Bank Heritage Center in the Fourth Avenue Building contains displays of vintage banking machines, Dollar Bank advertising through the decades, oil portraits and photographs of the Bank's officers and Trustees, and hand-written ledgers featuring the original signatures of some of the Bank's early depositors.
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Tolquhon Castle (pronounced: "toh-hon", and sometimes spelt 'Tolquhoun') is located in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Pitmedden, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tarves. The castle was built by William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon, between 1584 and 1589 as an extension to the earlier tower house known as Preston's Tower. Although ruined, the castle has been described as "the most characteristic château of the Scots Renaissance". It is in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Preston's Tower was constructed in the early 15th century, either by Sir Henry Preston or by his son-in-law Sir William Forbes, who inherited part of the Preston lands in 1420, following Sir Henry's death. His descendant William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon (died 1596), began work on a new castle in 1584, retaining the Preston Tower but adding new, more comfortable accommodation. He also improved the gardens and parkland around the house. King James VI was entertained at Tolquhon in 1589. The new buildings were arranged around a courtyard, and included an elaborate gatehouse, and a first-floor gallery. An inscription on the gatehouse records that "AL THIS WARKE EXCEP THE AULD TOWR WAS BEGUN BE WILLIAM FORBES 15 APRIL 1584 AND ENDIT BE HIM 20 OCTOBER 1589". The home of a "Renaissance man", Tolquhon was designed for show rather than defence, and was the work of the mason-architect Thomas Leper or Leiper. Leper's distinctive triple shot-holes flank the main entrance, and are also found at nearby Arnage Castle and Dean Castle in Ayrshire. Also unusual is the stone tilework in the main hall. After William Forbes' death his descendants continued to occupy Tolquhon until 1718, when they were forced to move out due to debts incurred by the failure of the Darien scheme. The castle subsequently decayed and is now a ruin. It is in the guardianship of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Tolquhon is also a category A listed building and a scheduled monument.
This statue is a Balinese mermaid or sea goddess figure, a common motif in Indonesian coastal art and mythology.
These sculptures are believed to ward off evil spirits and offer protection to the home or sacred spaces.
Its name, Suvannamaccha — The Golden Mermaid — came from Southeast Asian adaptations of the Ramayana. In Thai and Cambodian versions, Suvannamaccha (literally “golden fish”) is a mermaid princess who attempts to sabotage Hanuman’s mission to build a bridge but ends up falling in love with him instead. In Bali, she is a well-loved mythical figure in local folklore. Her prayer hands suggest reverence or divine status, fitting with Hindu devotional practices, when placement by sea symbolizes connection with water, spiritual guardianship, and folk storytelling rooted in Balinese coastal life.
photo rights reserved by B℮n
Alicante is a Spanish coastal city located on the Costa Blanca in the Valencian Community. The city is an important port for the export of central Spain and the region with its beautiful sandy beaches attracts many tourists. In Alicante we can find art, culture, seafood and beautiful beaches. Alicante has a beautiful old town with a beautiful boulevard along the coast Explanada de España and lively terraces. The most beautiful sight is the castle of Santa Barbara on Monte Benacantil a hill of 166 meters high. The history of Alicante dates back to 230 BC, when the city was founded under the name Akra Leuk. After that, the city became part of the Roman Empire and in 711 the Moors occupied the city, who also gave the city its current name 'Alicante'. The Moors also laid the foundation for the fortress on top of the Benacantil hill, but after the conquest by the Spaniards this grew into the castle Castillo de Santa Bárbara.
The old quarter Casco Antiguo – Santa Cruz of the city of Alicante is located below the castle. The district has retained the charm of a seaside village, with its steep, narrow, winding streets, with its white facades, its wrought iron bars and its colorful balconies thanks to the pots full of flowers. Today you can still see part of the walls that served to protect the former city. Being such a fortress, and given its location so close to the sea, the castle of Santa Bárbara made it possible to protect the city effectively while promoting maritime trade, which is why the first houses swirled around it logically, under its guard and guardianship. Locals take great pride in their homes, decorating their balconies and doorsteps with fresh flowers, and painting their shutters in blues and greens. When you need to catch your breath, you can always relax in one of the many cafes and restaurants in this part of the city.
Alicante is een Spaanse kuststad gelegen aan de
Costa Blanca in de regio Valencia. De stad is een belangrijke haven voor de export van midden-Spanje en de regio met de mooie zandstranden trekt vele toeristen aan. In Alicante kunnen we kunst, cultuur, seafood en prachtige stranden vinden. Alicante heeft een mooi oude stad met een prachtige boulevard langs de kust Explanada de España en levendige terrasjes. De mooiste bezienswaardigheid is het kasteel van Santa Barbara op de Monte Benacantil heuvel van 166 meter hoogte. De oude wijk Casco Antiguo – Santa Cruz van de stad Alicante ligt onder het kasteel. De wijk heeft de charme van een kustdorp behouden, met zijn steile, smalle, kronkelende straatjes, met zijn witte gevels, zijn smeedijzeren tralies en zijn kleurrijke balkons dankzij de potten vol met bloemen. Vandaag de dag kun je nog steeds een deel van de muren zien die dienden om de toenmalige stad te beschermen. Als zo'n fort, en gezien de ligging zo dicht bij de zee, maakte het kasteel van Santa Bárbara het mogelijk om de stad effectief te beschermen en tegelijkertijd de maritieme handel te bevorderen, vandaar dat de eerste huizen er logischerwijs omheen wervelden, onder zijn hoede en voogdij. Als je even op adem wilt komen, kun je altijd even bijkomen in een van de vele cafés en restaurants in dit deel van de stad.
The chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp (French: Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp), completed in 1954, is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier and one of the most important examples of twentieth-century religious architecture. The chapel is a working religious building and is under the guardianship of the private foundation Association de l’Oeuvre de Notre-Dame du Haut. It attracts 80,000 visitors each year - Source Wikipedia
Comments are always welcome and favs most appreciated.
Comentarios y favs son siempre bienvenidos
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All rights reserved. All images on this website are the property of Ricardo Gomez Angel. Images may not be reproduced, copied or used in any way without written permission.
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Walking down West Kennet Avenue a line of originally of around 100 pairs of prehistoric standing stones, raised to form a winding 1 1/2 mile ritual link between the pre-existing monuments of Avebury and The Sanctuary. As well as marking the route to Avebury, the stones seem to have acted as grave markers for some members of the Avebury community. South of Avebury, in Wiltshire.
In the 1930s Alexander Keiller, heir to the Keiller marmalade fortune, excavated four graves, all belonging to the Beaker period (about 2500–1800 BC); three contained a single person, but the fourth had the remains of three. These were particularly important people or, possibly, they were buried as sacrificial offerings in some form of ancestor worship. Elsewhere along the Avenue, excavations revealed scatters of human bone, presumably also from burials.
Many of the stones had already disappeared by the time the first record of the Avenue was made, by John Aubrey, in the 17th century. William Stukeley, in the following century, left an account of the massive destruction of the standing stone monuments of Avebury. They were being torn down and broken into fragments for building material.
Alexander Keiller was able to demonstrate that the practice of burying the stones had happened since the Middle Ages when they were possibly associated with pagan worship and considered the work of the devil. Stukeley recorded a similar avenue on the Beckhampton side of the Avebury henge but little of this remains today.
West Kennet Avenue is in the freehold ownership of The National Trust and in English Heritage guardianship. It is managed by The National Trust on behalf of English Heritage, and the two organisations share the cost of managing and maintaining the property.
Stokesay Castle is the most complete and best-preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Located in a quiet Shropshire valley near the Welsh border, the castle is known for its remarkable 13th-century Great Hall, stone towers, and ornate 17th-century timber-framed gatehouse.
The core of the castle, including the great hall, solar (private apartment block), and north and south towers, was largely completed by 1291. The use of the same team of carpenters throughout is evidenced by shared carpenter's marks on the timbers. The imposing appearance, particularly the south tower, was a status symbol echoing the grand castles built by King Edward I in North Wales, though its actual military strength was superficial.
The castle passed through the Vernon family in the 16th century and was sold to Sir George Mainwaring in 1596, and then to Dame Elizabeth Craven and her son William, the 1st Earl of Craven, in 1620. William Craven made the only substantial addition to the castle's fabric since the 13th century: an ornate, timber-framed gatehouse built around 1640-1641.
In the 18th century the castle was let to tenant farmers who used parts for agricultural purposes, including using the great hall as a granary and the south tower basement as a smithy.
Antiquarian interest grew in the 19th century, and in 1869, wealthy glove manufacturer John Derby Allcroft bought the estate. He embarked on a sympathetic and extensive restoration program that aimed to preserve the existing structure rather than rebuild it.
The Allcroft family maintained the castle for over a century, opening it to the public. In 1986, Jewell Magnus-Allcroft placed the castle into the guardianship of English Heritage, which assumed ownership upon her death in 1992. Today, Stokesay Castle stands as an exceptionally complete and rare example of a medieval fortified manor house, offering a unique glimpse into 13th-century life.
The Grade I Listed Gatehouse of Stokesay Castle a fortified manor house in Stokesay, near Craven Arms in Shropshire, which is managed by English Heritage.
The castle was built in the late 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, then the leading wool merchant in England, who intended it to form a secure private house and generate income as a commercial estate. Laurence's descendants continued to own the castle until the 16th century, when it passed through various private owners. By the time of the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1641, Stokesay was owned by William Craven, the first Earl of Craven and a supporter of King Charles I. After the Royalist war effort collapsed in 1645, Parliamentary forces besieged the castle in June and quickly forced its garrison to surrender. Parliament ordered the property to be slighted, but only minor damage was done to the walls, allowing Stokesay to continue to be used as a house by the Baldwyn family until the end of the 17th century.
In the 18th century the Baldwyns rented the castle out for a range of agricultural and manufacturing purposes. It fell into disrepair, and the antiquarian John Britton noted during his visit in 1813 that it had been "abandoned to neglect, and rapidly advancing to ruin". Restoration work was carried out in the 1830s and 1850s by William Craven, the second Earl of Craven. In 1869 the Craven estate, now heavily in debt, was sold to the wealthy industrialist John Derby Allcroft who paid for another round of extensive restoration during the 1870s. Both of these owners attempted to limit any alterations to the existing buildings during their conservation work, which was unusual for this period. The castle became a popular location for tourists and artists, and was formally opened to paying visitors in 1908.
Allcroft's descendants fell into financial difficulties during the early 20th century, however, and it became increasingly difficult for them to cover the costs of maintaining Stokesay. In 1986 Jewell Magnus-Allcroft finally agreed to place Stokesay Castle into the guardianship of English Heritage, and the castle was left to the organisation on her death in 1992. English Heritage carried out extensive restoration of the castle in the late 1980s. In the 21st century, Stokesay Castle continues to be operated as a tourist attraction, receiving 39,218 visitors in 2010.
Architecturally, Stokesay Castle is "one of the best-preserved medieval fortified manor houses in England", according to historian Henry Summerson. The castle comprises a walled, moated enclosure, with an entrance way through a 17th-century timber and plaster gatehouse. Inside, the courtyard faces a stone hall and solar block, protected by two stone towers. The hall features a 13th-century wooden-beamed ceiling, and 17th-century carved figures ornament the gatehouse and the solar. The castle was never intended to be a serious military fortification, but its style was intended to echo the much larger castles being built by Edward I in North Wales. Originally designed as a prestigious, secure, comfortable home, the castle has changed very little since the 13th century, and is a rare, surviving example of a near complete set of medieval buildings. English Heritage has minimised the amount of interpretative material displayed at the property and kept the castle largely unfurnished.
Edlingham Castle dates mainly from the 14th century, although a manor house of the 13th century is probably concealed beneath the later building. The earliest standing remains are those of the hall house, built about in 1300 by Sir William Felton at a time when Northumberland was relatively peaceful.
Felton was a member of an important family with estates in Norfolk and Shropshire but he had made his fortune independently through military service, royal favour and marriage to a Northumberland heiress, Constance de Pontrop.
His successors made extensive improvements to the manor house. In about 1340–50 his son, also named William, improved domestic comfort by building a magnificent solar tower, the best preserved part of the castle. As the Anglo-Scottish wars continued, he also strengthened the defences with a gate tower and stone curtain wall. Towards the end of the 14th century William’s grandson, John, completed the enclosure walls and enlarged the gatehouse.
Later owners of the estate included the Hastings and Swinburne families. The Feltons had traditionally been royal officials and soldiers but their successors were primarily local gentry, with less need for military display or effective defence.
The castle was abandoned as a dwelling in the mid-17th century and by the 1660s was being quarried for building stone. At the end of the 19th century only the tower was still visible amid grassy mounds. Since 1975 the remains have been in the guardianship and ownership of the state. They were excavated between 1978 and 1982.
Tolquhon Castle (pronounced: "toh-hon", and sometimes spelt 'Tolquhoun') is located in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Pitmedden, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tarves. The castle was built by William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon, between 1584 and 1589 as an extension to the earlier tower house known as Preston's Tower. Although ruined, the castle has been described as "the most characteristic château of the Scots Renaissance". It is in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Preston's Tower was constructed in the early 15th century, either by Sir Henry Preston or by his son-in-law Sir William Forbes, who inherited part of the Preston lands in 1420, following Sir Henry's death. His descendant William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon (died 1596), began work on a new castle in 1584, retaining the Preston Tower but adding new, more comfortable accommodation. He also improved the gardens and parkland around the house. King James VI was entertained at Tolquhon in 1589. The new buildings were arranged around a courtyard, and included an elaborate gatehouse, and a first-floor gallery. An inscription on the gatehouse records that "AL THIS WARKE EXCEP THE AULD TOWR WAS BEGUN BE WILLIAM FORBES 15 APRIL 1584 AND ENDIT BE HIM 20 OCTOBER 1589". The home of a "Renaissance man", Tolquhon was designed for show rather than defence, and was the work of the mason-architect Thomas Leper or Leiper. Leper's distinctive triple shot-holes flank the main entrance, and are also found at nearby Arnage Castle and Dean Castle in Ayrshire. Also unusual is the stone tilework in the main hall. After William Forbes' death his descendants continued to occupy Tolquhon until 1718, when they were forced to move out due to debts incurred by the failure of the Darien scheme. The castle subsequently decayed and is now a ruin. It is in the guardianship of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Tolquhon is also a category A listed building and a scheduled monument.
Castlerigg Stone Circle is composed of 38 free standing stones, some up to 3 metres (10 feet) high. It is one of Britain's earliest stone circles dating back to the Neolithic period 4000 to 5000 years ago.
The original purpose of the site is unknown. It could have been used as a trading post. Three stone axes have been discovered inside the circle. In the Neolithic period axes were made from volcanic stone quarried in the fells. Other possible uses include a meeting place for social gatherings, a site for religious ceremonies and rituals or even an astronomical observatory with the stones being aligned to the sun, moon and stars.
Taken into guardianship in 1883, it was also one of the first monuments in the country to be recommended for preservation by the state.
Dorothy and William Wordsworth visited the stones in 1799 - Phill and Astrida visited 220 years later in 2019:-))
Sculpture in the Eurobodalla Botanic GardensNSW. The sculpture symbolizes the guardianship of people for the earth, plants and people past and present who attend the gardens.
They can also be seen as a family, where humans as family need to watch over our heritage of nature for future generations.
Walking down West Kennet Avenue a line of originally of around 100 pairs of prehistoric standing stones, raised to form a winding 1 1/2 mile ritual link between the pre-existing monuments of Avebury and The Sanctuary. As well as marking the route to Avebury, the stones seem to have acted as grave markers for some members of the Avebury community. South of Avebury, in Wiltshire.
In the 1930s Alexander Keiller, heir to the Keiller marmalade fortune, excavated four graves, all belonging to the Beaker period (about 2500–1800 BC); three contained a single person, but the fourth had the remains of three. These were particularly important people or, possibly, they were buried as sacrificial offerings in some form of ancestor worship. Elsewhere along the Avenue, excavations revealed scatters of human bone, presumably also from burials.
Many of the stones had already disappeared by the time the first record of the Avenue was made, by John Aubrey, in the 17th century. William Stukeley, in the following century, left an account of the massive destruction of the standing stone monuments of Avebury. They were being torn down and broken into fragments for building material.
Alexander Keiller was able to demonstrate that the practice of burying the stones had happened since the Middle Ages when they were possibly associated with pagan worship and considered the work of the devil. Stukeley recorded a similar avenue on the Beckhampton side of the Avebury henge but little of this remains today.
West Kennet Avenue is in the freehold ownership of The National Trust and in English Heritage guardianship. It is managed by The National Trust on behalf of English Heritage, and the two organisations share the cost of managing and maintaining the property.
Sun Light passing, alighting on and going through the recumbent stone based and standing lintled flanked aperture of Tomnaverie a Four Poster Stone Circled Monument near Aberdeen.
Twelve is far too many for most people, please don’t look at all. Some of the best are beyond the first few. There are seven images with the Nuclear Bunker in view to the left of the major focus of stones. I have mentioned the bunker below and in other pictures alongside these on Flickr. I had something to say about Knockargety Hill unfinished fort, but I forgotten what, but I still including a link to it.
Tomnaverie Stone Circle has also been known as Mill Of Wester Coull, The Tomnaverie, Tarland Burn.
Tomnaverie Stone Circle near Tarland in Aberdeenshire is quite fantastic. It nearly killed me to reach it up one short steep slope. It would be quite easy for many people to follow the well set path. The 'after life' at the top of the path was magnificent. I feel sure that I intended to take another picture to join with this one and I failed to do.
This prominent site with marvellous views is only part of the ancient remains here that extend to further circles and mounds that are probably burial cairns. The full extent of the remains is not at all easy to see in Summer growth. Beyond and below and unfortunately most likely through the site, which does show signs of use up to the 1600s, there is also a Nuclear Watch and Fall Out point. Both medieval landscaping and concrete bunker are within a Megalithic site. We humans love to follow on in the footsteps of our predecessors current roads run close and sometimes over ancient sites and we are still drawn to the ancient stone settings which are sited in the landscape when there was less built and more opportunity to see and be seen from site to site.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
“In 1926 when there were only four stones still standing Alexander Keiller succeeded in getting the quarrying stopped after what he wrote was the "hectic riot which I created in the quarry last summer" with the landowner Lord Aberdeen. Keillor also got the monument made a scheduled monument in 1927 and taken into official state guardianship in 1930.[26][27][28] State care meant little more than erecting a fence and keeping the grass cut.[12] With Aubrey Burl in 1995 writing "Tomnaverie, ... a once fine recumbent stone circle, is a wreck ... its stones are now a jumble", Tomnaverie was chosen as the site for a major archaeological excavation in 1999 and 2000 led by Richard Bradley. Not only was the site to be closely investigated but also, so far as possible, it would subsequently be restored to something more like its original condition with its stones re-erected in their original sockets.[29][30]”
Tomnaverie stone circle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomnaverie_stone_circle
Tomnaverie Stone Circle
www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/tomnave...
Tomnaverie
Welfare, Adam (2011a). Halliday, Stratford (ed.). Great Crowns of Stone The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland Gazetteer and Appendices (PDF). RCAHMS. pp. 473–477. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2019. – only published online.
www.historicenvironment.scot/media/4427/great-crowns-ston...
Knockargety Hill unfinished fort
The national waterways museum is in Cheshire UK at the northern end of the Shropshire union canal where it meets the Manchester ship canal.
It focuses on Britain's navigable inland waterways including its rivers and canals and include canal boats history and tradition of life on the UKs inland waterways.
The Canal & River trust holds guardianship of 2,000 miles of Canals and rivers together with reservoir's and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures
There are few stone circles in Britain in such a dramatic setting as that of Castlerigg, which overlooks the Thirlmere Valley with the mountains of High Seat and Helvellyn as a backdrop.
It is not just its location that makes this one of the most important British stone circles. Thought to have been constructed about 3000 BC, it is potentially one of the earliest in the country. Taken into guardianship in 1883, it was also one of the first monuments in the country to be recommended for preservation by the state.
Although there are more than 300 stone circles in Britain, the great majority of them are Bronze Age burial monuments (dating from about 2000–800 BC) containing cremations in central pits or beneath small central cairns. By contrast, their Neolithic forebears, such as Castlerigg, Swinside in the southern part of the Lake District, and Long Meg and her Daughters in the Eden Valley, do not contain formal burials.
The Neolithic stone circles also differ from those of the later Bronze Age in their generally larger size and often flattened circular shape – as is found at Castlerigg – comprising an open circle of many large stones. Castlerigg is about 97½ ft (30 metres) in diameter, and formerly comprised 42 stones. There are now only 38 stones, which vary in height from 3¼ ft (1 metre) to 7½ ft (2.3 metres).
Neolithic stone circles typically have an entrance and at least one outlying stone. The entrance at Castlerigg, on the north side of the circle, is flanked by two massive upright stones, and the outlier is presently to the west-south-west of the stone circle, on the west side of the field adjacent to a stile; this stone has been moved from its original position. It has been suggested that such outlying stones had astronomical significance – alignments with planets or stars – although examination of those in early stone circles elsewhere in Britain has shown that there are no consistent orientations for them.One of the more unusual features of Castlerigg is a rectangle of standing stones within the circle; there is only one other comparable example, at the Cockpit, an open stone circle at Askham Fell, near Ullswater.
Castlerigg has not been extensively excavated, and it is therefore not known exactly what might be preserved beneath the surface. Three Neolithic stone axes originating from nearby Great Langdale were recovered from the site in the 19th century, and similar finds have been made at other Neolithic stone circles.
The precise function of these early circles is not known, but their importance possibly centred on their large internal areas with their formalised entrances. Sites such as Castlerigg were undoubtedly important meeting places for the scattered Neolithic communities, but whether as trading places or as religious centres, or even both, is not known.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/castlerigg-stone...
The national waterways museum is in Cheshire UK at the northern end of the Shropshire union canal where it meets the Manchester ship canal.
It focuses on Britain's navigable inland waterways including its rivers and canals and include canal boats history and tradition of life on the UKs inland waterways.
The Canal & River trust holds guardianship of 2,000 miles of Canals and rivers together with reservoir's and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures
A shack at the tide’s edge, holding its ground against shifting horizons.
Meet the photographer: youtu.be/-iMIpSY85K4?si=eisPMgUNl9z3OGeV
We cover the alphabet, eventually...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bailey Dazy's mouth shifts to the right... "You can think what you'd like.. Your assessment may feel accurate, but who knows, maybe I know things YOU don't know..." She would change the subject "When is the last time you've seen Mal?" She had a favor to ask Cat.
Catherine Saiman: I've not seen him for some time
Bailey Dazy sighs "You know he is mine and MJ's son now, yes? Quentin gave him up and we took over his custody."
Catherine Saiman: Yes, I knew that
Bailey Dazy nods, nods nods... "Now, I know you aren't... one for kittens... but I'd like to ask you a favor." She takes a sip of her drink. "Should anything happen to MJ and I, I would... I would want you to take over guardianship of Malachi... like, a God-mother."
Catherine Saiman: Not so certain he'd like the world he'd enter into, but for you I'd do it
Bailey Dazy would nod, yet again. "I don't trust anyone has the ability to provide for him otherwise."
Catherine Saiman: Nor would I honestly.. many mean well, but the road to ruin is paved in good intentions and pretty words...
Bailey Dazy smiles and finishes her drink. "Amen."
Catherine Saiman looks to Dazy and crooks her finger, becoking her closer
Bailey Dazy places her empty drink on the counter for the barman. She leans closer to Cat.
Catherine Saiman: Going to place a wager that MJ's been your first real relationship.. but since your world has pretty much skimmed over most things.. I'll give you something to write home about, hmm? *she raises her hand to Dazy's cheek brushing it softly as she looks her in the eyes, and leans towords her
Bailey Dazy blinks a few times, unsure of how to take Cat's comment. Her head tilts a little to the side, towards the hand that brushed her cheek. She doesn't validate Cat's assumption.
Catherine Saiman kisses Dazy's lower lip once quickly, eyebrow raised as she looks at her. A second kiss soon follows, this time a little higher, a little teasing trail before the third time she presses her lips fully against Dazy's. Those fingers of hers softly brushing gentle circles
Bailey Dazy would only be partly taken aback. Surely MJ wouldn't mind.... or would he? She doesn't exactly pull back. She would return the kiss, then give Cat a nibble on her lip. She swallows hard, then turns her face to the side a bit, blushing furiously, not that anyone would be able to tell.
Catherine Saiman takes her hand, one finger hooking slighly against Dazy's chin, turning her back towards her, if a little force was required, so be it. "No running away yet..." This time her lips would meet Dazy's with passion, crushing together even as her hand slipped behind the neck of the woman she was kissing. Catherine's tongue grazing against Dazy's lips, and her body brushing dangerously close against her. Sensory overload at it's finest, until she pulls away.. tugging that pink lower lip back between her teeth, then releasing it. "Now you can say you've been kissed by a Catherine, darling" Her smile is as sinful as it is mischevious, the glint in her eyes confirms it.
Bailey Dazy wouldn't fight the kiss. Catherine's hand would notice there was no strain in Dazy's neck. She secretly enjoys the kiss, though she would never willingly admit that. Her own sexual live was surpressed and not discussed, even with her own partner. As Cat releases her, Dazy's tongue would sweep across her lips, getting a taste. She then mumbles "I'll wear it as a badge." She looks down towards her shirt and would let out an embarassed smirk.
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Another iphone panorama from my recent trip up to Northumbria and the Scottish Borders.
Warkworth Castle is just one of many scenic castles in Northumberland. Unfortunately due to Covid it was 'advance tickets only' so we had to make do with a quick stop in the car park for a quick walk around it and a few photos.
Lots more iphone panoramas in my 'Compact / Phone shots' set : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157633693901050
From Wikipedia : "Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval building in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is uncertain: traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. Warkworth Castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. The timber castle was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173.
Roger's son Robert inherited and improved the castle. Robert was a favourite of King John, and hosted him at Warkworth Castle in 1213. The castle remained in the family line, with periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to control their estates. King Edward I stayed overnight in 1292 and John de Clavering, descendant of Roger fitz Richard, made the Crown his inheritor. With the outbreak of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Edward II invested in castles including Warkworth where he funded the strengthening of the garrison in 1319. Twice in 1327 the Scots besieged the castle without success."
© D.Godliman
Tolquhon Castle (pronounced: "toh-hon", and sometimes spelt 'Tolquhoun') is located in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Pitmedden, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tarves. The castle was built by William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon, between 1584 and 1589 as an extension to the earlier tower house known as Preston's Tower. Although ruined, the castle has been described as "the most characteristic château of the Scots Renaissance". It is in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Preston's Tower was constructed in the early 15th century, either by Sir Henry Preston or by his son-in-law Sir William Forbes, who inherited part of the Preston lands in 1420, following Sir Henry's death. His descendant William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon (died 1596), began work on a new castle in 1584, retaining the Preston Tower but adding new, more comfortable accommodation. He also improved the gardens and parkland around the house. King James VI was entertained at Tolquhon in 1589. The new buildings were arranged around a courtyard, and included an elaborate gatehouse, and a first-floor gallery. An inscription on the gatehouse records that "AL THIS WARKE EXCEP THE AULD TOWR WAS BEGUN BE WILLIAM FORBES 15 APRIL 1584 AND ENDIT BE HIM 20 OCTOBER 1589". The home of a "Renaissance man", Tolquhon was designed for show rather than defence, and was the work of the mason-architect Thomas Leper or Leiper. Leper's distinctive triple shot-holes flank the main entrance, and are also found at nearby Arnage Castle and Dean Castle in Ayrshire. Also unusual is the stone tilework in the main hall. After William Forbes' death his descendants continued to occupy Tolquhon until 1718, when they were forced to move out due to debts incurred by the failure of the Darien scheme. The castle subsequently decayed and is now a ruin. It is in the guardianship of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Tolquhon is also a category A listed building and a scheduled monument.
photo rights reserved by B℮n
Alicante is a Spanish coastal city located on the Costa Blanca in the Valencian Community. The city is an important port for the export of central Spain and the region with its beautiful sandy beaches attracts many tourists. In Alicante we can find art, culture, seafood and beautiful beaches. Alicante has a beautiful old town with a beautiful boulevard along the coast Explanada de España and lively terraces. The most beautiful sight is the castle of Santa Barbara on Monte Benacantil a hill of 166 meters high. The history of Alicante dates back to 230 BC, when the city was founded under the name Akra Leuk. After that, the city became part of the Roman Empire and in 711 the Moors occupied the city, who also gave the city its current name 'Alicante'. The Moors also laid the foundation for the fortress on top of the Benacantil hill, but after the conquest by the Spaniards this grew into the castle Castillo de Santa Bárbara.
The old quarter Casco Antiguo – Santa Cruz of the city of Alicante is located below the castle. The district has retained the charm of a seaside village, with its steep, narrow, winding streets, with its white facades, its wrought iron bars and its colorful balconies thanks to the pots full of flowers. Today you can still see part of the walls that served to protect the former city. Being such a fortress, and given its location so close to the sea, the castle of Santa Bárbara made it possible to protect the city effectively while promoting maritime trade, which is why the first houses swirled around it logically, under its guard and guardianship. Locals take great pride in their homes, decorating their balconies and doorsteps with fresh flowers, and painting their shutters in blues and greens. Spaniards love the outdoors. And who wouldn't do that with that climate. They often see the street as an extension of their home and they also sit quietly on the sidewalk chatting. When you need to catch your breath, you can always relax in one of the many cafes and restaurants in this part of the city.
Alicante is een Spaanse kuststad gelegen aan de
Costa Blanca in de regio Valencia. De stad is een belangrijke haven voor de export van midden-Spanje en de regio met de mooie zandstranden trekt vele toeristen aan. In Alicante kunnen we kunst, cultuur, seafood en prachtige stranden vinden. Alicante heeft een mooi oude stad met een prachtige boulevard langs de kust Explanada de España en levendige terrasjes. De mooiste bezienswaardigheid is het kasteel van Santa Barbara op de Monte Benacantil heuvel van 166 meter hoogte. De oude wijk Casco Antiguo – Santa Cruz van de stad Alicante ligt onder het kasteel. De wijk heeft de charme van een kustdorp behouden, met zijn steile, smalle, kronkelende straatjes, met zijn witte gevels, zijn smeedijzeren tralies en zijn kleurrijke balkons dankzij de potten vol met bloemen. Spanjaarden houden van het buitenleven. En wie zou dat ook niet doen met dat klimaat. Vaak zien ze de straat als een verlenging van hun huis en zitten ze ook rustig op de stoep te kletsen. Vandaag de dag kun je nog steeds een deel van de muren zien die dienden om de toenmalige stad te beschermen. Als zo'n fort, en gezien de ligging zo dicht bij de zee, maakte het kasteel van Santa Bárbara het mogelijk om de stad effectief te beschermen en tegelijkertijd de maritieme handel te bevorderen, vandaar dat de eerste huizen er logischerwijs omheen wervelden, onder zijn hoede en voogdij. Als je even op adem wilt komen, kun je altijd even bijkomen in een van de vele cafés en restaurants in dit deel van de stad.
Short history of the Protestant Congregation of Steggerda, Vinkega and De Hoeve
The Protestant Congregation of Steggerda, Vinkega and De Hoeve dates back to 1727. Before that, the religious congregation consisted of the villages of Steggerda, Noordwolde, Boyl and Finkega.
On January 30, 1727 Mr. Grietman Duco van Haaren met with the commissioners from Noordwolde, Boyl, Steggerda and Vinkega in Wolvega. Steggerda and Vinkega are organized on the basis of agreements and the "arrangements" for the foundation of an independent municipality. The tradition of the minister to be appealed will be 450 carolus guilders. A parsonage will be built in Steggerda and Noordwolde and Boyl will also pay 450 carolus guilders for the costs. What it costs more is paid by Steggerda. It is decided that two Sundays in a row and all additional days will be continued in Steggerda and every third Sunday in Vinkega. The representatives of Steggerda were: Auke Meijnes and Wijbe Jans. The descendants of Vinkega: Hendrik Folkus and Jacob Jans. In 1727 the first minister comes, then mayor, Fredericus Reddingius. He remained here at his retirement in 1777, died in 1782 and buried in Steggerda. He he was a minister for 50 years in Steggerda, we know nothing about him. There was already a church present at the current location, which was rebuilt in 1708 and in 1739 a restoration took place on the church and bell-chair. The year 1739 in iron letters on the southern wall reminds us of this.
THE FARM
In 1905, for the first time on the Hoeve, a so-called home service was held with Mr Albert Hornstra. In the minutes we read separately for the first time about De Hoeve, which shows that De Hoeve is a relatively young village compared to Steggerda and Vinkega. In 1920, a letter was received at the church guardianship with 74 signatures from residents of De Hoeve. They ask for a room for Christian purposes on De Hoeve. The church will be put out to tender the following year.
In 1927 the room in Steggerda is completely restored. A meeting room is made from a former shed at the parsonage, which can be made into one whole with removable partitions with the large room. In the winter of 1926 - 1927 a new garden is laid out behind the parsonage. Before that, the vicarage garden was on the opposite side of the road on the piece of land where the sexton's house now stands.
A new start was made in 1956 with the publication of the church magazine. The first edition that began in 1939 had to be stopped during the war years due to paper scarcity. In 1959 the church in Steggerda is restored. The room that had been expanded and refurbished years ago by volunteers is given the name "Het Anker".
In recent years (until 1977) much attention has been paid to the interior of the church. To name a few: a large candlestick with candles, supper table, the wooden paneling of the consistory and cloakroom, the whitening of the walls alongside interior and exterior paintwork, new curtains on both sides, new floor coverings, sound installation and separate equipment for people with reduced mobility hearing, transferring benches from the Vinkega church to the Steggerda church and a new organ.
Currently, the churches in Vinkega and De Hoeve are no longer used for church services but as a gallery and studio.
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Canon 70D / Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM C
Used Circular Polarizer Filter :
B+W Cir Pol HTC MRC Nano XS-Pro Digital 72mm Käsemann
With HDR Efex Pro2 conversion
IMG_1167_HDR_1
Brough Castle, at the upper end of the Eden Valley, is a spectacular medieval ruin on the site of the Roman fort of Verteris. The earthworks represent an 11th-century castle laid out on the alignment of the Roman ditches and walls, but the visible remains date from the 12th century onwards. The castle was a seat of the celebrated Clifford family for 450 years, and enjoyed a last lease of life in the 17th century thanks to the work of Lady Anne Clifford. Abandoned by her successors, the Tufton Earls of Thanet, it was a ruin by the 1730s and was taken into state guardianship by the Ministry of Works in 1920.
Dun Telve (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Teilbh) is an iron-age broch located about 4 kilometres southeast of the village of Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland. It is one of the best preserved brochs in Scotland.
Dun Telve (grid reference NG82921726) stands on the north bank of the Abhainn a’Ghlaine Bhig, in the lower reaches of Gleann Beag. It lies next to the minor road which leads south from Glenelg. The neighbouring broch of Dun Troddan lies 470 metres to the east, and the "semi-broch" known as Dun Grugaig is around 2.5 kilometres further east.
It is thought that the broch was robbed for stone in 1722 (probably for the building of Bernera Barracks in Glenelg). Dun Telve was popular with tourists by the late 18th century, and was first sketched in the late 18th century. It was surveyed in detail by Henry Dryden (1871-3). The building was brought into state care between 1882 and 1901 and the boundary markers that define the area of guardianship are still visible. Around 1914 a programme of works was undertaken by the Office of Works which included "clearing out" the interior, inserting concrete into the upper intra-mural space and pointing the internal wall-face. The broch has never been archaeologically excavated. The broch is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Sun Light passing, alighting on and going through the recumbent stone based and standing lintled flanked aperture of Tomnaverie a Four Poster Stone Circled Monument near Aberdeen.
Twelve is far too many for most people, please don’t look at all. Some of the best are beyond the first few. There are seven images with the Nuclear Bunker in view to the left of the major focus of stones. I have mentioned the bunker below and in other pictures alongside these on Flickr. I had something to say about Knockargety Hill unfinished fort, but I forgotten what, but I still including a link to it.
Tomnaverie Stone Circle has also been known as Mill Of Wester Coull, The Tomnaverie, Tarland Burn.
Tomnaverie Stone Circle near Tarland in Aberdeenshire is quite fantastic. It nearly killed me to reach it up one short steep slope. It would be quite easy for many people to follow the well set path. The 'after life' at the top of the path was magnificent. I feel sure that I intended to take another picture to join with this one and I failed to do.
This prominent site with marvellous views is only part of the ancient remains here that extend to further circles and mounds that are probably burial cairns. The full extent of the remains is not at all easy to see in Summer growth. Beyond and below and unfortunately most likely through the site, which does show signs of use up to the 1600s, there is also a Nuclear Watch and Fall Out point. Both medieval landscaping and concrete bunker are within a Megalithic site. We humans love to follow on in the footsteps of our predecessors current roads run close and sometimes over ancient sites and we are still drawn to the ancient stone settings which are sited in the landscape when there was less built and more opportunity to see and be seen from site to site.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
“In 1926 when there were only four stones still standing Alexander Keiller succeeded in getting the quarrying stopped after what he wrote was the "hectic riot which I created in the quarry last summer" with the landowner Lord Aberdeen. Keillor also got the monument made a scheduled monument in 1927 and taken into official state guardianship in 1930.[26][27][28] State care meant little more than erecting a fence and keeping the grass cut.[12] With Aubrey Burl in 1995 writing "Tomnaverie, ... a once fine recumbent stone circle, is a wreck ... its stones are now a jumble", Tomnaverie was chosen as the site for a major archaeological excavation in 1999 and 2000 led by Richard Bradley. Not only was the site to be closely investigated but also, so far as possible, it would subsequently be restored to something more like its original condition with its stones re-erected in their original sockets.[29][30]”
Tomnaverie stone circle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomnaverie_stone_circle
Tomnaverie Stone Circle
www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/tomnave...
Tomnaverie
Welfare, Adam (2011a). Halliday, Stratford (ed.). Great Crowns of Stone The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland Gazetteer and Appendices (PDF). RCAHMS. pp. 473–477. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2019. – only published online.
www.historicenvironment.scot/media/4427/great-crowns-ston...
Knockargety Hill unfinished fort
My second favorite lighthouse. Nubble Light (also called Cape Neddick Light) was completed in 1879 on a small rocky nub of land a short distance from the mainland. Automated in 1987, Nubble Light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is now under the permanent guardianship of the Town of York. The lighthouse is not accessible by land and trespassing is not permitted on the island, but it may easily be admired from Sohier Park, just across the channel. Cape Neddick, York, Maine.
ward [wawrd]
–noun
1.a division, floor, or room of a hospital for a particular class or group of patients: a convalescent ward; a critical ward.
2.any of the separate divisions of a prison.
3.Law.
a.the state of being under the care or control of a legal guardian.
b.guardianship over a minor or some other person legally incapable of managing his or her own affairs.
4.the state of being under restraining guard or in custody.
5.a person who is under the protection or control of another.
6.the act of keeping guard or protective watch: watch and ward.
–verb (used with object)
7.to place in a ward, as of a hospital or prison.
Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval building in the village of the same name in Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is uncertain: traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. Warkworth Castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. The timber castle was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173.
Roger's son Robert inherited and improved the castle. Robert was a favourite of King John, and hosted him at Warkworth Castle in 1213. The castle remained in the family line, with periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to control their estates. King Edward I stayed overnight in 1292 and John de Clavering, descendant of Roger fitz Richard, made the Crown his inheritor. With the outbreak of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Edward II invested in castles including Warkworth where he funded the strengthening of the garrison in 1319. Twice in 1327 the Scots besieged the castle without success.
John de Clavering died in 1332 and his widow in 1345, at which point The 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick took control of Warkworth Castle, having been promised Clavering's property by Edward III. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, added the imposing keep overlooking the village of Warkworth in the late 14th century. The fourth earl remodelled the buildings in the bailey and began the construction of a collegiate church within the castle, but work on the latter was abandoned after his death. Although The 10th Earl of Northumberland supported Parliament during the English Civil War, the castle was damaged during the conflict.
The national waterways museum is in Cheshire UK at the northern end of the Shropshire union canal where it meets the Manchester ship canal.
It focuses on Britain's navigable inland waterways including its rivers and canals and include canal boats history and tradition of life on the UKs inland waterways.
The Canal & River trust holds guardianship of 2,000 miles of Canals and rivers together with reservoir's and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures
The remains of Dolwyddelan Castle which was built in the 13th century by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd and North Wales.
The castle was built in the early 13th Century, functioned as a guard post along a main route through North Wales. It was reputed to be the birthplace of Llywelyn the Great, though it is now thought that he was born at Tomen Castell, a small tower that previously stood on a nearby hill and was the one to build Dolwyddelan Castle.
In 1283 it was captured by Edward I of England's forces during the final stages of his conquest of Wales. Some historians have suggested that there may have been a deal between the defenders of the castle and Edward I in which its surrender was negotiated. The castle was then modified and strengthened until at least 1286 for occupation by an English garrison with recorded repairs including carpentry, the bridge, and the water mill.
Edwardian troops maintained a military presence here until 1290. As the long-term strategy of
control in Wales began to rely on military and administrative centres accessible by sea, the inland castles became obsolete.
In the 15th century, the upper storey and drainage system were added to the keep by local lord Maredudd ap Ieuan who acquired the lease in 1488. It was restored and partly re-modelled in the 19th Century by Lord Willoughby de Eresby, who added the distinctive battlements. It was reported that in around 1810 one of the towers may have collapsed.
In 1930 the building was placed under the guardianship of the Ministry of Works. The castle is now under the protection of Cadw, which is part of the Welsh Assembly's historic environment division.
Information Source:
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau (4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660) was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria. She was the wife of William II, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau (27 May 1626–6 November 1650) and the mother of King William III of England and Ireland, II of Scotland (14 November 1650–8 May 1702). Mary Stuart or Mary of Orange, as she was also known, was the first daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.
Mary Henrietta Stuart was born at St. James's Palace, London. Charles I designated her Princess Royal in 1642, thus establishing the tradition that the eldest daughter of the British Sovereign might bear this title. The title came into being when Queen Henriette Maria, the daughter of King Henri IV of France wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French king was styled (Madame Royale). Until that time, the eldest daughters of English and Scottish kings were variously titled Lady or Princess (The younger daughters of British Sovereigns were not consistently titled princesses of Great Britain and styled Royal Highness until the ascension of George I in 1714).
Her father, Charles I, wished the Princess Royal to marry a son of Philip IV, king of Spain, while her first cousin, Karl Ludwig, the Elector Palatine, was also a suitor for her hand. Both proposals fell through and she was betrothed to Willem, the son and heir of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces, and of Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. The marriage took place on 2 May 1641 at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall Palace, London, but was not consummated for several years due to the bride's age. However, in 1642, Mary crossed over to the Dutch Republic with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, and in 1644, as the daughter-in-law of the stadtholder, she began to take her place in public life.
In March 1647, her husband, William II, succeeded his father as stadholder. However, in November 1650, just after his attempt to capture Amsterdam from his political opponents, he died of smallpox. The couple's only child, Willem (later William III), was born a few days later. The Dowager Princess of Orange was obliged to share the guardianship of her infant son, with his grandmother Amalia, the widow of Frederick Henry, and with Frederick William, the elector of Brandenburg. She was unpopular with the Dutch due to her sympathies with her family, the Stuarts; and at length, public opinion having been further angered by the hospitality that she showed to her brothers, the exiled Charles II and the Duke of York (later James II), she was forbidden to receive her relatives. From 1654 to 1657, the princess passed most of her time away from Holland. In 1657 she became regent on behalf of her son for the principality of Orange, but the difficulties of her position led her to implore the assistance of Louis XIV of France; the French king answered by seizing the principality.
The restoration of Charles II in England and Scotland greatly enhanced the position of the Dowager Princess of Orange and her son in Holland. In September 1660, she returned to England. She died of smallpox at Whitehall Palace, London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
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Maharajah Duleep Singh lived in Thetford, he was good friends with Queen Victoria and the owner of the world’s largest diamond.
Duleep Singh became the first Sikh to settle in Britain at the age of eleven. He spent the first years of his life in the Punjab, but after the defeat of the Sikh army in 1847 the young prince was taken in guardianship by the British.
In 1849 Britain annexed the Punjab, allegedly in the name of Duleep Singh. However, Duleep gave up his sovereign rights and his property to the British, including the famous diamond known as the Koh-i-Noor, which is now part of the British Crown Jewels.
Duleep became a favourite of Queen Victoria and the aristocratic elite. In 1863 he bought the estate of Elveden, close to Thetford, where he pursued a leisured life including shooting and hunting over the 17,000 acre estate. The Prince of Wales attended his hunting parties at Elveden.
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau (4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660) was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria. She was the wife of William II, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau (27 May 1626–6 November 1650) and the mother of King William III of England and Ireland, II of Scotland (14 November 1650–8 May 1702). Mary Stuart or Mary of Orange, as she was also known, was the first daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.
Mary Henrietta Stuart was born at St. James's Palace, London. Charles I designated her Princess Royal in 1642, thus establishing the tradition that the eldest daughter of the British Sovereign might bear this title. The title came into being when Queen Henriette Maria, the daughter of King Henri IV of France wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French king was styled (Madame Royale). Until that time, the eldest daughters of English and Scottish kings were variously titled Lady or Princess (The younger daughters of British Sovereigns were not consistently titled princesses of Great Britain and styled Royal Highness until the ascension of George I in 1714).
Her father, Charles I, wished the Princess Royal to marry a son of Philip IV, king of Spain, while her first cousin, Karl Ludwig, the Elector Palatine, was also a suitor for her hand. Both proposals fell through and she was betrothed to Willem, the son and heir of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces, and of Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. The marriage took place on 2 May 1641 at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall Palace, London, but was not consummated for several years due to the bride's age. However, in 1642, Mary crossed over to the Dutch Republic with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, and in 1644, as the daughter-in-law of the stadtholder, she began to take her place in public life.
In March 1647, her husband, William II, succeeded his father as stadholder. However, in November 1650, just after his attempt to capture Amsterdam from his political opponents, he died of smallpox. The couple's only child, Willem (later William III), was born a few days later. The Dowager Princess of Orange was obliged to share the guardianship of her infant son, with his grandmother Amalia, the widow of Frederick Henry, and with Frederick William, the elector of Brandenburg. She was unpopular with the Dutch due to her sympathies with her family, the Stuarts; and at length, public opinion having been further angered by the hospitality that she showed to her brothers, the exiled Charles II and the Duke of York (later James II), she was forbidden to receive her relatives. From 1654 to 1657, the princess passed most of her time away from Holland. In 1657 she became regent on behalf of her son for the principality of Orange, but the difficulties of her position led her to implore the assistance of Louis XIV of France; the French king answered by seizing the principality.
The restoration of Charles II in England and Scotland greatly enhanced the position of the Dowager Princess of Orange and her son in Holland. In September 1660, she returned to England. She died of smallpox at Whitehall Palace, London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
A Cistertian Abbey established at this site c1177. Byland was closed in 1538 as part of the Suppression of the Monasteries. The abbey was gutted of all valuable items. The plate was valued and shipped to London, while the buildings were stripped of lead, glass and timber. Byland and its estates were then granted to Sir William Pickering.The Byland estate later passed through various hands, although for many years it was owned by the Stapyltons of Myton Hall in Swalesdale. In 1819 Martin Stapylton excavated parts of the ruined church and the chapter house, searching for the grave of Roger de Mowbray.
Stapylton removed many tons of carved stone to Myton Hall where it was used to decorate the gardens. He also took the high altar slab to Myton Hall, together with a small alabaster image of the Trinity, both of which are now at nearby Ampleforth Abbey. Much stone was also taken for building local cottages. This process continued into the 1890s and probably later.
In 1893 Byland was sold to the Newburgh estate, which still owns the site. By this time, what was left of the crossing tower, church and monastic buildings had either been slighted when the abbey was suppressed, or had collapsed subsequently through neglect.
Byland was transferred to state guardianship in 1920 and is now managed by English Heritage.
This 15th-century gatehouse, beside a narrow lane to the south of Wetheral village, is almost all that remains of the Benedictine priory founded in the early 12th century.At the Suppression of the Monasteries, under Henry VIII, the last prior, Ralf Hartley, signed the deed of surrender in 1538. The church and monastic buildings fell into decay, but the gatehouse was preserved by being used as vicarage in the 16th and 17th centuries, before becoming a hayloft. It passed into state guardianship in 1978.
The stone circle at Castlerigg (alternatively Keswick Carles, Carles, Carsles, Castle-rig or Druids' Circle) is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
Various archaeologists have commented positively on the beauty and romance of the Castlerigg ring and its natural environment. In his study of the stone circles of Cumbria, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that the site was "one of the most visually impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain."
Every year, thousands of tourists travel to the site, making it the most visited stone circle in Cumbria. This plateau forms the raised centre of a natural amphitheatre created by the surrounding fells and from within the circle it is possible to see some of the highest peaks in Cumbria: Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Grasmoor and Blencathra.
Castlerigg stone circle was one of the monuments included in the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, which included a 'Schedule' of 68 sites in Great Britain and Ireland. It thus became one of the first scheduled ancient monuments. The following year the stone circle was 'taken in to state care'. Under the 1882 act a deed of guardianship could be entered into by a landowner, in which the monument, but not the land it stands on, becomes the property of the state. As one of the first such sites to enter into such an agreement it occupies a small place in the history of archaeological conservation. In 1913, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust, was among the prime organisers of a public subscription which bought the field in which the stone circle stands, which he then donated to the National Trust.Responsibility for the stone circle remains with English Heritage, the successor body to the Ministry of Works, whilst ownership of the site is retained by the National Trust.
The Grade I Listed Ashby de la Zouch Castle, a ruined fortification which is managed by English Heritage, in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.
The castle was built by William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a 3,000-acre park. Constructed on the site of an older manor house, two large towers and various smaller buildings had been constructed by 1483, when Hastings was executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The Hastings family used the castle as their seat for several generations, improving the gardens and hosting royal visitors.
During the English Civil War of the 1640s, Henry, a younger son in the Hastings family, became a Royalist commander in the Midlands. He based himself out of the castle until he was forced to surrender it after a long siege. A fresh rebellion occurred in 1648, leading Parliament to slight the castle to prevent it being used militarily: the two towers were irreparably damaged with gunpowder and undermining. Parts of the remaining castle were turned into a new house and continued to be used by members of the Hastings family for many years, although they moved their main residence to Donington Hall.
The castle became famous after it featured in Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe in 1819, and its owner, Francis Rawdon, opened the ruins to visitors. Restoration work was carried out over the course of the next century, but by 1932 the Rawdon family could no longer afford to maintain the castle. It passed into the guardianship of the Ministry of Works, who carried out extensive repairs and opened the castle gardens before ownership was later transferred to English Heritage.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashby_de_la_Zouch_Castle
britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101073591-castle-ruins-inclu...
Stokesay Castle is the most complete and best-preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Located in a quiet Shropshire valley near the Welsh border, the castle is known for its remarkable 13th-century Great Hall, stone towers, and ornate 17th-century timber-framed gatehouse.
The core of the castle, including the great hall, solar (private apartment block), and north and south towers, was largely completed by 1291. The use of the same team of carpenters throughout is evidenced by shared carpenter's marks on the timbers. The imposing appearance, particularly the south tower, was a status symbol echoing the grand castles built by King Edward I in North Wales, though its actual military strength was superficial.
The castle passed through the Vernon family in the 16th century and was sold to Sir George Mainwaring in 1596, and then to Dame Elizabeth Craven and her son William, the 1st Earl of Craven, in 1620. William Craven made the only substantial addition to the castle's fabric since the 13th century: an ornate, timber-framed gatehouse built around 1640-1641.
In the 18th century the castle was let to tenant farmers who used parts for agricultural purposes, including using the great hall as a granary and the south tower basement as a smithy.
Antiquarian interest grew in the 19th century, and in 1869, wealthy glove manufacturer John Derby Allcroft bought the estate. He embarked on a sympathetic and extensive restoration program that aimed to preserve the existing structure rather than rebuild it.
The Allcroft family maintained the castle for over a century, opening it to the public. In 1986, Jewell Magnus-Allcroft placed the castle into the guardianship of English Heritage, which assumed ownership upon her death in 1992. Today, Stokesay Castle stands as an exceptionally complete and rare example of a medieval fortified manor house, offering a unique glimpse into 13th-century life.
Rochester Castle was originally built between 1087 and 1089 by the newly conquering Normans at a strategic location on the River Medway and Watling Street. Castles were introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century and their construction, in the wake of the conquest of 1066, helped the Normans secure their new territory.
Some of Gundulf’s castle still survives, but the most outstanding feature is the slightly later “keep” or stone tower which dominates the castle today, begun in 1127 and completed no later than 1141. It is one of the best preserved in England or France.
After three sieges in the 13th Century, the castle saw military action for the last time in 1381 when it was captured and ransacked during the Peasants' Revolt. As Rochester Castle fell out of use its materials were reused elsewhere and custodianship relinquished by the Crown. The castle and its grounds were opened to the public in the 1870s as a park. At various points during the 19th and 20th centuries repairs were carried out. The castle is protected as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Monument. Today the ruins are in the guardianship of English Heritage and open to the public.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.