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Proclamation Day is the day when the new sovereign is proclaimed. This took place firstly in London at 11am on Saturday 10 September, before heralds took the proclamation to be read in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff on Sunday 11 September.
In Cheshire, the proclamation was read at Chester Town Hall by the High Sheriff of Cheshire - Mrs Jeannie France Hayhurst at 1pm on Sunday 11 September.
"Yesterday the Accession Council met at St. James’s Palace to proclaim our new Sovereign. The flags which had flown at half-mast since The Queen’s death were raised briefly to their full height to mark the start of His Majesty’s reign.
The Accession Council also made an Order requiring High Sheriffs to cause the Proclamation to be read in the areas of their jurisdiction. It is that task which as High Sheriff of Cheshire I will in a few moments discharge here today.
The Proclamation of the new Sovereign is a very old tradition which can be traced back over many centuries. The ceremony does not create a new King. It is simply an announcement of the accession which took place immediately on the death of the
reigning monarch. Today is one of the first occasions when communities have an opportunity to come together and reflect on this moment in our nation’s history when the reign of our longest-serving Monarch came to an end and our new Sovereign
succeeded.
When I have read the Proclamation, I will present copies to the Chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Mayors of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington so that they in turn may read the Proclamation in their own communities within this County of Cheshire.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Proclamation of the Accession.
Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George: We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm and Members of the House of Commons, together with other members of Her late Majesty’s Privy Council and representatives of the Realms and Territories, Aldermen and Citizens of London, and others, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign to bless His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.
Given at St. James’s Palace this Tenth day of September in the year of Our Lord Two thousand and twenty-two.
GOD SAVE THE KING"
www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/her-majesty-queen-eliza...
"The Seligenstadt Monastery was a Benedictine abbey in Seligenstadt that existed from the 9th to the 19th century.
The monastery complex is located on the banks of the Main in the immediate vicinity of the ruins of the Palatinate Seligenstadt, historically on the edge but within the wall of the city of Seligenstadt, and today in its center in the eastern district of Offenbach in Hesse.
Einhard († 840), biographer of Charlemagne, received the settlement “Obermulinheim”, the original name of the place, as a gift from Charlemagne's son, Ludwig the Pious, in 815. Einhard founded the Seligenstadt monastery here around 828 and became its first abbot after the death of his wife Imma in 830. In Rome he acquired relics of the early Christian martyrs Marcellinus and Peter in an unclear manner, which he first placed in the Steinbach monastery and then transferred to Seligenstadt. In order to institutionalize the cult of saints and look after the pilgrims, Einhard set up a convent of clergy.
There are hardly any reliable sources from the period between around 850 and 1000. The cleric monastery was probably converted into a Benedictine monastery around 1000. The monastery was imperial until 1002, when it was transferred as a fief by King Henry II to the Würzburg Bishop Henry I. In 1045 the monastery was given by Emperor Henry III. the coinage law. In 1063, King Henry IV handed over the monastery as a separate monastery to the Archbishop of Mainz, whose domain it belonged to until secularization at the beginning of the 19th century. From 1051 to 1122, the archbishops of Mainz were also abbots of the monastery.
The monastery complex corresponded to the ideal model of a Benedictine monastery based on the monastery plan of Saint Gallen.
In 1208 the abbot received the right to wear an episcopal miter from the pope.
The Seligenstadt monastery became an economic and political center and acquired extensive property. The abbey received numerous donations in places on both sides of the Main. The oldest surviving interest register from around 1000 lists income from over 40 places and the monastery's free float stretched along the Main to Streitfurt, into the Freigericht and the Vorspessart, into the Wetterau and into the Rhine-Main area, on the edge of the Odenwald and to the Upper Rhine Plain. In 1045 King Henry III awarded the monastery immunity, market, coinage and customs rights.
The monastic vineyards were located on the southern slope of the Hahnenkamm near Alzenau - Hörstein. Today's Hörsteiner Abtsberg vineyard, where Riesling, Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau and Kerner are grown and bottled in Bockstaschen, is still reminiscent of this historical tradition. The current owner of the vineyards is the Staatlicher Hofkeller Würzburg state winery.
The monastery's external “business operations” were consolidated in the Seligenstadt bailiwick.
Despite this economically strong position, the monastery was unable to become independent in the process of territorialization. Rather, it remained part of Electoral Mainz since the 11th century.
Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany's oldest towns and was already of great importance in Carolingian times.
Seligenstadt is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town lies on the river Main’s left bank roughly 25 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main, directly neighbouring Bavaria.
Seligenstadt borders in the north on the community of Hainburg, in the east on the community of Karlstein (Aschaffenburg district in Bavaria), in the southeast on the community of Mainhausen, in the south on the town of Babenhausen (Darmstadt-Dieburg) and in the west on the town of Rodgau.
Sometime about AD 100, during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan, a cohort castrum was built on what is now Seligenstadt's marketplace and parts of its old town. Since the 16th century, this castrum has been referred to by the name Selgum. The 500 legionaries and auxiliary forces stationed there belonged to the Legio XXII Primigenia (or Roman 22nd Legion), based in Mogontiacum (Mainz). The cohort was known by the name Cohors I Civium Romanorum equitata and was responsible for security along the stretch of the Limes Germanicus running along the Main. With the fall of the Limes as a result of raids by the Alamanni in about AD 260, the castrum was abandoned, and the Romans withdrew farther behind the Rhine line. On the former castrum's rubble and on what is now the monastery area in a section of the Breitenbach valley arose the early mediaeval settlement of Mulinheim superior, or Obermühlheim.
Seligenstadt had its first documentary mention on 11 January 815 in a donation document, under its then current name of Obermühlheim. The town was founded by Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard. After he had acquired the Frankish settlement of Obermulinheim from Louis the Pious in 815 as a donation, he founded a Benedictine monastery here. Mentioned as an earlier owner is a Count Drogo. The bones of the martyrs Marcellinus and Peter, which had been stolen in Rome, were transferred from the basilica in Steinbach in the Odenwald to Obermühlheim, soon leading to a change in the community’s name from Obermühlheim to Seligenstadt ("town of the blessed ones" in German). About 830, building work began on the Einhard-Basilika, the current version of which is now the landmark of Seligenstadt. Einhard died in 840 and he and his partner, Imma, are buried in a chapel in the northern transept of the church.
In 1028, a Roman Catholic synod was held, whose most important result was the introduction of ember days with their strict rules for fasting. In 1063, Emperor Heinrich IV confirmed to the Archbishop of Mainz the lawfulness of his ownership of the abbey.
Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa held court in Seligenstadt in 1188. During his reign the community acquired town rights (around 1175). A royal court (or Kaiserpfalz) was built on the banks of the Main during the reign of the Staufer family, however it is not certain whether this occurred under Barbarossa or one of his successors, possibly Friedrich II. Until 1309, Seligenstadt was a freie Reichsstadt. At that point, it came to the Archbishop of Mainz who remained the town's ruler until 1803.
In 1527, Archbishop Albert of Mainz brought in a new town order whereby the Seligenstadt townsmen's rights were sharply limited.
During the Thirty Years' War, a Swedish commissary administered the abbey on King Gustav II Adolf's behalf. The Swedish king had spared the town destruction and burning in return for the townsmen's tribute. As he went forth with his army, though, the occupation troops who had been left behind plundered the town and the abbey anyway. In 1685, the abbey and convent buildings were newly built.
Through the secularization of Electoral Mainz in 1803, the Amt of Seligenstadt passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and the abbey was dissolved. In 1832, the Landratsbezirk of Seligenstadt was merged into the Offenbach district and in 1882 the Hanau-Seligenstadt-Eberbach railway opened." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.
I, (name), take you, (name), to be my [opt: lawfully wedded] (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
Arundel Catholic Cathedral viewed from the gardens of Arundel Castle in West Sussex England
The Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard is located in Arundel, West Sussex, England. Dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it became a cathedral at the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965. It now serves as the seat of the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
.
The cathedral's location, construction, design, and dedication owe much to the Howard family, who, as Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel are the most prominent English Catholic family, and rank first (below the royal family) in the Peerage of England. Since 1102 the seat of the Howards' ancestors has been Arundel Castle.
In 1664, Catholic worship was suppressed in England by the Conventicle Act, and all churches and cathedrals in England were transferred to the Church of England. With the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, the foundation of Catholic parishes became lawful once again.
In 1868, Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, commissioned the architect Joseph Hansom to design a new Catholic sanctuary as a suitable counterpart to Arundel Castle. The architectural style of the cathedral is French Gothic, a style that would have been popular between 1300 and 1400—the period in which the Howards rose to national prominence in England. The building is Grade I listed and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the French Gothic style in the country.
The church was originally dedicated to Our Lady and St Philip Neri, but in 1971, following the canonisation of Philip Howard, 1st Earl of Arundel, and the reburial of his relics in the cathedral, the dedication was changed to Our Lady and St Philip Howard.
"COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
WAR SERVICE.
UNDER the Defence Act, Part IV., all male inhabitants of Australia (excepting those who are exempt from service in the Defence Force) who have resided therein for six months and are British Subjects and are between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years shall, in time, of war, be liable to enlist and
serve in the Citizen Forces.
In time of War it shall be lawful for the Governor General, by proclamation, to call upon all persons liable to enlist and serve as prescribed.
A Proclamation having been duly issued under the Act, dated 29th September, 1916, calling upon —
All men who on the second day of October, 1916, are of the age of twenty-one years and upwards and under thirty-five years, who are unmarried or widowers without children, to enlist and serve as required; PERSONS LIABLE are hereby required to report as
follows: —
Date. Locality. Place. Hour.
. . . .
OCT. 23, 24. OAKLANDS. Public Hall. 9:30 to 4 p.m.
. . . .
Any person who
(1) fails to enlist when required by this Act so to do; or,
(2) counsels or aids any person called upon by proclamation to enlist in the Citizen Forces, to fail to enlist or to evade enlistment; or
(3) counsels or aids any person who has enlisted or who is liable to enlist in any part of the Defence Force not to perform any duty he is required by this Act to perform shall he liable to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any period not exceeding six months.
G. U. GRIMES,
Military Registrar,
Riverina Military Sub-Disirict.
Junee
3/10/16."
Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga)
Monday 9 October 1916 p3
Said to have been erected in 1649 by John Budd, who later gave it to his daughter as a wedding present, this house is notable as one of the most distinguished surviving examples of English domestic architecture in America, according to the home’s application in the National Register of Historic Places.
The house was then moved from its original location and re-erected at a cost of twenty pounds "Boston Money," according to the application. “At the time of the move, the Old House was relocated on the northern outskirts of the Broadfields, a 240 acre tract of arable land which the local Indians had been cultivating for years. To the north of the house ran the King's Highway, now State Route 25."
The house was restored in 1940.
According to a 2018 Suffolk Times article, tests of the wood from the home revealed that it might have been constructed closer to 1699, 50 years after it was originally thought to have been built.
www.longisland.com/news/10-29-20/history-photos-of-old-ho...
This house, which notably commemorates English settlement on Long Island, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished but least known examples of English domestic architecture in the United States. It was erected in 1649 by John Budd at Southold, some 10 miles northeast of its present site. A decade later, Budd built a more imposing home and gave his original house as a wedding gift to his daughter, Anna, bride of Benjamin Horton, who moved it to its present location and re-erected it. It subsequently passed into the hands of Joseph Wickham, a master tanner, who lived in it until his death, in 1734. Later, in 1784, it was confiscated from Parker Wickham, who had been a Loyalist during the War for Independence, after which its owners in turn were Jared Landon and William Harrison Case. The Case heirs donated it to the Congregational Society of Cutchogue.
Present Appearance. The house has two floors and an attic. On the first floor are the kitchen and "hall," and on the second floor are two bedrooms. The great brick chimney, whose top is pilastered, lies to the left of the center of the house. A steep winding stair leads to the second story. The stair from the second floor branches to give access to the attic, which is split in two by the great chimney.
The kitchen, on the left of the entrance, features a huge fireplace. The fireplace in the "hall," on the right of the entrance, is the same size. Both fireplaces have been somewhat reduced by the construction of smaller fireplaces inside the originals. The smaller fireplaces were added around the middle of the 18th century, probably when paneling was placed over the original walls.
The original random-width wallboards were removed and used on the exterior to replace the original hand-rived oak boards. The exterior was then lathed and plastered. Construction details throughout the house are unusually fine and reflect the work of a master builder. The three-part casement window frames on the north wall of the second floor are especially notable. Traces have also been found of the casement windows that were originally on the first floor.
The house was restored in 1940 in connection with the Southampton Old Town Tercentenary Celebration, through the efforts of the Tercentenary Committee, the Case family, and the Independent Congregational Church of Cutchogue. The church purchased the land and the Case family donated the building. Church funds and private contributions made the restoration possible. When the house was restored, the plastered walls and a saltbox roof were removed. The gunstock posts on the second floor and all interior framework were left exposed. Furnishings are of the 17th and 18th century. Among the historic items displayed is the original confiscation deed of 1784. The structure is in very good condition and is open to visitors on a regular schedule. [54]
www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitec46.htm
According to the results of a 2003 dendrochronology study, the house was built ca. 1699.[4] Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, the owner of the house, commissioned a second dendrochronology study in July 2017 to verify the build date, with the same results.[5][6]
Prior to 2017 The Old House was thought to have been built by John Budd on land east of town near a pond that became known as Budd Pond. John Budd's daughter Anna and her husband Benjamin Horton were deeded a house in 1658 as a wedding present. They moved it to a location in the village of Cutchogue. Benjamin's brother John inherited the house and sold it to Joseph Wickham in 1699. These events and transactions are well documented.[7]
Post 17th century
Edit
Parker Wickham (February 28, 1727 – May 22, 1785), famous for being a Loyalist politician during the American Revolution and who was banished from the state of New York under dubious circumstances, owned and lived in the house.[3] It was damaged by the Hurricane of 1938 which swept away surrounding trees, leaving it visible from the street and coming to public attention,[6] restored in 1940, and restored again in 1968.[3]
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.[2] The house is located on the Cutchogue Village Green, along with the 1840 Old Schoolhouse, the 1704 Wickham Farmhouse, a barn, the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library, a 19th-century carriage house, and the Old Burying Ground dating from 1717. The buildings are owned and maintained by the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, which gives guided tours in the summer.
"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b c "The Old House (Cutchogue)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 18, 2007. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Greenwood, Richard (July 14, 1975). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Old House (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, from 1975. (1.53 MB)
^ "New York". Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
^ Wick, Steve (April 12, 2018). "North Fork History Project: When was Cutchogue's Old House built?". The Suffolk Times. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b Siford, Rachel (June 22, 2017). "Cutchogue's Old House losing distinction as oldest English-style home in NYS". The Suffolk Times. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
^ Hall, Warren (1975). Pagans, Puritans, and Patriots of Yesterday’s Southold. Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council. ASIN B0006CJTLS.
I am writing, not to argue “who came first” to Southold and Southampton, as debated in your article “So, who was really here first?” (Feb. 22), but to challenge the new assumption about Cutchogue’s venerable Old House, a National Historic Landmark, made by Zach Studenroth, director of the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, who was featured in the article. Although I disagree with the current “reinterpreting” he is directing at the Old House that involves replacing longtime antique furnishings from local families with reproductions, I disagree even more strongly with the proposed renaming and redating of this National Historic Landmark based on inconclusive evidence from dendrochronology studies.
He now maintains, based on a dendrochronology study, that the Old House was not built in 1649 by John Budd, but in 1699 by Joseph Wickham when he came to Cutchogue 50 years later from Southampton. Mr. Studenroth and the recently hired curator now propose the landmark be renamed and redated the “1699 Joseph Wickham House.” Nor do I agree that some early local history was “little more than cheerleading” as stated in The Suffolk Times’ North Fork History Project article.
Mr. Studenroth’s assumption based wholly on dendrochronology is faulty. I believe the local historians, who have written that the Old House, built ca. 1649 in Southold by first settler John Budd, moved to its present site on the Cutchogue Village Green by Benjamin and Anna Budd Horton in 1660, and restored for the tercentenary celebration of Southold Town in 1940, are basically correct.
Although I’ve worked with Mr. Studenroth and respect his past work for the council, I believe strongly that he is incorrect in his new assumption about the Old House. How can he totally ignore the 50 years of documented residence of the Budds and Hortons, who lived there from 1649 to 1699, and just sweep them under the proverbial rug?
I have re-researched several local documents and histories, especially the transcription of the deed of sale of the property from John Horton (Benjamin’s brother and heir) to Joseph Wickham (1698-’99); “John Budd and Some of His Descendents,” by Lily Wright Budd; and “Pagans, Puritans, and Patriots of Yesterday’s Southold,” by Warren Hall. Both of the latter books by respected historians confirm the long-accepted history and dates of the Old House. I firmly believe the Old House was not built and first occupied by Joseph Wickham when he came to Cutchogue from Southampton in 1699.
Regrettably, Mr. Studenroth is basing his new assumption on a dendrochronology study, first conducted in 2007 when I was chair of the Old House Society, before we merged with the Historical Council. I basically ignored the study for reasons I’ll explain later. A more recent study supposedly was done under Mr. Studenroth’s direction.
Dendrochronology in its simplest form is a matter of counting tree rings — one ring, one year — on wood slivers or borings from timbers used in Colonial house framing. But it’s not always that simple. In fact, Dr. Ron Towner, associate professor of dendrochronology at the world-famous Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona, states “Only about 40 percent of tree samples are successfully dated by dendrochronology. Natural variations, sudden climate changes, or if a tree is planted near a creek or river, for example, it may get so much water that the rings no longer equate to each year elapsed.”
However, in a recent phone conversation with Dr. Towner, he explained that counting rings alone does not tell dendrochronologists what time period the tree is from. To find that out, scientists must focus on the pattern of rings rather than the number of them. I can’t see how a small boring can show a pattern, but a slice of the tree could. The slice would have to have been taken before the timber was installed in the building.
Also, in the case of the Old House, there is some speculation that it was built on John Budd’s land near Budd’s Pond in Hashamomuck, where much of the land is near water and marshes, not on his home lot in the village of Southold. If so, the timbers may have gotten so much water that the rings no longer equated to each year elapsed, as Dr. Towner speculated.
The Old House, venerated by not only the residents of Cutchogue in particular but the North Fork in general, as well as by visitors and historians from all over the world, must not be incorrectly re-interpreted and re-named based on inconclusive, most likely incorrect, research.
Since there is no definite proof for changing the name and date of the Old House, they must not be tampered with. It should keep the honor and distinction of “the oldest English house in the state” built in 1649. I am confident that the trustees of the Historical Council will understand and appreciate my research and will direct Mr. Studenroth not to change the date and name of the Old House, our National Historic
suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2018/03/equal-time-theres-mo...
In May 1637, a ship called the “Hector” sailed out of London, bound for Boston in England’s newly established American colonies. Aboard this ship was a wealthy British shipping merchant, John Budd, his wife Katherine Browne (1606 – 1674, a woman possibly of royal ancestry), and their children. Together, they were among my earliest ancestors to sail to America.
In August 1637, an exploring party of English settlers sailed out of Boston Harbor, went down the coast several miles, and landed at a place that the Native Americans called “Quinnipiac” (or “Long Water Place”). The explorers liked what they saw and left seven of their men to prepare the area for occupation by Puritan colonizers. On March 30, 1638, a large company of settlers sailed out of Boston for the new site. Among them were the Budds. On April 16, 1638, they landed at the new site to found New Haven Colony. Other ships followed, bringing more settlers. The settlers quickly began their new colony. In late 1638, they purchased the land from the area’s Native Americans. John Budd was assigned lot no. 56. On October 25, 1639, the settlers elected their community government. John Budd was among the men signing a Fundamentalist Agreement formally establishing New Haven Colony.
Most of the first settlers at New Haven were Puritans — a strict religious group that later formed the basis for the Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in the United States. John Budd, however, was a member of the Church of England, which became the Episcopal Church in America. Because he was not Puritan, Budd lived in some tension with his neighbors. At one point, he was fined by the New Haven magistrates for hiding and protecting Quakers, a Christian group that the Puritans opposed and were trying to keep out of New Haven. In September 1640, John Budd left New Haven with his and some other New Haven families on a ship bound for the northeastern edge of Long Island to establish a settlement there, which they named Southold. Once again, Budd was an Anglican adherent amid Puritans set on establishing a new community structured around their specific religious and moral beliefs. Most of the other Southold founders had originally sailed under the leadership of the Puritan cleric Christopher Youngs, first from England to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1637 and then from Salem to New Haven. In New
Haven, Puritan leaders intent on establishing new religious communities in New England persuaded Rev. Youngs to sail across Long Island Sound with his followers to settle land on the island’s North Fork that they had acquired from the island’s Corchaug natives.
John Budd, who was beyond doubt the wealthiest man in the new settlement, quickly established himself as one of the leaders of the new community. Because Southold was included in the United Colonies of New England, its residents were expected to select Deputies to attend the colonies’ General Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Budd was the first deputy appointed to the court by the people of Southold. Budd was also the town’s first authorized officer to train the local home guard, a responsibility which earned him the title of Lieutenant. Budd was apparently so highly respected and successful in this responsibility that, when he made a trip overseas in 1654, colonial records in New Haven recorded that “By reason of Budd’s absence Southold is left destitute of a fitt man to exercise the military company there since Lt. Budd went to England.”
In 1649, Budd built his family a home east of town near a pond which became known as Budd’s Pond. In 1658, he deeded the house to his daughter and son-in-law, Anna and Benjamin Horton, as a wedding gift. They moved the house 10 miles away to the village of Cutchogue.
By some point in the early 1660s, either Budd or his son, John Budd, Jr., had bought a plot of land just west of the Barnabas Horton home plot in Southold as a new home site. The Southold Historical Society’s manual, Guide to Historic Markers, described this house as “probably the most pretentious of the early settler homes.”
Despite his civic leadership, Budd’s tenure in Southold apparently was one of controversy as well. He was a major landholder in Southold. As such, he was legally accountable to the local general court (composed solely of church members) who were required to review and approve or deny any settler’s request to sell his home or land. Budd clearly possessed a strong independent spirit, and in 1657 he sold some of his land without asking “permission.” As a result, he was sued by three other Southold settlers; the final disposition of this case is not clear.
Budd clearly grew restless during his tenure at Southold. As in New Haven, Southold’s general court governed the town in accord with strict Puritan standards, and Budd was still an Anglican. He apparently explored the predominantly Anglican settlements in Virginia, but decided against settling there. Budd’s true desire seems to have been, in essence, to establish his own colony, where he would have been answerable to no one, and he was willing to use his wealth to create this personal domain. In 1661, he decided to leave Long Island and move to an area that was at the time on the very southwestern edge of the Connecticut Colony.
In January 1660, three residents of Greenwich, Connecticut — Peter Disbrow, John Coe, and Thomas Stedwell — negotiated and purchased from the area’s Mohegan natives a tract of land southwest of Greenwich known as Peningo Neck. The land stretched on the west from a stream known as Blind Brook east to Long Island Sound. The sale apparently did not include Manussing Island in the Sound, just off the shore, so in June 1660, the three men purchased this land as well. In May 1661, they purchased additional land on the north edge of Peningo Neck.
Disbrow and the others in his party were more interested in securing title to land than in settling it immediately. This created an opportunity for someone else to take the lead in establishing a new community, and as a
A abandoned centuries-old house found in the woods near Cutchogue in the early 1900s was long thought to be the house built by John Budd and given to his daughter and son-in-law. Known as “The Old House,” it was was listed on the Register of National Historic Sites in 1962 and is still maintained by the Cutchogue -New Suffolk Historical Council. However, two dendrochronology studies done on the house in 2008 and 2017 each confirmed that it was built from trees felled in 1698 and could not possibly have been built until 1699, when Budd’s house and the land it stood on had long passed out of Budd and Horton family ownership.
successful and wealthy businessman, John Budd was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. On November 8, 1661, Budd concluded his separate negotiation with a Mohegan chief to buy a large (4,800-acre) piece of land immediately across Blind Brook from the Disbrow company’s landholdings. This land became known as Budd’s Neck. On November 12, 1661, Budd added to his landholdings by purchasing from the area’s natives some islands in the immediate vicinity. In June 1662, Budd then acted with Disbrow, Coe, and Stedwell jointly to purchase yet more land directly north of Budd’s Neck.
One of the first buildings constructed in this new community was Budd’s Mill, at the mouth of Blind Brook. He operated the grist mill, which proved to be very successful with the new inhabitants of Peningo Neck.
Disbrow selected the name of Hastings for his new holdings. He apparently also considered Budd’s lands to be part of the new Hastings town, whose settlement he intended to oversee. Budd obviously had other ideas. He was determined that his personal landholdings would be a separately governed jurisdiction. By the fall of 1664, he had assigned to his lands the name of Rye, perhaps because of his family’s close connections with the town of Rye in his native England. Disbrow regarded this behavior as a threat to the future of “his” colony. For the next several years, Budd and Disbrow battled in court over whose approach was to predominate. In the course of that legal action, it was agreed that the name Rye would be assigned to the entire Peningo Neck settlement area. The more substantial issues, however, were still unresolved in 1669, when John Budd turned over his landholdings in both Southold and Rye to his son, John Budd, Jr., and retired from public life.
Despite his contentiousness with Disbrow and resulting legal conflicts, Budd quickly established himself as a political leader across the entire Hastings/Rye area (again, much as he
had in Southold). Biographer Lily Wright Budd describes his responsibilities:
... John Budd was elected as the first representative when Hastings [formally] submitted to the jurisdiction of Connecticut on 26 January 1662 and he was elected as Hastings’ first Deputy to the General Court in Hartford on 26 March 1663.... At the session of the General Court in Hartford on the 8th of October 1663, “Lnt John Bud” makes his appearance, and “is appointed Commisioner for the Town of Hastings, and is invested with Magistraticall power within the limits of that Town.”
As magistrate, Budd was “commis- sioned to grant warrants” and “to marry persons,” and he had clear authority to arrest “such as are ouer- taken with drinke, swearing, Sabboath breaking, slighting of the ordinances, lying, vagrant persons, or any other that shall offend in any of these.”
As noted above, John Budd retired from public life in 1669. He died in Rye in 1670 and is presumed to have been buried in a private family plot a short distance north of Budd’s Mill.
The Budd family estate in Budd’s Neck was passed down through the generations to John Budd, Jr., then to Joseph Budd, then to his son John Budd
TO LEARN MORE
(1696–1757), my great-great-great- great-great-grandfather. In 1745, this latter John Budd sold the land — the bulk of it (over 250 acres) to a local merchant, Peter Jay, who named it “The Locusts.” The estate then became the childhood home to Peter’s son, John (1745–1827) — who was President of the Continental Congress (1778–1779), U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1784– 1789), the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1789–1795), and Governor of New York (1795–1801). Thus, much of the original Budd family estate in Rye, New York, is now a National Historic Landmark as the Jay Heritage Center.
Baird, Charles W. History of Rye, Westchester County, New York, 1660– 1870. Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1994 reprint.
Bayles, Donald M. Southold’s Founders and Their Home Lots. Southold, NY: Southold Historical Society, 2000.
Budd, Lily Wright. John Budd, 1599- 1670, and Some of His Descendants. Franktown, CO: 1992. Chapter 1, “John Budd and Katherine Browne”; “Katherine’s Legend: The Story of the Brownes and the Fitzalans.”
Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council. “The Old House.” ( www.cutchoguenewsuffolkhistory.org /timeline/the-old-house-2/)
Frost, Josephine C. The Frost Genealogy: Descendants of William Frost of Oyster Bay, New York. New York: Frederick H. Hitchcock, 1912.
Hall, Warren. Pagans, Puritans, and Patriots of Yesterday’s Southold. Cutchogue, NY: Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, 1975.
Jay Heritage Center. Web page — “Biographical Sketches: Residents and Succession of Ownership of the Jay Estate in Rye” ( www.jaycenter.org/bio.html).
Rymph, Levi Budd. Come In and Sit a Spell! Wichita, KS: 1973. Basic genealogy of the ancestors of Levi Budd Rymph and Jessie Mae Hershey.
Siford, Rachel. “Cutchogue’s Old House Losing Distinction as Oldest English- style Home in NYS.” The Suffolk Times. June 22, 2017 (suffolktimes. timesreview.com/2018/04/north-fork -history-project-cutchogues-old- house-built/)
Southold Historical Society. Guide to Historic Markers: First List of Historic Markers Placed in Southold, Peconic, and Arshamomaque. Southold, NY: Southold Historical Society.
Wick, Steve. “North Fork History Project: When Was Cutchogue’s Old House Built?” The Suffolk Times. April 12, 2018 (suffolktimes. timesreview.com/2018/04/north-fork -history-project-cutchogues-old- house-built/)
bradleyrymph.com/genealogy_budd-john.pdf
Parker Wickham was born in Southold Town on eastern Long Island, New York on February 28, 1727. One of nine children, he was the son of Joseph Wickham and Abigail Parker. His father was a large landholder and area native who lived from 1701 to 1749, serving as a justice, town assessor, and commissioner of roads. Parker's grandfather, another Joseph Wickham, was a well-to-do master tanner who had moved from Connecticut to Southampton, Long Island before finally settling in the village of Cutchogue in Southold Town in 1699. Parker's great grandfather Thomas Wickham, a Puritan settler, emigrated to Wethersfield, Connecticut in about 1648 from England. One of Parker's brothers, Daniel Hull, was a New York City merchant, while his brother John was an Anglican minister. His sister Abigail was married to Rev. Thomas Paine, a son of Ruth Adams and a third cousin of President John Adams. Parker had a distinguished cousin in William Wickham, who belonged to an elite society called the Moot, of which Patriot leader John Jay was also a member. A Yale '53 graduate, William worked as an attorney in New York City and Orange County, where his son, George Duncan Wickham, later became a prominent businessman. Like Parker, William was a Loyalist during the American Revolution, but he emerged unscathed because he did not take an active role. His associate John Jay, who became President of the Continental Congress and first Chief Justice of the United States, was active after the war in working to repeal repressive anti-Loyalist laws that affected the Wickhams. Parker had another notable family member in Noyes Wickham, a second cousin who lived in Mattituck, a village about three miles from Parker's home that was also part of the Town of Southold. After the American Revolution, Noyes moved to Ridgebury in Orange County, New York, where he owned a 1,000 acre farm and was the head of a very large family with many descendants, as profiled in the book The Descendants of Noyes Wickham, Senior of Ridgebury, Orange Co., NY by Evelyn Wornham Wickham. Notable kin on Parker's mother's side includes Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States, who was a descendant of Parker's great grandparents Deliverance King and John Tuthill.
Parker resided in what was by then the ancestral home, a famous structure today known as the Old House (see picture), which is currently part of a museum complex on the village green of Cutchogue. Open to the public during the summer, it is considered one of the finest American examples of domestic 17th century English architecture, and was a mansion in its day when it was built in 1649 (see historic marker). One of the oldest houses in New York State, it had been constructed by prosperous shipping merchant John Budd, great grandson of the 16th Earl of Warwick, and given to his daughter Anna and son-in-law Benjamin Horton as a wedding present. The house was originally erected in the village of Southold, but in June of 1660 it was moved six miles to Cutchogue, then a wilderness area with no European settlers nearer than two days' journey to the west. The Hortons had no children, so Parker's grandfather purchased the house in 1699 and in 1749 it was inherited by Parker. As detailed below, the house was confiscated at the end of the American Revolution, and auctioned off in 1784 to Parker's nemesis Jared Landon, who because of Parker's efforts, had previously been imprisoned for guiding Patriot raids against Long Islanders. However, the Wickham family regained possession of the property in 1867, when it was purchased from Landon's grandnephew by William Harrison Case and his wife Hannah "Nancy" Wickham, Parker's great-granddaughter. They were the last family to live in the house, and by the early 1900's, the house was showing its age and became a storage facility for farm machinery. Eventually, its great historical value was recognized, and it was acquired from the Case family by the Independent Congregational Society of Cutchogue in 1939. With the help of many groups, it was restored and dedicated as part of the Tercentenary Celebration of Southold Town in 1940, became a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October, 1966. In 1999, the 350th anniversary of the construction of the Old House was celebrated, with descendants from the Budd, Horton, Wickham, Landon and Case families attending. The rectangular house, which features clapboard siding and a spectacular English-style chimney, measures 20 x 40 feet, and has two floors and an attic, but no cellar. The first floor contains a kitchen and parlor, each with large fireplaces, while the second floor contains two bedrooms. Of utmost significance are the three-part casement window frames on the north wall of the second floor, considered the most outstanding examples of this architecture in the country (see picture).
Parker's father died in only his 47th year, so at age 22, Parker inherited a sizable amount of property including 590 acres of farmland in Cutchogue, 900 acres of additional property in nearby Riverhead, and the storied 445 acre Robins Island, situated in the center of Long Island's Peconic Bay. Parker's grandfather Joseph Wickham had purchased the Cutchogue property in 1699 and Robins Island in 1715. The Riverhead property had been given to Parker's parents in 1727 by his maternal grandfather John Parker. As the eldest son, Parker received all of the ancestral landholdings because his family believed in the English aristocratic concept of primogeniture. On December 14, 1752, Parker married Mary Goldsmith and they eventually had six children: Joseph Parker, John, Thomas, Parnel, Hellen and Sarah. Parker had already begun a slow but relentless climb in local area politics, first being elected to the position of Fence Viewer and Prisor of Damage in 1751, responsible for establishing property boundaries. In the years 1754 and 1755, he was elected Overseer of the Poor, charged with providing for the area's paupers. He was appointed justice for the County of Suffolk in 1763. After being elected town assessor in 1765 and 1766, he was elected town supervisor of Southold Town for the first time in 1767, the highest post of the local government, and held the position for an impressive nine one-year terms. At the time, the Town of Southold included what is today the Town of Riverhead, so Parker oversaw an area stretching approximately 35 miles along the north-east coast of Long Island, a district of about 121 square miles of land. In his capacity as a public servant, Parker was active in working to improve the living conditions of Long Island's few remaining Native Americans. Working with a legal representative of New York's colonial governor, he took statements from local citizens about Indian properties and the documentation bearing his signature still survives. Parker was also commissioned a major in the local militia, after he and seven other townsmen petitioned the lieutenant governor of New York to form themselves into "a compleat organized company of Troopers" for the Town of Southold.
Just 19 days before the start of the American Revolution, Parker left elected office for two crucial years, from April 1775 to March 1777, although it was clear he at least tacitly supported the Loyalist cause, as did many other family members, including his nephew John Wickham, the prominent Federalist, who enlisted in a Loyalist regiment. In August of 1776, Washington was routed by the British in the Battle of Long Island, so the Town of Southold came under firm British control. Many die-hard Patriots moved to Connecticut, which was used as a staging ground to launch raids into Long Island. While some of these raids were directed against British military posts, often times the raiders would pillage the farms of suspected Loyalists and even kidnap the owners. This caused economic hardship for the affected families and created an atmosphere of public fear. In April of 1777, Parker came out of political retirement and was elected to his ninth term as town supervisor, during a time when British military fortunes were at their peak, shortly before the crushing British defeat in upstate New York at Saratoga in October of that year, an event which proved to be the turning point of the war. With a clear mandate to improve public security and proclaiming that "I will not raise my hand against my king," Parker, in his role as an elected government official, denounced those he suspected of guiding the raids against Long Islanders, causing some to be jailed and earning him considerable enmity from certain neighbors, especially the Landons, a politically active family committed to the Patriot cause who had publicly quarreled with Parker before. However, Southold at the time had a majority of Loyalist citizens and Parker enjoyed wide, though hardly universal, support in his efforts to protect citizens from what he saw to be a fringe minority breaking the law. But on December 13, 1777, a Patriot force from Connecticut raided Southold and kidnapped Parker, who was still serving out his term as town supervisor. He was taken back to Connecticut, where he has held captive in a house under armed guard. When Washington learned of the raid, which included additional objectives besides Parker's abduction, he was quick to express his concerns that these operations did more harm than good, writing to a subordinate that he has "ever been averse to these small excursions, especially when they divert our attention from more material Objects."
Parker was paroled later in the war, so he returned to Long Island, which remained under British control, but on October 22, 1779, New York's legislature passed a bill of attainder which named Parker as one of 59 English sympathizers (and one of three in Suffolk County), stripping him of his property and banishing him from the state. Bills of attainder were outlawed by Article I of the Constitution of the United States in 1789, but previous to that time they were frequently used by lawmakers to destroy the careers of political rivals by declaring them guilty of some crime, but without any burden of proof. With Long Island still under British control, Parker had little to fear of being attainted, but after the British defeat at Yorktown in 1781, it was clear what the future held. Meanwhile, Parker's wife Mary died on April 4, 1783 at age 49 and was buried in Cutchogue. After the British evacuation of eastern Long Island on November 22, 1783, New York State was finally able to enforce its bill and Parker's property was appraised and sold at auction in the late summer of 1784 by the commissioners of forfeiture. Political opponent Jared Landon moved into Parker's home, while Robins Island, after being purchased at auction by two of Washington's top spies, went to Ezra L'Hommedieu, a Southold native who had prepared the confiscation bill while in the state assembly. Parker's estate in Riverhead was turned into the downtown district of that growing village. An ailing Parker had already been forced to move to New London County, Connecticut, due to the banishment provision of the act of attainder, which reads: "Persons herein before particularly named, shall be, and hereby are declared to be forever banished from this State; and each and every of them, who shall at any time Time hereafter be found in any Part of this State, shall be, and are hereby adjudged and declared guilty of Felony, and shall suffer Death as in Cases of Felony, without Benefit of Clergy." Broken by the experience, Parker soon died in Connecticut on May 22, 1785 and was buried there in Waterford (see gravestone). Just before his death, he wrote a family member that "I have acted consistently and consciously throughout my whole conduct, with a firm belief there is a future existence, and defy the state to produce one instance wherein I have acted rigidly, defrauded, or abused one member of it, although it was in my power." His son Joseph, who had already sailed to Antigua to engage in trade, was clearly embittered by these events, writing from Dublin in October of 1790 that "I never more expect to see my Native Country. In short the suffering of our family have been so Great in it that I don't want to see it. I am a Single Man and the World is before me." But a year later he returned to Cutchogue and eventually purchased a farm there.
Ironically, the timing of Parker's death just after the close of the American Revolution helped enable the Wickham family to remain on Long Island, rather than moving to Nova Scotia or England, since only Parker had been named as a Loyalist. Furthermore, the British government agreed in December of 1789 to partially compensate Parker's son Joseph for the loss of property, paying him 2,800 pounds sterling, a modest fortune that was about half of his total losses. Before his death in 1785, Parker considered seeking additional relief from the State of New York, but decided it was unethical, writing: "As application is already made for redress of grievances to another quarter, I think it scandalous and hypocritical to apply for redress of grievances to two opposite parties for the same thing." Financially aided by the payment from the British government, members of the Wickham family, such as Parker's great-grandson William Wickham, a four-term district attorney, continued to be prominent in the Cutchogue area, somewhat to the surprise of Parker's political enemies. (Other descendants such as healthcare pioneer William Hull Wickham, farmer James Parker Wickham and banker spouse Matilda Briggs Wickham would also prosper in New York State.) Yet the confiscation of Parker's property has remained controversial over the centuries for a number of reasons, including that it occurred in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. In addition, Parker's guilt was determined by a legislature rather than a court and there was no chance to appeal. No evidence or witnesses were ever presented and Parker's accusers were never identified. While at least one historian has chosen to label Parker as "notorious," this is an inappropriate characterization of a man who spent almost his entire career helping to improve the lot of fellow citizens and who, more than anything else, was simply opposed to violence against government officials. While many of those targeted by the attainder bill were royal appointees who were later shunned by society, Parker continued to command considerable local respect because he was a fourth-generation American who had achieved his positions by winning open elections. In recent years, Parker's iconic stature has grown, with a book about Parker's career and legacy, The Wickham Claim by legal scholar Dwight Holbrook, being published in 1984 which questions Parker's "guilt" and postulates that Parker was the victim of a machiavellian scheme hatched by covetous political rivals. Parker will always remain a complicated figure: a proper, ethical and democratic man advocating change through peaceful means who believed in a fundamentally undemocratic system, who was then persecuted for those beliefs and deprived of his civil liberties by those professing to be bringing liberty to all.
Not all of Parker's family shared his political views. His daughter Parnel was regarded as a staunch Patriot and married James Reeve, who served in the Third Regiment of Minute Men in Suffolk County. Perhaps more seriously, Parker's brother Thomas, a Yale graduate and formidable political figure in his own right, took an active role in the conflict on behalf of the Patriots. Prior to the American defeat at the Battle of Long Island, he was in charge of nearby Gardiners Island and the stock there, and served in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Provincial Congresses. Relocating to the safety of Stonington, Connecticut in September 1776, he was appointed Auditor of Refugees’ Claims, and became the captain of a privateer sloop called the Hampton Packet, which carried eight guns and a crew of thirty. During one raid, he seized Parker's cattle that were grazing on Robins Island. On another occasion, he captured the Peggy, a 50-ton schooner carrying flax-seed and oysters, off Fire Island Inlet. In his most audacious operation, he helped to lead a surprise boat attack on the Long Island port of Sag Harbor, which was guarded by Hessian troops. The other vessels were driven ashore, leading to the capture of their crews, but Thomas bravely succeeded in recapturing the lost vessels and rescuing all but one of the prisoners. Thomas was also appointed to a committee that advised General Washington on management of military supplies on Long Island and Staten Island. As a trophy, he kept a weight at his front gate made from grape shot fired by the British during their attack on Stonington. After the American Revolution, he served as a member of the New York Assembly in 1791.
In 1989, several of Parker's descendants filed a widely publicized claim in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, arguing that Robins Island, (see picture), then under the threat of development, was unlawfully seized from Parker and that it should be returned to his heirs, who remain numerous on Long Island. Considered one of the most valuable undeveloped islands in the United States, Robins Island occupies a unique place in eastern Long Island folklore, with those competing to own it over the years including Prince Moulay Abdullah of Morocco and John Jacob Astor, whose plans were cut short when he perished aboard the Titanic. Prior to 1850, Robins Island was mainly used for farming, cattle grazing and lumbering, as well as brick making, but in later years it was turned into a hunting preserve for wealthy sportsmen. But by the 1970's, rising property taxes made the shoots uneconomical and plans were made to build a few hundred houses there. To combat this, a non-profit corporation called Robins Island Preservation Fund, dedicated to the preservation of Robins Island in its natural state, was established as successor-in-interest to Parker. The group claimed that New York's Act of Attainder, under which the island was confiscated and sold, was invalid because New York had no sovereignty over Robins Island at the time, which was then under British control. They further argued that by the time New York did achieve sovereignty over Robins Island, the Treaty of Peace of 1783 between Great Britain and the United States had already been enacted, which prohibited future confiscations of British and Loyalist property. The group alternatively argued that the seizure was illegal because Parker had inherited the property as an estate tail, a form of ownership no longer allowed in the United States which was used by wealthy British settlers to keep ancestral lands in one family by having property without exception pass to the heirs. This would mean that even if Parker's property loss was lawful, his son Joseph would continue to maintain a future interest. Although he married twice, Joseph had no children and made no mention of Robins Island in his will, so presumably descendants of his siblings inherited any ownership interest. Because of the enormous lapse of time and the different legal standards of the day, the claim was found to be without merit, even though such a confiscation would be illegal today. However, the owner of Robins Island at the time of the trial, Southold Development Corporation, was battered by the protracted legal struggle and abandoned its plans to develop the island after collapsing into bankruptcy. Under new ownership, most of the island has since been reserved for open space conservation in perpetuity under an easement to The Nature Conservancy.
Dedicated to Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko who was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Kostiuchenko, 41, was killed on Oct. 28, 2014 when he was struck by a car on the 101 Freeway near Lewis Road in Camarillo, CA. Deputy Kostiuchenko had just finished a traffic stop and was returning to his vehicle when he was hit by the car.
With more than 60,000 employees, CBP is one of the world's largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.
As the world's first full-service border entity, CBP takes a comprehensive approach to border management and control, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection into one coordinated and supportive activity.
The men and women of CBP are responsible for enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws and regulations. On a typical day, CBP welcomes nearly 1 million visitors, screens more than 67,000 cargo containers, arrests more than 1,100 individuals and seizes nearly 6 tons of illicit drugs.
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Revamp of Ray'd
Name: Ray’d
Species: Matoran
Occupation: Leader of the Knights of Eons
Titles: The Knight of Eons
Alignment: Lawful Good
Personality: Noble, courageous
Element: Red Lightning
Side Powers: None
Kanohi: Hau, mask of shielding
Weapons: Crimson Lightning Blade
Backstory:
Ray’d was a young Matoran who lived with a select few of his kind, Matoran of Lightning. It is a great rarity on Aeos to have lightning wielders, but Ray’d was one of a kind, he wielded red tinted lightning. Ray’d was happy in his little village, not only because he had his brothers and sisters, but he had his best friend, an unnamed Matoran of white lightning. They went everywhere together, and they had a bond unlike any other. All of that soon came to an end though. One day, the village was perpetually annihilated by The Corrupted Crown and his Makuta forces. The Corrupted Crown personally led an assault on this village, he did not want any lightning Matoran to defy him, as their power is immense. Ray’d hid from the carnage, safe from The Corrupted Crown’s wrath, but his friend was not. The Corrupted Crown personally gutted the Matoran, right in front of Ray’ds eyes. Ray’d was broken, but a fire lit inside of him. He left his spot of hiding and ran towards The Corrupted Crown. Before the Corrupted Crown could spot the Matoran, Ray’d vanished.
Ray’d awoke in a dimly lit room, with strange symbols plastered in the stone walls. He was approached by a hooded, tall figure. Ray’d tried to fight, but the figure was not bothered by any punches he threw. The figure, after Ray’d had calmed down, took him into a chamber. The chamber was filled with statues of warriors throughout the ages, and at the end stood a one of a kind statue, the only statue of Aeon to ever exist. The figure explained to Ray’d that he has watched his village for some time, and had chosen him to be a new member of his league. Ray’d, in confusion, asked about the league and his involvement. The figure explained that he knew a strong Matoran of lightning would emerge from that special village, and since Ray’d was the last of the village to survive, he was the chosen Matoran. The figure thrusted a sword infront of Ray’d and asked him to join the Knights of Eons. They would fight for justice, truth, and uphold Aeon’s legacy of benevolence through secrecy. Ray’d could finally have his chance to uphold the memory of his fallen brother. He agreed, and trained for years.
In the current time, Ray’d now leads the Knights of Eons as their most powerful member, and arguably, their most powerful leader. He works in shadows to keep Aeon’s secret watch relevant. He must only follow one rule as a leader, he cannot reveal Aeon’s identity as the Creator. The rule is convoluted and not understandable, but he must uphold it. He now works with the Toa Dusk under the guise of being a concerned warrior against the Makuta menace, but in secret, he works with them under the real title of a Knight of Eons.
. . . if you are interested, how I got such photos: in total I spent two years in India. Every 2-3 days in a different city!
Manfred Sommer
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Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third most populous city in the state of Karnataka, India. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division.
Mysore served as the capital city of Kingdom of Mysore for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. The Kingdom was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, except for a brief period in the late 18th century when Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power. Patrons of art and culture, the Wodeyars contributed significantly to the cultural growth of the city. The cultural ambience and achievements of Mysore earned it the sobriquet Cultural capital of Karnataka.
Mysore is noted for its palaces, including the Mysore Palace, and for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. It lends its name to the Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, the Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment known as the Mysore silk saree. Tourism is the major industry, while information technology has emerged as a major employer alongside the traditional industries. Mysore depends on rail and bus transport for inter-city connections. The city was the location of the first private radio station in India. Mysore houses Mysore University, which has produced several notable authors, particularly in the field of Kannada literature. Cricket is the most popular sport in the city.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha in the local Kannada language. Though in Sanskrit Mahisha means buffalo, here Mahisha refers to Mahishasura, a mythological demon who could assume the form of both human and buffalo. According to Hindu mythology, the area was ruled by the demon Mahishasura. The demon was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills. Mahishūru later became Mahisūru (a name which, even now, the royal family uses) and finally came to be called Maisūru, its present name in the Kannada language.
In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru. This was approved by the Government of India, but as of 2011 the formalities necessary to incorporate the name change were yet to be completed. The central government approved this request in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed (along with other 12 cities) to "Mysuru" on November 1, 2014.
HISTORY
The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century. The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III (1513–1553), who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576). Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly been used to denote the city. The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar (1637) it had become a sovereign state. Seringapatam (modern-day Srirangapatna), near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.
The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. During this time, Mysore kingdom came into conflict with the Marathas, the British and the Nizam of Golconda, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Mysore war. The landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas. The British administration was assisted locally by Diwan (chief minister) Purnaiah. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre of the kingdom in 1831, when the British commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.:251 It regained that status in 1881 and remained the capital of the Princely State of Mysore within the British Indian Empire until India became independent in 1947.
The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards.:283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned development of the city. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.
After Indian independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore city. Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri river water dispute. Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989, and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.
GEOGRAPHY
Mysore is located at 12.30°N 74.65°E and has an average altitude of 770 metres. It is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 at the base of the Chamundi Hills in the southern region of Karnataka. Mysore is the southern-most city of Karnataka, and is a neighbouring city of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, flanked by the state cities Mercara, Chamarajanagara, and Mandya. People in and around Mysore extensively use Kannada as medium of language. Mysore has several lakes, such as the Kukkarahalli, the Karanji, and the Lingambudhi lakes. In 2001, total land area usage in Mysore city was 39.9% residential, 16.1% roads, 13.74% parks and open spaces, 13.48% industrial, 8.96% public property, 3.02% commercial, 2.27% agriculture and 2.02 water. The city is located between two rivers: the Kaveri River that flows through the north of the city and the Kabini River, a tributary of the Kaveri, that lies to the south.
CLIMATE
Mysore has a tropical savanna climate designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. The main seasons are summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to November and winter from December to February. The highest temperature recorded in Mysore was 39.4 °C on 4 April 1914, and the lowest was 7.7 °C on 16 January 2012. The city's average annual rainfall is 804.2 mm.
ADMINISTRATION AND UTILITIES
The civic administration of the city is managed by the Mysore City Corporation, which was established as a municipality in 1888 and converted into a corporation in 1977. Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members. The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years. The council members in turn elect the mayor. The annual budget of the Corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹426.96 crore (US$63.45 million). Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the "Nagara Ratna" award in 2011.
Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion. Citizens of Mysore have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.
Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers. The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896. As of 2011, Mysore gets 42.5 million gallons water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall. The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha. In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.
The citizens of Mysore elect four representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja and Chamundeshwari. Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the provisional results of the 2011 census of India, Mysore had a population of 887,446, consisting of 443,813 males and 443,633 females, making it the third most populous city in Karnataka. The gender ratio of the city is 1000 females to every 1000 males and the population density is 6,910.5 per square kilometre. According to the census of 2001, 76.8% of thepopulatiion are Hindus, 19% are Muslims, 2.8% are Christians, and the remainder belong to other religions. The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. As of 2011, the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent. Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in slums. According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are. Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.
The residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city. Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.
ECONOMY
Tourism is the major industry in Mysore. The city attracted about 3.15 million tourists in 2010. Mysore has traditionally been home to industries such as weaving, sandalwood carving, bronze work and the production of lime and salt. The planned industrial growth of the city and the state was first envisaged at the Mysore economic conference in 1911. This led to the establishment of industries such as the Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory in 1917 and the Sri Krishnarajendra Mills in 1920.
For the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas. One of the major industrial in the proximity of Mysore is Nanjangud which will be Satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of Big industries like Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest VAT / Sales Tax payer which is about 400+ crores after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore.
Mysore also hosts many central government organisations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, RPM ( Rare Material Project ), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.
The growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka, next to Bangalore. The city contributed Rs. 1363 crore (US$275 million) to Karnataka's IT exports.
Mysore is slowly becoming a consumer city with a very big outside population working with the industries and IT hubs.[citation needed] New housing layouts are appearing every month and the number of supermarkets and other shopping facilities is increasing very fast.
EDUCATION
Before the advent of the European system of education in Mysore, agraharas (Brahmin quarters) provided Vedic education to Hindus, and madrassas provided schooling for Muslims. Modern education began in Mysore when a free English school was established in 1833. Maharaja College was founded in 1864. A high school exclusively for girls was established in 1881 and later converted into the Maharani's Women's College. The Industrial School, the first institute for technical education in the city, was established in 1892; this was followed by the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in 1913. While the modern system of education was making inroads, colleges such as the Mysore Sanskrit college, established in 1876, continued to provide Vedic education. Vivekananda Institute, Mysore is an international organisation giving training to Indians and foreigners in development management.
The education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916, making it the first outside the British administration in India. Other important institutes are CFTRI, MYRA School of Business (founded in 2011) and Mysore Medical College.
CULTURE
Referred to as the cultural capital of South Karnataka, Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, were first introduced by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610. On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession of decorated elephants, camels and horses. On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore which usually falls in the month of September or October.. the Idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden mantapa on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tabla, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels. The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa, where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade, known locally as Panjina Kavayatthu.
Mysore is called the City of Palaces because of several ornate examples in the city. Among the most notable are Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore Palace; Jaganmohana Palace, which also serves as an art gallery; Rajendra Vilas, also known as the summer palace; Lalitha Mahal, which has been converted into a hotel; and Jayalakshmi Vilas. The main palace of Mysore was burned down in 1897, and the present-day structure was built on the same site. Amba Vilas palace exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture on the outside, but a distinctly Hoysala style in the interior. Even though the Government of Karnataka maintains the Mysore palace, a small portion has been allocated for the erstwhile Royal family to live in. The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was constructed by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar for his daughter Jayalakshammanni. It is now a museum dedicated to folk culture and artefacts of the royal family.
The Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron. The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied. Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were estimated to be involved in this art in 2002. The city lends its name to the Mysore silk saree, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread). Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.
Mysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it. The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre. Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysore and served as professors at the Mysore University. R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.
TRANSPORT
ROAD
Mysore is connected by National Highway NH-212 to the state border town of Gundlupet, where the road forks into the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. State Highway 17, which connects Mysore to Bangalore, was upgraded to a four-lane highway in 2006, reducing travel time between the two cities. A project was planned in 1994 to construct a new expressway to connect Bangalore and Mysore. After numerous legal hurdles, it remains unfinished as of 2012. State Highways 33 and 88 which connect Mysore to H D Kote and Madikeri respectively. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other private agencies operate buses both within the city and between cities. A new division of KSRTC called Mysore City Transport Corporation (MCTC) has been proposed. Within the city, buses are cheap and popular means of transport, auto-rickshaws are also available and tongas (horse-drawn carriages) are popular with tourists. Mysore also has a 42.5-kilometre long ring road that is being upgraded to six lanes by the MUDA.
RAIL
Mysore railway station has three lines, connecting it to Bangalore, Hassan and Chamarajanagar. The first railway line established in the city was the Bangalore–Mysore Junction metre gauge line, which was commissioned in 1882. All railway lines that serve the city are single track at some points and the rest of the stretch is double track, impeding faster connections to the city. All trains that connect to Mysore are operated by South Western Railway Zone, Hubli of Indian Railways. The fastest train to serve the city is the Shatabdi Express.
AIR
Following three decades of dormancy, Mysore Airport was modernised in the mid-2000s, reopening to scheduled passenger service in October 2010. However, airlines have had difficulty maintaining service to the airport. As of August 2016, the airport is without commercial service.
MEDIA
Newspaper publishing in Mysore started in 1859 when Bhashyam Bhashyacharya began publishing a weekly newspaper in Kannada called the Mysooru Vrittanta Bodhini, the first of a number of weekly newspapers published in the following three decades. A well-known Mysore publisher during Wodeyar rule was M. Venkatakrishnaiah, known as the father of Kannada journalism, who started several news magazines. Many local newspapers are published in Mysore and carry news mostly related to the city and its surroundings, and national and regional dailies in English and Kannada are available, as in the other parts of the state. Sudharma, the only Indian daily newspaper in Sanskrit, is published in Mysore.
Mysore was the location of the first private radio broadcasting station in India when Akashavani (voice from the sky) was established in the city on 10 September 1935 by M.V. Gopalaswamy, a professor of psychology, at his house in the Vontikoppal area of Mysore, using a 50-watt transmitter. The station was taken over by the princely state of Mysore in 1941 and was moved to Bangalore in 1955. In 1957, Akashvani was chosen as the official name of All India Radio (AIR), the radio broadcaster of the Government of India. The AIR station at Mysore broadcasts an FM radio channel at 100.6 MHz, and Gyan Vani broadcasts on 105.2. BIG FM and Red FM are the two private FM channels operating in the city.
Mysore started receiving television broadcasts in the early 1980s, when Doordarshan (public service broadcaster of the Indian government) started broadcasting its national channel all over India. This was the only channel available to Mysoreans until Star TV started satellite channels in 1991. Direct-to-home channels are now available in Mysore.
SPORTS
The Wodeyar kings of Mysore were patrons of games and sports. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had a passion for indoor games. He invented new board games and popularised the ganjifa card game. Malla-yuddha (traditional wrestling) has a history in Mysore dating back to the 16th century. The wrestling competition held in Mysore during the Dasara celebrations attracts wrestlers from all over India. An annual sports meeting is organised there during the Dasara season too.
In 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore. The city has four established cricket grounds, but is yet to host an international cricket match. Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowler, comes from Mysore. Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion. The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October. India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.
TOURISM
Mysore is a major tourist destination in its own right and serves as a base for other tourist attractions in the vicinity. The city receives large number of tourists during the 10-day Dasara festival. One of the most visited monuments in India, the Amba Vilas Palace, or Mysore Palace, is the centre of the Dasara festivities. The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal are other palaces in the city. Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church, Wesley's Cathedral are notable religious places in Mysore.
The Mysore Zoo, established in 1892, the Karanji and Kukkarahalli lakes are popular recreational destinations. Mysore has the Regional Museum of Natural History, the Folk Lore Museum, the Railway Museum and the Oriental Research Institute. The city is a centre for yoga-related health tourism that attracts domestic and foreign visitors, particularly those who, for years, came to study with the late ashtanga yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois.
A short distance from Mysore city is the Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Srirangapatna, Somanathapura and Talakad. B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the hill stations of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarhole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu and Kokrebellur. Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, elephants, tigers, Indian leopards and other threatened species, lie between 64 and 97 km to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysore include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at Shivanasamudra.
SISTER CITIES
Mysore is currently twinned with Cincinnati.
WIKIPEDIA
Patria o Muerte - Homeland or Death - National Cuban motto in front of American Embassy in Havana, Cuba
After revolution in 1959, Cubans were not allowed to travel overseas or immigrate to other countries. From 1959 through 1993, 1.2 million Cubans (about 10% of the current population) left the island for the United States, to escape the communist regime, often by sea in small boats and rafts to Miami. Many attempts ended with death. In the early years, a number of those who could claim dual Spanish-Cuban citizenship left for Spain. Over time a number of Cuban Jews were allowed to immigrate to Israel. The majority of the 10,000 or so Jews who were in Cuba in 1959 have left.
In 1995 U.S. introduced the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy that essentially said that anyone who fled Cuba and entered the United States would be allowed to pursue residency a year later. Others caught at sea on the way to Miami were brought back to Cuba. Some Cubans went to the extent of harming themselves in order to be taken to the closest hospital in Miami by US Coast Guard and stay permanently.
In 1995 the US government entered into an agreement with the Cuban government to resolve the emigration crisis, when Castro opened the docks to anyone who wanted to leave. The result of the negotiations was an agreement under which the United States was required to issue 20,000 visas annually to Cuban emigrants. Bush Administration refused to comply with the act.
The US Coast Guard reports that the interceptions in high seas were characterized as violent confrontations with authorities and by the deaths of immigrants. According to the same authorities, the Cubans are taken to the US on speed boats by a network of criminals specialized in human trafficking, former drug traffickers, based in southern Florida which now find contraband of humans more lucrative than drugs. These criminals charge thousands of dollars per person, overcrowding the small vessels. The majority of those that attempt to emigrate are individuals that have relatives in the United States, others who do not qualify to be considered as legal immigrants in the US, or those who do not want to wait their turn in the annual quota, assigned under the migratory treaties for legal immigrants.
Currently, to apply for an immigrant visa in U.S., a Cuban citizen must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen relative, U.S. lawful permanent resident (that includes a spouse under International Marriage Broker Act), or by a prospective employer, and be the beneficiary of an approved petition. Due to the restrictions in U.S. Law, Cuban citizens generally do not qualify for employment-based immigrant visas. In some cases, Cubans are eligible for family reunion parole program which enables them to come to U.S. without visa and apply for permanent residency after a period of one year.
A large number of Cubans now live in Mexico and Canada.
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
----------------------------------------------------
A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
The phrase, "America First" was first used in 1940 by the anti-war group, the America First Committee. This was one of the largest organizations to oppose America's entrance into World War II. It's membership included many well-known Americans including writer Sinclair Lewis, poet E. E. Cummings, animator Walt Disney, actor Lillian Gish, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. But, one of its most outspoken was aviator Charles Linbergh. Six days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the AFC disbanded and many of its leaders supported the war effort.
In his inauguration speech on January 20, 2017, Donald Trump invoked a similar isolationist sentiment when he stated, "We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first."
One week after he became President, Trump signed an Executive Order banning Muslims from seven Mideast counties. "Extreme vetting," he said, was warranted to keep our country safe. The fact that we already have an arduous two year vetting process, in which no immigrant even chooses to come to the United States (they are chosen by the American government), seemed to get lost in political maelstrom that followed his order. Immigrants, students, and visitors, already with proper visas were stopped from entering the country. Even lawful permanent residents with Green Cards were turned away.
America is an immigrant nation where millions have contributed to its success. A plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty states, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" These lines come from the poem "The New Colossus," written by Emma Lazarus in 1883.
Donald Trump's "America First" policy is a short-sighted political move to placate those workers who have lost their jobs to technology and globalization shifts in the last few decades. But our isolation will create a vacuum that China and Russia, and even Iran, will be quick to fill. "America First" over simplifies and even obfuscates the challenges the United States faces at this time. It goes against the very reason our country was created. And, it will end up haunting future generations of Americans.
See all the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here. Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.
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Guess I can't keep using Illinois driving habits now that I'm back in good old BFE, Wisconsin. I've been stopped twice this month- but both the Omar (Sheriff/Sharif- get it?) and the Trooper let me off with a warning. And no, I don't bat my eyelashes or give a sob story. I just honestly admit how fast I was actually going when they ask if I know why I was pulled over and apologize politely for not following the regulations.
I actually used to be a fairly lawful and obedient driver until I spent about a year and a half living in the Chicago area. After I moved back to Wisconsin, I started getting terrible feelings of road rage dealing with slow drivers and getting upset that people here actually slow down for yellow lights and follow speed limits. The worst culprits are minvans of any make and Buicks- guaranteed to piss me off. The list of fake rules and driving habits below actually seemed to be followed pretty closely by drivers in Chicago city proper and suburbs from what I witnessed.
Driving in Illinois: Basic Rules (Kids- don't try these at home... save them for your visit to Chi-town!)
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1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Illinois driver never uses them.
2. Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
3. Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane-change is considered going with the flow.
4. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
5. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in you being rear ended. If you want your insurance company to pay for a new rear bumper, come to a complete stop at all stop signs.
6. A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
7. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork. Illinois is a no-fault insurance state and the other guy doesn't have anything to lose.
8. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.
9. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It's a good way to scare people entering the highway.
10. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions and are apparently not enforceable in Illinois during rush hour.
11. Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a Illinois driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.
12. Please remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush-hour traffic in Illinois.
13. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.
14. Learn to swerve abruptly. Illinois is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the State Highway Department, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them on their toes.
15. It is traditional in Illinois to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light changes.
16. Never take a green light at face value. Always look right and left before proceeding.
17. Remember that the goal of every Illinois driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
(No wonder we call 'em FIBs here...) ;)
I remembered very little at Penshurst.
A painted font, lots of places named Leicester.
A nice pub.
The Leicester Arms, of course.
So, a day trip to the area and so a revisit. I checked the website to see if it would be open, it assured me it would be open though all daylight hours.
A bold claim.
Anyway, it was.
I came back because my thinking if the landed gentry were rich enough to have their own chapel, there were probably monuments and tombs worth looking at.
I was right, and indeed the tombs and memorials were of the highest quality.
I was the only person here, having walked through Leicester Square, under the alms houses into the churchyard.
The painted font is still here, but so much more to enjoy.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
A souvenir "twe" (three) dollar bill with a glued-on photo of a woman that was probably taken sometime in the 1970s. The back of the bill indicates that it came from Mr. Sy’s Casino of Fun, which was located "in Fas[h]ion Square across from the Stardust Hotel" in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Text on this bogus bill (including the words hidden under the photo): "United States of Anemia will pay to the bearer on demand twe dollars. This is not legal tender for all debts public and private, and unredeemable in lawful money at the United States Treasury or any Federal Reserve Bank. A. Phoneybill, Treasurer of the United States. Washington, D.C. Twe. U. Cantcashit, Secretary of the Treasury. Twe dollars. 3."
For more photos on bills, see the Mr. Sy’s Casino of Fun posting on Katherine Anne Griffiths' Photobooth Journal.
A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park to show an example of inset and add-on photos (photos on postcards, calling cards, etc.).
The great social experiment in America in the early twentieth century was Prohibition. It was supposed to save us from the evils of alcohol. Instead it fueled the rise of Organized Crime and turned otherwise lawful Americans into scofflaws. Prohibition was a complete failure.
St Mary, Shotley, Suffolk
The First World War sailors' graveyard, mostly memorial markers to teenage boys lost at sea, overlooks the confluence of the Orwell and Stour rivers.
Lady, whose shrine stands on the promontory,
Pray for all those who are in ships, those
Whose business has to do with fish, and
Those concerned with every lawful traffic
And those who conduct them.
Repeat a prayer also on behalf of
Women who have seen their sons or husbands
Setting forth, and not returning:
Figlia del tuo figlio,
Queen of Heaven.
Also pray for those who were in ships, and
Ended their voyage on the sand, in the sea's lips
Or in the dark throat which will not reject them
Or wherever cannot reach them the sound of the sea bell's
Perpetual angelus.
T. S. Eliot, from The Dry Salvages, 1941
The Shotley Peninsula runs like a flame, or a tongue, between the Rivers Stour and Orwell as they sprawl lazily towards the sea. At Shotley Point, the two rivers meet before emptying into the grey North Sea, the great industrial expanse of Felixstowe Docks on the north bank dominating the scene, while prettier Harwich to the south busies itself looking purposeful. You can stand all day at Shotley Point watching. There is always something to see: the vast container ships bringing Chinese televisions and Vietnamese shoes, the ferries with their cargoes of sleepy Dutch and German motorists, small Arthur Ransomesque yachts speeding out of the Orwell with its marinas, a wherry of London bankers sipping Pimms in the sunshine, wondering where their next bonus is coming from...
In winter this is a wild place, the gales from the great German Ocean flattening the hedgerows, the windows of the Bristol Arms rattling in the gusts along the empty streets, the ghosts of HMS Ganges, the Royal Navy Training College, silent now above the mudflats when the tide is out. But this was once a busy place, full of the chatter of young sailors, and during the First World War it was a famous place. Today it has lost its way: it is still one of Suffolk's biggest villages, but its remoteness ill-serves the housing estates which sprawl back towards Erwarton and Chelmondiston. Shotley is a strange place.
The setting of this church is also most curious. It is further from the village it serves than any other Suffolk church. Erwarton parish church is closer to Shotley village than Shotley church is. St Mary stands in a tiny, tightly-packed hamlet in the low hills towards Chelmondiston. In fact, this was the original village. The place we now call Shotley was once an outlying fishing hamlet, Shotley Gate. You reach St Mary along one of two narrow lanes.
The stubby tower of the church hugs a later raised clerestory, quite out of keeping with each other. If I come here on a hot Summer's day, and climb the steep hill leading up to it, I am always reminded more of the Dordogne than of East Anglia. The graveyard is set on a steep hillside, the huge cranes of Trimley Dock towering precipitously beyond the river below. This graveyard is one of the most haunting in East Anglia, filled with the graves of mostly teenage lads sent out by HMS Ganges to die in accidents and wars. Some of their bodies were brought back for burial, but most often these are mere memorials to young boys lost deep beneath fathoms of filthy, icy water. You think of their happy laughter: climbing onto the bus to go to the pictures in Ipswich, or courting a local girl along one of the narrow, poppy-lined lanes. It is heartbreaking, particularly if you are a parent.
Unusually for Suffolk, the south door opens almost onto the street. You step into the light of a wide-aisled nave. The pleasantly cool whitewashed interior seems much larger than is possible from the outside. But the eye is irresistably drawn to one of the most extraordinary chancel arches in Suffolk, a great dark wood casement surmounted by a set of arms, offset slightly in the east wall. Beyond, the effect is startling, and rather wonderful. In 1745, the year of the Jacobite Rising, the chancel here was rebuilt in the style of a Classical City of London church, a striking counterpoint to the ancient Gothic space to the west. The black and white marbled floor leads to curved, three-sided rails surrounding a sweet little holy table, the decalogue boards flanked by Moses and Aaron behind. White light pours through high windows. Such rational elegance! There could be no greater statement of the power of Protestant triumphalism at that troubled time.
Stepping back westwards, the nave suddenly lifts high above the space you have just left, and is crowned above the clerestories by a gorgeous late 15th Century hammerbeam roof. The arcades stride away westwards, a simple classical casement in the tower arch reflecting back the mood of the chancel. High above are the arms of George II, contemporary with the rebuilding, and so they probably once hung above the chancel arch. And what a statement they would have made. Charles Stuart's attempted coup d'état of 1745 was a romantic fancy, and had no real chance of succeeding, any more than his grandfather James II was ever likely to have held onto his throne more than half a century earlier.
And perhaps things would not have turned out well if it had succeeded. The power of the protestant London merchant classes, which had formerly backed Cromwell, had also guaranteed the success of the Dutch William of Orange's takeover of the English throne in 1688. That power was now deeply invested in the Hanovers. The Church of England, the regular Army and the Royal Navy, those three constant and essential arms of government, reacted to the uprising by forging a consensus which would be the key to the imagination of the people, a notion of identity which would at last reinvent and create the British as a Nation. Nothing would bend it from its path now, and it would reach its apotheosis on the fields of Flanders and the Somme. But that was all in the future.
Meanwhile, in the rural backwaters, the Catholic aristocracy was little shaken by the events of '45. Perhaps they stirred, and perhaps they read their newspapers with a frisson. But after all, they were only just awakening from the long years of penal silence. Although the Old Religion was still technically outlawed, they were no longer persecuted, and many had begun to retake their place in the national hierarchy. It was a compromise, but an ordered and easy one.
But what of ordinary Catholics in England, Scotland and, most of all, Ireland? What of their hopes? They had been dashed along with the throne of James II at the Battle of the Boyne, and were now trampled with the troops of Charles Stuart into the blood-soaked fields of Culloden. No one had expected the Jacobites to succeed, but the fury with which the rebellion was put down had been startling. Those hopes would turn to a hurt, and it would echo uncomfortably for the emerging British State down the next two and a half centuries.
The above image is of a yet to be identified vessel under construction at Alexander Newton's Pelican shipyards on the Manning River NSW.
The Rosetta was the first vessel to be launched at the shipyard in 1847. She was, however, formally named "Rosetta Joseph" at the time of her registration in Sydney (after his wife's full name). Although not recorded, it seems likely that the decision was influenced by the fact that another vessel named Rosetta had already been registered in Launceston earlier that year.
Details :
Name: Rosetta Joseph
Type: Barque
Length: 88.9 ft (27.1 m)
Beam: 23.2 ft (7.1 m)
Draft: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Builders: Alexander Newton Senior & William Malcolm
Launched: 30th July 1847
Official number: n.a.
Gross Register: 264 tons
Registered: Sydney 11th November 1847 (82/1847)
Owner: Moses Joseph (Merchant)
Master: Andrew Patrick
Construction :
- Carvel built from locally sourced hardwoods, white beech decks and topmasts.
- Hardwood planking and copper fastened throughout.
- Fitted with 3 stepped masts
Launch:
On the 30th July 1847, the first of a long succession of ships, the barque Rosetta, slid off the Pelican slipway.
The vessel was named after Moses Joseph’s wife, and was also the first of a number commissioned by Moses Joseph.
Initial Trip to Sydney
In company with John Nicholson’s newly completed vessel, the Fanny Fisher, the Rosetta reportedly left the Manning River on the same afternoon tide of the 8th September 1847, bound for Sydney.
Rosetta, barque, 264 tons, Captain Patrick, from the Manning River the 8th instant. Passengers Mr A Newton, Mr and Mrs Curry, and Mrs Buchan and two children, Mr and Mrs Perry, Mr and Mrs Macdonald and two children, Captain Filbey and George Burcher.Maitland Mercury - 15th September 1847
The Fanny Fisher won the rivalry tacking duel to Sydney; the Rosetta completing the course in 12 hours, having overshot and having to turn back when the Captain realised his mistake.
Fitting Out
”Great dispatch has also been in fitting out of the new barque Rosetta Joseph and Fanny Fisher, both of which will be ready to proceed to sea in the course of ten days, these vessels have already been coppered, their cabins are being fitted up with great taste.”
Sydney Morning Herald - 21st October 1847
FOR AUCKLAND DIRECT
”The fine new colonial clipper-built Barque Rosetta Joseph, 300 tons, coppered and copper fastened, Captain Patrick, is now ready to take in cargo, and will sail in course of a few days. This vessel affords an excellent opportunity to parties proceeding to the above port, her cabins having been fitted with every requisite that can conduce to the comfort and accommodation of passengers.”
Bells Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer - 30th October 1847
After the Rosetta’s fitting out was complete, Moses Joseph registered the barque in his wife’s full name, Rosetta Joseph, on the 11th November 1847.
Maiden Voyage
She left Sydney on the 20th November 1847 and experienced baffling winds throughout the voyage - arriving in Auckland on the 3rd December. In addition to her passengers and crew, the Rosetta Joseph also carried a large cargo of miscellaneous merchandise, and eight fine horses.
Wreck
After a successful short life trading to destinations of Auckland, Manila, and Hong Kong it was on a return voyage from America that the Rosetta Joseph met her fate.
She sailed from Sydney on the 29th May 1850 bound for San Francisco carrying miners to the great gold boom in California. On the return voyage the barque left San Francisco on the 15th October bound for Sydney with 47 passengers and crew.
At around 11 pm on the night of December 1st, the Rosetta Joseph was running under easy sail with favourable wind when she suddenly found herself surrounded by rocks, a strong current having swept her on to the north west side of Elizabeth Reef (also known as Clarks Reef). This reef lies around 160 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the New South Wales coast.
The following account of the events which unfolded was made by a passenger, J. H. Green and published in the Sydney Morning Herald - 16th December 1850.
"The unfortunate accident struck terror into every person on board, and a most anxious night was passed."
December 2nd
"All hands busily engaged in filling water casks and getting the boats ready for launching, the first attempt was with the jolly- boat, but almost immediately swamped, with two men narrowly escaped drowning.
In the afternoon a second attempt was made, the wind having abated and the sea gone down, which proved more successful, and by 6pm the provisions, passengers and crew were all got to safely off from the ill fated vessel, and laid at anchor in the long boat, pinnace, and jolly-boat all night."
December 3rd
"Commenced with getting the boats ready for starting, divided the passengers and crew, being 47 in number, including two females and two children, 28 were put into the long boat, 14 in the pinnace, and 5 in the jolly-boat, set sail and steered for Howe’s Island [Lord Howe Island], the wind being from the N.E, at night the long-boat took the pinnace in tow with the jolly-boat astern of her."
December 4th
"The morning cloudy, wind N.W., increasing, and soon rose to a gale, this obliged us to scud before it, taking the jolly-boat in tow and the pinnace on our lee, the boats laboured and made much water, the sea at this time running mountains high the jolly-boat nearly swamped, the men in her then begged to be taken into the long boat, their safety demanded it.
The captain then gave the orders to lighten the long boat, for that purpose , this was immediately done by throwing overboard all spare clothes, wet blankets, and some packages of gold dust. 4 pm the gale still increasing, we found it was necessary to lay the boats to, this was effected by swamping the jolly-boat and making drag of her, made fast the pinnace to the stern of the long-boat with oars out in each boat to keep them head to sea.
Arrangements were then made with respect to the provisions, and by a careful distribution of them we found our supplies would last ten or twelve days.
Messrs. Rudder and Green were appointed to serve out the provisions, the latter gentlemen taking charge and serving out the water by the way.
The supply was so limited, as it did not afford more than two gills a day per man, this with one gill of preserved meats, and a reasonable quantity of bread, was the allowance for each person on board the boats.
At 5 pm the wind suddenly changed and came from the southward, blowing a heavy gale with exceedingly high and cross sea. During this frightful night we expected momentarily to be swamped. Morning came and we found that a quantity of our bread had been damaged, which caused a reduction in our usual allowance.
The latitude by a very imperfect observation being 30°20' south, longitude per chronometer 159°11' east."
December 5th
"The weather being more moderate and the sea much down, and the captain not knowing exactly where we were, he deemed it advisable to lay to till noon in order to get a perfect observation if possible. In the meantime a prayer was offered up to the Supreme Being, by Mr Rudder, in a very impressive manner, and joined in by all on board, returning thanks for the protection extended to us in our time of need.
At noon the weather cleared up, and from an observation we found we were in Lat 30°26' south, long, (chro.) 159°04' east, showing a current so strong that we had been driven within 20 miles of the wreck. Our captain then determined to bear away for the coast of New Holland [NSW], a moderate southerly wind blowing at the time. At night, according to our usual practise, took the pinnace in tow."
December 6th
"The wind variable, and weather clear, at daylight cast off the pinnace, the wind veering from west to south-east, and getting very light.
Took to the oars, the pinnace in company, great discomfort experienced by the people from the crowded state of the boats. Examined the bread and found that much had been damaged. A strong current setting to the north-west."
December 7th
"Experienced light breezes from the north-east. The passengers took to the oars, and relieved each other at intervals of half an hour. Towards evening the wind increased to a steady breeze, and enabled us to make considerable progress during the night, the passengers conducting themselves tolerably well with the exception of two or three old Port Arthur gents, who were anything but agreeable companions in a small boat."
December 8th
"After running for some time most favourably, about 11a.m. encountered a remarkable cross sea, having much the appearance of the junction of two currents, we carried on as long as possible, the people in the boats all but drowned, from the sea continually washing over them.
At 4 pm compelled to bring the boats to, this was done by securing the masts, oars, and spare canvas, and casting them over the bows of the long-boat in form of a drag, made fast the pinnace astern, and plied the oars, to keep the boat’s head to sea.
This was another frightful night, the sea running so high that it threatened momentarily to engulph us, passengers spelling each other in baling the boats out. All night, wind north and north-east."
December 9th.
"After passing a most anxious night the morning brought little appearance of a change, the wind high and most tremendous sea running. Some of the people began to suffer much from the small allowance of water and the continual state of the boats. Others for our deliverance. This was cheerfully complied with by Mr Rudder, senior, in a most solemn manner, and great attention was paid by all on board. At noon an attempt was made to get an observation, but a barque hove in sight steering to the southward, all was now confusion, signals of distress were hoisted, and spirits rose to the highest, and anxiety was evidenced by all, but alas we were doomed to be disappointed, the vessel, thought only four or five miles distant, did not however perceive our signals, but sped her way leaving us disappointment and almost to despair.
3 pm the wind and sea greatly abated, so that we were once more enabled to set sail, land in sight, supposed to be Cape Hawke, the wind north.
We had not proceeded very far when the wind fell calm, and the sea running very high, suddenly placing us in a most dangerous position, wind changed from north to south with heavy rain, thunder and lightening, which again compelled us to bring the boats to, hung on in a great state of alarm until 11 pm, we made sail, wind being from the south-east with cloudy weather."
December 10th
"Wind gradually veered to the southward at daylight, saw the land bearing west and north. Wind being light, took to the oars and pulled with a will towards it. At 4 pm got close in with the land and made it out to be Port Macquarie, hoisted signals of distress, the inhabitants perceived them and a man rushed to our rescue.
A boat was immediately launched through the surf and came alongside, taking out the females and those persons who were in the most exhausted state, the boat returned and conveyed all safely on shore. At 5 pm got the boats on shore and hauled up above high water mark. Now a struggle took place by the inhabitants as to who should show the most attention, quarters were provided in the hospital, and the wants of the people were supplied."
J.H. Green Passenger per Rosetta Joseph
Salvage
“The wreck of the Rosetta Joseph was sold at Sydney on the 19th of December [1850] for the sum ₤105." New Zealander Volume 7 Issue 496 15th January 1851.
Salvage operations commenced in February 1851 when the schooner Bride< was chartered.
"The Bride: This schooner was chartered by Mr. J.S. Hanson to proceed to Elizabeth Reef and bring up any and what remains of the wreck of the Rosetta Joseph she could get. She made Howe’s Island after a tedious passage of eighteen days, where Captain Dalmagne was informed that the wreck had been visited by the Jane (whaler). Captain Fowler, who had secured all the valuables out of the wreck, and would hand them over to their lawful owners on his arrival in Sydney. The Carnarvon (whaler) had been there, and an American whaler, name unknown, paid a visit to the wreck prior to the arrival of the Bride.
It was the opinion of Captain Fowler that the vessel could have been got off had not strong gales from the north-east set in, which blew her off to sea. The Bride brings two bower anchors and chains, sails, rigging, and 3000 feet of cedar, port cargo.
The hull of the Rosetta Joseph still remains entire, and the Bridewould have been more successful, but unluckily the weather was much against her working. A strong current carried her off the reef, when she prudently bore up for Sydney." The Sydney Morning Herald - 15th February 1851
Destroyed by Fire:
The final event in the short life of the Rosetta Joseph came in 1858 when her remains were burned - a fine testament to her strong construction, standing the test of time for 8 years on the reef.
A letter published in 1866 described the events:
“In 1857 the Rosetta Joseph was still on the reef wedged on top of it with the tide ebbing and flowing in her lower hull. In 1858 she was wilfully and maliciously destroyed by fire by the captain of an American whaler, to obtain the copper and copper fastenings." Sydney Empire 30th May 1866
Image source: Linton, Rebecca (2004). Crossing the bar: a history of Harrington: gateway to the Manning Valley. Focus Publishing, Bondi Junction, NSW.
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flick Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
The Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard became a cathedral at the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965.
The cathedral's location, construction, design, and dedication owe much to the Howard family, who, as Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel are the most prominent English Catholic family, and rank first (below the royal family) in the Peerage of England. Since 1102 the seat of the Howards' ancestors has been Arundel Castle.
In 1664, Catholic worship was suppressed in England and all churches and cathedrals in England were transferred to the Church of England. With the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, the foundation of Catholic parishes became lawful once again.
In 1868, Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, commissioned the architect Joseph Hansom to design a new Catholic sanctuary. The architectural style of the cathedral is French Gothic, a style that would have been popular between 1300 and 1400. The building is regarded as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the French Gothic style in the country.
Farming is as such prohibited in the Dang jungles. Logging is banned by our forest department as well, so what the Adivasis do is they skin the bark of a tree by about a feet & the tree slowly dies. Farming is lawfully allowed in areas which is naturally bereft of trees. The area is thus cleared & then used by Adivasis for farming,
One can't be judgmental here & talk about the deforestation issues when the survival of poor tribals is also at stake.
Leave the separating of husk from the rice to the tribals living in the Dang jungles.
My ex-girlfriend's grandfather had multiple sheds, each with a different workshop. Here, his gardening shed. I never got enough time to really photograph in them as much as I wanted to, and I'll never get another chance to.
Japan is full of empty and abandoned houses, owing to the combined effects of a shrinking population and the continued urbanization of the population, and I want so much to get (lawful) access to photograph in them. These places tell so many stories, and those stories will disappear forever if never told.
A beautiful scale model of the Rosetta Joseph , handcrafted and donated by Ian Goulding to “Douglas Vale”, Historic Homestead and Vineyard Port Macquarie.
“Douglas Vale” was named after the original owner, George Francis’ wife whose family name was Douglas (from Scotland).
SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.
The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate - 5th Feb 1927
WRECK OF THE BARQUE 'ROSETTA JOSEPH.'
The following story, written about 30 years ago, was narrated by an eye witness when a little girl at Port Macquarie over 70 years ago. The tale has reference to the rush to the Californian goldfields at that time. It is as follows : —
A TRUE TALE OF SHIPWRECK.
'A barque named the Rosetta Joseph left San Francisco about the 15th October, 1850, bound for Sydney. All went well with passengers, crew and ship until the 2nd December, when, to their dismay and horror, the ill-fated vessel struck on a reef called the 'Elizabeth Reef,' at 11 o'clock on a Sunday night. The passengers, captain, and crew managed to leave the wreck by means of the boats, and 48 persons in all were saved, 32 being in one boat, called the long boat, and 16 in the smaller boat called the pinnace. They were 8 days and 9 nights in the open boats. They made for Port Macquarie, and on the 10th December were landed at the boat harbour, and strange but true, among the passengers was one old friend and fellow townsman, Mr George Francis, whose home at the time was the house lately occupied by Mr Slade, so that a kind providence really brought him home to his own door, and family. Among the other passengers were Mr Rudder, senior, of the Macleay River, and Messrs Julian and Augustus Rudder, sons of the above named gentleman, also Mr Renwick, father of Dr Renwick, and a Mr and Mrs Shaw, and little girl and boy, who belonged to Sydney. They met two gales of wind during the time they were in the boats, and having a third boat with them called the 'jolly boat', they made a sea anchor of it, and lay-to during the gale. They met a second when off Point Plomer, and again lay to, and were then driven to the south, when they sighted land off Camden Haven, and came along the coast until they reached the Port Macquarie boat harbour, when owing to the boats being too large to enter, the pilot boat brought the people in a few at a time. During the time they were out they suffered greatly from exposure, and at one time they thought that the pinnace and her passengers were lost. A great wave broke over her, and for a short time she seemed to be swallowed up, but after anxious watching the people in the larger boat saw her re-appear on the top of a large wave, the occupants being engaged baling out water for their lives. During the time at sea in the boats, they had a small quantity of food and a cup of water served out to them three times a day, because they did not know how long they might be at sea. They brought a box of gold from the ship, which was valued at £30,000, but when they met the first gale it was thrown overboard, also all their clothes with the exception of what they wore, to lighten the boats. Mr Francis, having been a sailor, although in the present case he was a passenger, took the position of a captain for them, and by his knowledge of seafaring matters he told them that all their safety depended on keeping the heads of the boats, straight for the waves and sea. When they arrived at Port Macquarie they made him a present of a sum of money in gratitude for the services rendered by him. The true story of shipwreck and suffering, ending so happily, is told and again related by Mr Francis to his many friends, and the curious may with his kind permission, I feel sure have a look at the oil painting of the boats, painted by Mr Rudder, which hangs on the wall of the drawing-room at Douglas Vale; and with the wish that my old friend, Mr Francis, may live long to show them to many more, I conclude my tale of shipwreck!'
The Rosetta was the first vessel to be launched at the shipyard in 1847. She was, however, formally named "Rosetta Joseph" at the time of her registration in Sydney (after his wife's full name). Although not recorded, it seems likely that the decision was influenced by the fact that another vessel named Rosetta had already been registered in Launceston earlier that year.
Details :
Name: Rosetta Joseph
Type: Barque
Length: 88.9 ft (27.1 m)
Beam: 23.2 ft (7.1 m)
Draft: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Builders: Alexander Newton Senior & William Malcolm
Launched: 30th July 1847
Official number: n.a.
Gross Register: 264 tons
Registered: Sydney 11th November 1847 (82/1847)
Owner: Moses Joseph (Merchant)
Master: Andrew Patrick
Construction :
- Carvel built from locally sourced hardwoods, white beech decks and topmasts.
- Hardwood planking and copper fastened throughout.
- Fitted with 3 stepped masts
Launch:
On the 30th July 1847, the first of a long succession of ships, the barque Rosetta, slid off the Pelican slipway.
The vessel was named after Moses Joseph’s wife, and was also the first of a number commissioned by Moses Joseph.
Initial Trip to Sydney
In company with John Nicholson’s newly completed vessel, the Fanny Fisher, the Rosetta reportedly left the Manning River on the same afternoon tide of the 8th September 1847, bound for Sydney.
Rosetta, barque, 264 tons, Captain Patrick, from the Manning River the 8th instant. Passengers Mr A Newton, Mr and Mrs Curry, and Mrs Buchan and two children, Mr and Mrs Perry, Mr and Mrs Macdonald and two children, Captain Filbey and George Burcher.Maitland Mercury - 15th September 1847
The Fanny Fisher won the rivalry tacking duel to Sydney; the Rosetta completing the course in 12 hours, having overshot and having to turn back when the Captain realised his mistake.
Fitting Out
”Great dispatch has also been in fitting out of the new barque Rosetta Joseph and Fanny Fisher, both of which will be ready to proceed to sea in the course of ten days, these vessels have already been coppered, their cabins are being fitted up with great taste.”
Sydney Morning Herald - 21st October 1847
FOR AUCKLAND DIRECT
”The fine new colonial clipper-built Barque Rosetta Joseph, 300 tons, coppered and copper fastened, Captain Patrick, is now ready to take in cargo, and will sail in course of a few days. This vessel affords an excellent opportunity to parties proceeding to the above port, her cabins having been fitted with every requisite that can conduce to the comfort and accommodation of passengers.”
Bells Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer - 30th October 1847
After the Rosetta’s fitting out was complete, Moses Joseph registered the barque in his wife’s full name, Rosetta Joseph, on the 11th November 1847.
Maiden Voyage
She left Sydney on the 20th November 1847 and experienced baffling winds throughout the voyage - arriving in Auckland on the 3rd December. In addition to her passengers and crew, the Rosetta Joseph also carried a large cargo of miscellaneous merchandise, and eight fine horses.
Wreck
After a successful short life trading to destinations of Auckland, Manila, and Hong Kong it was on a return voyage from America that the Rosetta Joseph met her fate.
She sailed from Sydney on the 29th May 1850 bound for San Francisco carrying miners to the great gold boom in California. On the return voyage the barque left San Francisco on the 15th October bound for Sydney with 47 passengers and crew.
At around 11 pm on the night of December 1st, the Rosetta Joseph was running under easy sail with favourable wind when she suddenly found herself surrounded by rocks, a strong current having swept her on to the north west side of Elizabeth Reef (also known as Clarks Reef). This reef lies around 160 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the New South Wales coast.
The following account of the events which unfolded was made by a passenger, J. H. Green and published in the Sydney Morning Herald - 16th December 1850.
"The unfortunate accident struck terror into every person on board, and a most anxious night was passed."
December 2nd
"All hands busily engaged in filling water casks and getting the boats ready for launching, the first attempt was with the jolly- boat, but almost immediately swamped, with two men narrowly escaped drowning.
In the afternoon a second attempt was made, the wind having abated and the sea gone down, which proved more successful, and by 6pm the provisions, passengers and crew were all got to safely off from the ill fated vessel, and laid at anchor in the long boat, pinnace, and jolly-boat all night."
December 3rd
"Commenced with getting the boats ready for starting, divided the passengers and crew, being 47 in number, including two females and two children, 28 were put into the long boat, 14 in the pinnace, and 5 in the jolly-boat, set sail and steered for Howe’s Island [Lord Howe Island], the wind being from the N.E, at night the long-boat took the pinnace in tow with the jolly-boat astern of her."
December 4th
"The morning cloudy, wind N.W., increasing, and soon rose to a gale, this obliged us to scud before it, taking the jolly-boat in tow and the pinnace on our lee, the boats laboured and made much water, the sea at this time running mountains high the jolly-boat nearly swamped, the men in her then begged to be taken into the long boat, their safety demanded it.
The captain then gave the orders to lighten the long boat, for that purpose , this was immediately done by throwing overboard all spare clothes, wet blankets, and some packages of gold dust. 4 pm the gale still increasing, we found it was necessary to lay the boats to, this was effected by swamping the jolly-boat and making drag of her, made fast the pinnace to the stern of the long-boat with oars out in each boat to keep them head to sea.
Arrangements were then made with respect to the provisions, and by a careful distribution of them we found our supplies would last ten or twelve days.
Messrs. Rudder and Green were appointed to serve out the provisions, the latter gentlemen taking charge and serving out the water by the way.
The supply was so limited, as it did not afford more than two gills a day per man, this with one gill of preserved meats, and a reasonable quantity of bread, was the allowance for each person on board the boats.
At 5 pm the wind suddenly changed and came from the southward, blowing a heavy gale with exceedingly high and cross sea. During this frightful night we expected momentarily to be swamped. Morning came and we found that a quantity of our bread had been damaged, which caused a reduction in our usual allowance.
The latitude by a very imperfect observation being 30°20' south, longitude per chronometer 159°11' east."
December 5th
"The weather being more moderate and the sea much down, and the captain not knowing exactly where we were, he deemed it advisable to lay to till noon in order to get a perfect observation if possible. In the meantime a prayer was offered up to the Supreme Being, by Mr Rudder, in a very impressive manner, and joined in by all on board, returning thanks for the protection extended to us in our time of need.
At noon the weather cleared up, and from an observation we found we were in Lat 30°26' south, long, (chro.) 159°04' east, showing a current so strong that we had been driven within 20 miles of the wreck. Our captain then determined to bear away for the coast of New Holland [NSW], a moderate southerly wind blowing at the time. At night, according to our usual practise, took the pinnace in tow."
December 6th
"The wind variable, and weather clear, at daylight cast off the pinnace, the wind veering from west to south-east, and getting very light.
Took to the oars, the pinnace in company, great discomfort experienced by the people from the crowded state of the boats. Examined the bread and found that much had been damaged. A strong current setting to the north-west."
December 7th
"Experienced light breezes from the north-east. The passengers took to the oars, and relieved each other at intervals of half an hour. Towards evening the wind increased to a steady breeze, and enabled us to make considerable progress during the night, the passengers conducting themselves tolerably well with the exception of two or three old Port Arthur gents, who were anything but agreeable companions in a small boat."
December 8th
"After running for some time most favourably, about 11a.m. encountered a remarkable cross sea, having much the appearance of the junction of two currents, we carried on as long as possible, the people in the boats all but drowned, from the sea continually washing over them.
At 4 pm compelled to bring the boats to, this was done by securing the masts, oars, and spare canvas, and casting them over the bows of the long-boat in form of a drag, made fast the pinnace astern, and plied the oars, to keep the boat’s head to sea.
This was another frightful night, the sea running so high that it threatened momentarily to engulph us, passengers spelling each other in baling the boats out. All night, wind north and north-east."
December 9th.
"After passing a most anxious night the morning brought little appearance of a change, the wind high and most tremendous sea running. Some of the people began to suffer much from the small allowance of water and the continual state of the boats. Others for our deliverance. This was cheerfully complied with by Mr Rudder, senior, in a most solemn manner, and great attention was paid by all on board. At noon an attempt was made to get an observation, but a barque hove in sight steering to the southward, all was now confusion, signals of distress were hoisted, and spirits rose to the highest, and anxiety was evidenced by all, but alas we were doomed to be disappointed, the vessel, thought only four or five miles distant, did not however perceive our signals, but sped her way leaving us disappointment and almost to despair.
3 pm the wind and sea greatly abated, so that we were once more enabled to set sail, land in sight, supposed to be Cape Hawke, the wind north.
We had not proceeded very far when the wind fell calm, and the sea running very high, suddenly placing us in a most dangerous position, wind changed from north to south with heavy rain, thunder and lightening, which again compelled us to bring the boats to, hung on in a great state of alarm until 11 pm, we made sail, wind being from the south-east with cloudy weather."
December 10th
"Wind gradually veered to the southward at daylight, saw the land bearing west and north. Wind being light, took to the oars and pulled with a will towards it. At 4 pm got close in with the land and made it out to be Port Macquarie, hoisted signals of distress, the inhabitants perceived them and a man rushed to our rescue.
A boat was immediately launched through the surf and came alongside, taking out the females and those persons who were in the most exhausted state, the boat returned and conveyed all safely on shore. At 5 pm got the boats on shore and hauled up above high water mark. Now a struggle took place by the inhabitants as to who should show the most attention, quarters were provided in the hospital, and the wants of the people were supplied."
J.H. Green Passenger per Rosetta Joseph
Salvage
“The wreck of the Rosetta Joseph was sold at Sydney on the 19th of December [1850] for the sum ₤105." New Zealander Volume 7 Issue 496 15th January 1851.
Salvage operations commenced in February 1851 when the schooner Bride< was chartered.
"The Bride: This schooner was chartered by Mr. J.S. Hanson to proceed to Elizabeth Reef and bring up any and what remains of the wreck of the Rosetta Joseph she could get. She made Howe’s Island after a tedious passage of eighteen days, where Captain Dalmagne was informed that the wreck had been visited by the Jane (whaler). Captain Fowler, who had secured all the valuables out of the wreck, and would hand them over to their lawful owners on his arrival in Sydney. The Carnarvon (whaler) had been there, and an American whaler, name unknown, paid a visit to the wreck prior to the arrival of the Bride.
It was the opinion of Captain Fowler that the vessel could have been got off had not strong gales from the north-east set in, which blew her off to sea. The Bride brings two bower anchors and chains, sails, rigging, and 3000 feet of cedar, port cargo.
The hull of the Rosetta Joseph still remains entire, and the Bridewould have been more successful, but unluckily the weather was much against her working. A strong current carried her off the reef, when she prudently bore up for Sydney." The Sydney Morning Herald - 15th February 1851
Destroyed by Fire:
The final event in the short life of the Rosetta Joseph came in 1858 when her remains were burned - a fine testament to her strong construction, standing the test of time for 8 years on the reef.
A letter published in 1866 described the events:
“In 1857 the Rosetta Joseph was still on the reef wedged on top of it with the tide ebbing and flowing in her lower hull. In 1858 she was wilfully and maliciously destroyed by fire by the captain of an American whaler, to obtain the copper and copper fastenings." Sydney Empire 30th May 1866
Image source: Image taken at 'Douglas Vale', Historic Homestead and Vineyard at Port Macquarie NSW - see Douglas Vale
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flick Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
"O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the Evil One, for he is to you an avowed enemy" [Al-Baqarah 168]
Two quotations:
"While ordinary Christians imagine that all that is not positively forbidden and sinful is lawful to them, and seek to retain as much as possible of this world, with its property, its literature, its enjoyments, the truly consecrated soul is as the soldier who carries only what he needs for the warfare." - Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, public domain.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, (World English Bible, public domain)
Thanks for reading and looking!
From time to time, I comment that my job is all about chasing the commas and on a really exciting day I get to chase the semi-colons too. It's all about word play as Mr Humpty Dumpty explained to Alice through the looking glass that she carried in her purse for some unknown reason. Let me give a practical example: "what I did was lawful" or "what I did was not unlawful". It's never ever about being economical with the truth (as a senior British civil servants once infamously put it). It has to do (as the late great Eric Morecombe might have said) with "using the right words but not necessarily in the right order". On the other hand, just enjoy this absolutely awesomely fantastically fabulous photo of me!!!
Although he is an adult now, Kyle Rittenhouse was only 17 when he crossed the state line from Illinois into Kenosha, Wisconsin with an AR-15 style assault rifle he could not legally own and shot three people, killing two of them on the night of August 25, 2020.
Two days earlier, on August 23, 2020, Jacob Blake, an African-American man, was shot at seven times from behind, with four of the bullets striking him by a Kenosha police officer after being tasered, and he became paralyzed from the waist down. This act of police brutality sparked protests by enraged citizens and led to some rallies, marches, property damage, arson, and clashes with police. Wisconsin Army National Guard was called to reinforce the local police amid the unrest, but various vigilantes and thugs also showed up with the intention of committing violent acts against the Black Lives Matter peaceful protesters.
Rittenhouse and other thugs claimed they were there to protect businesses from further damage, but there were no official calls by lawful authorities to get additional armed assistance from the general public. Whenever people show up in public, uninvited by authorities, and armed with firearms, their presence is illegal. In fact a curfew was in effect.
Gunmen who show up at a trouble spot, violating curfew orders, and carrying weapons have no legitimate reason for being there and cannot honestly claim self defense if they shoot someone. Self defense only applies when a person is defending his home, farm, business, or vehicle but not when stalking a known trouble spot while armed and in violation of an emergency curfew. Reasonable people stay home to protect their home. Armed troublemakers who shoot and kill people in public in a period of unrest are DOMESTIC TERRORISTS.
Kyle Rittenhouse was charged by the State of Wisconsin with homicide but got away with murder because white boys can get away with such things in white communities. Regardless of what a crooked judge and incompetent jury say, Kyle Rittenhouse is a domestic terrorist, and I hope he faces federal charges. Furthermore, right wing politicians who encourage STOCHASTIC TERRORISM should be prosecuted.
Exposure: 124 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 200
Date: 12 Jan. 2006, 10:52 pm
Location: Pontaic Mills, Warwick, RI
Notes:
* Best viewed B I G
The 350,000-square-foot site along the Pawtuxet River was home to the original Fruit of the Loom textile mill, dating back to the mid-1800s. Production stopped in the 1970s. The dominant point of the complex is the mill tower, dedicated by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. (clipped from the Town of Warwick website & Architectural Record)
I'm not sure of the current standing of the mill, although just about everyone has moved out of the complex. The magazine Architectural Record published a story several years back about how the site was a model of brownfield recovery and intended for adaptive re-use but I keep hearing rumors that it will be razed entirely...
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This time out it was Judyboy, Skazama, Rizzolo and I. You should check out their streams for the way they approached the subjects. Also, you can see a group pool here of all our shots from the night or a slick slideshow here.
We spent about 4 hours setup on an abandoned concrete bridge shooting variations of this vignette. This was a bit different for us since we usually cover a larger site and move around quite a bit during the shoot. Unfortunately, the mill was locked up tight behind a barbed wire fence so lawful nighttime entry was not available.
WNBR London is a not-for-profit, unincorporated association. It is a membership organisation, defined by its constitution. The campaign seeks to draw attention to its themes by being a fun, well-behaved, lawful spectacle that delights the public and attracts media attention. It is affiliated to WNBR UK and to the global World Naked Bike Ride network. It is not connected to other protest, cycling or naturist organisations.
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by the Manhattan Post Card Publishing Co. Inc. of 657 Broadway, N.Y.C., N.Y.
The card was printed in 1964 by Dexter Press Inc. of West Nyack, New York.
Note the absence of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the photograph. Ground-breaking for their construction did not take place until the 5th. August 1966.
On the back of the card the publishers have printed:
'Brooklyn Bridge
New York City.
The first bridge to Span the
East River to Brooklyn was
opened to traffic in 1883 with
a one penny toll charge.
Its span is 1,595 feet with an
overall length of 6,016 feet.
Until 1903, this bridge held
the honor of being the world's
largest suspension bridge.
The Lower Manhattan skyline
is in the background'.
Although the card was not posted, someone has written across the divided back:
"This seems to be taken from
Brooklyn.
Of course we go by subway
under the water to Brooklyn,
usually from N.Y. - a much
quicker way to travel".
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge. Opened on the 24th. May 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River.
It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m).
The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling. The project's chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter's wife, Emily Warren Roebling.
Construction started in 1870, with the Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company overseeing construction, although numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years.
Since opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has undergone several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950.
To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge has been renovated several times, including in the 1950's, 1980's, and 2010's.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted.
A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location for various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes and attacks.
Description of Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge, an early example of a steel-wire suspension bridge, uses a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge design, with both vertical and diagonal suspender cables.
Its stone towers are neo-Gothic, with characteristic pointed arches. The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which maintains the bridge, says that its original paint scheme was "Brooklyn Bridge Tan" and "Silver", although a writer for The New York Post states that it was originally entirely "Rawlins Red".
The Deck of the Brooklyn Bridge
To provide sufficient clearance for shipping in the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge incorporates long approach viaducts on either end to raise it from low ground on both shores.
Including approaches, the Brooklyn Bridge is a total of 6,016 feet (1,834 m) long. The main span between the two suspension towers is 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) long, and 85 feet (26 m) wide.
The bridge elongates and contracts between the extremes of temperature from 14 to 16 inches. Navigational clearance is 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. A 1909 Engineering Magazine article said that, at the center of the span, the height could fluctuate by more than 9 feet (2.7 m) due to temperature and traffic loads.
At the time of construction, engineers had not yet discovered the aerodynamics of bridge construction, and bridge designs were not tested in wind tunnels.
It was coincidental that the open truss structure supporting the deck is, by its nature, subject to fewer aerodynamic problems. This is because John Roebling designed the Brooklyn Bridge's truss system to be six to eight times stronger than he thought it needed to be.
However, due to a supplier's fraudulent substitution of inferior-quality cable in the initial construction, the bridge was reappraised at the time as being only four times as strong as necessary.
The Brooklyn Bridge can hold a total load of 18,700 short tons, a design consideration from when it originally carried heavier elevated trains.
An elevated pedestrian-only promenade runs in between the two roadways and 18 feet (5.5 m) above them. The path is 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide. The iron railings were produced by Janes & Kirtland, a Bronx iron foundry that also made the United States Capitol dome and the Bow Bridge in Central Park.
The Cables of Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge contains four main cables, which descend from the tops of the suspension towers and support the deck. Each main cable measures 15.75 inches (40.0 cm) in diameter, and contains 5,282 parallel, galvanized steel wires wrapped closely together. These wires are bundled in 19 individual strands, with 278 wires to a strand.
This was the first use of bundling in a suspension bridge, and took several months for workers to tie together. Since the 2000's, the main cables have also supported a series of 24-watt LED lighting fixtures, referred to as "necklace lights" due to their shape.
1,520 galvanized steel wire suspender cables hang downward from the main cables.
Brooklyn Bridge Anchorages
Each side of the bridge contains an anchorage for the main cables. The anchorages are limestone structures located slightly inland, measuring 129 by 119 feet (39 by 36 m) at the base and 117 by 104 feet (36 by 32 m) at the top.
Each anchorage weighs 60,000 short tons. The Manhattan anchorage rests on a foundation of bedrock, while the Brooklyn anchorage rests on clay.
The anchorages contain numerous passageways and compartments. Starting in 1876, in order to fund the bridge's maintenance, the New York City government made the large vaults under the bridge's Manhattan anchorage available for rent, and they were in constant use during the early 20th. century.
The vaults were used to store wine, as they maintained a consistent 60 °F (16 °C) temperature due to a lack of air circulation. The Manhattan vault was called the "Blue Grotto" because of a shrine to the Virgin Mary next to an opening at the entrance.
The vaults were closed for public use in the late 1910's and 1920's during the Great War and Prohibition, but were reopened thereafter.
When New York magazine visited one of the cellars in 1978, it discovered a fading inscription on a wall reading:
"Who loveth not wine, women and song,
he remaineth a fool his whole life long."
Leaks found within the vault's spaces necessitated repairs during the late 1980's and early 1990's. By the late 1990's, the chambers were being used to store maintenance equipment.
The Towers of the Brooklyn Bridge
The bridge's two suspension towers are 278 feet (85 m) tall, with a footprint of 140 by 59 feet (43 by 18 m) at the high water line.
They are built of limestone, granite, and Rosendale cement. The limestone was quarried at the Clark Quarry in Essex County, New York. The granite blocks were quarried and shaped on Vinalhaven Island, Maine, under a contract with the Bodwell Granite Company, and delivered from Maine to New York by schooner.
The Manhattan tower contains 46,945 cubic yards (35,892 m3) of masonry, while the Brooklyn tower has 38,214 cubic yards (29,217 m3) of masonry.
Each tower contains a pair of Gothic Revival pointed arches, through which the roadways run. The arch openings are 117 feet (36 m) tall and 33.75 feet (10.29 m) wide.
The Brooklyn Bridge Caissons
The towers rest on underwater caissons made of southern yellow pine. Both caissons contain interior spaces that were used by construction workers. The Manhattan side's caisson is slightly larger, measuring 172 by 102 feet (52 by 31 m) and located 78.5 feet (23.9 m) below high water, while the Brooklyn side's caisson measures 168 by 102 feet (51 by 31 m) and is located 44.5 feet (13.6 m) below high water.
The caissons were designed to hold at least the weight of the towers which would exert a pressure of 5 short tons per square foot when fully built, but the caissons were over-engineered for safety.
During an accident on the Brooklyn side, when air pressure was lost and the partially-built towers dropped full-force down, the caisson sustained an estimated pressure of 23 short tons per square foot with only minor damage. Most of the timber used in the bridge's construction, including in the caissons, came from mills at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
The Brooklyn side's caisson, which was built first, originally had a height of 9.5 feet (2.9 m) and a ceiling composed of five layers of timber, each layer 1 foot (0.30 m) tall. Ten more layers of timber were later added atop the ceiling, and the entire caisson was wrapped in tin and wood for further protection against flooding.
The thickness of the caisson's sides was 8 feet (2.4 m) at both the bottom and the top. The caisson had six chambers: two each for dredging, supply shafts, and airlocks.
The caisson on the Manhattan side was slightly different because it had to be installed at a greater depth. To protect against the increased air pressure at that depth, the Manhattan caisson had 22 layers of timber on its roof, seven more than its Brooklyn counterpart had. The Manhattan caisson also had fifty 4-inch (10 cm)-diameter pipes for sand removal, a fireproof iron-boilerplate interior, and different airlocks and communication systems.
History of the Brooklyn Bridge
Proposals for a bridge between the then-separate cities of Brooklyn and New York had been suggested as early as 1800. At the time, the only travel between the two cities was by a number of ferry lines.
Engineers presented various designs, such as chain or link bridges, though these were never built because of the difficulties of constructing a high enough fixed-span bridge across the extremely busy East River.
There were also proposals for tunnels under the East River, but these were considered prohibitively expensive. The current Brooklyn Bridge was conceived by German immigrant John Augustus Roebling in 1852.
He had previously designed and constructed shorter suspension bridges, such as Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, and the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky.
In February 1867, the New York State Senate passed a bill that allowed the construction of a suspension bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Two months later, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company was incorporated. There were twenty trustees in total: eight each appointed by the mayors of New York and Brooklyn, as well as the mayors of each city and the auditor and comptroller of Brooklyn.
The company was tasked with constructing what was then known as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. Alternatively, the span was just referred to as the "Brooklyn Bridge", a name originating in a 25th. January 1867 letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
The act of incorporation, which became law on the 16th. April 1867, authorized the cities of New York (now Manhattan) and Brooklyn to subscribe to $5 million in capital stock, which would fund the bridge's construction.
Roebling was subsequently named as the main engineer of the work, and by September 1867, he had presented a master plan of a bridge that would be longer and taller than any suspension bridge previously built.
It would incorporate roadways and elevated rail tracks, whose tolls and fares would provide the means to pay for the bridge's construction. It would also include a raised promenade that served as a leisurely pathway.
The proposal received much acclaim in both cities, and residents predicted that the New York and Brooklyn Bridge's opening would have as much of an impact as the Suez Canal, the first transatlantic telegraph cable, or the first transcontinental railroad.
By early 1869, however, some individuals started to criticize the project, saying either that the bridge was too expensive, or that the construction process was too difficult.
To allay concerns about the design of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling set up a "Bridge Party" in March 1869, where he invited engineers and members of U.S. Congress to see his other spans. Following the bridge party in April, Roebling and several engineers conducted final surveys.
During these surveys, it was determined that the main span would have to be raised from 130 to 135 feet (40 to 41 m), requiring several changes to the overall design.
In June 1869, while conducting these surveys, Roebling sustained a crush injury to his foot when a ferry pinned it against a piling. After amputation of his crushed toes, he developed a tetanus infection that left him incapacitated and resulted in his death the following month.
Washington Roebling, John Roebling's 32-year-old son, was then hired to fill his father's role. When the younger Roebling was hired, Tammany Hall leader William M. Tweed also became involved in the bridge's construction because, as a major landowner in New York City, he had an interest in the project's completion.
The New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company - later known simply as the New York Bridge Company - was actually overseen by Tammany Hall, and it approved Roebling's plans and designated him as chief engineer of the project.
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Caissons
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on the 2nd. January 2, 1870. The first work entailed the construction of two caissons, upon which the suspension towers would be built.
A caisson is a large watertight chamber, open at the bottom, from which the water is kept out by air pressure and in which construction work may be carried out under water.
The Brooklyn side's caisson was built at the Webb & Bell shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and was launched into the river on the 19th. March 1870. Compressed air was pumped into the caisson, and workers entered the space to dig the sediment until it sank to the bedrock. As one sixteen-year-old from Ireland, Frank Harris, described the fearful experience:
"The six of us were working naked to the waist
in the small iron chamber with the temperature
of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
In five minutes the sweat was pouring from us,
and all the while we were standing in icy water
that was only kept from rising by the terrific
pressure. No wonder the headaches were
blinding."
Once the caisson had reached the desired depth, it was to be filled in with vertical brick piers and concrete. However, due to the unexpectedly high concentration of large boulders on the riverbed, the Brooklyn caisson took several months to sink to the desired depth.
Furthermore, in December 1870, its timber roof caught fire, delaying construction further. The "Great Blowout", as the fire was called, delayed construction for several months, since the holes in the caisson had to be repaired.
On the 6th. March 1871, the repairs were finished, and the caisson had reached its final depth of 44.5 feet (13.6 m); it was filled with concrete five days later. Overall, about 264 individuals were estimated to have worked in the caisson every day, but because of high worker turnover, the final total was thought to be about 2,500 men.
In spite of this, only a few workers were paralyzed. At its final depth, the caisson's air pressure was 21 pounds per square inch. Normal air pressure is 14.7 psi.
The Manhattan side's caisson was the next structure to be built. To ensure that it would not catch fire like its counterpart had, the Manhattan caisson was lined with fireproof plate iron.
It was launched from Webb & Bell's shipyard on the 11th. May 1871, and maneuvered into place that September.
Due to the extreme underwater air pressure inside the much deeper Manhattan caisson, many workers became sick with "the bends" - decompression sickness - during this work, despite the incorporation of airlocks (which were believed to help with decompression sickness at the time).
This condition was unknown at the time, and was first called "caisson disease" by the project physician, Andrew Smith. Between the 25th. January and the 31st. May 1872, Smith treated 110 cases of decompression sickness, while three workers died from the condition.
When iron probes underneath the Manhattan caisson found the bedrock to be even deeper than expected, Washington Roebling halted construction due to the increased risk of decompression sickness.
After the Manhattan caisson reached a depth of 78.5 feet (23.9 m) with an air pressure of 35 pounds per square inch, Washington deemed the sandy subsoil overlying the bedrock 30 feet (9.1 m) beneath to be sufficiently firm, and subsequently infilled the caisson with concrete in July 1872.
Washington Roebling himself suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of caisson disease shortly after ground was broken for the Brooklyn tower foundation.
His debilitating condition left him unable to supervise the construction in person, so he designed the caissons and other equipment from his apartment, directing the completion of the bridge through a telescope in his bedroom.
His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, not only provided written communications between her husband and the engineers on site, but also understood mathematics, calculations of catenary curves, strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction.
She spent the next 11 years helping supervise the bridge's construction, taking over much of the chief engineer's duties, including day-to-day supervision and project management.
The Towers of the Brooklyn Bridge
After the caissons were completed, piers were constructed on top of each of them upon which masonry towers would be built. The towers' construction was a complex process that took four years.
Since the masonry blocks were heavy, the builders transported them to the base of the towers using a pulley system with a continuous 1.5-inch (3.8 cm)-diameter steel wire rope, operated by steam engines at ground level.
The blocks were then carried up on a timber track alongside each tower and maneuvered into the proper position using a derrick atop the towers. The blocks sometimes vibrated the ropes because of their weight, but only once did a block fall.
Construction of the suspension towers started in mid-1872, and by the time work was halted for the winter in late 1872, parts of each tower had already been built. By mid-1873, there was substantial progress on the towers' construction.
The arches of the Brooklyn tower were completed by August 1874. The tower was substantially finished by December 1874, with the erection of saddle plates for the main cables at the top of the tower.
The last stone on the Brooklyn tower was raised in June 1875, and the Manhattan tower was completed in July 1876.
The work was dangerous: by 1876, three workers had died having fallen from the towers, while nine other workers were killed in other accidents.
By 1875, while the towers were being constructed, the project had depleted its original $5 million budget. Two bridge commissioners, one each from Brooklyn and Manhattan, petitioned New York state lawmakers to allot another $8 million for construction. Legislators authorized the money on condition that the cities would buy the stock of Brooklyn Bridge's private stockholders.
Work proceeded concurrently on the anchorages on each side. The Brooklyn anchorage broke ground in January 1873 and was substantially completed by August 1875.
The Manhattan anchorage was built in less time. Having started in May 1875, it was mostly completed by July 1876. The anchorages could not be fully completed until the main cables were spun, at which point another 6 feet (1.8 m) would be added to the height of each 80-foot (24 m) anchorage.
The Brooklyn Bridge Cables
The first temporary wire was stretched between the towers on the 15th. August 1876, using chrome steel provided by the Chrome Steel Company of Brooklyn. The wire was then stretched back across the river, and the two ends were spliced to form a traveler, a lengthy loop of wire connecting the towers, which was driven by a 30 horsepower (22 kW) steam hoisting engine at ground level.
The wire was one of two that were used to create a temporary footbridge for workers while cable spinning was ongoing. The next step was to send an engineer across the completed traveler wire in a boatswain's chair slung from the wire, to ensure it was safe enough.
The bridge's master mechanic, E. F. Farrington, was volunteered for this task, and an estimated crowd of 10,000 people on both shores watched him cross.
A second traveler wire was then stretched across the span. The temporary footbridge, located some 60 feet (18 m) above the elevation of the future deck, was completed in February 1877.
By December 1876, a steel contract for the permanent cables still had not been awarded. There was disagreement over whether the bridge's cables should use the as-yet-untested Bessemer steel, or the well-proven crucible steel.
Until a permanent contract was awarded, the builders ordered 30 short tons of wire in the interim, 10 tons each from three companies, including Washington Roebling's own steel mill in Brooklyn.
In the end, it was decided to use number 8 Birmingham gauge (approximately 4 mm or 0.165 inches in diameter) crucible steel, and a request for bids was distributed, to which eight companies responded.
In January 1877, a contract for crucible steel was awarded to J. Lloyd Haigh, who was associated with bridge trustee Abram Hewitt, whom Roebling distrusted.
The spinning of the wires required the manufacture of large coils of it which were galvanized but not oiled when they left the factory. The coils were delivered to a yard near the Brooklyn anchorage. There they were dipped in linseed oil, hoisted to the top of the anchorage, dried out and spliced into a single wire, and finally coated with red zinc for further galvanizing.
There were thirty-two drums at the anchorage yard, eight for each of the four main cables. Each drum had a capacity of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) of wire. The first experimental wire for the main cables was stretched between the towers on the 29th. May 29 1877, and spinning began two weeks later.
All four main cables had been strung by that July. During that time, the temporary footbridge was unofficially opened to members of the public, who could receive a visitor's pass; by August 1877 several thousand visitors from around the world had used the footbridge. The visitor passes ceased that September after a visitor had an epileptic seizure and nearly fell off.
As the wires were being spun, work also commenced on the demolition of buildings on either side of the river for the Brooklyn Bridge's approaches; this work was mostly complete by September 1877. The following month, initial contracts were awarded for the suspender wires, which would hang down from the main cables and support the deck. By May 1878, the main cables were more than two-thirds complete.
However, the following month, one of the wires slipped, killing two people and injuring three others. In 1877, Hewitt wrote a letter urging against the use of Bessemer steel in the bridge's construction. Bids had been submitted for both crucible steel and Bessemer steel; John A. Roebling's Sons submitted the lowest bid for Bessemer steel, but at Hewitt's direction, the contract was awarded to Haigh.
A subsequent investigation discovered that Haigh had substituted inferior quality wire in the cables. Of eighty rings of wire that were tested, only five met standards, and it was estimated that Haigh had earned $300,000 from the deception.
At this point, it was too late to replace the cables that had already been constructed. Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge only four times as strong as necessary, rather than six to eight times as strong. The inferior-quality wire was allowed to remain, and 150 extra wires were added to each cable.
To avoid public controversy, Haigh was not fired, but instead was required to personally pay for higher-quality wire. The contract for the remaining wire was awarded to the John A. Roebling's Sons, and by the 5th. October 1878, the last of the main cables' wires went over the river.
After the suspender wires had been placed, workers began erecting steel crossbeams to support the roadway as part of the bridge's overall superstructure. Construction on the bridge's superstructure started in March 1879, but, as with the cables, the trustees initially disagreed on whether the steel superstructure should be made of Bessemer or crucible steel.
That July, the trustees decided to award a contract for 500 short tons of Bessemer steel to the Edgemoor Iron Works, based in Philadelphia. The trustees later ordered another 500 short tons of Bessemer steel. However, by February 1880 the steel deliveries had not started.
That October, the bridge trustees questioned Edgemoor's president about the delay in steel deliveries. Despite Edgemoor's assurances that the contract would be fulfilled, the deliveries still had not been completed by November 1881.
Brooklyn mayor Seth Low, who became part of the board of trustees in 1882, became the chairman of a committee tasked to investigate Edgemoor's failure to fulfill the contract. When questioned, Edgemoor's president stated that the delays were the fault of another contractor, the Cambria Iron Company, who were manufacturing the eyebars for the bridge trusses.
Further complicating the situation, Washington Roebling had failed to appear at the trustees' meeting in June 1882, since he had gone to Newport, Rhode Island. After the news media discovered this, most of the newspapers called for Roebling to be fired as chief engineer, except for the Daily State Gazette of Trenton, New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Some of the longstanding trustees were willing to vouch for Roebling, since construction progress on the Brooklyn Bridge was still ongoing. However, Roebling's behavior was considered suspect among the younger trustees who had joined the board more recently.
Construction progress on the bridge itself was submitted in formal monthly reports to the mayors of New York and Brooklyn. For example, the August 1882 report noted that the month's progress included 114 intermediate cords erected within a week, as well as 72 diagonal stays, 60 posts, and numerous floor beams, bridging trusses, and stay bars.
By early 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was considered mostly completed and was projected to open that June. Contracts for bridge lighting were awarded by February 1883, and a toll scheme was approved that March.
Opposition to the Bridge
There was substantial opposition to the bridge's construction from shipbuilders and merchants located to the north, who argued that the bridge would not provide sufficient clearance underneath for ships.
In May 1876, these groups, led by Abraham Miller, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court against the cities of New York and Brooklyn.
In 1879, an Assembly Sub-Committee on Commerce and Navigation began an investigation into the Brooklyn Bridge. A seaman who had been hired to determine the height of the span, testified to the committee about the difficulties that ship masters would experience in bringing their ships under the bridge when it was completed.
Another witness, Edward Wellman Serrell, a civil engineer, said that the calculations of the bridge's assumed strength were incorrect.
However the Supreme Court decided in 1883 that the Brooklyn Bridge was a lawful structure.
The Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on the 24th. May 1883. Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony, and many ships were present in the East River for the occasion. Officially, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge.
The bridge opening was also attended by U.S. president Chester A. Arthur and New York mayor Franklin Edson, who crossed the bridge and shook hands with Brooklyn mayor Seth Low at the Brooklyn end. Abram Hewitt gave the principal address:
"It is not the work of any one man or of any one
age. It is the result of the study, of the experience,
and of the knowledge of many men in many ages.
It is not merely a creation; it is a growth. It stands
before us today as the sum and epitome of human
knowledge; as the very heir of the ages; as the
latest glory of centuries of patient observation,
profound study and accumulated skill, gained,
step by step, in the never-ending struggle of man
to subdue the forces of nature to his control and use."
Although Washington Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony (and rarely visited the site again), he held a celebratory banquet at his house on the day of the bridge opening.
Further festivity included a performance by a band, gunfire from ships, and a fireworks display. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span.
Less than a week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, ferry crews reported a sharp drop in patronage, while the bridge's toll operators were processing over a hundred people a minute. However, cross-river ferries continued to operate until 1942.
The bridge had cost US$15.5 million in 1883 dollars (about US$436,232,000 in 2021) to build, of which Brooklyn paid two-thirds. The bonds to fund the construction were not paid off until 1956.
An estimated 27 men died during the bridge's construction. Until the construction of the nearby Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 20% longer than any built previously.
At the time of opening, the Brooklyn Bridge was not complete; the proposed public transit across the bridge was still being tested, while the Brooklyn approach was being completed.
On the 30th. May 1883, six days after the opening, a woman falling down a stairway at the Brooklyn approach caused a stampede which resulted in at least twelve people being crushed and killed.
In subsequent lawsuits, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was acquitted of negligence. However, the company did install emergency phone boxes and additional railings, and the trustees approved a fireproofing plan for the bridge.
Public transit service began with the opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable car service, on the 25th. September 1883.
On the 17th. May 1884, one of P. T. Barnum's most famous attractions, Jumbo the elephant, led a parade of 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge. This helped to lessen doubts about the bridge's stability while also promoting Barnum's circus.
Brooklyn Bridge in the Late 19th. & Early 20th. Centuries
Movement across the Brooklyn Bridge increased in the years after it opened; a million people paid to cross in the first six months. The bridge carried 8.5 million people in 1884, its first full year of operation; this number doubled to 17 million in 1885, and again to 34 million in 1889.
Many of these people were cable car passengers. Additionally, about 4.5 million pedestrians a year were crossing the bridge for free by 1892.
The first proposal to make changes to the bridge was sent in only two and a half years after it opened; Linda Gilbert suggested glass steam-powered elevators and an observatory be added to the bridge and a fee charged for use, which would in part fund the bridge's upkeep and in part fund her prison reform charity.
This proposal was considered, but not acted upon. Numerous other proposals were made during the first fifty years of the bridge's life.
Trolley tracks were added in the center lanes of both roadways in 1898, allowing trolleys to use the bridge as well.
Concerns about the Brooklyn Bridge's safety were raised during the turn of the century. In 1898, traffic backups due to a dead horse caused one of the truss cords to buckle.
There were more significant worries after twelve suspender cables snapped in 1901, although a thorough investigation found no other defects.
After the 1901 incident, five inspectors were hired to examine the bridge each day, a service that cost $250,000 a year.
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, which operated routes across the Brooklyn Bridge, issued a notice in 1905 saying that the bridge had reached its transit capacity.
Although a second deck for the Brooklyn Bridge was proposed, it was thought to be infeasible because doing so would overload the bridge's structural capacity.
Though tolls had been instituted for carriages and cable-car customers since the bridge's opening, pedestrians were spared from the tolls originally. However, by the first decade of the 20th. century, pedestrians were also paying tolls.
However tolls on all four bridges across the East River - the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the Manhattan, Williamsburg, and Queensboro bridges to the north - were abolished in July 1911 as part of a populist policy initiative headed by New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor.
Ostensibly in an attempt to reduce traffic on nearby city streets, Grover Whalen, the commissioner of Plant and Structures, banned motor vehicles from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1922. The real reason for the ban was an incident the same year where two cables slipped due to high traffic loads.
Both Whalen and Roebling called for the renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge and the construction of a parallel bridge, although the parallel bridge was never built.
Brooklyn Bridge in Mid- to late 20th. Century
Upgrades to the Bridge
The first major upgrade to the Brooklyn Bridge commenced in 1948, when a contract for redesigning the roadways was awarded to David B. Steinman. The renovation was expected to double the capacity of the bridge's roadways to nearly 6,000 cars per hour, at a projected cost of $7 million.
The renovation included the demolition of both the elevated and the trolley tracks on the roadways and the widening of each roadway from two to three lanes, as well as the construction of a new steel-and-concrete floor.
In addition, new ramps were added to Adams Street, Cadman Plaza, and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) on the Brooklyn side, and to Park Row on the Manhattan side. The trolley tracks closed in March 1950 to allow for the widening work to occur.
During the construction project, one roadway at a time was closed, allowing reduced traffic flows to cross the bridge in one direction only. The widened south roadway was completed in May 1951, followed by the north roadway in October 1953. In addition, defensive barriers were added to the bridge as a safeguard against sabotage.
The restoration was finished in May 1954 with the completion of the reconstructed elevated promenade.
While the rebuilding of the span was ongoing, a fallout shelter was constructed beneath the Manhattan approach in anticipation of the Cold War. The abandoned space in one of the masonry arches was stocked with emergency survival supplies for a potential nuclear attack by the Soviet Union; these supplies were still in place half a century later.
A repainting of the bridge was announced in advance of its 90th. anniversary.
Deterioration and Late-20th. Century Repair
The Brooklyn Bridge gradually deteriorated due to age and neglect. While it had 200 full-time dedicated maintenance workers before World War II, that number had dropped to five by the late 20th. century, and the city as a whole only had 160 bridge maintenance workers.
In 1974, heavy vehicles such as vans and buses were banned from the bridge to prevent further erosion of the concrete roadway. A report in The New York Times four years later noted that the cables were visibly fraying, and that the pedestrian promenade had holes in it.
The city began planning to replace all the Brooklyn Bridge's cables at a cost of $115 million, as part of a larger project to renovate all four toll-free East River spans.
By 1980, the Brooklyn Bridge was in such dire condition that it faced imminent closure. In some places, half of the strands in the cables were broken.
In June 1981, two of the diagonal stay cables snapped, seriously injuring a pedestrian who later died. Subsequently, the anchorages were found to have developed rust, and an emergency cable repair was necessitated less than a month later after another cable developed slack.
Following the incident, the city accelerated the timetable of its proposed cable replacement, and it commenced a $153 million rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Bridge in advance of the 100th anniversary.
As part of the project, the bridge's original suspender cables installed by J. Lloyd Haigh were replaced by Bethlehem Steel in 1986, marking the cables' first replacement since construction. In a smaller project, the bridge was floodlit at night, starting in 1982 to highlight its architectural features.
Additional problems persisted, and in 1993, high levels of lead were discovered near the bridge's towers. Further emergency repairs were undertaken in mid-1999 after small concrete shards began falling from the bridge into the East River. The concrete deck had been installed during the 1950's renovations, and had a lifespan of about 60 years.
Brooklyn Bridge in the 21st. Century
The Park Row exit from the bridge's westbound lanes was closed as a safety measure after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the nearby World Trade Center. That section of Park Row was closed since it ran right underneath 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department.
In early 2003, to save money on electricity, the bridge's "necklace lights" were turned off at night. They were turned back on later that year after several private entities made donations to fund the lights.
After the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, public attention focused on the condition of bridges across the U.S. The New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Bridge approach ramps had received a "poor" rating during an inspection in 2007.
However, a NYCDOT spokesman said that the poor rating did not indicate a dangerous state but rather implied it required renovation. In 2010, the NYCDOT began renovating the approaches and deck, as well as repainting the suspension span.
Work included widening two approach ramps from one to two lanes by re-striping a new prefabricated ramp; seismic retrofitting; replacement of rusted railings and safety barriers; and road deck resurfacing. The work necessitated detours for four years.
At the time, the project was scheduled to be completed in 2014, but completion was later delayed to 2015, then again to 2017. The project's cost also increased from $508 million in 2010 to $811 million in 2016.
In August 2016, after the renovation had been completed, the NYCDOT announced that it would conduct a seven-month, $370,000 study to verify if the bridge could support a heavier upper deck that consisted of an expanded bicycle and pedestrian path.
As of 2016, about 10,000 pedestrians and 3,500 cyclists used the pathway on an average weekday. Work on the pedestrian entrance on the Brooklyn side was underway by 2017.
The NYCDOT also indicated in 2016 that it planned to reinforce the Brooklyn Bridge's foundations to prevent it from sinking, as well as repair the masonry arches on the approach ramps, which had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In July 2018, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a further renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge's suspension towers and approach ramps. That December, the federal government gave the city $25 million in funding, which would contribute to a $337 million rehabilitation of the bridge approaches and the suspension towers. Work started in late 2019 and was scheduled to be completed in 2023.
Usage of the Brooklyn Bridge
Horse-drawn carriages have been allowed to use the Brooklyn Bridge's roadways since its opening. Originally, each of the two roadways carried two lanes of a different direction of traffic. The lanes were relatively narrow at only 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. In 1922, motor vehicles were banned from the bridge, while horse-drawn carriages were restricted from the Manhattan Bridge. Thereafter, the only vehicles allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge were horse-drawn.
By 1950, the main roadway carried six lanes of automobile traffic, three in each direction. It was then reduced to five lanes with the addition of a two-way bike lane on the Manhattan-bound side in 2021.
Because of the roadway's height (11 ft (3.4 m)) and weight (6,000 lb (2,700 kg)) restrictions, commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using the Brooklyn Bridge.
The weight restrictions prohibit heavy passenger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs from using the bridge, though this is not often enforced in practice.
Formerly, rail traffic operated on the Brooklyn Bridge as well. Cable cars and elevated railroads used the bridge until 1944, while trolleys ran until 1950.
A cable car service began operating on the 25th. September 1883; it ran on the inner lanes of the bridge, between terminals at the Manhattan and Brooklyn ends.
Since Washington Roebling believed that steam locomotives would put excessive loads upon the structure of the Brooklyn Bridge, the cable car line was designed as a steam/cable-hauled hybrid.
They were powered from a generating station under the Brooklyn approach. The cable cars could not only regulate their speed on the 3.75% upward and downward approaches, but also maintain a constant interval between each other. There were 24 cable cars in total.
Initially, the service ran with single-car trains, but patronage soon grew so much that by October 1883, two-car trains were in use. The line carried three million people in the first six months, nine million in 1884, and nearly 20 million in 1885.
Patronage continued to increase, and in 1888, the tracks were lengthened and even more cars were constructed to allow for four-car cable car trains. Electric wires for the trolleys were added by 1895, allowing for the potential future decommissioning of the steam/cable system.
The terminals were rebuilt once more in July 1895, and, following the implementation of new electric cars in late 1896, the steam engines were dismantled and sold.
The Brooklyn Bridge Walkway
The Brooklyn Bridge has an elevated promenade open to pedestrians in the center of the bridge, located 18 feet (5.5 m) above the automobile lanes.
The path is generally 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide, though this is constrained by obstacles such as protruding cables, benches, and stairways, which create "pinch points" at certain locations. The path narrows to 10 feet (3.0 m) at the locations where the main cables descend to the level of the promenade.
Further exacerbating the situation, these "pinch points" are some of the most popular places to take pictures. As a result, in 2016, the NYCDOT announced that it planned to double the promenade's width.
On the 14th. September 2021, the DOT closed off the inner-most car lane on the Manhattan-bound side with protective barriers and fencing to create a new bike path. Cyclists are now prohibited from the upper pedestrian lane.
Emergency Use of Brooklyn Bridge
While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians, the promenade facilitates movement when other means of crossing the East River have become unavailable.
During transit strikes by the Transport Workers Union in 1980 and 2005, people commuting to work used the bridge; they were joined by Mayors Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg, who crossed as a gesture to the affected public.
Pedestrians also walked across the bridge as an alternative to suspended subway services following the 1965, 1977, and 2003 blackouts, and after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
During the 2003 blackouts, many crossing the bridge reported a swaying motion. The higher-than-usual pedestrian load caused this swaying, which was amplified by the tendency of pedestrians to synchronize their footfalls with a sway.
Several engineers expressed concern about how this would affect the bridge, although others noted that the bridge did withstand the event and that the redundancies in its design - the inclusion of the three support systems (suspension system, diagonal stay system, and stiffening truss) - make it probably the best secured bridge against such movements going out of control.
In designing the bridge, John Roebling had stated that the bridge would sag but not fall, even if one of these structural systems were to fail altogether.
Stunts Associated With Brooklyn Bridge
There have been several notable jumpers from the Brooklyn Bridge:
-- The first person was Robert Emmet Odlum, brother of women's rights activist Charlotte Odlum Smith, on the 19th. May 1885. He struck the water at an angle, and died shortly afterwards from internal injuries.
-- Steve Brodie supposedly dropped from underneath the bridge in July 1886 and was briefly arrested for it, although there is some doubt about whether he actually jumped.
-- Larry Donovan made a slightly higher jump from the railing a month afterward.
Other notable events have taken place on or near the bridge:
-- In 1919, Giorgio Pessi piloted what was then one of the world's largest airplanes, the Caproni Ca.5, under the bridge.
-- At 9:00 a.m. on the 19th. May 1977, artist Jack Bashkow climbed one of the towers for 'Bridging', which was termed a "media sculpture" by the performance group Art Corporation of America Inc.
Seven artists climbed the largest bridges connected to Manhattan in order to:
"Replace violence and fear
in mass media for one day".
When each of the artists had reached the tops of the bridges, they ignited bright-yellow flares at the same moment, resulting in rush hour traffic disruption, media attention, and the arrest of the climbers, though the charges were later dropped.
Called "The first social-sculpture to use mass-media as art” by conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, the event was on the cover of the New York Post, it received international attention, and received ABC Eyewitness News' 1977 Best News of the Year award.
John Halpern documented the incident in the film 'Bridging' (1977)
-- Halpern attempted another "Bridging" "social sculpture" in 1979, when he planted a radio receiver, gunpowder and fireworks in a bucket atop one of the Brooklyn Bridge towers.
The piece was later discovered by police, leading to his arrest for possessing a bomb.
-- In 1993, bridge jumper Thierry Devaux illegally performed eight acrobatic bungee jumps above the East River close to the Brooklyn tower.
-- On the 1st. October 2011, more than 700 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested while attempting to march across the bridge on the roadway.
Protesters disputed the police account of the event, and claimed that the arrests were the result of being trapped on the bridge by the NYPD. The majority of the arrests were subsequently dismissed.
-- On the 22nd. July 2014, the two American flags on the flagpoles atop each tower were found to have been replaced by bleached-white American flags.
Initially, cannabis activism was suspected as a motive, but on the 12th. August 2014, two Berlin artists claimed responsibility for hoisting the two white flags, having switched the original flags with their replicas.
The artists said that the flags were meant to celebrate the beauty of public space and the anniversary of the death of German-born John Roebling, and they denied that it was an anti-American statement.
Brooklyn Bridge as a Suicide Spot
The first person to jump from the bridge with the intention of suicide was Francis McCarey in 1892.
A lesser-known early jumper was James Duffy of County Cavan, Ireland, who on the 15th. April 1895 asked several men to watch him jump from the bridge. Duffy jumped and was not seen again.
Additionally, the cartoonist Otto Eppers jumped and survived in 1910, and was then tried and acquitted for attempted suicide.
The Brooklyn Bridge has since developed a reputation as a suicide bridge due to the number of jumpers who do so intending to kill themselves, though exact statistics are difficult to find.
Crimes and Terrorism Associated With Brooklyn Bridge
-- In 1979, police disarmed a stick of dynamite placed under the Brooklyn approach, and an artist in Manhattan was later arrested for the act.
-- On the 1st. March 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Movement, striking 16-year-old student Ari Halberstam and three others traveling on the bridge.
Halberstam died five days later from his wounds, and Baz was later convicted of murder. He was apparently acting out of revenge for the Hebron massacre of Palestinian Muslims a few days prior to the incident.
After initially classifying the killing as one committed out of road rage, the Justice Department reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack.
The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was subsequently dedicated as the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp.
-- In 2003, truck driver Lyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to Al-Qaeda, after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with blowtorches was thwarted.
Brooklyn Bridge Anniversary Celebrations
-- The 50th.-anniversary celebrations on the 24th. May 1933 included a ceremony featuring an airplane show, ships, and fireworks, as well as a banquet.
-- During the centennial celebrations on the 24th. May 1983, President Ronald Reagan led a cavalcade of cars across the bridge.
A flotilla of ships visited the harbor, officials held parades, and Grucci Fireworks held a fireworks display that evening.
For the centennial, the Brooklyn Museum exhibited a selection of the original drawings made for the bridge.
Culture
The Brooklyn Bridge has had an impact on idiomatic American English. For example, references to "Selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility, but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity.
George C. Parker and William McCloundy were two early 20th.-century con men who may have perpetrated this scam successfully on unwitting tourists, although the author of 'The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History' wrote:
"No evidence exists that the bridge
has ever been sold to a 'gullible
outlander'".
However, anyone taken in by fraudsters is hardly likely to publicize the fact.
A popular tradition on Brooklyn Bridge is for couples to inscribe a date and their initials onto a padlock, attach it to the bridge, and throw the key into the water as a sign of their love.
The practice of attaching 'love locks' to the bridge is officially illegal in New York City, and in theory the NYPD can give violators a $100 fine.
NYCDOT workers periodically remove the love locks from the bridge at a cost of $100,000 per year.
Brooklyn Bridge in the Media
The bridge is often featured in wide shots of the New York City skyline in television and film, and has been depicted in numerous works of art.
Fictional works have used the Brooklyn Bridge as a setting; for instance, the dedication of a portion of the bridge, and the bridge itself, were key components in the 2001 film Kate & Leopold.
Furthermore, the Brooklyn Bridge has also served as an icon of America, with mentions in numerous songs, books, and poems.
Among the most notable of these works is that of American Modernist poet Hart Crane, who used the Brooklyn Bridge as a central metaphor and organizing structure for his second book of poetry, 'The Bridge' (1930).
The Brooklyn Bridge has also been lauded for its architecture. One of the first positive reviews was "The Bridge as a Monument", a Harper's Weekly piece written by architecture critic Montgomery Schuyler and published a week after the bridge's opening.
In the piece, Schuyler wrote:
"It so happens that the work which is likely to be
our most durable monument, and to convey some
knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a
work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not
a palace, but a bridge."
Architecture critic Lewis Mumford cited the piece as the impetus for serious architectural criticism in the U.S. He wrote that in the 1920's the bridge was a source of joy and inspiration in his childhood, and that it was a profound influence in his adolescence.
Later critics regarded the Brooklyn Bridge as a work of art, as opposed to an engineering feat or a means of transport.
Not all critics appreciated the bridge, however. Henry James, writing in the early 20th. century, cited the bridge as an ominous symbol of the city's transformation into a "steel-souled machine room".
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge is detailed in numerous media sources, including David McCullough's 1972 book 'The Great Bridge', and Ken Burns's 1981 documentary 'Brooklyn Bridge'.
It is also described in 'Seven Wonders of the Industrial World', a BBC docudrama series with an accompanying book, as well as in 'Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge', a biography published in 2017.
The Friends of Black Leaf
An NPC Party
Under the leadership of Vasilisa Nushka, the Friends of Black Leaf have met with great success. Most recently they publicly prevented the Radu merchant family of Specularum from assassinating Queen Olivia Karameikos. This has earned these four the status of national heroes in the Kingdom of Karameikos.
Their exploits, however, haven't been accomplished without sacrifice. Black Leaf, an elf from clan Long Runner, pointlessly died to a poisoned trap in the Caverns of Quasqueton. The nature of the poison was such that their friend and companion couldn't be restored to life. After every successful adventure, the Friends of Black Leaf open a bottle and fill five goblets. Toasts are made and wine is consumed. The fifth goblet, which remains unconsumed, is left for the spirit of their fallen companion.
Igneox "Iggy" Aendyr is the party's magic-user. As his name indicates, he is a member of the now defunct House of Silverston of Glantri. The only thing a noble name has earned Iggy is the animosity of those wronged by his dead uncle, Prince Volospin Aendyr. This is why he is far, far away from Glantri City and the Great School of Magic where he learned his craft.
Vasilisa Nushka grew up in the homestead of Sukiskyn in the Dymrak Forest of Karameikos. Her adopted parents told her how slavers from the Iron Ring had destroyed her original home and killed her parents. They also told her how a band of heroes had rescued her and her cousin from a life of slavery. Years later, these same heroes eventually led armies into the Black Eagle Barony, bringing about an end to the Iron Ring. They are the type of adventurers that Vasilisa Nushka aspires to emulate.
Iovita Maxmilianus is a devout servant of Pax Bellanica, Tarastia, the divine Patroness of Justice and Revenge. Like his mother before him, Iovita served as an executioner in the City of Hattias, lawfully beheading those whose crimes merited such punishment. He was forced to flee both the County of Hattias and the Empire of Thyatis after he openly criticized the unjust conduct of the powerful Count Heinrich Oesterhaus. Iovita is troubled by his inability to lawfully resolved the ongoing injustice in his homeland.
Zan Ganassa is a pirate and a rake from the Minrothad Guilds. He grew up on the seedier side of Old Harbortown, but you wouldn't know it from his immaculate wardrobe and his refined manners. Zan is equally at home in either an elegant ballroom or on the deck of a privateer merchantman.
Zan holds that all lawful organizations, given sufficent authority and power, will inevitably perpetrate injustice. This is an opinion he formed after a decade of conflict with the intrusive and rigid Guilds of Minrothad. After a few drinks, Iovita and Zan will debate the merits of law over chaos with red faced passion. Iggy soberly resists all attempts to be dragged into the exchange.
Igneox "Iggy" Aendyr
AC 4 vs first two attacks / 6 (Ring of Protection +2); M-U 6; hp 19; #AT staff or spell; D 1d8+2 or spell ; Move 120' (40'); Save M-U 6 (Ring of Protection +2); ML 8; AL N; S 10; I 18; W 10; D 14; C 10; Ch 10; THAC0 13 with staff / 17
Weapon Mastery
Staff [P=A]
Level: Ex; Range: n/a; Damage: 1d8+2; Defense: A: -2 AC/2; Special Effect: Deflect (2)
General Skills
Alchemy, Alternate Magics, Magical Engineering, Navigation, Piloting (Air Based), Planar Geography, Spell Combination
Spell Combination: This INT skill is only attainable in the Principalities of Glantri. This technique allows the Magic-User to mix his or her spell levels in any combination, so long as the total spell levels do not exceed his or her capacity. For example a fourth level Magic-User normally casts two first level spells, and two second level spells (for a total of six spell levels). With this skill, he can memorize six first level spells, or three second levels, or any other appropriate combination. (GAZ #3)
Spells Memorized
Read Magic, Sleep, Locate Object, Web, Fly, Lightning Bolt
Vasilisa Nushka
AC -2 AC vs first 2 H / 0 (plate mail +1); F7 ; hp 38; #AT 2 swords ; D 2d8+2* /1d12+2*; Move 60' (20'); Save F7; ML 9; AL L; S 16; I 9; W 9; D 16; C 9; Ch 13; THAC0 9 with sword vs H/ 11 with sword vs M* /15
* Strength and Weapon Mastery Bonus is included.
Weapon Mastery
Sword [P=H]
Level: Ex; Range: 0/5/10; Damage: 2d8; Defense: H: -2 AC/2; Special Effect: Deflect (2) + Disarm (save +1)
Sword [P=H]
Level: Sk; Range: n/a; Damage: 1d12; Defense: H: -2 AC/1; Special Effect: Deflect (1) + Disarm
Note: The second attack is at a penalty of - 4 to hit (but not to damage). The second attack is treated as if at one mastery level lower than normal.
General Skills
Alertness, Healing, Riding (Land Based), Knowledge of Market Value, Leadership
Knowledge of Market Value: This INT skill is available anywhere but is particularly common in the Republic of Darokin and the Minrothad Guilds. A character with this skill automatically knows the market value of common goods, including standard D&D game items. Successful checks allows one to estimate the approximate value of special goods like magical items and treasures. If the roll is missed consult the following chart.
Failed By / Estimate Off By
1-2 / 10%
3-5 / 50%
6-9 / 100%
10+ / D100 x 10%
If the roll was odd, subtract the percentage. If the roll was even add the percentage. (GAZ #7)
Iovita Maxmilianus
AC 1 vs first 2 M /4 (scale mail +2); C7; hp 27; #AT 1 battle axe or spell; D 1d8+5; Move 90' (30'); Save C7; ML 8 ; AL L; S 13; I 12; W 16; D 9; C 9; Ch 13; THAC0 14 with battle axe vs H/ 15 with battle axe vs M/ 17*
* Strength and Weapon Mastery Bonus is included.
Weapon Mastery
Battle Axe [P=H]
Level: Ex; Range: 0/5/10; Damage: 1d8+4; Defense: A: -3 AC/2; Special Effect: Delay
General Skills
Danger Sense, Detect Lie, Executioner, Knowledge of Codes and Laws +2, Honor Immortal, Law and Justice (Thyatis)
Executioner: This INT skill is available in all societies in which capital punishment is employed. Those who practice this skill are often simultaneously respected and treated as pariahs. With a successful skill check, a character is able to mercifully end the life of a bound or submissive monster or character in a single round. Failure indicates that the executed is forced to needlessly suffer for as many rounds as the roll was missed.
The means of execution varies from culture to culture. Examples include the chopping block, hanging and the guillotine. Possession of this skill assumes that the character is familiar with all of these techniques. (Glen Bane)
Spells Memorized
Cure Light Wounds x2, Protection from Evil, Bless, Hold Person, Cure Disease, Remove Curse
Clerics of Tarastia can cast freely know alignment once per day.
Zan Ganassa
AC 1 vs first 2 H, (Bracers of Defense AC 6)*; T7; hp 22; #AT rapier and main gauche; D 1d8+1 and 1d4; Move 120' (40'); Save T7; ML 7; AL N; S 13; I 9; W 9; D 18; C 10; Ch 13; THAC0 14 with rapier or main gauche vs H/ 15 with rapier or main gauche vs M/ 17**
*AC is improved by 2 if fencing check is successful.
** Strength and Weapon Mastery Bonus is included. THAC0 is improved by 2 if fencing check is successful.
Weapon Mastery
Rapier [P=H]
Level: Sk; Range: n/a; Damage: 1d8+1; Defense: H: -2 AC/2; Special Effect: Deflect (1) + Disarm
Main Gauche [P=H]
Level: Sk; Range: 5/10/15; Damage: 1d4; Defense: H: -1 AC/1; Special Effect: No Off-Hand Penalty + Disarm
General Skills
Acrobatics, Alertness, Boating, Etiquette, Fencing.
Boating: This INT skill is available in any community near water. This skill grants the ability to perform as a crewman on a larger ship. This skill also includes fishing skills. Most simple tasks are performed automatically by characters with this skill; check against this skill only in critical or emergency situations. (GAZ #7)
Etiquette: This CHR skill is available anywhere. A person skilled at etiquette knows proper table manners, styles of dance, how to dress properly, and how to address officials. A skill check is only required when in a unusual situation such as dealing with foreign cultures or obscure situations where the rules of good manners are vague. (HWR #3)
Fencing: This DEX skill is common only in the Republic of Darokin and in the Principalities of Glantri. The character with this skill is trained in fighting with light weapons and armor. The weapons include the rapier, the short sword, the dagger, the stiletto, and the main-gauche. Armor is restricted to leather and a buckler.
Successful use of this skill while using these weapons grants the character a +2 bonus on to hit rolls and a +2 bonus to armor class in melee for that round. If the character throws away or loses his or her weapon, the bonus to armor class no longer applies. (GAZ #11)
The Devaraja market in Mysore was built during the reign of Chamaraja Wodeyar IX (1868 – 1894). It is said that there was at this place a small weekly market which may have been as old as the origin of the city itself.
Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third most populous city in the state of Karnataka, India. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division.
Mysore served as the capital city of Kingdom of Mysore for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. The Kingdom was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, except for a brief period in the late 18th century when Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power. Patrons of art and culture, the Wodeyars contributed significantly to the cultural growth of the city. The cultural ambience and achievements of Mysore earned it the sobriquet Cultural capital of Karnataka.
Mysore is noted for its palaces, including the Mysore Palace, and for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. It lends its name to the Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, the Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment known as the Mysore silk saree. Tourism is the major industry, while information technology has emerged as a major employer alongside the traditional industries. Mysore depends on rail and bus transport for inter-city connections. The city was the location of the first private radio station in India. Mysore houses Mysore University, which has produced several notable authors, particularly in the field of Kannada literature. Cricket is the most popular sport in the city.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha in the local Kannada language. Though in Sanskrit Mahisha means buffalo, here Mahisha refers to Mahishasura, a mythological demon who could assume the form of both human and buffalo. According to Hindu mythology, the area was ruled by the demon Mahishasura. The demon was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills. Mahishūru later became Mahisūru (a name which, even now, the royal family uses) and finally came to be called Maisūru, its present name in the Kannada language.
In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru. This was approved by the Government of India, but as of 2011 the formalities necessary to incorporate the name change were yet to be completed. The central government approved this request in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed (along with other 12 cities) to "Mysuru" on November 1, 2014.
HISTORY
The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century. The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III (1513–1553), who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576). Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly been used to denote the city. The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar (1637) it had become a sovereign state. Seringapatam (modern-day Srirangapatna), near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.
The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. During this time, Mysore kingdom came into conflict with the Marathas, the British and the Nizam of Golconda, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Mysore war. The landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas. The British administration was assisted locally by Diwan (chief minister) Purnaiah. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre of the kingdom in 1831, when the British commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.:251 It regained that status in 1881 and remained the capital of the Princely State of Mysore within the British Indian Empire until India became independent in 1947.
The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards.:283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned development of the city. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.
After Indian independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore city. Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri river water dispute. Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989, and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.
GEOGRAPHY
Mysore is located at 12.30°N 74.65°E and has an average altitude of 770 metres. It is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 at the base of the Chamundi Hills in the southern region of Karnataka. Mysore is the southern-most city of Karnataka, and is a neighbouring city of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, flanked by the state cities Mercara, Chamarajanagara, and Mandya. People in and around Mysore extensively use Kannada as medium of language. Mysore has several lakes, such as the Kukkarahalli, the Karanji, and the Lingambudhi lakes. In 2001, total land area usage in Mysore city was 39.9% residential, 16.1% roads, 13.74% parks and open spaces, 13.48% industrial, 8.96% public property, 3.02% commercial, 2.27% agriculture and 2.02 water. The city is located between two rivers: the Kaveri River that flows through the north of the city and the Kabini River, a tributary of the Kaveri, that lies to the south.
CLIMATE
Mysore has a tropical savanna climate designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. The main seasons are summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to November and winter from December to February. The highest temperature recorded in Mysore was 39.4 °C on 4 April 1914, and the lowest was 7.7 °C on 16 January 2012. The city's average annual rainfall is 804.2 mm.
ADMINISTRATION AND UTILITIES
The civic administration of the city is managed by the Mysore City Corporation, which was established as a municipality in 1888 and converted into a corporation in 1977. Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members. The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years. The council members in turn elect the mayor. The annual budget of the Corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹426.96 crore (US$63.45 million). Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the "Nagara Ratna" award in 2011.
Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion. Citizens of Mysore have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.
Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers. The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896. As of 2011, Mysore gets 42.5 million gallons water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall. The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha. In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.
The citizens of Mysore elect four representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja and Chamundeshwari. Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the provisional results of the 2011 census of India, Mysore had a population of 887,446, consisting of 443,813 males and 443,633 females, making it the third most populous city in Karnataka. The gender ratio of the city is 1000 females to every 1000 males and the population density is 6,910.5 per square kilometre. According to the census of 2001, 76.8% of thepopulatiion are Hindus, 19% are Muslims, 2.8% are Christians, and the remainder belong to other religions. The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. As of 2011, the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent. Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in slums. According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are. Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.
The residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city. Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.
ECONOMY
Tourism is the major industry in Mysore. The city attracted about 3.15 million tourists in 2010. Mysore has traditionally been home to industries such as weaving, sandalwood carving, bronze work and the production of lime and salt. The planned industrial growth of the city and the state was first envisaged at the Mysore economic conference in 1911. This led to the establishment of industries such as the Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory in 1917 and the Sri Krishnarajendra Mills in 1920.
For the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas. One of the major industrial in the proximity of Mysore is Nanjangud which will be Satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of Big industries like Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest VAT / Sales Tax payer which is about 400+ crores after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore.
Mysore also hosts many central government organisations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, RPM ( Rare Material Project ), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.
The growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka, next to Bangalore. The city contributed Rs. 1363 crore (US$275 million) to Karnataka's IT exports.
Mysore is slowly becoming a consumer city with a very big outside population working with the industries and IT hubs.[citation needed] New housing layouts are appearing every month and the number of supermarkets and other shopping facilities is increasing very fast.
EDUCATION
Before the advent of the European system of education in Mysore, agraharas (Brahmin quarters) provided Vedic education to Hindus, and madrassas provided schooling for Muslims. Modern education began in Mysore when a free English school was established in 1833. Maharaja College was founded in 1864. A high school exclusively for girls was established in 1881 and later converted into the Maharani's Women's College. The Industrial School, the first institute for technical education in the city, was established in 1892; this was followed by the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in 1913. While the modern system of education was making inroads, colleges such as the Mysore Sanskrit college, established in 1876, continued to provide Vedic education. Vivekananda Institute, Mysore is an international organisation giving training to Indians and foreigners in development management.
The education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916, making it the first outside the British administration in India. Other important institutes are CFTRI, MYRA School of Business (founded in 2011) and Mysore Medical College.
CULTURE
Referred to as the cultural capital of South Karnataka, Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, were first introduced by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610. On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession of decorated elephants, camels and horses. On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore which usually falls in the month of September or October.. the Idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden mantapa on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tabla, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels. The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa, where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade, known locally as Panjina Kavayatthu.
Mysore is called the City of Palaces because of several ornate examples in the city. Among the most notable are Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore Palace; Jaganmohana Palace, which also serves as an art gallery; Rajendra Vilas, also known as the summer palace; Lalitha Mahal, which has been converted into a hotel; and Jayalakshmi Vilas. The main palace of Mysore was burned down in 1897, and the present-day structure was built on the same site. Amba Vilas palace exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture on the outside, but a distinctly Hoysala style in the interior. Even though the Government of Karnataka maintains the Mysore palace, a small portion has been allocated for the erstwhile Royal family to live in. The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was constructed by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar for his daughter Jayalakshammanni. It is now a museum dedicated to folk culture and artefacts of the royal family.
The Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron. The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied. Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were estimated to be involved in this art in 2002. The city lends its name to the Mysore silk saree, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread). Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.
Mysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it. The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre. Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysore and served as professors at the Mysore University. R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.
TRANSPORT
ROAD
Mysore is connected by National Highway NH-212 to the state border town of Gundlupet, where the road forks into the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. State Highway 17, which connects Mysore to Bangalore, was upgraded to a four-lane highway in 2006, reducing travel time between the two cities. A project was planned in 1994 to construct a new expressway to connect Bangalore and Mysore. After numerous legal hurdles, it remains unfinished as of 2012. State Highways 33 and 88 which connect Mysore to H D Kote and Madikeri respectively. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other private agencies operate buses both within the city and between cities. A new division of KSRTC called Mysore City Transport Corporation (MCTC) has been proposed. Within the city, buses are cheap and popular means of transport, auto-rickshaws are also available and tongas (horse-drawn carriages) are popular with tourists. Mysore also has a 42.5-kilometre long ring road that is being upgraded to six lanes by the MUDA.
RAIL
Mysore railway station has three lines, connecting it to Bangalore, Hassan and Chamarajanagar. The first railway line established in the city was the Bangalore–Mysore Junction metre gauge line, which was commissioned in 1882. All railway lines that serve the city are single track at some points and the rest of the stretch is double track, impeding faster connections to the city. All trains that connect to Mysore are operated by South Western Railway Zone, Hubli of Indian Railways. The fastest train to serve the city is the Shatabdi Express.
AIR
Following three decades of dormancy, Mysore Airport was modernised in the mid-2000s, reopening to scheduled passenger service in October 2010. However, airlines have had difficulty maintaining service to the airport. As of August 2016, the airport is without commercial service.
MEDIA
Newspaper publishing in Mysore started in 1859 when Bhashyam Bhashyacharya began publishing a weekly newspaper in Kannada called the Mysooru Vrittanta Bodhini, the first of a number of weekly newspapers published in the following three decades. A well-known Mysore publisher during Wodeyar rule was M. Venkatakrishnaiah, known as the father of Kannada journalism, who started several news magazines. Many local newspapers are published in Mysore and carry news mostly related to the city and its surroundings, and national and regional dailies in English and Kannada are available, as in the other parts of the state. Sudharma, the only Indian daily newspaper in Sanskrit, is published in Mysore.
Mysore was the location of the first private radio broadcasting station in India when Akashavani (voice from the sky) was established in the city on 10 September 1935 by M.V. Gopalaswamy, a professor of psychology, at his house in the Vontikoppal area of Mysore, using a 50-watt transmitter. The station was taken over by the princely state of Mysore in 1941 and was moved to Bangalore in 1955. In 1957, Akashvani was chosen as the official name of All India Radio (AIR), the radio broadcaster of the Government of India. The AIR station at Mysore broadcasts an FM radio channel at 100.6 MHz, and Gyan Vani broadcasts on 105.2. BIG FM and Red FM are the two private FM channels operating in the city.
Mysore started receiving television broadcasts in the early 1980s, when Doordarshan (public service broadcaster of the Indian government) started broadcasting its national channel all over India. This was the only channel available to Mysoreans until Star TV started satellite channels in 1991. Direct-to-home channels are now available in Mysore.
SPORTS
The Wodeyar kings of Mysore were patrons of games and sports. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had a passion for indoor games. He invented new board games and popularised the ganjifa card game. Malla-yuddha (traditional wrestling) has a history in Mysore dating back to the 16th century. The wrestling competition held in Mysore during the Dasara celebrations attracts wrestlers from all over India. An annual sports meeting is organised there during the Dasara season too.
In 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore. The city has four established cricket grounds, but is yet to host an international cricket match. Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowler, comes from Mysore. Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion. The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October. India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.
TOURISM
Mysore is a major tourist destination in its own right and serves as a base for other tourist attractions in the vicinity. The city receives large number of tourists during the 10-day Dasara festival. One of the most visited monuments in India, the Amba Vilas Palace, or Mysore Palace, is the centre of the Dasara festivities. The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal are other palaces in the city. Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church, Wesley's Cathedral are notable religious places in Mysore.
The Mysore Zoo, established in 1892, the Karanji and Kukkarahalli lakes are popular recreational destinations. Mysore has the Regional Museum of Natural History, the Folk Lore Museum, the Railway Museum and the Oriental Research Institute. The city is a centre for yoga-related health tourism that attracts domestic and foreign visitors, particularly those who, for years, came to study with the late ashtanga yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois.
A short distance from Mysore city is the Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Srirangapatna, Somanathapura and Talakad. B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the hill stations of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarhole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu and Kokrebellur. Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, elephants, tigers, Indian leopards and other threatened species, lie between 64 and 97 km to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysore include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at Shivanasamudra.
SISTER CITIES
Mysore is currently twinned with Cincinnati.
WIKIPEDIA
Some of the local names are Tieve's Nacket (Shetland)
Toppyup (Borders)
Lappy (Yorkshire)
There are probably a few more depending where you live,
The Lapwing is portrayed by Chaucer as a deceitful bird where it is said to be "ful of trecherye" (sic),
The word Plover was used in the 17th century as a Nickname for Prostitutes and other 'deceitful women',
The associations linger to this day, the collective noun being a 'Deceit of Lapwing',
That Shetland local name earlier Tieve's Nacket means 'Thieve's Imp'!
The Latin name Vanellus vanellus comes from Medieval Latin Vannus = A Winnowing fan, a large fan used to blow the chaff from the grain at harvest, still used in some countries, when used it makes a whooshing sound with each stroke similar to the sound of the sound a Lapwing's wings make when swooping at anything or anyone going near the nest site or in display flight,
In Germany 'Kiebitz' which can also mean a Nosy Parker or voyeuristic onlooker who gives an unasked for commentary, Thank you Mart Achtman for that info :^D, perhaps from its habit of watching any activity and calling out incessantly !
Over the centuries Lapwing have suffered at our hands both birds and eggs taken for food in 1860 more than 3,000 eggs where taken on one estate, it is still lawful to take Lapwing eggs under licence.
Thank you all who view, comment or fave, it is greatly appreciated.
we decided to be adventurous and travel the old Lincoln highway..most of it was pot holes and cracked pavement,sand drifts and rocks! we had to travel around 25-30 mpr ,we were hoping to make it through and we did!
to our right was the interstate.
On July 1, 1913, a group of automobile enthusiasts and industry officials established the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) "to procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, open to lawful traffic of all description without toll charges." In its time, the Lincoln Highway would become the Nation's premier highway, as well known as U.S. 66 was to be in its day and as well known as I-80 and I-95 are today.
It is almost five months since the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golden, gave directive and sign-off on the deadly attack on the depressed community of Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston, Jamaica. The massive joint police and military operation on May 23, was unleashed to serve a warrant on Dudus Coke, a man wanted by the United States. The Jamaica Defense Force and the Jamaica Constabular Force, carried out a reign of terror on the community killing 73 people (official number). Citizens of the Tivoli Gardens and the Human Right organizations have given credible reports on extrajudicial killings by state security forces. To date the government of Jamaica has not set up any independent body to investigate the killings and human rights abuses.
"An independent and impartial investigation is critical to determine whether any of the killings were the result of excessive force or outright executions," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provides that law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The legitimate objective should be achieved with minimal damage and injury, and preservation of human life respected. The Basic Principles call for an effective reporting and review process, especially in cases of death and serious injury.
To ensure that the residents of West Kingston and the trauma they have experienced are not soon forgotten, Jamaicans for Justice have produced a short video focusing on the survivors. Please watch the video below and please distribute widely to interested networks. The video also signifies the launch of Jamaicans for Justice in Tivoli Gardens media campaign. Today the Government authorities have not conducted prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations into alleged killings and human right abuses carried out on the community.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKbtMQoJTsc
Jamaicans for Justice
2 Fagan Avenue, Kingston 8
Phone: (876) 755-4524-6
Fax #: (876) 755-4355
Email: ja.for.justice@cwjamaica.com
Website: www.jamaicansforjustice.org
hcvanalysis.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/jamaica-internationa...
YOUTH MISSING WITHOUT A TRACE
W29
Sensation of the 1935 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary pre-war 500 K supercar cost a small fortune when new and today commands a king's ransom, such is its rarity. The 1930s decade was a period of unprecedented fertility in motor car styling, of which the sublime 500 K represented the very pinnacle of excellence. Its timeless appeal endures to this day.
The 500 K, which boasted an ingenious swing-axle independent rear suspension layout, was created by Hans Nibel, who having started with Benz in the early years of the 20th Century, succeeded Marius Barbarou as chief engineer in 1904 and designed (and raced) the huge Benz cars of the period, culminating in the 200hp 'Blitzen' Benz. After the merger with Mercedes he replaced Ferdinand Porsche and created the most sophisticated chassis of their day for road and track, including the first of the 'Silver Arrow' racers. The supercharged road-going Mercedes of the 1930s are a wonderful tribute to his engineering skills.
The 500 K's immediate forerunner was the 380. Introduced at the 1933 Berlin Auto Show, the 380 K was powered by a 3.8-litre supercharged straight eight and took its place at the head of Mercedes-Benz's model range alongside the ageing SS. Developed and refined on the earlier S series, Mercedes-Benz's forced induction technology enabled the driver to engage the supercharger for short bursts of enhanced acceleration.
There were also strong visual links to the S series in the form of the massive V-shaped radiator, set well back on the chassis, and imposing Bosch headlights. With its all-round independent suspension and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, the chassis represented the very best of modern automotive technology, endowing the 380 with class-leading ride, handling, and braking. These characteristics, coupled with the effortless power of the blown straight eight, made the 380 ideally suited to exploit the extensive Autobahn network then under construction in Germany.
Whereas in the past such exclusive and expensive cars would have been chauffeur driven, the 380 was designed with the enthusiastic and mechanically knowledgeable owner/driver in mind, reflecting the changing social and economic conditions of the 1930s. Its many technological advances notwithstanding, the 380 was deemed insufficiently powerful to provide the required level of performance when called upon to carry large enclosed-limousine bodies, although these were now the exception rather than the norm. Mercedes-Benz lost no time in developing its successor: the 500 K.
Together with the succeeding 540 K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 500 K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. Introduced at the Berlin Auto Show, a mere 13 months after the 380's arrival, the 500 K was powered by a 5,018cc overhead-valve straight-eight engine that featured the company's famous Roots-type supercharger system in which pressing the accelerator pedal to the end of its travel would simultaneously engage the compressor and close off the alternative atmospheric intake to the carburettor. This system had been thoroughly proven on the preceding series of Dr. Porsche-conceived S-Type cars, and in effect the 500/540 K was the last supercharged production Mercedes until relatively recent times. The 380 continued in production but by the end of 1934 had gone, leaving the 500 K unchallenged at the top of the Mercedes-Benz range.
Generously braced, the 500 K's box-section chassis boasted independent suspension all round: by wishbones and coil springs at the front and swing axles at the rear, with damping by hydraulic lever-type shock absorbers. Horizontal camber compensating springs were a later addition to the swing axles, further refining wheel control. Standard equipment included two spare wheels, safety glass, electric windscreen wipers, centralised lubrication, and a central fog light.
Beneath its impressing bonnet, the 500 K's eight-cylinder pushrod engine developed 100bhp un-supercharged or 160bhp at 3,400rpm with the compressor engaged. Cast as one in steel, the combined crankcase/cylinder block was topped by a cast-iron head, while the oil supply was contained within an aluminium sump. The gearbox was a four-speeder with direct (1:1) 3rd gear and overdrive top ratio, the latter engaged via a pre-selector mechanism.
With the supercharger engaged via its multi-plate clutch, the 500 K had a top speed approaching 177km/h (110mph), which was matched by servo-assisted hydraulic braking. Its performance potential was such that Mercedes-Benz in the UK retained the Italian racing driver Goffredo 'Freddy' Zehender as technical adviser and demonstration driver, since the supercharged Mercedes was one of the few genuine 100mph road cars available in the 1930s. After testing an open-top 500 K in 1936, The Autocar declared: 'This is a master car, for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own.'
Although the 500K/540 K chassis attracted the attention of many of the better quality bespoke coachbuilders of the day, the company's own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement. With a lengthy wheelbase of almost 3.3 metres, and a tall engine, the 500 K must have been a challenge to body in sporting style, yet few would deny that with the Roadster version, as seen here, master stylist Hermann Ahrens and the craftsmen at Sindelfingen succeeded brilliantly.
The Roadster was offered in two versions, '105380' being an example of the 1st Series that was characterised by the absence of windup windows, a fully folding convertible hood, and twin spare wheels mounted on the short, tapered tail, which featured chromed, stalk-mounted tail lights. Today finished in a rich shade of red, with interior upholstery in tan leather and a matching cloth convertible hood, the car boasts an impressive array of features that includes chromed wire wheels, twin windscreen-mounted spotlights, and chromed exhaust pipes.
The manufacturing record of the 500 K reveals its exclusive nature: 105 being produced in 1934, 190 in 1935 and 59 in 1936 making a total of 354 cars, of which it is estimated that only 29 were completed with Roadster or Spezial Roadster coachwork. In recent years, the rarity, style and performance of these big supercharged Mercedes have made them one of the most sought-after of all classic cars on the few occasions they have come on the open market.
The imposing and supremely elegant 500 K roadster we offer here, chassis number '105380', was completed by Sindelfingen on 6th February 1935; the car was finished in green, the paint being an early form of metallic. Following completion, '105380' was immediately despatched to Berlin where it occupied centre stage on the Mercedes-Benz stand at that year's Motor Show, held between 14th and 24th February. A photograph of '105380', taken on the Mercedes-Benz stand, is reproduced in Jan Melin's book, 'Mercedes-Benz 8 - The Supercharged 8-Cylinder Cars of the 1930s' (page 182).
The 500 K remained in Berlin until 22nd March. Purchased there by businessman Hans Friedrich Prym of Stolberg it was despatched to the Mercedes-Benz agency in Aachen, Germany. The Kommission document records the date of the transaction as 25th April 1935.
Prym is Germany's oldest family-owned company and still has its global headquarters in Stolberg. For more than 400 years Prym has been known for metal products of the highest quality, ranging from press-stud fastenings to superfine electro-mechanical components.
The car's subsequent history is not known prior to its appearance in the 1970s, still in excellent condition, in the collection of late Russell Strauch of Toledo, Ohio. A pioneer collector, Mr Strauch's world-class collection of coachbuilt classic automobiles included fine examples by the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Duesenberg, Packard and many more. How the 500 K came to the USA is not known. It disappeared overnight from the Prym premises. All that is known is, that it was stolen that night. In any case, the Mercedes resurfaced decades later in the USA at a collector named Russel Strauch.
Russell Strauch died in 1976, by which time the 500 K moved to the collection of Don Dickson, where it remained until 1988. The next custodian of '105380' was Richie Clyne for the Imperial Palace Collection. While there the car was treated to a cosmetic restoration, which was carried out by Mike Fennell Enterprises of Saugus, California in 1991.
Subsequently, the 500 K passed into the fastidious care of the Lyon Family Collection where it formed one of the highlights for many years, representing the very best of the marque in terms of both performance and style.
In August 2011, '105380' was auctioned at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California to a car collector from Europe. In March 2012 the Mercedes was exhibited at the Techno Classica show in Essen where the heirs of Hans Prym were able to catch hold of their car. On the basis of confirming interim orders by the competent German courts the parties involved entered into negotiations, which lead to a final and comprehensive settlement on the restitution of the car. Therefore, seventy years after its disappearance, the car returned to its lawful
owners. Thus, we are proud to say: This rare vehicle comes along with a thoroughly documented history and is offered by the family of the very first and sole owner.
This wonderful 500 K is offered for sale today by the Prym family and comes with the all-important Mercedes-Benz Classic certification and a detailed condition report (in German) compiled by independent Mercedes specialists. Representative of the very best that money could buy in the mid-1930s, '105380' is an excellent example of this classic and much sought after German model."
The Chantilly Sale
Bonhams
Sold for € 5.290.000
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille
Château de Chantilly
Chantilly
France - Frankrijk
September 2016
Accepting Christ
by
I.C. Herendeen
In an effort to get sinners saved we often hear them exhorted to “Accept Christ as their personal Saviour” as though those who are slaves of Satan and captives of the Devil could do so and be saved if they did so. But this is utterly foreign to Holy Scripture; there is no foundation in Holy Writ for it. It presents a false way of salvation, and therefore should be discarded along with other similar expressions such as “Give your heart to Jesus,” “Take Jesus as your Saviour”, etc. Such expressions fail to take into consideration the plain and sad fact that man is a fallen creature (Rom. 3:23), “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:18) with a heart stubbornly steeled against Him so that he “will not” come to Christ John 5:40) unless and until Divine power overcomes his innate enmity and makes him willing to come that he “might have life” (John 10:10). By nature the sinner’s “carnal mind” is “enmity against God” ( Rom. 8:7) so that naught but Divine power operating within him can overcome this enmity. The salvation of any sinner is a matter of “the operation of God” (Col. 2:12).
A spiritual kingdom requires a spiritual nature, and in order to the acquisition of that the natural man must be regenerated, Divinely regenerated, for the creature can no more quicken himself than he can give himself a natural being. Why not? Because regeneration is no mere outward reformation, process of education, or even religious cultivation. No, it consists of a radical change of heart and transformation of character, the communication of a gracious and holy principle, producing new desires, new capacities, a new life. The new birth is absolutely imperative, but this is the work of the Spirit of God from the very nature of the case. Birth altogether excludes the idea of any effort or work on the part of the one born, hence it is written “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63).
The new birth is much, very much more than temporary remorse for sin, giving mental assent to the acceptance of Christ as personal Saviour, changing the course of life, or leaving off bad habits and substituting good ones. “It goes infinitely deeper than that . . . it is the inception and reception of a new life. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting, a miracle , the result of the supernatural operation of God.” “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9), of the Lord from beginning to end.
“It is no marvel that the natural man needs to be born again, for he is totally depraved, a slave of sin and Satan, devoid of any love to God, any relish for heavenly things, and any ability to perform spiritual acts.” The sinner has been totally “ruined by the fall”, is “without strength” (Rom. 5:6), hence it is written in John 6:44 “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him.” Only those who have been “made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12) and made holy shall enter Heaven which is a prepared place for a prepared people (John 14:2). “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord ” (Heb. 12:14; Matt. 5:8). By his apostasy man lost his holiness, is wholly corrupt and under the dominion of dispositions and lusts which are directly contrary to God. The corruption of man’s being is so great and entire that he will never truly repent unless and until he is supernaturally renewed by the Holy Spirit. In order for any to have Christ as their Saviour they must first have received Him as their ‘Lord’ (Col. 2:6; Acts 2:36), as their King to rule over them, for God saves none in their rebellion against Him: We must cease our rebellion against Him and His authority and give Him the throne of our hearts as our Ruler or He is not our Saviour no matter what our profession.
It seems to be the understanding of so many that if and when Christ is “offered” to man for his acceptance and he “surrenders” and he “gives his heart to Jesus” that the blood of Christ will then avail to wash away his sins. But not so. As well offer food to a corpse, for Eph. 2:1, 2 tells us that sinners are “dead in trespasses and sins”, and certainly a “dead” man cannot accept Christ or cooperate with the Spirit of God. It is a sad delusion indeed that any should think that it lies in the power of the natural man to perform any act of what is naively termed “simple faith” and thus be saved. The truth of the Word of God is that before any man can be saved he must be “born of the Spirit” of God (John 3:8) and surrender to the authority of God else his profession is worthless and his religion vain.
To exhort sinners to be saved by “Accepting Christ as their Saviour” without pressing upon them the imperative necessity of repentance is dishonest, and is to falsify God’s terms of salvation, for “Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 17:3) is the Divine dictum. The sinner must either repent or perish, there is no other alternative. And since”All have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) all therefore need to “repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) else they will be “punished with everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:9). To delay repentance then is most perilous.
“Repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18) is not a work of nature but a gracious work of the Spirit of God, begun in the heart and manifested in the new birth, continued throughout the entire life of the Christian, and consummated in Heaven. “Accepting Christ as personal Saviour” is a far, far cry from that repentance that God demands from the sinner before he can be saved (see Acts 17:30). For salvation “repentance unto life” is just as necessary as is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. No sinner was ever pardoned while he remained impenitent, while he remained in rebellion against God and His authority, and without submitting himself whole-heartedly to His Lordship. This involves the realization in his heart, wrought therein by the Holy Spirit, of “the sinfulness of sin” (Rom. 7:13), of the awfulness of ignoring the claims of God and of defying His authority. Repentance is a holy horror and hatred of sin, a deep sorrow for it, a contrite acknowledgment of it before God, and a complete heart forsaking of it. Peter in Acts 3:19 did not say that all you have to do is to “Accept Christ” as your personal Saviour,” but instead he said “ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” From the above it is crystal clear that a mental assent to the Gospel will save no one, nor will a mere empty profession of faith in Christ. So many flatter themselves that they are born again because they have been baptized, joined some “church of their choice”, received the Lord’s supper who do not have a keen and humbling sense of sin. Professing to be Christians, they are filled with a vain and presumptuous confidence that all is well with their souls, deluding themselves with hopes of mercy while continuing to live in a course of self-will and self-pleasing. But the spiritual impotency of the natural man is total and entire, irreparable and irremediable so far as all human efforts are concerned. Fallen man is utterly indisposed and disabled, thoroughly opposed to God and His law, wholly inclined unto evil.
The sinner in his natural state has no power in himself to accept Christ as his personal Saviour, or to “believe to the saving of his soul”, nor has he any real desire or intention of doing so for the reason that, as stated above, his “carnal mind” is “enmity against God” ( Rom. 8:7). He is “the servant (lit. bondslave) of sin” (Rom. 6:20) and must be made “free from sin” (Rom. 6:22) by the almighty “power of God” (Luke 9:43). That he is utterly helpless to save himself is clearly brought out in Jer. 13:23 where we read “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” When he can do that then “may he also do good, that is accustomed to do evil.” The sinner’s spiritual impotency consists in nothing but the depravity of his own heart, and his inveterate hatred of God. He is so helpless and hopeless in himself that he cannot take one step toward Christ for salvation. Hence he is cast upon God “from the womb” (Psa. 22:10) if ever he is to be saved, so to intimate to sinners that they can come to Christ whenever they agree to accept Christ as their personal Saviour is to deceive and bolster them up in a false “way of salvation.” This is an exceedingly serious matter. They need to “Seek the Lord while he is to be found, and call upon Him while He is near” (Isa. 55:6).
How we do need to be reminded of the scriptural injunction to “Hold fast the form of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13), and present the Gospel as far as possible in “words which the Holy Ghost teacheth” and not in “words which man’s wisdom teacheth” (1 Cor. 2:13). Selah.
As another has so well said, “The saving work of Christ, that is, the saving of a soul from hell, is only one His many offices and works that the Saviour does for men. If you heard the preacher say at the wedding, ‘George, do you take Margaret whom you hold by the hand as your lawful wedded cook’ you would sit up in astonishment and wonder at what kind of a marriage is taking place. No preacher calls attention to the work, or the ability, or the service which the bride will bring to her husband. In fact, the husband takes the wife for everything that she can do, and all that she is.
Yet in preaching the Gospel we call attention to one work of the Saviour instead of to the Person Himself who does that wonderful work. Let us see how the Scripture reads. Do we find in John 1:12, ‘But as many as received Him, as their Saviour , to them gave He power to become the sons of God’? No, the words ‘as their Saviour’ are not found in the verse. Do we read in John 3:16, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him as his own personal Saviour’? No, we do not. These words are not found in the verse. Nor are they found in I John 5:12, Matt. 11:28, etc. In fact, the expression never occurs, for the Holy Spirit does not attract the sinner’s attention to one particular work, but always to that wonderful and precious Person who did, and who does the work.
It is as at the wedding, the bride who married the rich man . . . confesses that she is his bride, his wife. She does not say I took him as my banker, or as my companion, or as anything else. My experience has been through the years that those who profess to be saved through that kind of phraseology that is not found in the Bible quite often cannot be found after a few weeks or months. (Dr. W. L. Wilson in the Defender). Pink says that “Man, with his invariable perversity, has reversed God’s order. Modern evangelism urges giddy worldlings, with no sense of their lost condition, to ‘Accept Christ as their personal Saviour’, and when such converts prove unsatisfactory to the churches, special meetings are arranged where they are pressed to ‘consecrate them selves’ to Christ as Lord”! How we do need to “Prove all things” and “hold fast that which is good” (I Thess. 5:21).
www.sermonaudio.com/gallery_details.asp?image=gr-10270813...
www.flickr.com/groups/kodakero/discuss/72157605601046747/...
Caversham Bridge
Caversham Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames between Caversham and the town centre of Reading. The bridge is situated on the reach above Caversham Lock, carrying the A4155 road across the river and also providing pedestrian access to the adjacent mid-river Pipers Island.
The first bridge on the site was built sometime between 1163, when a famous trial by combat was fought on nearby De Montfort Island, and 1231, when Henry III wrote to the Sheriff of Oxfordshire, commanding him:
"to go in person, taking with him good and lawful men of his county, to the chapel of St Anne on the bridge at Reading over the Thames one side of which is built on the fee of William Earl Marshal and by the view and testimony of those men see that the abbot has the same seisin of the said chapel as he had on the day the said earl died."
William Marshal was the first Earl of Pembroke, the principal landowner in the Caversham area, and regent during the early years of Henry's reign. He had died at his home at Caversham Park in 1218.
The old bridge was the site of a skirmish during the English Civil War in 1643 and was left with a wooden drawbridge structure on the Berkshire half. The bridge was still in this state when it was depicted by Joseph Mallord William Turner in 1806/7, in a painting entitled Caversham Bridge with Cattle in the Water.
In 1869 the whole bridge was replaced by an iron lattice construction. When Reading Bridge was completed in 1923 work began on replacing Caversham Bridge with the current structure which is of concrete with a granite balustrade. It was opened in 1926 by Edward Prince of Wales.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent... even when you bow" (Lee).
Enter The Dragon Chapter 28 - 01:35:50
@ All copyrights on the still remain to their lawful owners.
The Victoria public house at 6 Union Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
Richard Goulding, taking advantage of the Duke of Wellingtons Beer House Act 1830, paid two guineas to the excise for a license and turned his small, but private house, in to a public house. The only condition of the Act was that you were a householder or ratepayer.
A homebrewed house, the small brewery was sited in the Cross Keys yard. Elizabeth Barratt would have employed a local travelling brewer-as and when it was neccessary. Retail brewers specialised in a form of malty mild; heavy, dark, sweet and strong, that varied considerably from brew to brew. The average Lincoln gravity was 1060, the second highest in England.
In 1873 Elizabeth Barratt applied for and was granted inn status by Lincoln magistrates - something that most beer housekeepers failed to achieve. The advantages were considerable. As an Inn, the Cross Keys was permitted to remain open as long as a bed was empty, offering basic accommodation, simple victuals, homebrewed ale and stabling to the lawful traveller. Normal Victorian Licensing hours were long, 18 hours a day, 4am to 10pm, seven days a week, closed only during Divine service, Christmas day and Good Friday.
Acquired by national brewers Whitbread, who closed the Cross Keys in 1981 due to lack of custom, it was then bought by Lincoln entrepreneur Antony Eastwood. After structural alterations, the Cross Keys re-opened in December 1983, the sign reverting to its original name, The Victoria.
It remained as a Free house until acquired by Tynemill Group in 1990s. It was later bought by Batemans of Wainfleet. An external door to the south side was inserted in 2001 to give access to outside sitting area.
Landlord 1850s Robert Barratt; 1860s-1872 Elizabeth Barratt; 1881-1885 J Patrick Brian; 1895-1907 Charles Lawson; 1909-1911 Walter Fairchild; 1913 J H Peacock.
Information Source:
www.heritageconnectlincoln.com/character-area/castle/103/...
I thought this gravestone on Norfolk Island deserved some effort to find out more of this man''s story. It's quite a tale:
"Australia’s inauspicious beginnings as a penal colony meant that its early population was inhabited by plenty of ‘colourful characters’ transported from England for ‘rehabilitation’ having been convicted of both petty and serious crimes.
Not all convict arrivals served their time and then ventured forth on the straight and narrow path to self-righteousness. Many would turn out to be recidivists who revisited their old skills in the new land.
One such convict was Thomas Saulsbury Wright, a London Banker, who was already in his 60s when he received a death sentence for forgery in 1799. Fortuitously for Tommy he escaped the hangman’s noose and instead was transported for life to the penal colony of New South Wales where he was eventually granted his freedom.
Wright was obviously a wheeler and dealer whose return to a life of crime is best described by Frank Clune in his book ‘the Norfolk Island Story’. Clune writes that ‘the story of his decline and fall was told in the ‘Australian’ (newspaper) of 9th November 1839. On trial before Mr Justice Stephen and a jury was Thomas Wright. alias ‘Tommy the Banker’, late of Parramatta, indicted under a statute of William IV, for feloniously having in his possession, without lawful excuse, certain forged notes purporting to be of the Austilin (sic) Bank, knowing them to be counterfeit.’
Naturally Tommy the Banker pleaded not guilty, and pointed out that his name was actually Thomas Sa(u)lsb(ur)y Wright and not the accused Thomas Wright. His Honour ordered the indictment altered accordingly to please the prisoner – not that it made any difference.
The Attorney-General began his case, linking it to the last court session in which a co-partner of Wright’s named Salt had been convicted of uttering one of these Austilin Bank notes, and so pointing to Wright’s involvement.
‘A search warrant was issued, and the constable found several notes on Wright’s person and, in his house one hundred and ninety-one £10 notes, two hundred and fifty £5 notes, three hundred and seventy-six £2 notes, eighty-seven £1 notes, and one hundred and ninety-five £20 notes, amounting in all to £8,000,’ – or enough to start a bank.
Wright was also in possession of plates capable of producing banknotes for the (said) Austilin Bank, the Austilian Bank, the Sydney Bank, the Bank of Parramatta, the Parramatta Banking Company, the Parramatta Trading Bank and the Defiance Banking Company.
Constable Alexander Brown, who conducted the search explained that the plates were “engraved by a person named Wilson in York Street (Sydney)” who seemed to be the go-to-person for anyone wanting passable banknotes printed, as he had earlier provided plates and printed notes for another dubious venture the ‘Bank of Newcastle.’
The Attorney-General argued that the Austilin plates “were so well executed that anyone would be likely to be deceived by their close resemblance to the notes of the Bank of Australia”, a legitimate enterprise.
In unintentional support for Wright, Mr Edye Manning, a director of the Bank of Australia, testified quite haughtily that the notes in question “could deceive none but the very ignorant persons” – but the judge thought otherwise, and asked the prisoner what explanation he had to offer.
The ‘Australian’ newspaper in its report said that “the prisoner, who is an aged man, said to be one hundred and two years of age (and on his own evidence) sixty-two years a banker, had undertaken to establish a Bank for a company at Parramatta, but that he got connected with a party of swindlers, who robbed him. He was able to take up all the notes signed by himself, but could not take up those he was robbed of – and (argued) he had as good a right to establish a bank as any other gentleman, and would undertake to conduct the management of one for any company of gentlemen who might choose to employ him, upon the best and most improved principles of banking.”
“Laughter in Court”, reported the Australian.
After the judge directed the jury, ‘they found the prisoner guilty, without leaving the box.’
His Honour inquired of the Attorney-General the circumstances under which the prisoner had arrived in the colony, and was told “for the offence for which he has now been tried.” In summary Mr Justice Stephen said, “it was lamentable to see an aged infirm old man, on the verge of the grave, persisting in the same career of crime which he had commenced in his youth, instead of amending his life, and preparing for the world to which he (would) soon be called.”
Despite the age of the accused, his Honour committed Wright to “fourteen years transportation to a penal settlement” on Norfolk Island.
On the 14th December 1839, the Superintendent of Convicts recorded that “I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to transmit for you a list of forty-four prisoners under sentence of transportation by the Governor Phillip sailing on Friday next.” The list included ‘Thomas Sa(u)lsb(ur)y Wright’.
Time puts an end to all enterprises, even the criminal, and an entry in the Norfolk Island Hospital files records the “death (of) Thomas Wright, 7th February 1843, aged 104.”
Source: Small Auctions.com
第一章中国思想文化食物41其成员血统的政治影响。贝克指出，这样一个舞蹈家也可能有一个祖先的礼拜堂，在那里崇拜其祖先，并履行其他功能，但是寺庙通常位于一个城市，显然只有其成员血统的高级阶层才积极参与其中。关于传统中国共同血统小组的作用，包括祖先祠堂的崇拜及其功能，见胡胡，1948; Freedman，1970;和S. D. R. Baker，1979年。34在光荣，c，K.杨（961：43）写道，一个人的血统成员（埃兰）被证明是由他接受了一部分牺牲的肉体。如果这种肉被扣留，就表示该人因违反其规定而被排除在血统之外。没有收到这种献祭的35AC中国祖先精神不被描述为“无家可归”或“无耻”，而是被称为“饥饿”（H. D.R.Baker，1983）。 26“Beitrige zur Geschichte von vegetarismus und Rinderverehrung in Indien”，Akademie der wissenschafen und der Lieratur，Maina，Abhandlungen，Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften Klasse 1961：559-625。它也包含非宗教元素，其中包括老子的哲学思想;海上探险寻求群岛的群众性狂潮;和致力于革命的秘密社团。 38中国炼金术不像欧洲的炼金术，寻求黄金，主要是为了“不朽的化学药剂”（Welch，1958：96-97）39不同的
中国的炼金术不像欧洲的炼金术一样，寻找黄金，主要是为了“不朽的化学药剂”（Welch，1958：96-970）。已经给出了五个这样的名单：welch（958：91n）将它们列为米，小米，小麦，大麦和豆类“。还有其他故事，以及otMencius的母亲和小朋友为了她的儿子的利益而生活。Legge（1895：17-18，谁收集了这样的故事观察到，虽然中国的虔诚者相信，有些可能是制造的。“在祭祀仪式结束之后，被认为具有特殊功绩的肉体可能会与参加者分开，吃猪肉据信，祖先的秋天牺牲更有可能是男性后代的诞生，并且通过一些家庭的儿子进行某些考试和成名（Doolittle，1865年，1 229; Soothill，1923：136）。42这项工作， “关于行动和报应的散文”可能是在美国的“ADLike Gideon圣经”十一世纪写的，其副本由修道院和慈善组织免费分发（Welch，1958：139-10，DH Smith， 1968年：1100.对于马来亚槟城的神圣乌龟池照片，被称为“东南亚最大最壮观的华人庙宇”，被称为“天堂之庙”，参见1967年的“CS Woog”：第8页。对于明代虔诚的素食主义者的故事，她断绝了自己的怀孕意识，生病了，死了，看到了Cormack，1935：161-66。有关马来西亚佛教素食主义者和素食主义者的信息，请参见c。 s。 wong，1967：155.s8。七世纪中国佛教朝圣者轩辕指出，印度的Hinayana佛教徒接受了三十四只动物的合法食物：野鹅，犊牛和某种鹿。轩辕作为一个虔诚的大乘佛教徒，不会吃这样的肉，其他的Mahayanists也禁止牛奶和乳制品（Watters，1904-5,557; Banerjee，1977：59）。
Shen's polysemous meanings developed diachronically over three millennia. The Hanyu dazidian, an authoritative historical dictionary, distinguishes one meaning for shēn ("Name of a deity (神名)) and eleven meanings for shén 神 translated below:Celestial god(s)/spirit(s) of stories/legends, namely, the creator of the myriad things in heaven and earth and the supreme being. (传说中的天神,即天地万物的创造者和主宰者.) Spirit; mind, mental faculties; consciousness. Like: concentrated attention; tire the mind; concentrate one's energy and attention. (精神.如: 凝神; 劳神; 聚精会神.)
Expression, demeanor; consciousness, state of mind. (表情; 神志.) Portrait, portraiture. (肖像.) Magical, supernatural, miraculous; mysterious, abstruse. Like: ability to divine the unknown, amazing foresight; highly skilled doctor; genius, masterpiece. (神奇; 玄妙. 如: 神机妙算; 神医; 神品.)
Esteem, respect; valuable, precious. (尊重; 珍贵.)
Rule, govern, administer. (治理.) Cautious, careful, circumspect. (谨慎.) Display, arrange, exhibit. (陈列.)
Dialect. 1. Dignity, distinction. (威风.) 2. Entrancement, ecstasy. (入神.) 3. Clever, intelligent. (聪明.) Surname, family name. (姓.)
Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry
books.google.fr/books?isbn=084938804X - Traduire cette page
Frederick J. Simoons - 1990 - Technology & Engineering
38 Chinese alchemy was not, like alchemy in Europe, a search for gold, but mainly ... 44 For the tale of a devout vegetarian woman of Ming times who broke her ...
Chapter 1 Food in Chinese Thought and Culture 41 political influence of its member lineages. Baker observes that such a dan also may have an ancestral hall where it worshipped its assembled ancestors and performed other functions, but that the temple was usually located in a city and apparently only upper-class persons from its member lineages participated actively in its operations. For accounts of the role of common descent groups in traditional China, including the veneration of ancestors and ancestral halls and their functions, see H. C. Hu, 1948; M. Freedman, 1970; and H. D. R. Baker, 1979. 34 In Kwanglung, writes c, K. Yang (961:43), a person's membership in the lineage (elan) was demonstrated by his receiving a portion of the sacrificial flesh. If such meat was withheld, it signaled that the person had been excommuni- cated from the lineage because of a violation of its regulations. 35AChinese ancestral spirit who does not receive such offerings is described not as "homeless" or "penniless," but as "hungry" (H. D. R. Baker, 1983). 26 "Beitrige zur Geschichte von vegetarismus und Rinderverehrung in Indien," Akademie der wissenschafen und der Lieratur, Maina, Abhandlungen, Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften Klasse 1961: 559-625. it contains non-religious elements as well, among them the philosophical thinking of Lao Tzu; expeditions by sea to seek the Isles of the Blest group sexual orgies; and secret societies dedicated to revolution. 38 Chinese alchemy was not, like alchemy in Europe, a search for gold, but mainly for "a chemical elixi of immortality" (Welch, 1958: 96-97. 39 Different)...Chinese alchemy was no, like alchemy in Europe, a search for gold, but mainly for "a chemical elixir of immortality (Welch, 1958: 96-970. "Diterent lists have been given for the five, with welch (958:91n) listing them as rice, millet, wheat, barley, and beans. "There are other stories, as well, otMencius' mother and ber residential mowes in the interests of her son. Legge (1895: 17-18, who presented a collection of such stories, observed that, though believed by the devout in China, some may be fabrications. "After a sacrificial ritual had ended, the flesh, which was believed to possess special merit, might be divided among those who had attended. Eating pork from an autumn sacrifice to the ancestors was believed to make more likely the birth of male offspring and to belp the sons of a family pass certain examinations and gain fame (Doolittle, 1865, 1 229; Soothill, 1923: 136). 42 This work, the "Essay on actions and retributions," may have been written in the eleventh century A.D.Like Gideon Bibles in the United States, copies of it are distributed without charge by monasteries and charitable organizations (Welch, 1958: 139-10, D. H. Smith, 1968: 1100. For a photo of the sacred turtle pond in Penang, Malaya, at the "Temple ofParadise," described as"the largest and the most magnificent Chinese Temple in South East Asia," see C. S. Woog, 1967: Plate 8. For the tale of a devout vegetarian woman of Ming times who broke her vow ofvegetarianism, took sick, and died, see Cormack, 1935: 161-66. es For information on Buddhist vegetarian houses and vegetarianism in Malaysia, see c. s. wong, 1967: 155.s8. The seventh-century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hsuan-tsang noted that Hinayana Buddhists in India accepted the 46 flesh of three animals as lawful food: wild geese, calves, and deer of a certain type. Hsuan-tsang, as a devout Mahayana Buddhist, would not eat such flesh, and other Mahayanists banned milk and dairy products as well (Watters, 1904-5, 1 57; Banerjee, 1977:59).
The New or Literary Society De Witte (in Dutch: De Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit De Witte) is a well-known concept in The Hague and beyond. It is a symbol of a certain type of club spirit and business relationships. Characteristics such as men's club, lodges, old mores and values, a good old boys network, elitist or snobbish and only accessible to a select group of people, are often used to describe De Witte. And that’s partly true since it is a since it’s a common felt experience. On the other hand De Witte has a social and open character with activities that are accessible to a broader public.
Nevertheless, something mystical remains. A similar kind of atmosphere as with the freemasonry. One cannot easily put one’s finger on the true meaning or aim of the club. For example, the Articles of Association of the De Witte, state the club promotes social intercourse among its members as well as the practice of literature, fine arts, history and other sciences.
'De Witte' was founded in 1782 as a private club. It is housed in a monumental building on the Plein square next to the famous Mauritshuis and the Binnenhof. The name originates from the original white building before this one. The club was founded by 114 predominantly young notables as an club for social movement and 'lawful' out-door house activities. The word “New” refers to the fact that it was actually a re-establishment with regards to new political developments. 'Literary' was used as a pretext to escape the restrictions that existed in French times with regard to clubs.
On May 3rd 1870, the first stone was laid for the (new) building, which was designed by architect Cornelis Outshoorn. On some days more than 100 workers were working on the building project, which resulted that no more than 474,500 bricks could be laid in one week. Already on October 26, 1870, the building was (re)opened by Queen Sophie, although the inside was not finished yet. The interior is partly in a neo-renaissance style.
Technical stuff
This panorama consists of 15 individual handheld photos. Although the angle of the pano would under normal circumstances usually need 7 or 8 photos, the fact that there are many different lighting conditions and there are numerous horizontal and vertical lines in this interior, 15 were needed to have enough room for compensation during stitching and overflow. Stitching was done with PS CC. The best stitching algorithm that I have worked with (so far), and also very user friendly.
Further post-production included some colour toning and balancing the light. I gave the image a bit of 'umph' by using the vibrance, curves and contrast tools in PS. And as always, I added some copyright watermarks. They are, alas, there to stay due to the frequent copying of my photos. So, don't bother commenting on that.