View allAll Photos Tagged Listing

Grade II listed and constructed in the 1860's for the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company.

 

"Keswick (/ˈkɛzɪk/ KEZ-ik) is an English market town and a civil parish, historically in Cumberland, and since 1974 in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria. Lying within the Lake District National Park, Keswick is just north of Derwentwater and is 4 miles (6.4 km) from Bassenthwaite Lake. It had a population of 5,243 at the 2011 census.

 

There is evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area, but the first recorded mention of the town dates from the 13th century, when Edward I of England granted a charter for Keswick's market, which has maintained a continuous 700-year existence. The town was an important mining area, and from the 18th century has been known as a holiday centre; tourism has been its principal industry for more than 150 years. Its features include the Moot Hall; a modern theatre, the Theatre by the Lake; one of Britain's oldest surviving cinemas, the Alhambra; and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery in the town's largest open space, Fitz Park. Among the town's annual events is the Keswick Convention, an Evangelical gathering attracting visitors from many countries.

 

Keswick became widely known for its association with the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Together with their fellow Lake Poet William Wordsworth, based at Grasmere, 12 miles (19 km) away, they made the scenic beauty of the area widely known to readers in Britain and beyond. In the late 19th century and into the 20th, Keswick was the focus of several important initiatives by the growing conservation movement, often led by Hardwicke Rawnsley, vicar of the nearby Crosthwaite parish and co-founder of the National Trust, which has built up extensive holdings in the area." - 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.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Grade II* listed historic building constructed in the early 1800's.

 

"Alnwick (/ˈænɪk/ AN-ik) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.

 

The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, 32 miles (51 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth and 34 miles (55 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

The town dates to about ad 600, and thrived as an agricultural centre. Alnwick Castle was the home of the most powerful medieval northern baronial family, the Earls of Northumberland. It was a staging post on the Great North Road between Edinburgh and London, and latterly has become a dormitory town for nearby Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The town centre has changed relatively little, but the town has seen some growth, with several housing estates covering what had been pasture, and new factory and trading estate developments along the roads to the south.

 

The name Alnwick comes from the Old English wic ('dairy farm, settlement') and the name of the river Aln.

 

The history of Alnwick is the history of the castle and its lords, starting with Gilbert Tyson, written variously as "Tison", "Tisson", and "De Tesson", one of William the Conqueror's standard bearers, upon whom this northern estate was bestowed. It was held by the De Vesci family (now spelt "Vasey" – a name found all over south-east Northumberland) for over 200 years, and then passed into the hands of the house of Percy in 1309.

 

At various points in the town are memorials of the constant wars between Percys and Scots, in which so many Percys spent the greater part of their lives. A cross near Broomhouse Hill across the river from the castle marks the spot where Malcolm III of Scotland was killed during the first Battle of Alnwick. At the side of the broad shady road called Ratten Row, leading from the West Lodge to Bailiffgate, a stone tablet marks the spot where William the Lion of Scotland was captured during the second Battle of Alnwick (1174) by a party of about 400 mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill.

 

Hulne Priory, outside the town walls in Hulne Park, the Duke of Northumberland's walled estate, was a monastery founded in the 13th century by the Carmelites; it is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to Mount Carmel where the order originated. Substantial ruins remain.

 

In 1314, Sir John Felton was governor of Alnwick. In winter 1424, much of the town was burnt by a Scottish raiding party. Again in 1448 the town was burnt by a Scottish army led by William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas and George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus. There was a Church of Scotland congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

Thomas Malory mentions Alnwick as a possible location for Lancelot's castle Joyous Garde.

 

An Royal Air Force distribution depot was constructed at Alnwick during the Second World War war with four main fuel storage tanks (total capacity 1700 tons), and road and rail loading facilities. The tanks were above ground and surrounded with concrete. The site was closed in the 1970s and its demolition and disposal was completed in 1980.

 

The Alnwick by-pass takes the A1 London–Edinburgh trunk road around the town. It was started in 1968." - 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.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Yep, my final wants list for a while.

 

No notes please!

 

Comment or

FM me what you have, i may be able to buy some stuff, if they are cheaper than the bricklink prices!

Corner of Pitt and Bathurst Streets, Sydney CBD. A heritage-listed Art Deco building,

On School Road in Yardley Wood.

 

Christ Church on School Road, Yardley Wood.

 

Grade II listed.

 

Christ Church, Including Lychgate and Boundary Wall, Birmingham

 

997/0/10465 SCHOOL ROAD

03-DEC-09 Yardley Wood

Christ Church, including lychgate and

boundary wall

 

II

The Anglican Christ Church was designed by A. E. Perkins, in the Early English style. It was built in 1848. The west tower was completed in 1896.

 

MATERIALS: Coursed, roughly dressed, red sandstone and a slate roof. The interior is exposed grey stone.

 

PLAN: Cruciform plan with nave, chancel, north and south transept, west tower and west gallery and south gallery to chancel. There are no aisles.

 

EXTERIOR: The west end consists of a slender stone tower with broach stone spire with lucarnes. A gable end porch, with pointed arched doorway, projects from the base of the tower. The four bay nave has four lancet windows divided by buttresses. There are pairs of lancet windows to the transept gable ends; a triple lancet window to the east end and a single lancet window to the west end, above the porch. There are angle buttresses at the corners with set-offs. To the north transept is a lean-to vestry and to the south transept is the church office with gallery above. To the south wall are a pair of windows within moulded red sandstone pointed arch openings with splayed stone cills.

 

INTERIOR: Exposed grey stone with pointed stone arches to the four sides of the crossing. To the nave is an arch-braced collar-rafter roof with king post, with the rafters exposed and painted white in between. The west gallery has a panelled front and is supported on wooden posts. Beneath the gallery are two small rooms with a glazed screen arcade. To the nave are C19 pews enclosed by small doors at the ends. The chancel has an elaborate geometric tiled floor, choir stalls and inserted C17 panelling which conceals the east window. The Baroque panelling is richly carved with gilded garlands and putti with sedilia to the south and north side of the sanctuary. The stone pulpit has stone arcading with marble shafts; the octagonal stone font to the south transept has chamfered detailing to the bowl. The stained glass memorial windows are dated 1861, 1873, 1874, 1877 and 1879.

 

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: To the north-east of the church is the 1880 lychgate. The church retains its boundary wall and has a substantial cemetery.

 

HISTORY: Christ Church was built in 1848 at a cost of £1550, and was consecrated on the 28 March 1849 by the Bishop of Worcester. It is reputed that the stones used in the construction came from a manor house in Bromsgrove. The 1880 pulpit and lychgate are memorials to Christ Church's first vicar, Alfred Clifton. The church clock and bell were completed in 1896. The brass lectern was given in 1897 to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. The sanctuary was enlarged in 1910. The inserted C17 panelling to the chancel was initially given by the Earl of Denbigh to St Bartholomew's Church, Birmingham and may originally have been made for his C17 family home, Newnham Paddox (demolished, 1952).

 

SOURCES: N Pevsner and A Wedgwood, The Buildings of England : Warwickshire (2003) 215

 

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Christ Church is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* It is a good example of a modest church designed by the architect A. E. Perkins in the Early English style and clearly exhibiting architectural quality

* It contains C17 panelling of exceptional quality

* It has a good suite of furnishings including the pulpit, font and pews

* It has good stained glass memorial windows from the mid- to late C19

  

This text is a legacy record and has not been updated since the building was originally listed. Details of the building may have changed in the intervening time. You should not rely on this listing as an accurate description of the building.

 

Source: English Heritage

 

1. Rilakkuma (want him so bad !)

2. Sylvanian Families House (my otter family lives in a too little house, they need a bigger one !)

3. Middie Blythe Nellie Nibbles (how very very cute)

4. Tokissi Apple (greeny type)

5. Odeco Monotone (love her hair)

6. Middie Blythe Melomelomew (awwwww)

7. Nikki Rompers (I've been wanting her for so long !)

 

Soon it will be my birthday, and as usual my hubby asked me for a wishlist ! This year, the most wanted thing is a Rilakkuma plush bear ! I've been wanting one for a moment, I love this bear, he is soooo cute ♥

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometres) south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII.

 

The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and part of the designated Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Foundation

 

After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, in York, 13 monks were expelled (among them Saint Robert of Newminster) and, after unsuccessful attempts to form a new monastery were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian order which since the end of the previous century was a fast-growing reform movement that by the beginning of the 13th century was to have over 500 houses. So it was that in 1135, Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, after Rievaulx. The Fountains monks became subject to Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy which was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours according to Cistercian usage and were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian practice.

 

Consolidation

 

After Henry Murdac was elected abbot in 1143, the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced. Within three years, an aisled nave had been added to the stone church, and the first permanent claustral buildings built in stone and roofed in tile had been completed.

In 1146 an angry mob, annoyed at Murdac for his role in opposing the election of William FitzHerbert as archbishop of York, attacked the abbey and burnt down all but the church and some surrounding buildings.The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses. Henry Murdac resigned as abbot in 1147 upon becoming the Archbishop of York and was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald. Thorald was forced by Henry Murdac to resign after two years in office. The next abbot, Richard, held the post until his death in 1170 and restored the abbey's stability and prosperity. In 20 years as abbot, he supervised a huge building programme which involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. Only the chapter house was completed before he died and the work was ably continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell, under whose rule the abbey gained a reputation for caring for the needy.

 

The next abbot was William, who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190 and he was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice, after pursuing a military career. During the European famine of 1194 Haget ordered the construction of shelters in the vicinity of the abbey and provided daily food rations to the poor enhancing the abbey's reputation for caring for the poor and attracting more grants from wealthy benefactors.

In the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and prosperity under the next three abbots, John of York (1203–1211), John of Hessle (1211–1220) and John of Kent (1220–1247). They were burdened with an inordinate amount of administrative duties and increasing demands for money in taxation and levies but managed to complete another massive expansion of the abbey's buildings. This included enlarging the church and building an infirmary.

 

Difficulties

 

In the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in more straitened circumstances. It was presided over by eleven abbots, and became financially unstable largely due to forward selling its wool crop, and the abbey was criticised for its dire material and physical state when it was visited by Archbishop John le Romeyn in 1294. The run of disasters that befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots and there were further demands for taxes. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349. The loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous.

A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409. Fountains Abbey along with other English Cistercian houses was told to break off any contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England and consequently they became increasingly involved in internecine politics. In 1410, following the death of Abbot Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor. Contending candidates John Ripon, Abbot of Meaux, and Roger Frank, a monk of Fountains were locked in conflict until 1415 when Ripon was finally appointed, ruling until his death in 1434. Under abbots John Greenwell (1442–1471), Thomas Swinton (1471–8), John Darnton (1478–95), who undertook some much needed restoration of the fabric of the abbey, including notable work on the church, and Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) Fountains regained stability and prosperity.

At Abbot Huby's death he was succeeded by William Thirsk who was accused by the royal commissioners of immorality and inadequacy and was dismissed as abbot. He was replaced by Marmaduke Bradley, a monk of the abbey who had reported Thirsk's supposed offences, testified against him and offered the authorities six hundred marks for the post of abbot. In 1539 it was Bradley who surrendered the abbey when its seizure was ordered under Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

 

The abbey precinct covered 70 acres (28 ha) surrounded by an 11-foot (3.4 m) wall built in the 13th century, some parts of which are visible to the south and west of the abbey. The area consists of three concentric zones cut by the River Skell flowing from west to east across the site. The church and claustral buildings stand at the centre of the precinct north of the Skell, the inner court containing the domestic buildings stretches down to the river and the outer court housing the industrial and agricultural buildings lies on the river's south bank. The early abbey buildings were added to and altered over time, causing deviations from the strict Cistercian type. Outside the walls were the abbey's granges.[citation needed]

The original abbey church was built of wood and "was probably" two stories high; it was, however, quickly replaced in stone. The church was damaged in the attack on the abbey in 1146 and was rebuilt, in a larger scale, on the same site. Building work was completed c.1170.[11] This structure, completed around 1170, was 300 ft (91 m) long and had 11 bays in the side aisles. A lantern tower was added at the crossing of the church in the late 12th century. The presbytery at the eastern end of the church was much altered in the 13th century. The church's greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor terminates, like that of Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220–47. The 160-foot-tall (49 m) tower, which was added not long before the dissolution, by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, is in an unusual position at the northern end of the north transept and bears Huby's motto 'Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'. The sacristry adjoined the south transept.

The cloister, which had arcading of black marble from Nidderdale and white sandstone, is in the centre of the precinct and to the south of the church. The three-aisled chapter-house and parlour open from the eastern walk of the cloister and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, are at right angles to its southern walk. Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure serving as cellars and store-rooms, which supported the dormitory of the conversi (lay brothers) above. This building extended across the river and at its south-west corner were the latrines, built above the swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept. Peculiarities of this arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses.

 

The abbot's house, one of the largest in all of England,is located to the east of the latrine block, where portions of it are suspended on arches over the River Skell.It was built in the mid-twelfth century as a modest single-storey structure, then, from the fourteenth century, underwent extensive expansion and remodelling to end up in the 16th century as a grand dwelling with fine bay windows and grand fireplaces. The great hall was an expansive room 52 by 21 metres (171 by 69 ft).

Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground-plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel,

 

1⁄2-by-23-foot (14 by 7 m), and a kitchen, 50-by-38-foot (15 by 12 m)

 

Medieval monasteries were sustained by landed estates that were given to them as endowments and from which they derived an income from rents. They were the gifts of the founder and subsequent patrons, but some were purchased from cash revenues. At the outset, the Cistercian order rejected gifts of mills and rents, churches with tithes and feudal manors as they did not accord with their belief in monastic purity, because they involved contact with laymen. When Archbishop Thurstan founded the abbey he gave the community 260 acres (110 ha) of land at Sutton north of the abbey and 200 acres (81 ha) at Herleshowe to provide support while the abbey became established. In the early years the abbey struggled to maintain itself because further gifts were not forthcoming and Thurstan could not help further because the lands he administered were not his own, but part of the diocesan estate. After a few years of impoverished struggle to establish the abbey, the monks were joined by Hugh, a former dean of York Minster, a rich man who brought a considerable fortune as well as furniture and books to start the library.

By 1135 the monks had acquired only another 260 acres (110 ha) at Cayton, given by Eustace fitzJohn of Knaresborough "for the building of the abbey". Shortly after the fire of 1146, the monks had established granges at Sutton, Cayton, Cowton Moor, Warsill, Dacre and Aldburgh all within 6 mi (10 km) of Fountains. In the 1140s the water mill was built on the abbey site making it possible for the grain from the granges to be brought to the abbey for milling.Tannery waste from this time has been excavated on the site.

Further estates were assembled in two phases, between 1140 and 1160 then 1174 and 1175, from piecemeal acquisitions of land. Some of the lands were grants from benefactors but others were purchased from gifts of money to the abbey. Roger de Mowbray granted vast areas of Nidderdale and William de Percy and his tenants granted substantial estates in Craven which included Malham Moor and the fishery in Malham Tarn. After 1203 the abbots consolidated the abbey's lands by renting out more distant areas that the monks could not easily farm themselves, and exchanging and purchasing lands that complemented their existing estates. Fountains' holdings both in Yorkshire and beyond had reached their maximum extent by 1265, when they were an efficient and very profitable estate. Their estates were linked in a network of individual granges which provided staging posts to the most distant ones. They had urban properties in York, Yarm, Grimsby, Scarborough and Boston from which to conduct export and market trading and their other commercial interests included mining, quarrying, iron-smelting, fishing and milling.

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a factor that led to a downturn in the prosperity of the abbey in the early fourteenth century. Areas of the north of England as far south as York were looted by the Scots. Then the number of lay-brothers being recruited to the order reduced considerably. The abbey chose to take advantage of the relaxation of the edict on leasing property that had been enacted by the General Chapter of the order in 1208 and leased some of their properties. Others were staffed by hired labour and remained in hand under the supervision of bailiffs. In 1535 Fountains had an interest in 138 vills and the total taxable income of the Fountains estate was £1,115, making it the richest Cistercian monastery in England.

After the Dissolution

 

The Gresham family crest

The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, at the time a Member of Parliament and former Lord Mayor of London, the father of Sir Thomas Gresham. It was Richard Gresham who had supplied Cardinal Wolsey with the tapestries for his new house of Hampton Court and who paid for the Cardinal's funeral.

Gresham sold some of the fabric of the site, stone, timber, lead, as building materials to help to defray the cost of purchase. The site was acquired in 1597 by Sir Stephen Proctor, who used stone from the monastic complex to build Fountains Hall. Between 1627 and 1767 the estate was owned by the Messenger family who sold it to William Aislaby who was responsible for combining it with the Studley Royal Estate.

 

Burials

 

Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray

Abbot Marmaduke Huby (d. 1526)

Rose (daughter of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester), wife of Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy

William II de Percy, 3rd feudal baron of Topcliffe

Becoming a World Heritage Site

The archaeological excavation of the site was begun under the supervision of John Richard Walbran, a Ripon antiquary who, in 1846, had published a paper On the Necessity of clearing out the Conventual Church of Fountains.In 1966 the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate was purchased by the West Riding County Council who transferred ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974. The National Trust bought the 674-acre (273 ha) Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983. In 1986 the parkland in which the abbey is situated and the abbey was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history. Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. The trust owns Studley Royal Park, Fountains Hall, to which there is partial public access, and St Mary's Church, designed by William Burges and built around 1873, all of which are significant features of the World Heritage Site.

The Porter's Lodge, which was once the gatehouse to the abbey, houses a modern exhibition area with displays about the history of Fountains Abbey and how the monks lived.

In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.

 

Film location

 

Fountains Abbey was used as a film location by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for their single "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" during the cold winter of December 1981. In 1980, Hollywood also came to the site to film the final scenes to the film Omen III: The Final Conflict.Other productions filmed on location at the abbey are the films Life at the Top, The Secret Garden, The History Boys, TV series Flambards, A History of Britain, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, Cathedral, Antiques Roadshow and the game show Treasure Hunt. The BBC Television series 'Gunpowder' (2017) used Fountains Abbey as a location.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Church of Boyana)

Jump to: navigation, search

Boyana Church*

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Exterior of the Boyana Church

State Party Bulgaria

Type Cultural

Criteria ii, iii

Reference 42

Region** Europe and North America

Inscription history

Inscription 1979 (3rd Session)

* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.

** Region as classified by UNESCO.

A fresco depicting St. Nicholas

A fresco depicting Desislava, a church patron

A view of Boyana church

 

The Boyana Church (Bulgarian: Боянска църква, Boyanska tsarkva) is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. The east wing of the two-storey church was originally constructed in the late 10th or early 11th century, then the central wing was added in the 13th century under the Second Bulgarian Empire, the whole building being finished with a further expansion to the west in the middle of the 19th century. The church owes its world fame mainly to its frescoes from 1259. They form a second layer over the paintings from earlier centuries and represent one of the most complete and well-preserved monuments of Eastern European mediaeval art. A total of 89 scenes with 240 human images are depicted on the walls of the church. The name of the painter is recently discovered during restoration. The inscription reads: "zograph Vassilii from the village Subonosha, Sersko and his apprentice Dimitar".

 

National Museum of History director Bozhidar Dimitrov stated: "The renovation revealed a rare inscription under a layer of plaster on one of the church walls: 'I, Vasiliy' inscribed. We now know the painter with certainty. The 13th-century 'Boyana master' was the only painter among the kings and nobles whose names were read out on a regular basis during sermons at the church." Restorator Grigoriy Grigorov stated the reason: "The Christian Orthodox religion forbids the painter from manifesting himself, as in the eyes of the priests it is God who guides his hand. But this painter inscribed his name, knowing that the believers could not see it."

 

18 scenes in the narthex depict the life of Saint Nicholas. The painter here drew certain aspects of contemporary lifestyle. In The Miracle at Sea, the ship and the sailors' hats recall the Venetian fleet. The portraits of the patrons of the church — Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava, as well as those of Bulgarian tsar Constantine Tikh and Tsaritsa Irina, are thought to be among the most impressive and lifelike frescoes in the church, and are located on the north wall of the church.

 

Besides the first layer of 11th-12th century frescoes, of which only fragments are preserved, and the famous second layer of murals from 1259, the church also has a smaller number of later frescoes from the 14th and 16th-17th century, as well as from 1882.

 

The monument was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The frescoes were restored and cleaned in 1912-1915 by an Austrian and a Bulgarian specialist, as well in 1934 and 1944. The church was closed for the public in 1977 in order to be conservated and restored and once again opened in 2000.

 

The church patrons' inscription in Middle Bulgarian from 1259 reads:[1]

 

+взъдвиже сѧ ѿ земѧ и създа сѧ прѣчисты хра

мъ ст҃аго иерарха х҃ва николы ст҃аго и великѡ

славнагѡ мѫченика хв҃а пантелеимѡна тече

ниемъ и трѹдомъ и любовиаѧ многоаѫ калѡ

ѣнѣ севастократора братѹчѧди цр҃ва внѹкъ ст҃а

стефана кралѣ србьскаго написа же сѧ при цр҃

вство блгарское при благовѣрнем и бг҃очь

стивѣмъ и хр҃столюбивѣмъ цр҃и костан

динѣ асѣна едикто з҃ в лѣто

.ѕ҃.ѱ.ѯ҃з҃

“ This immaculate temple of the Holy Christ's hierarch Nicholas and of the Christ's holy and most glorious martyr Panteleimon was erected from the ground and created with the funds, care and great love of Kaloyan, sebastokrator, cousin of the Tsar, grandson of Saint Stephen, King of Serbia. This was written in the Bulgarian Empire under the pious and devout Tsar Constantine Asen. Indiction 7 of the year 6767 [1259]. ”

Contents

 

* 1 Architecture

* 2 Frescoes

o 2.1 First layer

o 2.2 Second layer

o 2.3 Late frescoes

o 2.4 Full restoration

* 3 External links

* 4 References

 

[edit] Architecture

 

The Boyana Church was built in three stages: in the late 10th and early 11th, the mid-13th, and the mid-19th centuries. The oldest section (the eastern church) is a small one-apse cross-vaulted church with inbuilt cruciform supports. It was built in the late 10th and early 11th century. The second section, which adjoins the eastern church, was commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava and in the mid-13th century. This building belongs to the two-floor tomb-church type. It consists of a ground-floor family sepulchre with a semi-cylindrical vault and two arcosolia on the north and south walls, and an upper-floor family chapel identical in design to the eastern church. The exterior is decorated with ceramic ornaments. The last section was built on donations from the local community in the mid-19th century.

[edit] Frescoes

[edit] First layer

A ship in a fresco in Boyana church

Constantin Tikh of Bulgaria and Eirene of Nicaea

Jesus Christ Pantocrator a fresco from 1259

 

The first layer of frescoes, which originally covered the entire eastern church, dates from the 11th-12th-century. Fragments of those frescoes have been preserved in the lower parts of the apse and the north wall, and in the upper part of the west wall and the south vault.

[edit] Second layer

 

According to the donor’s inscription on the north wall of the second section, the second layer of frescoes dates from 1259. Those frescoes were painted over the earlier layer by a team of unknown artists, who also decorated the two floors of the building commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan.

 

The Boyana Church owes its world fame above all to the frescoes from 1259, which demonstrate the exceptional achievements of mediaeval Bulgarian culture. The majority of the more than 240 figures depicted here display individuality, remarkable psychological insight and vitality. The frescoes follow the canon of icon-painting established by the Seventh Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea in 787.

 

The frescoes in the oldest section of the church include a magnificent representation of Christ Pantocrator in the dome. The drum below shows a host of angels, with the Four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - portrayed in the pendentives. Four images of Christ adorn the face of the arches: Christ Emmanuel; Christ, The Ancient of Days; and the acheiropoietic (“made without hands”) Holy Mandylion and Holy Tile. Next come scenes from the Major Feast Days and the Passions of Christ. Among the full-length portrayals of saints in the first tier, there are ten warrior saints. The Virgin Enthroned, surrounded by archangels, is represented in the altar conch. Below are four church fathers: St. Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Patriarch Germanus. The frescoes flanking the altar show the deacons Laurentius, Euplius and Stephen, as well as St. Nicholas, the patron of the ground floor of the church - one of the most popular saints and the patron saint of sailors, merchants and bankers.

 

The life of St. Nicholas is depicted in 18 scenes in the narthex (the second section of the church). The unknown artist included elements of contemporary life in those scenes, and many of the figures are quite realistic - especially their countenances. The lunette above the entrance of the narthex displays the Virgin and Child, St. Anna and St. Joachim, and Christ Blessing. St. Catherine, St. Marina, St. Theodore the Studite and St. Pachomius are portrayed in the lower tiers on the walls. The south arcosolium features the scene of Christ Disputing with the Doctors, and the north one, the Presentation of the Virgin. Two highly revered Bulgarian saints are also represented in the narthex - St. John of Rila (the oldest surviving representation of the saint) and St. Paraskeva (Petka). The hermit St. Ephraim Syrus appears among the monks portrayed here. The expressive realistic portraits of the donors Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava, and of the Bulgarian Tsar Constantine Asen Tikh and Tsaritsa Irina - painted with precision, extraordinary skill and feeling - are among the oldest portraits of figures from Bulgarian history.

 

Today the name “Boyana Master” stands for the team of unknown artists who decorated the church and mastered their art in the studios of the Turnovo School of Painting. The frescoes are genuine masterpieces with a flawless technique, psychological depth, complexity and realism. Boyana is the only and the most impressive wholly preserved monument of the Turnovo School of Painting from the 13th century.

 

According to many leading experts, the world famous frescoes in the Boyana Church played an important role in the development of mediaeval Bulgarian and European painting.

[edit] Late frescoes

Christ among the scribes

 

Some parts of the church were overpainted, and the majority of those frescoes have survived to the present day. The later frescoes include a scene of the Presentation of the Virgin from the 14th century, a portrait of St. Nicholas from the 16th-17th century, and representations of the two patron saints of the Boyana Church - St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon - from 1882.

[edit] Full restoration

 

The Boyana Church was officially opened in the February 10, 2008 official ceremony which formally ended the (2006-2008) 400,000 leva ( 200 000 EUR) restoration works, with funding of the initiative "The eternal buildings of Bulgaria". The Church has now an air-conditioning system to keep the temperature at 17-18 degrees Celsius (62-64 Fahrenheit), while the special lighting system does not emits heat, and visitors are only allowed 15 minutes for entries. Currently under the management of the National Museum of History, Culture Minister Stefan Danailov marked its full opening on October 2, 2008. It is now open 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 17:30 pm, with admission of 10 leva per person.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boyana Church

 

* Official website of the Boyana Church

* Boyana Church at whc.unesco.org

* The Boyana Church — virtual tour

* Photos of the Boyana Church

 

[edit] References

 

1. ^ news.yahoo.com, UNESCO-listed Boyana church reveals identity of its medieval master

2. ^ a b afp.google.com, UNESCO-listed Boyana church reveals identity of its medieval master

3. ^ international.ibox, The Newly Restored Boyana Church Opened Today

4. ^ sofiaecho.com/article, Boyana church fully restored and awaits visitors

 

v • d • e

World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria

 

Boyana Church · Madara Rider · Nesebar (Nessebar) · Pirin National Park · Rila Monastery · Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo · Srebarna Nature Reserve · Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak · Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

 

Flag of Bulgaria

 

Coordinates: 42°38′39″N 23°15′56″E / 42.64417°N 23.26556°E / 42.64417; 23.26556

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyana_Church"

Categories: World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria | Churches in Sofia | Visitor attractions in Sofia | 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria | Vitosha

Hidden categories: Articles containing Bulgarian language text

Source

Description above from the Wikipedia article Church of Boyana, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors here. Community Pages are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, anyone associated with the topic.

What Obama has actually done:

 

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make

recommendations for ways to cut spending

2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful

spending and practices

3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women

4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the

body arrives at Dover AFB

6 Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information

7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover

AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful

rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family

8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of

Information Act

9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as

much as possible

10. Limits on lobbyist’s access to the White House

11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in

the administration

12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in

Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date

13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons

systems, which weren’t even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan

14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research

15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research

16. New federal funding for science and research labs

17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above

federal standards

18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after

years of neglect

19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools

20. New funds for school construction

21 The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out

22. US Auto industry rescue plan

23. Housing rescue plan

24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan

25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new

plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble

paying

26. US financial and banking rescue plan

27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are

being closed

28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in

compliance with theGeneva Convention standards

29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops

30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010

31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the

nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols

32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic

33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas

emissions

34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any

president in his first six months in office

35. Successful release of US captain held bySomali pirates; authorized the

SEALS to do their job

36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast

37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles

38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient,

polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales

39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the

federal government

40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more

children

41. Signed national service legislation; expandednational youth service

program

42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return home

to visit loved ones

43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide

emissions

44. Expanding vaccination programs

45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and

other natural disasters

46. Closed offshore tax safe havens

47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access

to records of tax evaders and criminals

48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who

outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring

jobs back

49.. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in

place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s

predatory practices

50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their

energy from renewable sources

51. Lower drug costs for seniors

52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating

with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now

realizing hundreds of millions in savings

53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel

54. Improved housing for military personnel

55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses

56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military

hospitals

57 Increasing student loans

58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program

59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been

neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and

diplomacy

60. Established a new cyber security office

61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20

years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new

procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber

units and operations, etc.

62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts

63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness

64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the

federal government money and making federal operations more efficient

65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans

refinanced

66. Improving benefits for veterans

67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access

than previous administration

68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud

69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco

70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules

71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific

and environmental rules, regulations, and reports

72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres.

Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons

73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Web to

secure the release of an American held captive

74. Making more loans available to small businesses

75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing

the costs of Medicare

76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court

77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care

for veterans

78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000

79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel

80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan

81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan

82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid,

development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by

Afghans

83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with

renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production

84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and

private living quarters

85. Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own

pocket

86. Held first Seder in White House

87. Attempting to reform the nation’s healthcare system which is the most

expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health

insurance and millions more under insured

88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform

89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform

90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform

 

Oh, and he built a swing set for the girls outside the Oval Office.

 

Did I mention he passed health care reform ?

 

There are policies that many of us disagree with or wish he would improve

or facilitate more quickly, but come on, this is a pretty sweet list.

   

Scanned from the 26th July 1938 issue of The Motor magazine.

WE 634 heads south through Bellaire, Ohio with WE no. 200 in the lead

© A-Lister Photography. All rights reserved.

DO NOT BLOG, TWEET, TUMBLR, FACEBOOOK or redistribute my photographs in any form, in any media without my written permission.

.

 

"Londons iconic Tower Bridge is viewed across the River Thames in the golden light of Golden Hour..."

 

Check Out My New NOVEMBER Images!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157637183796865/

 

Check out my LONDON, BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE SET!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157631851930774/

 

Check Out My New SKYLINES OF LONDON SET!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157631851829797/

 

Please use the Getty Images “Request to License” link found in “Additional Info”.

(CWNOV2/083)

The August List @ Jagz Ascot

Station Hill

Ascot, Berkshire

SL5 9EG

England

 

2011.07.08

This is the main church in Moseley Village, supposedly is more than 600 years old, but the current building dates to the 18th century.

 

It is a Grade II listed building.

  

A church of C15 origin, built as a chapel in the parish of Kings Norton but

a subsequent history of numerous rebuilds and enlargements. The plain stone

west tower is an early C16 addition but with much brick refacing. The body

of the church was rebuilt in 1780 and considerably altered by Thomas Rickman

1823-24. Finally, under Chatwins father and son, a complete reconstruction,

excluding the tower, was initiated. J A Chatwin added the north aisle 1886,

enlarged to chancel and provided a side chapel in 1897. The nave and south

aisle were rebuilt in 1910 by P B Chatwin who also carved out reconstruction

following war domain in 1952-54. Ashlar elevations in a competent simply

modelled Decorated style typical of the Chatwin practice. Crennellation

to tower parapet.

 

Church of St Mary, Moseley - Heritage Gateway

  

Below is info from Bill Dargue - places - Moseley

 

Moseley's parish church was founded rather later than Birmingham's other ancient churches. St Mary's is first mentioned in 1405 in a declaration of the church as a chapel-of-ease of Kings Norton church licensed by the Bishop of Worcester on the authority of Pope Innocent VII. It is likely to have been set up by wealthy local residents to save themselves the long journey to Kings Norton every Sunday morning. At that time the route ran via Dogpool Lane across the wide marshy valley of the River Rea, which was prone to flooding in winter. The oldest surviving part of the building is the tower which was built in 1514 using forty-eight wagon-loads of stone reused from Bromsgrove's old parsonage.

   

By 1780 the chapel had fallen into such disrepair that services could no longer be held here. The fallen roof was repaired and the church was encased in brick with fashionable round-headed windows in neo-classical style. But only forty years later, fashions had changed and the leading gothicist, Thomas Rickman was employed to remove the alterations and regothicise the church. He plastered the external brick-clad walls to look like stone, added cast-iron girders simulated as timber and put gothic-style iron frames in the windows.

  

Another forty years on and all of Rickman's work was lost in further gothic restoration. In 1876 the Birmingham architect, J A Chatwin restored, rebuilt and extended the building. Ten years later a north aisle was added, and in 1897 the chancel and transept were built, bringing the church to its present size. The nave and south aisle were reconstructed in 1910 by Chatwin's son, P B Chatwin who later also repaired the German bomb damage which occurred in 1940 during the Second World War.

  

St Mary's has a unique ring of bells which attracts visiting ringers from all over the country. The peal originated in Sheffield. In a pioneering venture in 1861, eight steel bells cast by a Sheffield foundry were loaned to St Marie's Roman Catholic Church. This was an unusual experiment as English bells have been made from time immemorial with a copper-tin alloy known as bell metal. In comparison with bell metal, steel bells are very heavy for the note they produce. The steel bells were bought for St Mary's in 1874 by Sir John Holder of Pitmaston, Moor Green.

   

However, when the church was partially rebuilt in 1910, the ringing room floor was removed and the bells could no longer be rung full circle, only chimed with hammers. Examination in 1979 found the bell installation to be unsafe and it was recommended that it should be removed. However, a suggestion was made to the Parochial Church Council that the bells could and should be restored, these being now the only surviving steel bells in the country. After a great deal of fund-raising and 5000 hours of volunteer labour, the restoration was completed by Easter 1991, when the bells were rung after morning service for the first time in over 80 years.

  

Lychgate

Audrey's list of accessories for me to make for her new doll.

Un’esperienza unica: il corso di approccio alla LisT (Lingua Italiana dei Segni Tattile)

Quest’anno, al termine del corso di approccio alla LisT che si è tenuto nel corso dell’estate presso la sede dei Servizi Territoriali di Roma, abbiamo avuto un’esaminatrice di eccezione: la nostra utente sordocieca Anna Maria. Per i partecipanti è stata un’esperienza unica!

 

www.legadelfilodoro.it/come-sostenerci/privati/diventa-vo...

Listed on my etsy shop. View profile for details.

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometres) south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII.

 

The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and part of the designated Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Foundation

 

After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, in York, 13 monks were expelled (among them Saint Robert of Newminster) and, after unsuccessful attempts to form a new monastery were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian order which since the end of the previous century was a fast-growing reform movement that by the beginning of the 13th century was to have over 500 houses. So it was that in 1135, Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, after Rievaulx. The Fountains monks became subject to Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy which was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours according to Cistercian usage and were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian practice.

 

Consolidation

 

After Henry Murdac was elected abbot in 1143, the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced. Within three years, an aisled nave had been added to the stone church, and the first permanent claustral buildings built in stone and roofed in tile had been completed.

In 1146 an angry mob, annoyed at Murdac for his role in opposing the election of William FitzHerbert as archbishop of York, attacked the abbey and burnt down all but the church and some surrounding buildings.The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses. Henry Murdac resigned as abbot in 1147 upon becoming the Archbishop of York and was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald. Thorald was forced by Henry Murdac to resign after two years in office. The next abbot, Richard, held the post until his death in 1170 and restored the abbey's stability and prosperity. In 20 years as abbot, he supervised a huge building programme which involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. Only the chapter house was completed before he died and the work was ably continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell, under whose rule the abbey gained a reputation for caring for the needy.

 

The next abbot was William, who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190 and he was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice, after pursuing a military career. During the European famine of 1194 Haget ordered the construction of shelters in the vicinity of the abbey and provided daily food rations to the poor enhancing the abbey's reputation for caring for the poor and attracting more grants from wealthy benefactors.

In the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and prosperity under the next three abbots, John of York (1203–1211), John of Hessle (1211–1220) and John of Kent (1220–1247). They were burdened with an inordinate amount of administrative duties and increasing demands for money in taxation and levies but managed to complete another massive expansion of the abbey's buildings. This included enlarging the church and building an infirmary.

 

Difficulties

 

In the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in more straitened circumstances. It was presided over by eleven abbots, and became financially unstable largely due to forward selling its wool crop, and the abbey was criticised for its dire material and physical state when it was visited by Archbishop John le Romeyn in 1294. The run of disasters that befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots and there were further demands for taxes. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349. The loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous.

A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409. Fountains Abbey along with other English Cistercian houses was told to break off any contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England and consequently they became increasingly involved in internecine politics. In 1410, following the death of Abbot Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor. Contending candidates John Ripon, Abbot of Meaux, and Roger Frank, a monk of Fountains were locked in conflict until 1415 when Ripon was finally appointed, ruling until his death in 1434. Under abbots John Greenwell (1442–1471), Thomas Swinton (1471–8), John Darnton (1478–95), who undertook some much needed restoration of the fabric of the abbey, including notable work on the church, and Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) Fountains regained stability and prosperity.

At Abbot Huby's death he was succeeded by William Thirsk who was accused by the royal commissioners of immorality and inadequacy and was dismissed as abbot. He was replaced by Marmaduke Bradley, a monk of the abbey who had reported Thirsk's supposed offences, testified against him and offered the authorities six hundred marks for the post of abbot. In 1539 it was Bradley who surrendered the abbey when its seizure was ordered under Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

 

The abbey precinct covered 70 acres (28 ha) surrounded by an 11-foot (3.4 m) wall built in the 13th century, some parts of which are visible to the south and west of the abbey. The area consists of three concentric zones cut by the River Skell flowing from west to east across the site. The church and claustral buildings stand at the centre of the precinct north of the Skell, the inner court containing the domestic buildings stretches down to the river and the outer court housing the industrial and agricultural buildings lies on the river's south bank. The early abbey buildings were added to and altered over time, causing deviations from the strict Cistercian type. Outside the walls were the abbey's granges.[citation needed]

The original abbey church was built of wood and "was probably" two stories high; it was, however, quickly replaced in stone. The church was damaged in the attack on the abbey in 1146 and was rebuilt, in a larger scale, on the same site. Building work was completed c.1170.[11] This structure, completed around 1170, was 300 ft (91 m) long and had 11 bays in the side aisles. A lantern tower was added at the crossing of the church in the late 12th century. The presbytery at the eastern end of the church was much altered in the 13th century. The church's greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor terminates, like that of Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220–47. The 160-foot-tall (49 m) tower, which was added not long before the dissolution, by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, is in an unusual position at the northern end of the north transept and bears Huby's motto 'Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'. The sacristry adjoined the south transept.

The cloister, which had arcading of black marble from Nidderdale and white sandstone, is in the centre of the precinct and to the south of the church. The three-aisled chapter-house and parlour open from the eastern walk of the cloister and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, are at right angles to its southern walk. Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure serving as cellars and store-rooms, which supported the dormitory of the conversi (lay brothers) above. This building extended across the river and at its south-west corner were the latrines, built above the swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept. Peculiarities of this arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses.

 

The abbot's house, one of the largest in all of England,is located to the east of the latrine block, where portions of it are suspended on arches over the River Skell.It was built in the mid-twelfth century as a modest single-storey structure, then, from the fourteenth century, underwent extensive expansion and remodelling to end up in the 16th century as a grand dwelling with fine bay windows and grand fireplaces. The great hall was an expansive room 52 by 21 metres (171 by 69 ft).

Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground-plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel,

 

1⁄2-by-23-foot (14 by 7 m), and a kitchen, 50-by-38-foot (15 by 12 m)

 

Medieval monasteries were sustained by landed estates that were given to them as endowments and from which they derived an income from rents. They were the gifts of the founder and subsequent patrons, but some were purchased from cash revenues. At the outset, the Cistercian order rejected gifts of mills and rents, churches with tithes and feudal manors as they did not accord with their belief in monastic purity, because they involved contact with laymen. When Archbishop Thurstan founded the abbey he gave the community 260 acres (110 ha) of land at Sutton north of the abbey and 200 acres (81 ha) at Herleshowe to provide support while the abbey became established. In the early years the abbey struggled to maintain itself because further gifts were not forthcoming and Thurstan could not help further because the lands he administered were not his own, but part of the diocesan estate. After a few years of impoverished struggle to establish the abbey, the monks were joined by Hugh, a former dean of York Minster, a rich man who brought a considerable fortune as well as furniture and books to start the library.

By 1135 the monks had acquired only another 260 acres (110 ha) at Cayton, given by Eustace fitzJohn of Knaresborough "for the building of the abbey". Shortly after the fire of 1146, the monks had established granges at Sutton, Cayton, Cowton Moor, Warsill, Dacre and Aldburgh all within 6 mi (10 km) of Fountains. In the 1140s the water mill was built on the abbey site making it possible for the grain from the granges to be brought to the abbey for milling.Tannery waste from this time has been excavated on the site.

Further estates were assembled in two phases, between 1140 and 1160 then 1174 and 1175, from piecemeal acquisitions of land. Some of the lands were grants from benefactors but others were purchased from gifts of money to the abbey. Roger de Mowbray granted vast areas of Nidderdale and William de Percy and his tenants granted substantial estates in Craven which included Malham Moor and the fishery in Malham Tarn. After 1203 the abbots consolidated the abbey's lands by renting out more distant areas that the monks could not easily farm themselves, and exchanging and purchasing lands that complemented their existing estates. Fountains' holdings both in Yorkshire and beyond had reached their maximum extent by 1265, when they were an efficient and very profitable estate. Their estates were linked in a network of individual granges which provided staging posts to the most distant ones. They had urban properties in York, Yarm, Grimsby, Scarborough and Boston from which to conduct export and market trading and their other commercial interests included mining, quarrying, iron-smelting, fishing and milling.

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a factor that led to a downturn in the prosperity of the abbey in the early fourteenth century. Areas of the north of England as far south as York were looted by the Scots. Then the number of lay-brothers being recruited to the order reduced considerably. The abbey chose to take advantage of the relaxation of the edict on leasing property that had been enacted by the General Chapter of the order in 1208 and leased some of their properties. Others were staffed by hired labour and remained in hand under the supervision of bailiffs. In 1535 Fountains had an interest in 138 vills and the total taxable income of the Fountains estate was £1,115, making it the richest Cistercian monastery in England.

After the Dissolution

 

The Gresham family crest

The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, at the time a Member of Parliament and former Lord Mayor of London, the father of Sir Thomas Gresham. It was Richard Gresham who had supplied Cardinal Wolsey with the tapestries for his new house of Hampton Court and who paid for the Cardinal's funeral.

Gresham sold some of the fabric of the site, stone, timber, lead, as building materials to help to defray the cost of purchase. The site was acquired in 1597 by Sir Stephen Proctor, who used stone from the monastic complex to build Fountains Hall. Between 1627 and 1767 the estate was owned by the Messenger family who sold it to William Aislaby who was responsible for combining it with the Studley Royal Estate.

 

Burials

 

Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray

Abbot Marmaduke Huby (d. 1526)

Rose (daughter of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester), wife of Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy

William II de Percy, 3rd feudal baron of Topcliffe

Becoming a World Heritage Site

The archaeological excavation of the site was begun under the supervision of John Richard Walbran, a Ripon antiquary who, in 1846, had published a paper On the Necessity of clearing out the Conventual Church of Fountains.In 1966 the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate was purchased by the West Riding County Council who transferred ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974. The National Trust bought the 674-acre (273 ha) Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983. In 1986 the parkland in which the abbey is situated and the abbey was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history. Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. The trust owns Studley Royal Park, Fountains Hall, to which there is partial public access, and St Mary's Church, designed by William Burges and built around 1873, all of which are significant features of the World Heritage Site.

The Porter's Lodge, which was once the gatehouse to the abbey, houses a modern exhibition area with displays about the history of Fountains Abbey and how the monks lived.

In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.

 

Film location

 

Fountains Abbey was used as a film location by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for their single "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" during the cold winter of December 1981. In 1980, Hollywood also came to the site to film the final scenes to the film Omen III: The Final Conflict.Other productions filmed on location at the abbey are the films Life at the Top, The Secret Garden, The History Boys, TV series Flambards, A History of Britain, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, Cathedral, Antiques Roadshow and the game show Treasure Hunt. The BBC Television series 'Gunpowder' (2017) used Fountains Abbey as a location.

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometres) south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII.

 

The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and part of the designated Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Foundation

 

After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, in York, 13 monks were expelled (among them Saint Robert of Newminster) and, after unsuccessful attempts to form a new monastery were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian order which since the end of the previous century was a fast-growing reform movement that by the beginning of the 13th century was to have over 500 houses. So it was that in 1135, Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, after Rievaulx. The Fountains monks became subject to Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy which was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours according to Cistercian usage and were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian practice.

 

Consolidation

 

After Henry Murdac was elected abbot in 1143, the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced. Within three years, an aisled nave had been added to the stone church, and the first permanent claustral buildings built in stone and roofed in tile had been completed.

In 1146 an angry mob, annoyed at Murdac for his role in opposing the election of William FitzHerbert as archbishop of York, attacked the abbey and burnt down all but the church and some surrounding buildings.The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses. Henry Murdac resigned as abbot in 1147 upon becoming the Archbishop of York and was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald. Thorald was forced by Henry Murdac to resign after two years in office. The next abbot, Richard, held the post until his death in 1170 and restored the abbey's stability and prosperity. In 20 years as abbot, he supervised a huge building programme which involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. Only the chapter house was completed before he died and the work was ably continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell, under whose rule the abbey gained a reputation for caring for the needy.

 

The next abbot was William, who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190 and he was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice, after pursuing a military career. During the European famine of 1194 Haget ordered the construction of shelters in the vicinity of the abbey and provided daily food rations to the poor enhancing the abbey's reputation for caring for the poor and attracting more grants from wealthy benefactors.

In the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and prosperity under the next three abbots, John of York (1203–1211), John of Hessle (1211–1220) and John of Kent (1220–1247). They were burdened with an inordinate amount of administrative duties and increasing demands for money in taxation and levies but managed to complete another massive expansion of the abbey's buildings. This included enlarging the church and building an infirmary.

 

Difficulties

 

In the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in more straitened circumstances. It was presided over by eleven abbots, and became financially unstable largely due to forward selling its wool crop, and the abbey was criticised for its dire material and physical state when it was visited by Archbishop John le Romeyn in 1294. The run of disasters that befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots and there were further demands for taxes. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349. The loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous.

A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409. Fountains Abbey along with other English Cistercian houses was told to break off any contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England and consequently they became increasingly involved in internecine politics. In 1410, following the death of Abbot Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor. Contending candidates John Ripon, Abbot of Meaux, and Roger Frank, a monk of Fountains were locked in conflict until 1415 when Ripon was finally appointed, ruling until his death in 1434. Under abbots John Greenwell (1442–1471), Thomas Swinton (1471–8), John Darnton (1478–95), who undertook some much needed restoration of the fabric of the abbey, including notable work on the church, and Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) Fountains regained stability and prosperity.

At Abbot Huby's death he was succeeded by William Thirsk who was accused by the royal commissioners of immorality and inadequacy and was dismissed as abbot. He was replaced by Marmaduke Bradley, a monk of the abbey who had reported Thirsk's supposed offences, testified against him and offered the authorities six hundred marks for the post of abbot. In 1539 it was Bradley who surrendered the abbey when its seizure was ordered under Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

 

The abbey precinct covered 70 acres (28 ha) surrounded by an 11-foot (3.4 m) wall built in the 13th century, some parts of which are visible to the south and west of the abbey. The area consists of three concentric zones cut by the River Skell flowing from west to east across the site. The church and claustral buildings stand at the centre of the precinct north of the Skell, the inner court containing the domestic buildings stretches down to the river and the outer court housing the industrial and agricultural buildings lies on the river's south bank. The early abbey buildings were added to and altered over time, causing deviations from the strict Cistercian type. Outside the walls were the abbey's granges.[citation needed]

The original abbey church was built of wood and "was probably" two stories high; it was, however, quickly replaced in stone. The church was damaged in the attack on the abbey in 1146 and was rebuilt, in a larger scale, on the same site. Building work was completed c.1170.[11] This structure, completed around 1170, was 300 ft (91 m) long and had 11 bays in the side aisles. A lantern tower was added at the crossing of the church in the late 12th century. The presbytery at the eastern end of the church was much altered in the 13th century. The church's greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor terminates, like that of Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220–47. The 160-foot-tall (49 m) tower, which was added not long before the dissolution, by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, is in an unusual position at the northern end of the north transept and bears Huby's motto 'Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'. The sacristry adjoined the south transept.

The cloister, which had arcading of black marble from Nidderdale and white sandstone, is in the centre of the precinct and to the south of the church. The three-aisled chapter-house and parlour open from the eastern walk of the cloister and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, are at right angles to its southern walk. Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure serving as cellars and store-rooms, which supported the dormitory of the conversi (lay brothers) above. This building extended across the river and at its south-west corner were the latrines, built above the swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept. Peculiarities of this arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses.

 

The abbot's house, one of the largest in all of England,is located to the east of the latrine block, where portions of it are suspended on arches over the River Skell.It was built in the mid-twelfth century as a modest single-storey structure, then, from the fourteenth century, underwent extensive expansion and remodelling to end up in the 16th century as a grand dwelling with fine bay windows and grand fireplaces. The great hall was an expansive room 52 by 21 metres (171 by 69 ft).

Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground-plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel,

 

1⁄2-by-23-foot (14 by 7 m), and a kitchen, 50-by-38-foot (15 by 12 m)

 

Medieval monasteries were sustained by landed estates that were given to them as endowments and from which they derived an income from rents. They were the gifts of the founder and subsequent patrons, but some were purchased from cash revenues. At the outset, the Cistercian order rejected gifts of mills and rents, churches with tithes and feudal manors as they did not accord with their belief in monastic purity, because they involved contact with laymen. When Archbishop Thurstan founded the abbey he gave the community 260 acres (110 ha) of land at Sutton north of the abbey and 200 acres (81 ha) at Herleshowe to provide support while the abbey became established. In the early years the abbey struggled to maintain itself because further gifts were not forthcoming and Thurstan could not help further because the lands he administered were not his own, but part of the diocesan estate. After a few years of impoverished struggle to establish the abbey, the monks were joined by Hugh, a former dean of York Minster, a rich man who brought a considerable fortune as well as furniture and books to start the library.

By 1135 the monks had acquired only another 260 acres (110 ha) at Cayton, given by Eustace fitzJohn of Knaresborough "for the building of the abbey". Shortly after the fire of 1146, the monks had established granges at Sutton, Cayton, Cowton Moor, Warsill, Dacre and Aldburgh all within 6 mi (10 km) of Fountains. In the 1140s the water mill was built on the abbey site making it possible for the grain from the granges to be brought to the abbey for milling.Tannery waste from this time has been excavated on the site.

Further estates were assembled in two phases, between 1140 and 1160 then 1174 and 1175, from piecemeal acquisitions of land. Some of the lands were grants from benefactors but others were purchased from gifts of money to the abbey. Roger de Mowbray granted vast areas of Nidderdale and William de Percy and his tenants granted substantial estates in Craven which included Malham Moor and the fishery in Malham Tarn. After 1203 the abbots consolidated the abbey's lands by renting out more distant areas that the monks could not easily farm themselves, and exchanging and purchasing lands that complemented their existing estates. Fountains' holdings both in Yorkshire and beyond had reached their maximum extent by 1265, when they were an efficient and very profitable estate. Their estates were linked in a network of individual granges which provided staging posts to the most distant ones. They had urban properties in York, Yarm, Grimsby, Scarborough and Boston from which to conduct export and market trading and their other commercial interests included mining, quarrying, iron-smelting, fishing and milling.

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a factor that led to a downturn in the prosperity of the abbey in the early fourteenth century. Areas of the north of England as far south as York were looted by the Scots. Then the number of lay-brothers being recruited to the order reduced considerably. The abbey chose to take advantage of the relaxation of the edict on leasing property that had been enacted by the General Chapter of the order in 1208 and leased some of their properties. Others were staffed by hired labour and remained in hand under the supervision of bailiffs. In 1535 Fountains had an interest in 138 vills and the total taxable income of the Fountains estate was £1,115, making it the richest Cistercian monastery in England.

After the Dissolution

 

The Gresham family crest

The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, at the time a Member of Parliament and former Lord Mayor of London, the father of Sir Thomas Gresham. It was Richard Gresham who had supplied Cardinal Wolsey with the tapestries for his new house of Hampton Court and who paid for the Cardinal's funeral.

Gresham sold some of the fabric of the site, stone, timber, lead, as building materials to help to defray the cost of purchase. The site was acquired in 1597 by Sir Stephen Proctor, who used stone from the monastic complex to build Fountains Hall. Between 1627 and 1767 the estate was owned by the Messenger family who sold it to William Aislaby who was responsible for combining it with the Studley Royal Estate.

 

Burials

 

Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray

Abbot Marmaduke Huby (d. 1526)

Rose (daughter of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester), wife of Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy

William II de Percy, 3rd feudal baron of Topcliffe

Becoming a World Heritage Site

The archaeological excavation of the site was begun under the supervision of John Richard Walbran, a Ripon antiquary who, in 1846, had published a paper On the Necessity of clearing out the Conventual Church of Fountains.In 1966 the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate was purchased by the West Riding County Council who transferred ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974. The National Trust bought the 674-acre (273 ha) Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983. In 1986 the parkland in which the abbey is situated and the abbey was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history. Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. The trust owns Studley Royal Park, Fountains Hall, to which there is partial public access, and St Mary's Church, designed by William Burges and built around 1873, all of which are significant features of the World Heritage Site.

The Porter's Lodge, which was once the gatehouse to the abbey, houses a modern exhibition area with displays about the history of Fountains Abbey and how the monks lived.

In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.

 

Film location

 

Fountains Abbey was used as a film location by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for their single "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" during the cold winter of December 1981. In 1980, Hollywood also came to the site to film the final scenes to the film Omen III: The Final Conflict.Other productions filmed on location at the abbey are the films Life at the Top, The Secret Garden, The History Boys, TV series Flambards, A History of Britain, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, Cathedral, Antiques Roadshow and the game show Treasure Hunt. The BBC Television series 'Gunpowder' (2017) used Fountains Abbey as a location.

My good friend and EA church expert and all round good bloke, Simon K, www.flickr.com/photos/norfolkodyssey/, provided me a list of fine churches to visit in the Dedham Vale which I should visit if the planned trip to Suffolk ever came off.

 

I left Dover early on the Thursday morning, and mixed it with the rush hour traffic at Dartfod before turning up the A12 and away from the craziness. And into the driving craziness that is Essex. But that's another story.

 

I turned off just after crossing the border into Suffolk at Stratford St Mary, and then got lost. I was trying to get to Stoke by Nayland, but I found no signs for it, and had to pull the sat nav out to find my way.

 

In preparing the list, I noted the name of Boxted, as it was nearly the same name as my first employer, Buxted, so when I saw a sign for Boxted, I followed it.

 

I thought I was in Suffolk still, but somewhere along the line I must have crossed back into Essex, as there are villages in both counties, very near each other, called Boxted.

 

Boxted village has two netres, the new part down in the valley, and the old part around the church up the hill. The church took some finding, but along and up Church Hill (always a giveaway), there it was.

 

I couple were preparing to do some pruning of the brambles growing out of the wall near the gate, and they gave me a disdainful look, but were pleasant enough when I left as I remarked what a wonderful church it is.

 

In fact, this might be one of my favourite churches I have visited, maybe even the favourite. I was surprised that Simon says so little about it, I found it a delight. The gallery so steeply raked the church felt like a theatre, and I am sure services here are special.

 

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

 

There are two settlements in the parish, a large village a mile away down in the valley, and this smaller, older hamlet around the church.

 

While I was photographing the exterior, a rather brusque, rude woman asked me to move my bike so she could reverse up to the church because she was 'doing the flowers'. She then parked directly in front of the porch. She must have known her car would spoil my photographs. She got out and took - I kid you not - a single leafy branch from the back of her car and went into the church. I took as long as I could before joining her, by which time she was just leaving, thankfully. She had the grace to say goodbye.

 

This is a nice interior, full of light, curious pointed arcades punched through thick Norman walls, and a large west gallery raked so steeply that one has the impression of being in a cinema or theatre. An 18th Century memorial has an angel and a skeleton arm-wrestling over a corpse. I liked this one a lot, despite the rude woman.

 

Simon Knott, October 2012

 

www.essexchurches.org.uk/boxted.htm

 

In the early years of the 11th century a Saxon lord named Edwin built a church at Boxted, on the southern slopes of the Dedham Vale. The site chosen by Edwin for his church is rumoured to have been occupied by the ruins of a Roman villa destroyed by Queen Boudicca in her rebellion against the Romans in 61AD. Certainly the Saxon church was built using Roman bricks, mixed with local rubble.

 

Early historical studies of Boxted church suggest that Edwin's church used septaria stones, of the sort used to build the town walls of Colchester a few miles to the south.

In the late 11th century Edwin's church was replaced with a grand new building in stone. The builders were Robert de Horkesley and his wife Beatrice. The building was begun sometime around 1090 and completed by 1130. The church was dedicated to St Mary, and that dedication held true until sometime around the Reformation - perhaps when nearby Little Horkesley Priory was dissolved, at which point the church was rededicated to St Peter. The first priest was a monk from Little Horkesley Priory named Roberto. The material was a mix of puddingstone, rubble, and Roman brick, but the upper part of the tower was rebuilt in the 16th century with brick, and brick buttresses added. At the same time a timber porch was added.

 

he church was always kept in good repair; following the Reformation the locals complained that the chancel was in such poor condition that the vicar refused to hold services there. The church was heavily repaired in 1870 by AW Blomfield, one of the most active Victorian church architects. During a subsequent restoration in 1930 medieval wall paintings were uncovered, then just as quickly painted over again.

Historical Highlights

Interior features include a series of 17th century floor slabs to members of the Maidstone family, and to two servants of the Earl of Oxford. A painted and gilded royal coat of arms to George III are hung on the north wall of the nave. There is a 17th centuiry oak chest and several 12th century windows set high above the north arcade. The simple chancel arch is also 12th century. The nave roof is an intriguing crown-post design. On the wall is an attractive early 17th century memorial to Nathaniel Bacon.

 

Summming up Boxted church

I'd call St Peters an attractive church, not blessed with an enormous number of historic features, but a church with an ancient and interesting history nonetheless. Rather than making a special trip to see it I'd suggest seeing St Peters as part of a longer outing visiting several of the fascinating historic churches in Dedham Vale, like those at Little Horkesley, Wormingford, and Langham. To the best of my knowledge the church is normally open daylight hours.

 

www.britainexpress.com/counties/essex/churches/boxted.htm

Listed Building Grade II

List Entry Number : 1144667

Date First Listed : 2 October 1951

 

The late 18th century hotel was extended in a different style in 1909. The original part on Main Street has three storeys and seven bays; the ground floor is stuccoed and the upper floors are pebbledashed. It contains quoins, string courses, two entrances with architraves with Gibbs surrounds, and sash windows. The extension on Station Street, also with three storeys, has a slate ground floor and is roughcast above. It contains canted oriel windows, shaped gables, a doorway with a curved hood, and most of the other windows are casements with mullions and transoms.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed_buildings_in_Keswick,_Cumbria

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1144667

Moth deluge at Hexton for National Moth Night

Last Thursday we had a good night at Hexton, with 167 species in all, with two still pending identification.

It was a pretty good night weather wise as well with oodles of cloud cover and a very faint breeze and a minimum temperature at leaving time at 14 degrees.

 

It has taken me a few days to sort it all out but highlights were 8+ Royal Mantle, 1x Agriphila inquinatella, 1x Pyla fusca, 2x Wood Carpet, 2x Rosy Minor, 4x Barred Rivulet and no less than 10 Paratalanta hyalinalis, the rare Pyralid we discovered last year that hadn't been seen since 1937, evidently it is hear safe and sound and still in good numbers.

I didn't get to bed until 3am and was up at 6 so was thoroughly shattered!

 

The suspected Least Minor was just a very small Cloaked Minor (Least Minor is absent from the Herts list and most of the South)

The unusual Brocade sp that I took home has been agreed on just an unusual form of Dark Arches, I have certainly never seen anything like it.

Thanks to all of the chaps that turned up and a great turn out of 7 people, with 3 others helping me pack up it made it a lot more bearable, so thank you!

 

Catch Report - 23/07/15 - Hexton Chalk Pit - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap & 1x 80w Actinic + 26w CFL Suitcase Trap

 

167 Species - 95 Macros and 72 Micros

 

Macro Moths

  

2x Barred Rivulet [NEW!]

1x Barred Yellow

3x Beautiful Hook-tip

2x Black Arches

1x Bordered Sallow

3x Bright-line Brown-eye

5x Brimstone Moth

4x Brown Scallop

5x Brown-line Bright-eye

1x Buff Arches

3x Buff Footman

2x Burnished Brass

1x Campion

1x Chinese Character

10x Clay

6x Cloaked Minor

1x Clouded Border

2x Clouded Silver

2x Common Carpet

1x Common Footman

15+ Common Rustic

2x Common Wainscot

10x Dark Arches

1x Dark Umber

3x Dingy Footman

2x Dot Moth

10+ Double Square-spot

2x Dun-bar

2x Dusky Sallow

1x Dwarf Cream Wave

1x Ear Moth

1x Elephant Hawk-moth

1x Engrailed

5x Fern

3x Flame

4x Flame Shoulder

1x Garden Carpet

1x Green Arches

1x Grey/Dark Dagger (to be gen det)

1x Grey Pug

3x Haworth's Pug

1x Heart & Club

4x Heart & Dart

1x July Highflyer

1x Large Emerald

6x Large Twin-spot Carpet

5x Large Yellow Underwing

2x Latticed Heath

1x Least Carpet

2x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

2x Lesser Yellow Underwing

2x Light Arches

1x Lime-speck Pug

1x Marbled Beauty

2x Marbled Minor

2x Mottled Beauty

1x Mottled Rustic

4x Nut-tree Tussock

1x Nutmeg

1x Pebble Prominent

1x Peppered Moth

2x Pretty Chalk Carpet

1x Purple Bar

5x Red Twin-spot Carpet

10x Riband Wave

2x Rosy Minor [NEW!]

8+ Royal Mantle

6x Ruby Tiger

8x Rustic

2x Scalloped Oak

10+ Scarce Footman

5x Shaded Broad-bar

10+x Silver Y

2x Single-dotted Wave

2x Slender Brindle

2x Slender Pug

1x Small Emerald

7x Small Fan-footed Wave

10x Small Phoenix

1x Small Scallop

2x Small Waved Umber

1x Small Yellow Wave

10x Smoky Wainscot

1x Snout

2x Spectacle

2x Straw Dot

2x Swallow-tailed Moth

2x Sycamore

1x Toadflax Pug

5x Uncertain

1x V-pug

1x White-spotted Pug

2x Wood Carpet

4x Yellow Shell

2x Yellow-tail

 

Micro Moths

 

10+ Paratalanta hyalinalis

2x Blastobasis adustella

1x Blastobasis lacticolella

2x Bryotropha terrella

1x Agriphila inquinatella

1x Acleris aspersana

10+ Eucosma obumbratana

1x Eucosma hohenwartiana

1x Eucosma conterminana

15+ Eucosma cana

10+ Agapeta zoegana

3x Agapeta hamana

6x Agriphila straminea

1x Mompha subbistrigella

2x Clepsis consimilana

4x Pleuroptya ruralis

5x Pterophorus pentadactyla

3x Chrysoteuchia culmella

2x Plutella xylostella

10+ Eudonia lacustrata

5x Eudonia mercurella

3x Cnephasia sp

2x Carcina quercana

1x Batia lunaris

2x Syncopacma sp

5+ Endotricha flammealis

1x Agonopterix heracliana

2x Monopis weaverella

1x Blastodacna hellerella

1x Psyche casta (case)

2x Acleris forsskaleana

15+ Catoptria pinella

5x Acentria ephemerella

1x Helcystogramma rufescens

2x Udea prunalis

2x Cochylis hybridella

1x Cydia pomonella

1x Aphomia sociella

1x Hypsopygia costalis

2x Metzneria metzneriella

1x Acleris variegana

2x Aethes cnicana

2x Phycita roborella

1x Coleophora trifolii

2x Euzophera pinguis

1x Yponomeuta evonymella

10+ Crambus perlella

3x Stenoptilia pterodactyla

1x Archips xylosteana

1x Pseudargyrotoza conwagana

1x Acrobasis advenella

1x Oegoconia sp

1x Teleiodes vulgella

1x Oncocera semirubella

1x Notocelia uddmanniana

2x Emmelina monodactyla

1x Lobesia abscisana

2x Archips podana

1x Acrobasis consociella

1x Rhopobota naevana

2x Cydia fagiglandana

3x Acrobasis suavella

1x Pyla fusca

1x Pammene aurita

1x Ditula angustiorana

2x Scoparia subfusca

1x Scoparia ambigualis

1x Pos Scoparia basistrigalis (to be gen det)

1x Mompha raschkiella

2x Spilonota ocellana

1x Aphelia paleana

2x Agonopterix liturosa

1x Cochylimorpha straminea

The set list from Hamburg, 21st March

Jonny came to Russia from Zimbabwe, studying here right now, and planning go to Iseland at future. "The worst thing in Russia are cops".

 

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-85 2.8-4. SB-800 into umbrella softbox from the left, SB-800 with blue gel from the right. Triggered via Nikon CLS.

 

If you are interested in print purchase, send me the flickr mail or contact via roman@makhmutov.com.

www.halja.com/

Boca Raton Real Estate Agent

261 East Palmetto Park Road

Boca Raton, FL 33432

(561) 901-1103

 

boca raton florida real estate listings

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the site on the National Priorities List in 1984. DOE began remediation of the site and several contaminated vicinity properties; remediation was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2003. Site conditions should allow unrestricted use.

 

The site is located in a mixed commercial and residential area of Wayne Township. DOE is transferring the site to Wayne Township for recreational use through the National Park Service Land to Parks Program. DOE long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements will consist of managing and preserving site information and responding to requests for information."

 

www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/0202931c.pdf

 

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

 

This site - approximately 6.5 acres of fenced property, roughly rectangular in shape - is located at the intersection of Black Oak Ridge Road and Pompton Plains Cross Road in Wayne Township, Passaic County, New Jersey - Google Map

 

The primary radiological contaminants at the WISS were Radium Ra-226, Thorium Th-232, and Uranium U-238, and associated daughter products. The chemical contaminants of concern were antimony, arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury, molybdenum, and thallium.

 

Rare Earths, Inc., extracted thorium and rare earths from monazite ore here from 1948 to 1957, when Davison Chemical, a division of W.R. Grace & Co. Inc., acquired the facility. Prior to 1960, radioactive thorium ores were placed in above ground piles. From 1960 to 1967, the thorium waste was buried in unlined pits.

 

In 1971, W.R. Grace ceased processing monazite ore and amended its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license to cover only the storage of radioactive materials. The company decontaminated the property (burying much of the material) in 1974 to the criteria established at that time. In 1975, the NRC released the land for unrestricted use, with the condition that the deed indicate the presence of radioactive material beneath the facility's surface.

 

In 1977 a fire broke out at the Wayne W.R. Grace site.

 

In 1980, the NJ DEP conducted an aerial survey that showed elevated radiation levels at the plant site, an adjacent school bus maintenance facility, a township park, the banks of Sheffield Brook, and the Pompton Plains railroad spur. Much of the off-site contamination was spread by runoff and water discharges from the site.

 

In 1984 the federal government acquired the property and created the Wayne Interim Storage Site (WISS). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investigated and removed soils contaminated with radionuclides from the school bus maintenance facility, township park, and the banks of Sheffield Brook. The contaminated soils were then stockpiled at the WISS. Approximately 38,500 cubic yards (CY) of radioactively contaminated soil and building rubble were stored at the WISS.

 

An active agricultural area is located within 200 feet of the site, and there are homes located to the east and along Sheffield Brook. Many commercial businesses lie within 3 miles of the site. Residents within 3 miles of the site rely on groundwater for drinking, household, and irrigation purposes. The municipal well system serves 51,000 people, and the nearest well is 3,200 feet from the site. Local surface water is used for recreation.

 

www.pascrell.house.gov/list/press/nj08_pascrell/pr4292009...

 

I love doing these pages. My dog-drawing is not too great yet, but I'll work on it! That's not a cross, but a plus sign!

 

.... Etnea avenue, On 5 February 2018, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, the very young martyr St.Agatha ....

  

.... via Etnea, il 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, la giovane martire Sant'Agata ....

 

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

  

click here - clicca qui

  

the slideshow

  

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on FlickeFlu

  

Qi Bo's photos on PICSSR

 

Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind

  

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

 

ID

3267

 

Listing Date

8 October 1981

 

History

Built as borough municipal offices in 1907. The date inscriptions records 'The original buildings and site were given to the inhabitants of Conway by Albert Wood Esq JP DL, who filled the office of mayor for eleven years between 1877 and 1902'.

 

Exterior

Free Gothic style offices of 2½ storeys. Its 2-bay gable end front is of random rubble stone with Bath stone freestone dressings and grey rock-faced quoins, and has a slate roof behind coped gable, with 3 brick stacks and skylight. In the front the lower storey is brought forward, its roof concealed by a coped parapet. On the L side is a freestone pointed doorway with replacement half-glazed door and overlight, under a gabled hood breaking through the parapet and with a bold crocketed finial. To its R is a C20 shop front with panelled pilasters and simple fascia. It has a recessed half-glazed door, R of which is a 3-light window. The ground-floor parapet has a central tablet with borough seals in relief, and the date inscription.

In the upper storey are paired triple windows, each with 2-pane sash. Above is a moulded cornice, then a broad freestone panel reading 'Conway Municipal Offices' in raised letters. The attic has paired pointed windows each with 3 stepped pointed casements. Above it is banding and 2 narrow loops, and a central moulded corbel. The coped verge has a raised freestone apex panelled with 3 blind transomed arches under a square head.

In the L side wall are 4-pane sash windows in each storey, in brick surrounds. The 3-window R side has paired 4-pane sashes on the R side, otherwise single 4-pane sash windows. Further behind is a faceted lower 2-storey brick rear wing under a hipped slate roof, with 4-pane sash window.

 

Reasons for Listing

Listed for its special architectural interest as an early C20 public building retaining definite character, and for its group value within the historical townscape.

 

britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300003267-former-conwy-munic...

SprayExhibition20 - Street art of Penge & Anerley

Going Postal, Martha Cooper

Brave New World

Adolf Hitler - my part in his downfall, Spike Milligan

The Outsider, Albert Camus

The Chrysalids, John Wyndham

All quiet on the Orient Express, Magnus Mills

Titus Groan, Mervyn Peake

Trouble with lichen, John Wyndham

Two Spanish picaresque novels

Toilets: a spotter's guide

Flatland, Edwin Abbott

Stepford Wives, Ira Levin

The Honjin Murders, Seishi Yokomizo

The complete short stories Vol 3, DH Lawrence

Shakespeare, Bill Bryson

The Way Inn, Will Wiles

The Leopard

Swann's Way, Marcel Proust

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin

Barracoon

Dune

Travels with a Donkey, RLS

Tristram Shandy

A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens

The Drowned Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro

Blek le Rat: Getting through the walls

All City Writers, Andrea Caputo

Follow me on Instagram

Like my photos? Buy me a coffee!

 

This is the mansion at Bletchley Park. Also known as Bletchley Park Mansion.

 

It is Grade II listed.

 

Large house, now offices. 1860 altered and extended 1883-6 and c1906

for HS Leon. Red brick in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings; principal

gables half-timbered with pebble-dashed infill, some others tile-hung;

Welsh slate roof with red tile ridge; brick stacks, with clustered

flues, ribs and bands. Transomed wooden windows, principal windows with

leaded upper lights. Decorative wooden barge boards and finials to

gables. Large rambling house, of 2 storeys with partial attic.

Entrance elevation: 6 bays. Lavish ashlar detailing including

architraves. Entrance in bay 2 has internal, vaulted, porch protecting

panelled half-glazed double-door with side lights, traceried upper part

and fanlight the latter leaded and with coloured glass. Flanking porch

are hexagonal brick columns surmounted by panelled stone tops which

flank base of 4-light oriel window with decorative base. Projecting

from porch, and attached to it are 2 seated griffins on bracketed

plinths. Shaped pediment with elaborate finial. Gabled bay 1 has

projecting 2-storey canted bay with pretted eaves band and cornice below

swept, domed, metal roof. On its left is single-storey wooden

conservatory with traceried bays, formerly an open-sided loggia.

Paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3 have ashlar framed triple window to ground

floor with gableted butresses,and two canted bay windows over. Across

bay 4 is 3 bay embattled ashlar loggia fronting elaborate - panelled

double-door with canted bay window to right; inserted 1st floor window.

Bay 6 has polygonal 2-storey bay window with shaped pediments screening

finialed polygonal roof. Right return: 3 left-hand bays in same style

as front, the rest plainer; but attached to right end is dovecote-like

structure: octagonal, of 2 stages, having plinth; inserted ground-floor

windows; ashlar upper stage with 2-light windows below string; and plain

tile roof with gablets and finial. Rear: plainer having tradesmen's

entrance; complex roofline, one roof having louvre with finialed lead

cupola; and embattled tower with blue-brick decorative work and date

(former steep hipped roof removed). Left return: in style of front,

with ashlar canted and curved bay windows; paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3

decorative half-timbered 1st floor; shaped pediment to bay 4; and former

loggia (much altered) across right-hand bays. Interior: high quality,

elaborate, interiors survive, with panelling, panelled doors, decorative

fireplaces, and decorative plaster ceilings. Entrance vestibule: stone

columns and vaults. Entrance Hall: arcaded polished-stone screen wall

and panelled area beyond with elaborate 2-stage, columned, ashlar

fireplace surround and traceried panelling and painted glass to roof.

Room at right end: Jacobethan fireplace; coffered ceiling with floral-

decorated plaster panels. Stairhall: panelled; ground-floor arcade and

deep floral frieze; decorative coved, coffered, ceiling over stair;

fretted balustrade with carved surround and carved octagonal newels to

stair panelled stair well. Library : elaborate wooden jacobethan

inglenook with overmirror; fitted book cases and shelves; fluted frieze;

compartmental ceiling with decorative plaster panels. Ballroom :

linenfold panelling; wall recess flanked by clustered wooden columns

from which spring traceried arches; elaborate plaster work to frieze and

to coved, ribbed, ceiling which has pendant finials. Billiard room:

brattished panelling and cornice; columns support ceiling ribs; wooden

trusses. Additional fireplaces, panelling, and decorative doors,

plasterwork and cornices to 1st floor.

 

Bletchley Park House was the headquarters building of World War II

operational centre, in the grounds of which was the hut in which the

vital cracking of the Nazis' Enigma Code occurred. Churchill was one of

the important visitors to the house.

 

Bletchley Park House - Heritage Gateway

 

A few things inside the house. It was mostly empty, large open rooms. These were the few things that took my interest inside.

 

Sign's / plaque's inside the house.

 

This was the plaque that Prince Charles unveiled in 2008 with Camilla, marking there visit to Bletchley Park.

© A-Lister Photography. All rights reserved.

DO NOT BLOG, TWEET, FACEBOOOK or redistribute my photographs in any form, in any media without my written permission.

 

"A street candid of a man in the rain commissioning a taxi..."

 

Check out my New RUSH HOUR COMMUTING SET!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157634491206811/

 

Check Out My JULY/AUGUST NEW IMAGES!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157634886132643/

 

Check out my LONDON, BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE SET!

www.flickr.com/photos/81861182@N03/sets/72157631851930774/

 

.

Please use the Getty Images “Request to License” link found in “Additional Info”.

(RDM1/622)

I made my Bucket List last night.

Bonhams : Den Hartogh Sale

Ford Museum

Hillegom

Netherlands

June 2018

 

Estimated : € 35.000 - 45.000

Sold for € 89.700

 

The Model C

 

For 1904 the new Ford voiturettes started to evolve. First an 'enhanced' Model A, now commonly known as an 'AC' was produced, with features including slightly different engine make-up, the bore size was enlarged to provide 10hp, and the block was split horizontally to enable access from the top and bottom of the engine. With more power came the need for better cooling, larger water jackets and then a larger radiator also, oiling was improved with six 'drip feed' oilers to more parts of the unit and the flywheel was also enlarged in diameter, giving more inertia. Additional usability improvements followed with an open differential unit to assist with the rear drive and braking system also updated.

 

These 'AC's were ultimately succeeded by a technically similar, but aesthetically different model, the Model C. By this stage the common form of a radiator gracing the front of an automobile was already fashion and Ford like other American manufacturers had to adapt to this guise popularised predominantly by the European Panhards and latterly the ground-breaking Mercedes. Despite Ford's engine remaining amidships, the radiator was brought to the front of the car and placed ahead of the water reservoir to maintain the 'French Front' look, while to improve convenience the petrol tank was also moved to this area, with an access through the top of the 'bonnet' and enlarged to 9 gallon capacity.

 

In August 1904, Henry Ford formed a new Canadian company in Windsor, which began to produce Model C cars at a plant in Walkerville, Ontario. Visually, these cars took a further physical design step forward with the rear entrance style of bodywork replaced with side access doors. That in turn meant that the engine needed to sit further forward in the frame of the car, so these side entrance tonneaus have both increased seating capacity in the rear and a small protrusion of the front cylinder into the front seating area, now covered with a panel. Early cars such as this had foot steps to reach the seats, whereas these would later be replaced with full running boards.

The Model C was relatively short-lived, being quickly supplanted by the Model F, after only 870 units had been delivered, each cost their owners $ 900. Of those the survival rate of all types is believed to be a modest number of around 20 cars.

 

The motorcar offered :

 

Known as 'Emma', this Canadian built Model C was presented to the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain Dating Committee in the era of Dennis Field's Chairmanship and was granted a 1904 Certificate on 22nd March 1967. The 'C' was clearly already in the UK by that time and would seem to have remained there through to the late 1990s.

It would appear to have used the car number of 1653 for the dating process as that is what is listed on the certificate, while its engine flywheel is marked 2237. Comparison with the records provided in Carlton Pate's Early Ford Encyclopaedia and provided by John Biggs denote #2237 as having been built at the very end of 1904, on the 20th December.

 

On file are numerous old UK 'MOT' certificates, as well as a V5 document confirming that its last owner in the UK was a John Darlow of Bedford. In his ownership, it would appear that the Ford was last on the British Roads in 1996.

 

The '04 Car has clearly had a busy life on the Veteran car front, and sports a number of badges on its dashboard for events campaigned, including London to Brighton entrant plaques for 1986 through to the Centenary year in 1996. This activity is reflected in the car's general condition which is now quiet aged in appearance, a few repaints and a renewal of the interior appear to have been done over the years and for wet weather days basic protection is provided with its period 'surrey' top.

 

Although not campaigned for the last two decades, its confirmed date would enable it to participate once again in the Bonhams sponsored London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, perhaps even this year!

Churchyard cross in St Mary's churchyard,Church Rd, Yatton, Bristol BS49 4HH

  

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1015508

Date first listed: 09-Nov-1974

Heritage Category: Listed Building

Grade: II

List Entry Number: 1312313

Date first listed:

11-Oct-1961

District: North Somerset (Unitary Authority)

Parish: Yatton

The Diocese of Bath and Wells

National Grid Reference: ST 43128 65396

 

Reasons for Designation

 

A standing cross is a free standing upright structure, usually of stone, mostly erected during the medieval period (mid 10th to mid 16th centuries AD). Standing crosses served a variety of functions. In churchyards they served as stations for outdoor processions, particularly in the observance of Palm Sunday. Elsewhere, standing crosses were used within settlements as places for preaching, public proclamation and penance, as well as defining rights of sanctuary. Standing crosses were also employed to mark boundaries between parishes, property, or settlements. A few crosses were erected to commemorate battles. Some crosses were linked to particular saints, whose support and protection their presence would have helped to invoke. Crosses in market places may have helped to validate transactions. After the Reformation, some crosses continued in use as foci for municipal or borough ceremonies, for example as places for official proclamations and announcements; some were the scenes of games or recreational activity. Standing crosses were distributed throughout England and are thought to have numbered in excess of 12,000. However, their survival since the Reformation has been variable, being much affected by local conditions, attitudes and religious sentiment. In particular, many cross-heads were destroyed by iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Less than 2,000 medieval standing crosses, with or without cross-heads, are now thought to exist. The oldest and most basic form of standing cross is the monolith, a stone shaft often set directly in the ground without a base. The most common form is the stepped cross, in which the shaft is set in a socket stone and raised upon a flight of steps; this type of cross remained current from the 11th to 12th centuries until after the Reformation. Where the cross-head survives it may take a variety of forms, from a lantern-like structure to a crucifix; the more elaborate examples date from the 15th century. Much less common than stepped crosses are spire-shaped crosses, often composed of three or four receding stages with elaborate architectural decoration and/or sculptured figures; the most famous of these include the Eleanor crosses, erected by Edward I at the stopping places of the funeral cortege of his wife, who died in 1290. Also uncommon are the preaching crosses which were built in public places from the 13th century, typically in the cemeteries of religious communities and cathedrals, market places and wide thoroughfares; they include a stepped base, buttresses supporting a vaulted canopy, in turn carrying either a shaft and head or a pinnacled spire. Standing crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval customs, both secular and religious, and to our knowledge of medieval parishes and settlement patterns. All crosses which survive as standing monuments, especially those which stand in or near their original location, are considered worthy of protection.

 

Although the shaft and cross head has been replaced, the standing cross in the churchyard at Yatton survives well as a visually impressive monument of the medieval period in what is likely to be its original location. Its massive structure and style of ornamentation qualifies it as an outstanding example of its class. Records of the church date the erection of the cross and its cost. The late 15th century cross relates to the construction of the south porch and the Newton Chapel in the Church of St Mary, the building work being attributed to Isabel de Chedder.

 

Details

The monument includes a restored cross situated in the churchyard at Yatton c.6m SSE of the church porch. The cross, which is Listed Grade II, has a five step octagonal calvary, plinth, a socket stone and shaft with a decorated terminal surmounted by a lantern cross head. The first step of the calvary is 0.5m high, and the second, third, fourth and fifth steps are 0.4m, 0.35m, 0.32m and 0.3m high. The first step is 5.1m in diameter with mortared flagstones on its upper surface forming an overhanging drip, and each side of its octagon is 2.1m long. The width of the octagonal sides of the second, third, fourth and fifth steps are 1.8m, 1.5m, 1.2m and 1m respectively. Above the fifth step of the calvary is the plinth which is cut with triangular decoration at its angles. The plinth is 1.7m wide and 0.3m high with each side of its octagon being 0.7m long. The socket stone, which sits on the plinth, has a square base and convex broaches at its angles forming an octagonal top. It is 1.07m wide and 0.84m high with a central socket 0.4m square. On each face of the socket stone is the figure of an angel. The shaft is c.2.5m high, square at its base, but then stopped and continuing in octagonal form as it tapers to an ornamental terminal and cross head. The cross head has four recessed faces formed by moulded spires at its angles. On the west side is the Crucifixion, on the east the figure of Jesus, King Alfred is on the south side, and an ecclesiastical figure or saint on the north side. The lantern head is surmounted by a moulded spire. The calvary is constructed from stone blocks and mortared flagstones, and the socket stone is hewn from one piece of stone. Investigation by probing around the base of the cross at the time of the field visit showed that there appears to be a platform of stones around the cross and beneath the surface of the grass at a depth of c.0.2m and to a width of 0.45m from the edges of the calvary. These remains are included in the scheduling. In the mid-19th century the cross had no shaft and head. The shaft and lantern head is a replacement erected in 1919 when the cross was refurbished in commemoration of the men of Yatton who died in the First World War. Records of the church show that the cross was erected in 1499 and cost 18 pounds.

 

© Historic England 2020

Listed Building Grade II

List Entry Number : 1196913

Date First Listed : 2 July 1974

 

A late 18th Century house, later a shop, incorporating fragments of an earlier building. It is stuccoed on a stone plinth, and has quoins and an eaves cornice. There are 2+1⁄2 storeys and two bays, with one gabled bay on the return facing Scotch Street. The shop has doorways with stone surrounds under a coved head, shop windows with elliptical-arched heads and, in the upper floors, sash windows. During restoration a fragment of a timber-framed building was found, and this has been retained.

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1196913

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed_buildings_in_Carlisle

1 2 ••• 11 12 14 16 17 ••• 79 80