View allAll Photos Tagged PROSPECT!
Prospect Tunnel is a 900 yd long tunnel through the Follifoot Ridge just outside Harrogate near the Crimple Viaduct. It was closed to rail use in 1964.
Prospect Tunnel is a 900 yd long tunnel through the Follifoot Ridge just outside Harrogate near the Crimple Viaduct. It was closed to rail use in 1964.
There are three air shafts in the tunnel roof, they are all marked by these markers on the wall. This is shaft 1.
The first victim of the Beeching Cuts and remains in good structural condition despite the many leaks.
Built 1885 for Frederick Dewar Beach & wife Elizabeth & named “Audley House”, converted to flats 1917, purchased & renamed “Verona” by Blackfriars School & used as boarding house 1960-1968, then as priests’ home, sold 1994, now private & renamed Audley House.
“Mr. Bertie Beach, third son of Mr. F. D. Beach, of Audley House, Prospect, took his passage by the ever popular ship Torrens on Tuesday week for a nine months' trip to England and the Continent.” [Quiz, Adelaide 11 Apr 1890]
“Laundress. Apply Thursday or Friday, between 10 and 12, Mrs. Beach, Audley House, Prospect.” [Advertiser 4 May 1894 advert]
“The marriage of the Right Hon. Samuel James Way (Chief Justice of South Australia) to Mrs. W. A. S. Blue (widow of Dr. Blue, of Hahndorf) was very quietly celebrated on the afternoon of Easter Monday, The time and place of the ceremony were kept very secret. . . Audley House, Prospect, the residence of Mrs. F. D. Beach, eldest sister of the Chief Justice, was the scene of the bridal.” [Quiz & Lantern 14 Apr 1898]
“Mrs. Beach, of Audley House, Prospect, has issued cards for an ‘At home’ on Tuesday, August 2. Those who have enjoyed Mrs. Beach's hospitality in the past can look forward to an enjoyable time, as the hostess and her daughters spare no efforts in the entertainment of their numerous guests.” [Quiz & Lantern 28 Jul 1898]
“The engagement is announced of Miss Jessie Napier, only daughter of Dr. Leith Napier, of Angas-street, to Mr. Sydney E. Beach, of ‘Audley House’, Prospect.” [Critic, Adelaide 4 Jul 1906]
“Mrs. Sydney Beach, of Audley House, Prospect, is ‘receiving’ on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week.” [Critic, Adelaide 7 Nov 1906]
“Good Cook immediately also. Laundry Housemaid references Apply mornings Mrs Beach, Audley House, Prospect.” [Advertiser 2 Mar 1907 advert]
“Experienced Nurse for three (3) children; youngest 16 months. Apply Mrs. Beach, ‘Audley House’, Prospect.” [Advertiser 16 Aug 1913 advert]
“For Sale. . . ’Audley House’, Prospect. . . The well-known residence of Colonel S. E. Beach, comprising 14 rooms. . . large laundry, garage, stabling, man's room, underground tank (10,000 gallons), conservatories, lawns, fruit and ornamental trees, etc, etc.” [Advertiser 19 Sep 1917 advert]
“Audley Estate, Prospect. Col S. E. Beach has decided, to have his valuable property on the Prospect road subdivided into building sites. 'Audley House', which comprises about 14 rooms, will be made available for purchase with about one acre of land. The balance of the land — between 2 and 3 acres — will be subdivided.” [The Mail 22 Sep 1917]
“Early in the New Year it is proposed to adapt the well-known 'Audley House' to provide Two Superior Suites of Rooms, unfurnished (6 on ground floor, 7 on first floor). The Rooms are lofty, spacious, and well lighted. Each Suite will have separate conveniences, lovely grounds, shadehouses, garage, stabling, &c. Electric cars pass the frontage.” [The Mail 22 Dec 1917]
“The work of converting Audley House, Prospect, into flats has been satisfactorily completed under the supervision of Mr. J, H. Laity, architect.” [The Mail 2 Mar 1918]
“To Let, Flat, unfurnished, self-contained, Four Rooms, Balconies, in Audley House, Prospect; Garage; fine Grounds.” [Register 5 Mar 1919 advert]
“Äuction. . . 'Audley House'. Prospect Rd., Prospect. A Stately Two-Storey Residence, substantially built of stone, containing 14 rms. . . front and side balconies. 3 bathrms., pantries, presses, domestic conveniences, and extensive stone and brick outbuildings. 'Audley House', at present let as three residential flats, could be advantageously subdivided to provide more flats, or is highly suited for a Hostel, Guest Home, Hospital, or an Institution of some kind. . . spacious, well-kept grounds. . . beautiful- trees and shrubs, occupies a good position near tram stop. . . To be sold subject to existing tenancies.” [The Mail 16 Mar 1946 advert]
FREDERICK DEWE BEACH
“BEACH.— [Died] On the 14th November, at his residence, Audley House, Prospect, Frederick Dewe Beach.”[Register 15 Nov 1895]
“Mr. Frederick Dewe Beach. . . was the son of Mr. Charles Beach, of Audley House, North Audley-street, London, and was born on March 14, 1829. He was educated at Mordant Hall, Kent, and served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Hewett & Co, confectioners and caterers, of Regent-street, London. . . He left England for Adelaide at the age of 21 in the ship Sibella. . . After being in business for a few years in this city Mr Beach left for the Victorian goldfields and worked at Ballarat, Bendigo, Forest Creek, and other rushes. . . on his return he opened a confectioner's establishment in Brown-street, removing afterwards to the precent premises in Hindley-street. . . Mr. Beach married the eldest daughter of the Rev. James Way who survives him. The family consists of Messrs. Fred, Sydney, Herbert and Frank Beach, and Misses Jeanie and Olive Beach.” [Advertiser 15 Nov 1895]
“BEACH.— [Died] On the 7th May, at her residence, Audley House, Prospect, Elizabeth, relict of Frederick Dewe Beach, and eldest daughter of the late Rev. James Way.” [Evening Journal 8 May 1903]
“Mrs. Beach, widow of the late Mr. F. D. Beach. . . was a sister of the Lieut Governor (Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Way), Mrs. Allan Campbell, and the late Dr. Way. . . well known in philanthropic circles. . . Adelaide Children's Hospital. . . North Adelaide Baptist Church. The family consists of five sons, Mjr. S. E. Beach, Messrs. Fred, F. J., Frank, and Herbert Beach, and two daughters, Mrs. Hugo Leschen, and Mrs. L. W. Yemm. Mjr. Beach is at present in Queensland, and Messrs. F. J„ and Frank Beach are in Sydney.” [Evening Journal 7 May 1903]
SYDNEY EDWIN BEACH
“BEACH—NAPIER.— [Married] On the 3rd October, at Chalmers Church, North-terrace, Adelaide, by the Rev. D. Paton, assisted by the Rev. John Thorne, Sydney Edwin, second son of the late F. D. Beach, of Audley House, Prospect, to Jessie Mellis, daughter of Dr. Leith Napier, of Angas-street, Adelaide.” [Advertiser 8 Dec 1906]
“BEACH.— [Died] On the 15th March. Sydney E. Beach, dearly loved husband of Jessie Beach, 37 Wood street, Millswcod. Aged 74 years.” [Advertiser 17 Mar 1934]
“CoL Sydney Beach. . . As a very young man, he had the good fortune to 'get in early' to Broken Hill shares He joined the Stock Exchange of Adelaide when it began in 1887. . . He was a nephew of a former Chief Justice, Sir Samuel Way, to whom he often acted as A.D.C.” [The Mail 24 Mar 1934]
“BEACH.— [Died] On October 29, at private hospltal, Jessie Mellis, beloved widow of Sydney Edwin Beach.” [Advertiser 31 Oct 1947]
“Mrs. Jessie Mellis Beach. . . was a sister of the Lieutenant Governor (Sir Mellis Napier). She was the widow of Mr. Sydney Edwin Beach, and has left two sons and a daughter.” [Advertiser 31 Oct 1947]
THE LEGACY OF PROSPECT HILL PLANTATION
Of all the historic places that I have visited, there has never been one that has captivated me like Prospect Hill. The story of Prospect Hill is a tale of wealth, prosperity, tragedy, sorrow, grief, greed, revenge and murder spanning more than 200 years and two continents. It is a story forged by war and the brotherhood of men fighting side by side, black and white. It is a story rooted in the ways of the Antebellum South and the conflict between right and wrong. It is a story that is being played out even today in the country of Liberia, so many miles away from rural Mississippi where it all began.
I first visited Prospect Hill on a beautiful, cool, crisp autumn day. Seven miles deep in the woods of rural Mississippi, she sits atop of a hill as a sentinel to what once was, but is nearly lost now. The home stands in ruins now and holds only a glimpse of what she once was. The beautiful fireplaces have grown cold and no longer add warmth to the space that was loved by so many and called home to generations of family members. The brightly colored walls show only remnants of the colors that they once boasted and the wall paper hangs in shreds. An old piano sits weathered and in ruins, no longer filling the home with its beautiful music but rather remains silent knowing its last note has resonated. A beautiful brass mirror still sits above a fireplace, but its reflection is now tarnished by years of abandonment, no longer does it catch the gazes of familiar faces, but rather darkness, emptiness and hopelessness as the house crumbles around it. As I walked around the yard, I couldn’t help but notice the remnants of what I am sure were once lavish gardens, and even today flowers are still blooming against the overgrown entanglement of weeds and vines as if they too have a story to tell and are begging not to be forgotten. A strange peace and tranquility surrounds the place, leaving me feeling far removed from the cares of life and wishing I could just sit under the shade of the ancient cedar trees and imagine what life would have been like. I begin to wonder, where they gathered when the original house burned and can only imagine the screams filling the night air as they realized little Martha didn’t make it out, yes somewhere on this hallowed ground the soil was saturated with tears. I look upon what was once a mighty oak but is now only a decaying mass of wood and chills run down my spine as I imagine the slaves being lynched on the very limbs that they had surely sought refuge under before. Maybe it is a fitting end to the tree, it’s time too has come to an end, just like the home it once shaded.
Captain Isaac Ross was born in South Carolina in 1760. He fought in the Revolutionary War alongside men of color and forged a friendship with many of them. This brotherhood was the basis for his respect for the black man despite being raised in the ideologies of the antebellum south. Captain Ross moved to Mississippi in 1808 with a large contingent of slaves and free men of color and built Prospect Hill Plantation. He was a successful businessman and the fertile Mississippi soil soon made him an extremely wealthy cotton planter. Captain Ross treated his slaves favorably, teaching them to read and write, which was illegal in many areas at this time. He also taught them specific skills and trades that made them valuable assets to his plantation as well as equipping them for a future on their own, the latter of which may or may not have been intentional. Captain Ross encouraged his slaves to marry and even allowed some of the ceremonies to be held at the Prospect Hill mansion. Many of these ceremonies were attended by Captain Ross himself, complete with gifts for the bride and groom. He seemed to have a respect for his slaves that was missing in most areas of the south at this time.
Captain Ross started to realize during the latter years of his life, that he owed a great deal of debt and gratitude to the slaves who had worked so hard for him and alongside him to build the empire of which he proudly called his own. Whether by spiritual awakening, or some type of epiphany, Captain Ross began to set in motion a series of events that would play out on two continents and affect the lives of countless individuals including his family, the slaves with whom called him master, and generations of their descendants. Captain Ross drew up a will in August of 1834, which upon his death, would free his slaves. Working through an organization called The American Colonization Society, the plantation was to be sold and the proceeds were to fund the transport of all of his slaves to a new colony in Africa called Liberia. This colony, which was soon called Mississippi in Africa, would be a fresh start to the slaves that wanted to travel there and Captain Ross even set aside provisions for a school to be established there so that the slaves could further their education and live a prosperous life in the new land. He included many of the slaves closest to him in his will and granted them money to start a new life if they chose to stay in Mississippi.
In 1836 Captain Isaac Ross passed away and the years that followed was a tumultuous time for the slaves and Ross’s family alike. Isaac Ross’s grandson, Isaac Ross Wade contested the will and the years that followed were marked with bitter disputes and litigations as well as unrest and anger on the part of the slaves. In 1845 tragedy struck, the slaves tired of waiting for the freedom that had been promised them by their beloved Captain Ross, had the cook drug the family and the house was set on fire, burning it to the ground. Everyone got out safely but little Martha, Captain Ross’s 6 year old granddaughter. A vigilante group was quickly formed and 11 slaves were hung to their death in an old oak tree out back of the burnt mansion. The present mansion was constructed in 1854.
After several years of litigation and tragedy, a group of nearly 300 Ross family slaves made the arduous journey to Africa but the story doesn’t end here. The slaves built for themselves, elaborate mansions reminiscent of the ones belonging to their masters back in Mississippi and some even enslaved the native peoples of Africa resulting in years of conflict and civil unrest which still goes on to this day. Most of the mansions built during this time were also destroyed during the years of civil unrest that followed. Copies of letters written by the Ross slaves to their families and former masters back in Mississippi still exist and sometimes outline less than desirable conditions in their new land of freedom. In an ironic twist of fate, seems maybe estranged family members or perhaps the slaves themselves had the last laugh. While all of the graves in the Ross family cemetery face presumably east, Isaac Ross Wade’s grave faces in the opposite direction, forever memorializing him as the man who stood in opposition and perhaps casting a light of shame on him for as long as the cemetery remains.
The legacy of Prospect Hill does not end with the massive oak or the crumbling mansion but still lives on in Liberia in the lives of the people whose ancestors came from Mississippi and in the descendants of the freed slaves who chose to stay. Her legacy lives on in the precedent that was set paving the way for people of color to gain their freedom and in the stories passed down from generation to generation. This Legacy still lives on in the cemetery bearing the name of all who called the mansion home and in the hearts and minds of the photographers who have been fortunate enough to capture her beauty even as she lay in ruins.
Special thanks to my awesome tour guide Mrs. Ann Brown. She made this tour possible and was such a wealth of knowledge. I can’t thank her enough for the hospitality and enthusiasm that she shared concerning the history of this area.
For more information there are two books published about Prospect Hill. Mississippi in Africa by Alan Huffman and Burning Prospects by Melissa Miles
Taken during a photo walk around Vancouver, BC. First one in a couple of weeks. Walked around Coal Harbour, Stanley Park, and up to Prospect Point.
The first victim of the Beeching Cuts and remains in good structural condition despite the many leaks.
Clear skies and no moon - that does not happen very often here. I drove all of 5 minutes to Prospect and took this image. 23 light frames (tracked), 5 dark frames, RF 15-35mm at 24mm, f/3.2, ISO 800, 1 minute exposures.
Built 1901 for Dr Joseph Ernest Good as home and consulting rooms, became Aston Private Hospital 1936 to1954, converted to 7 flats.
“Notice of Removal. . . On and after May 14, during the erection of new premises, Dr. Good’s Consulting-Rooms will be at the corner of Ballville-street and Prospect-road.” [Advertiser 11 May 1901 advert]
“Good Masons wanted, at once.— Dr. Good's new residence, Prospect-rd.” [Advertiser 29 May 1901 advert]
“Wanted, Boy, to assist in house and stable; sleep home. Apply, mornings, before 9, Dr. Good, Prospect.” [Express & Telegraph 24 Jun 1905 advert]
“Wanted, Cook-General, House-Parlourmaid; good wages. Apply Mrs. Ernest Good, Aston, Prospect, opp. Highbury street.” [Register 17 Sep 1918 advert]
“The engagement is announced of Gypsy, twin daughter of Dr. J. Ernest and Mrs, Good, of Aston, Prospect, to Cavendish Lister Colley, of Clare, youngest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Colley.” [The Journal 20 Jan 1923]
“The engagement is announced of Gwynyth Fay, twin daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. E. Good. ‘Aston’, Prospect, 8A., to John Keitb, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Angas, Lindsay Park, Angaston, S. A.” [The Journal 26 May 1923]
“Working Housekeeper. Apply Mrs. J. E. Good, 24, Prospect-rd.” [Advertiser 28 Oct 1924 advert]
“Wanted, Jersey Cow, just calved; state particulars. — J. E. Good, 24, Prospect-rd.” [Advertiser 5 Oct 1928 advert]
“Mrs. C. L. Colley, with her children, of Clare, is staying with her mother, Mrs. Ernest Good, at Aston, Prospect road, Prospect.” [News 27 Jan 1936]
“Auction. . . The Former Residence of the Late Dr. J. Ernest Good, ‘Aston’. Prospect Road. Prospect. A Handsome Two-Storey Residence. . . fine freestone with tiled roof, spacious verandahs and balconies, containing 16 rooms. . . front and back staircases. . . admirably Suitable For a Doctor. . . designed that the Surgery, Consulting and Waiting Rooms are entirely self-contained, and have their own separate entrance.. . . Two First-Class Tennis Lawns. . . ‘Aston’ is also most suitable for Conversion Into Flats, or for a First-Class Boarding House, a Rest Home or Hospital.” [Advertiser 8 Feb 1936 advert]
“Sale of Surplus Household Furniture and Effects. . . at the Residence ‘Aston’. . . with instructions from Mrs J. Ernest Good who has let her residence, ‘Aston’.” [Advertiser 27 May 1936 advert]
“having let under instructions. . . the late Dr. J. Ernest Good's residence, Aston, Prospect road, Prospect, a large two-story house of 16 rooms, which will be conducted as a private hospital.” [The Mail 30 May 1936]
“[Wanted] Semi-trained nurse. Aston Hospital, Prospect.” [Advertiser 14 Dec 1936]
“Matron Ina M. Lorimer, of Aston private hospital, Prospect road, Prospect.” [Advertiser 27 May 1940]
“Unless domestic staff shortages can be overcome immediately, Aston Private Hospital, Prospect road, Prospect, will close down at the end of this week. The matron (Miss O'Leary) said this today, adding that she had been trying for 12 months to get adequate and suitable staff for the hospital. The most urgent needs are for a cook and a laundress. . . Maternity cases are not taken at Aston. . . the loss of 23 beds at Aston would affect not only the people at Prospect.” [News 11 Jul 1944]
“A Cook and a laundress have offered their services to Aston Private Hospital, Prospect, from Monday, and the threatened closing down of the premises has been averted. Three additional nursing sisters had been sent out to the hospital,” [News 13 Jul 1944]
“[Wanted] Pantrymaid and a housemaid. Aston Private Hospital, 24 Prospect rd., Prospect.” [Advertiser 28 Mar 1946 advert]
“Aston Private Hospital, Prospect, which was threatened with closure, would probably remain open. . . The matron (Miss W. O'Leary) said she had been given first option to buy the property. . . The 23-bed hospital was formerly the residence of the late Dr. J. E. Good. It was converted to a hospital about 12 years ago. Present owner is Dr. Good's widow.” [News 13 Aug 1948]
“Because of the serious shortage of hospital accommodation in Prospect district, everything possible would be done to prevent Aston Private Hospital from having to close. . . ‘Lately two temporary sisters and the hospital secretary have been running the place’, said Matron O'Leary. ‘We cannot even get a cook. We would need five sisters and a cook who would guarantee to stay at least 12 months. For the past 18 months our staff has been composed mainly of people holidaying in this State, who have stayed for a few weeks at a time’.” [News 5 Aug 1950]
“Aston Private Hospital, on Prospect road, Prospect, is to close at the end of this year. . . staff shortage is somewhat responsible. . . the closing of the hospital was a serious matter. . . The closing of Aston was likely to have grave repercussions in the district.” [Northern Suburbs Weekly 25 Nov 1954]
JOSEPH ERNEST GOOD
“GOOD.— [Died] On the 6th December, Joseph Ernest. M.B., B.Sc., beloved husband of A. M. Good.” [Advertiser 7 Dec 1935]
“By the German mail steamer Konigen Luise, which arrived at Largs Bay on Saturday, Dr. J. E. Good returned to Adelaide. He attained his degree at Edinburgh, and has since held appointments in various British, hospitals, including the East London Hospital for Children, at Shadwell, and the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, in London. Eight years have elapsed since Dr. Good went to Scotland to study. Mrs. Good, who is a daughter of Mr. H. Essex Williams, of the Home Office, has accompanied her husband to South Australia.” [Chronicle 15 Jan 1898]
“Dr. J. Ernest Good. . . born at North Adelaide, and was the youngest son of Mr. Thomas Good, of Good, Toms & Co. He went to Prince Alfred College until 1883, when he left for England, and attended Millhill school for some years, returning through America with his brother, Mr. Charles T. Good. He began his medical course at the Adelaide University. . . entered the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.B. and C.M. in 1894. . . appointed resident medical superintendent of the smallpox hospital in Edinburgh. . . for three years attached to the City of London Hospital for diseases of the chest. Afterwards he joined the staff of the Hospital for Children, and then that of the Royal Free Hospital, both in London. After his marriage in England to Miss Agnes Minnie Williams, he returned to South Australia, entering into practice at Prospect. . . Dr. Good is survived by a widow and two daughters, Mesdames Keith Angas, of Lindsay Park, Angaston, and C. L. Colley, of Clare.” [Advertiser 7 Dec 1935]
“GOOD — [Died] On December 23, Agnes Minnie, widow of Joseph Ernest Good. Private cremation.” [Advertiser 24 Dec 1954]
“Mrs. J. E. Good, one of SA's outstanding organisers and workers for charitable causes and patriotic funds in two world wars. . . For 14 years, she gave a regular Sunday afternoon Red Cross talk from 5 AD. . . Adelaide Repertory Theatre. . . Navy League and the English Speaking Union. . . After doing a medical course in England, Mrs. Good came to SA with her husband, the late Dr. J. E. Good, and lived at Prospect. . . [received] a second bar to her Red Cross medal. . . awarded the OBE. . . Lady Angas, wife of Sir Keith Angas, is the only surviving child.” [Advertiser 24 Dec 1954]
One of five Prospect coaches at coach and bus live ( THOUGH 2 WERE LAST YEARS KING LONGS ) and this was the best ...seen in the live arena PA63SMF a Volvo B8R / Plaxton Leopard C59F to enter theprospect coaches fleet. Photo taken 03/10/13
Important legal note.
All images are copyright and must not be re posted or water marks removed, anyone found reposting is liaIble to prosecution.
Prospect Coaches Scania PR73 KNG awaits departure on Brunel St, Birmingham, working a Megabus M37 service to Norwich, on its first day in service.
Vehicle Details:
Operator: Prospect Coaches
Registration: PR73 KNG
Name: King Toot-ankhamun
Vehicle Type: Higer Touring bodied Scania K410C
Bedford YNT Dupe Dominant IV TIW 2313 was new to Swanbrook as WDG 114X and was seen at Prospect's Lye base on 27th September, 2004.
Operator: Prospect Coaches
Vehicle Type: Volvo B11R / Plaxton Elite
Registration: PR17 CPT
Pictured in Hasbury, Halesowen.
3/11/2022.
In 2004, ex Stort Valley Coaches Dennis Javelin Plaxton Premiere 320 P426 JDT passed to Prospect of Lye. On 8th July, 2007, it was seen in Brighton in that operator's Travellers inspired livery.
Ian's on the road again, wearing different shoes again.
Or something.
Yes, have audit will travel is taking me back to the north west and head office (UK) in Warrington.
I wasn't keen to go, as I would be one of those being audited, rather than being the auditor.
So it goes.
Up even earlier than usual, Jools went swimming first thing, while I woke up and packed.
It was to be a bright if cold day, and the promise of actual snow once I reached Manchester, so that was something to look forward to. No?
Jools dropped me off on the prom so I could have a walk, take some snaps before picking up the car.
It was cold.
Not Canada cold, clearly.
Minus three. And too cold to linger to watch the actual sunrise, so made do with snapping the reflected light of the hotels and a ferry coming into the harbour. I walked over Townwall Street, now cold to the bone, hoping the car hire place would be open on time.
It wasn't, but a couple of minutes later, a guy came to open up and let me inside where it was slightly warmer.
My old ruse of getting an automatic thus getting a larger car was ruined this time was I was given a Toyota Yaris. It struggled to get up Jubilee Way without the engine screaming. You'd better behave yourself for the next three days I told it.
Back home for breakfast, load the car and say goodbye to the cats. One last look, and I was off. The car had no sat nav, so had to use the phone.
Before going to the hotel, I was going to visit a former colleague who lives in Warrington, or nearly St Helens as I found out later, so programmed her address in, and off I went, along our street and towards the A2 and the long slog up to Dartford.
I connected my phone to charge, and straight away tunes from my Apple music store started playing. So, apart from the free U2 album it forced on all users, the rest was good if a little Skids and Velvet Underground heavy.
The miles were eaten up, even if I had to turn the music way up to drown the sound of the screaming engine.
Like all trips, I had something extra to sweeten the time away, and in this case it was a church. But not just any church, as you will see.
I watched a short documentary on Monday about Mary Queen of Scots, and remembered that she had been imprisoned and executed at Fotheringhay Castle in what is now Northamptonshire, and if I went over the Dartford Crossing, up the M11 to Cambridge, then were the A14 crossed the Great North Road, ten miles north was Fotheringhay.
So, I pressed on, under the river and into Essex, then along to the bottom of the M11, and north past Stanstead to Cambridge. Traffic wasn't bad, so I made good time, my phone telling me I would reach Fotheringhay at midday.
Turning off the A1, down narrow lanes, then the view to the church opens up, in what is possibly one of the finest vistas in all of England. St Mary and All Saints, 15th century and in its Perpendicular finest, it looks too good to be that old, but is.
Not only is the church mostly as it was, if plain inside, this was the parish church of the House of York, of several Kings including the final, Richard III.
This is real history.
I crossed over the narrow hump-back bridge that spanned the fast flowing, and nearly flooding, River Neane, into the village and parked outside the church. A set of grand gates lead off the main road to the northern porch, lined with fine trees, naked it being winter.
The tower seems over-large for the Nave and Chancel, it stands 116 feet tall, and is a chonker, the rest of the church seems small beside it, but the interior of the church is a large space, high to its vaulted roof.
I take shots, not as many as perhaps I should, but the church doesn't have centuries of memorials, but does have two House of York tombs, or mausoleums.
Back outside, my phone tells me I should be in Warrington by four, my friend, Teresa, wouldn't be home until half past, so I could have another break on the way.
The sat nav took me back to the A14, and from there it is just a 60 mile drive to the bottom of the M6 and then the hike two hours north.
At least it was a sunny day, though clouds were building, and was it my imagination, or did it look like snow falling already?
No, it was snow. big, fat, wet flakes at first, not much to worry about, but I pressed on past Coventry to the toll road, I sopped for half an hour there, enough time to have a drink and some crisps, then back outside where darkness was falling, as well as more snow.
The M6 might have had its upgrade complete, but a trip on it is rarely without delays. And for me, an hour delayed just before Warrington due to a crash, so we inched along in near darkness.
Teresa lived the other side of Warrington, so I had to press on further north, then along other main roads, round a bonkers roundabout before entering the town. Roads were lined with two up/two downs, doors leading straight onto the pavement. Cozy and northern.
They have two dog-mountains, I'm not sure of the breed, but think of something like a St Bernard and go bigger. They had just been for a walk, were damp and happy to be inside, laying on the kitchen floor. Taking up all the kitchen floor.
We talked for an hour, then I received a call from a guy I was supposed to be meeting up with: heavy snow was falling, I should get there sooner than later. So, I said my goodbyes and programmed the route to the hotel. Sorry, resort. Golf resort.
16 miles.
Snow was falling heavy, not too bad on main roads back to the motorway, though traffic on that was only going 40, it was fast enough. But the final six miles was long a main road, but it was covered in snow, with more falling.
The the fuel warning light went on.
Ignore that, I just wanted to get to the hotel safe and have dinner. Not end up in a hedge.
The final mile was very scary, snow only an inch deep, but slippery. There was a gatehouse marking the entrance to the golf club, I turned in and parked in the first space I came to.
Phew.
I checked in, and the place is huge, swish, but full of golfers.
But it does a sideline in conferences, training centre and a hotel. It was full.
I checked in, walked to the room, which is huge, and very comfortable, dropped my bags and went to the bar for dinner of beer and burgers. The place was almost empty, I watched cricket live from South Africa while I ate and drank.
Would I be tempted by the cheeseboard?
I would, dear reader, I would.
To my room to watch the football and relax while snow fell outside.
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The Church of St Mary and All Saints, Fotheringhay is a parish church in the Church of England in Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire. It is noted for containing a mausoleum to leading members of the Yorkist dynasty of the Wars of the Roses.
The work on the present church was begun by Edward III who also built a college as a cloister on the church's southern side. After completion in around 1430, a parish church of similar style was added to the western end of the collegiate church with work beginning in 1434. A local mason, William Horwood was contracted to build the nave, porch, and tower of this church for £300 for the Duke of York.[2] It is the parish church which still remains.
The large present church is named in honour of St Mary and All Saints, and has a distinctive tall tower dominating the local skyline. The church is Perpendicular in style and although only the nave, aisles and octagonal tower remain of the original building it is still in the best style of its period.[3] The tower is 78 feet (24 metres) high to the battlements, and is 116 feet (35 metres) high to the pinnacles of the octagon.[4]
The church has been described by Simon Jenkins as
float[ing] on its hill above the River Nene, a galleon of Perpendicular on a sea of corn.
The college continued to 1547, when it was seized by the Crown, along with all remaining chantries and colleges. The chancel was pulled down immediately after the college was granted to John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, by King Edward VI.[6] A grammar school was founded in its place which lasted until 1859.
Nearby Fotheringhay Castle was the principal home of two Dukes of York. Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 was buried in the church. He had earlier established a college for a master and twelve chaplains at the location. Edward's burial provided the basis for the later adoption of the church as a mausoleum to the Yorkist dynasty. In 1476 the church witnessed one of the most elaborate ceremonies of Edward IV's reign – the re-interment of the bodies of the king's father Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his younger brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, who had been buried in a humble tomb at Pontefract. Father and son fell at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460.
Thomas Whiting, Chester Herald, has left a detailed account of the events:
on 24 July [1476] the bodies were exhumed, that of the Duke, "garbed in an ermine furred mantle and cap of maintenance, covered with a cloth of gold" lay in state under a hearse blazing with candles, guarded by an angel of silver, bearing a crown of gold as a reminder that by right the Duke had been a king. On its journey, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, with other lords and officers of arms, all dressed in mourning, followed the funeral chariot, drawn by six horses, with trappings of black, charged with the arms of France and England and preceded by a knight bearing the banner of the ducal arms. Fotheringhay was reached on 29 July, where members of the college and other ecclesiastics went forth to meet the cortege. At the entrance to the churchyard, King Edward waited, together with the Duke of Clarence, the Marquis of Dorset, Earl Rivers, Lord Hastings and other noblemen. Upon its arrival the King 'made obeisance to the body right humbly and put his hand on the body and kissed it, crying all the time.' The procession moved into the church where two hearses were waiting, one in the choir for the body of the Duke and one in the Lady Chapel for that of the Earl of Rutland, and after the King had retired to his 'closet' and the princes and officers of arms had stationed themselves around the hearses, masses were sung and the King's chamberlain offered for him seven pieces of cloth of gold 'which were laid in a cross on the body.' The next day three masses were sung, the Bishop of Lincoln preached a 'very noble sermon' and offerings were made by the Duke of Gloucester and other lords, of 'The Duke of York's coat of arms, of his shield, his sword, his helmet and his coursers on which rode Lord Ferrers in full armour, holding in his hand an axe reversed.' When the funeral was over, the people were admitted into the church and it is said that before the coffins were placed in the vault which had been built under the chancel, five thousand persons came to receive the alms, while four times that number partook of the dinner, served partly in the castle and partly in the King's tents and pavilions. The menu included capons, cygnets, herons, rabbits and so many good things that the bills for it amounted to more than three hundred pounds.
In 1495 the body of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was laid to rest beside that of her husband the Duke of York, as her will directed. She bequeathed to the College
a square canopy, crymson cloth of gold, a chasuble, and two tunicles, and three copes of blue velvet, bordered, with three albs, three mass books, three grails and seven processioners.
After the choir of the church was destroyed in the Reformation during the sixteenth century, Elizabeth I ordered the removal of the smashed York tombs and created the present monuments to the third Duke and his wife around the altar.
The birthday of Richard III is commemorated annually by the Richard III Society by the placing of white roses in the church.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_and_All_Saints,_F...
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As any experienced pub quizzer will be able to tell you, Cambridgeshire shares borders with more other counties than any other English county, and one of the pleasures of exploring its churches by bike is to occasionally pop over a border and cherry-pick some of the best churches nearby. I had long wanted to visit Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire, and it is only ten miles west of Peterborough, and so I thought why not? I could also take in its near neighbours Nassington and Warmington, both noted as interesting churches.
Fotheringhay is a haunted place. It is haunted by noble birth and violent death, by its pivotal importance as a place in 15th Century English politics, and by its desolation in later centuries - not to mention by one significant event in the last couple of years.
The view of the church from the south across the River Nene is one of the most famous views of a church in England - there can be few books about churches which do not include it. The tower is a spectacular wedding cake, the square stage surmounted by an octagonal bell stage. This is not an unusual arrangement in the area of the Nene and Ouse Valleys, but nowhere is it on such a scale and with such intricacy as this.
The nave is also vast, a great length of flying buttresses running above each aisle, and walls of glass, great perpendicular windows designed to let in light and drive out superstition. What you cannot see from across the river is that, behind the big oak tree, the church has no chancel.
Inside, it is a square box full of light divided by great arcades that march resolutely eastwards towards a large blank wall. Heraldic shields stand aloof up in the arcades, and the one fabulous spot of colour is the great pulpit nestled in the south arcade, another sign that this building was designed to assert the doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church. This place swallows sound and magnifies light. It is thrilling, awe-inspiring. What happened here?
In the medieval period, Fotheringhay Castle was the powerbase of the House of York. The church was built as a result of a bequest by Edward III, who died in 1370. It was complete by the 1430s, with a college of priests and a large nave for the Catholic devotions of the people.
Over the next century it would house the tombs of, among others, Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York and grandson of Edward III who was killed in 1415 at Agincourt, and Richard Plantaganet, 3rd Duke of York, who was killed in the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. It was Richard's claim to the throne of England which had led to the Wars of the Roses. His decapitated head was gleefully displayed on a pike above Micklegate Bar in York by the victorious Lancastrian forces. Also killed in the battle was Richard's 17 year old son Edmund.
But the Lancastrian delight was shortlived, for by the following year Richard's eldest son had become King as Edward IV. He immediately arranged for the translation of the bodies of his father and brother from their common grave at Pontefract back to Fotheringhay.
It was recorded that on 24 July the bodies were exhumed, that of the Duke garbed in an ermine furred mantle and cap of maintenance, covered with a cloth of gold lay in state under a hearse blazing with candles, guarded by an angel of silver, bearing a crown of gold as a reminder that by right the Duke had been a king.
On its journey, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, with other lords and officers of arms, all dressed in mourning, followed the funeral chariot, drawn by six horses, with trappings of black, charged with the arms of France and England and preceded by a knight bearing the banner of the ducal arms.
Fotheringhay was reached on 29 July, where members of the college and other ecclesiastics went forth to meet the cortege. At the entrance to the churchyard, King Edward waited, together with the Duke of Clarence, the Marquis of Dorset, Earl Rivers, Lord Hastings and other noblemen. Upon its arrival the King made obeisance to the body right humbly and put his hand on the body and kissed it, crying all the time.
The procession moved into the church where two hearses were waiting, one in the choir for the body of the Duke and one in the Lady Chapel for that of the Earl of Rutland, and after the King had retired to his closet and the princes and officers of arms had stationed themselves around the hearses, masses were sung and the King's chamberlain offered for him seven pieces of cloth of gold 'which were laid in a cross on the body.
The sorrowing Edward IV donated the great pulpit for the proclamation of the Catholic faith. And then in 1483 he died. He was succeeded as tradition required by his son, the 12 year old Edward V. But three months after his father's death the younger Edward was also dead, in mysterious circumstances. He was succeeded by his uncle, who had been born here in Fotheringhay in 1452, and who would reign, albeit briefly, as Richard III.
Was Richard III really the villain that history has made him out to be? Did he really murder his nephew to achieve the throne? Within two years he had also been killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and the Lancastrians were finally triumphant. Henry VII established the Tudor dynasty, and, as we all know, history is written by the victors, not by the losers.
But Fotheringhay had one more dramatic scene to set in English history before settling back into obscurity, and this time it involved the Tudors. In September 1586 a noble woman of middle years arrived at Fotheringhay Castle under special guard, and was imprisoned here. Her name was Mary, and she was on trial for treason.
It is clear today that most of the evidence was entirely fictional, but the powers of the day had good reason to fear Mary, for she had what appeared to many to be a legitimate claim to the English throne. She was the daughter of James V of Scotland, and had herself become Queen of Scotland at the age of just six weeks. She spent her childhood and youth in France while regents governed the nation in her stead, and she married Francis, the Dauphin of France, who became King of France in 1559. Briefly, Mary was both Queen of Scotland and Queen Consort of France, but in 1561 Francis died, and Mary returned to Scotland to govern her own country.
But there was a problem. Mary was a Catholic. Scotland had led the way in the English-speaking Reformation with a particularly firebrand form of Calvinism, and the protestant merchants of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee were aghast at the prospect of a Catholic monarch.
And there was a further problem. Scotland was currently at peace with its neighbour England, where Queen Elizabeth I had brought some stability to the troubled country. But the Catholic Church did not recognise Elizabeth as the rightful monarch of England, because it was considered that her father Henry VIII's divorce from his first wife Katherine of Aragon was invalid. As he had divorced Katherine to marry Elizabeth's mother Ann Boleyn, Catholics considered that the rightful line of succession had passed horizontally from Henry VIII to his deceased elder sister and then on to her descendants, the most senior of whom was Mary, Queen of Scotland.
Mary remarried in Scotland, but her husband was murdered, and she was forced to abdicate her throne in favour of their one year old baby. He would be brought up by protestant regents and advisors, and would reign Scotland as James VI. His protestant faith allowed the English crown to recognise the line's legitimate claims, and in 1603 James VI of Scotland became James I of England, the first monarch to govern both nations.
But that was all in the future. After her abdication, Mary fled south to seek the protection of her cousin Elizabeth. She spent most of the next 18 years in protective custody. A succession of plots and conspiracies implicated her, and finally on 8th February 1587, at the age of 44, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle.
One of her son James's first acts on ascending the English throne was to order that the castle where his mother had been shamefully imprisoned and executed be razed to the ground.
The chancel of Fotheringhay church and its College of Priests were already gone by then, demolished after the Reformation, leaving the York tombs exposed to the elements. it is said that Elizabeth herself, on a visit to Fotheringhay in 1566, insisted that they be brought back into the church.
Fotheringhay church settled back into obscurity. During the long 18th Century sleep of the Church of England it suffered neglect and disuse, but was restored well in the 19th Century. A chapel was designated for the memory of the York dynasty during the 20th Century, a sensitive issue for the Church of England which does not recognise prayers for the dead, but they can happen here in the Catholic tradition.
Today, the population of Fotheringhay cannot be much more than a hundred, an obscure backwater in remote north-east Northamptonshire, consisting of little more than its grand church set above the water meadows of the River Nene. But there was one more day in the public light to come.
In 2012, an archaeological dig in the centre of the city of Leicester, some 30 miles from here, uncovered a skeleton which had been buried in such a manner that it seemed it might be the dead King Richard III. Carbon dating and DNA matching proved that it was so. A controversy erupted about where the dead king might be reburied. Leicester Cathedral seemed the obvious place, although pompous claims were made by, among others, the MP for York, for him to be buried in York Minster. But there was also a case for the remains being returned here, to the quiet peace of Fotheringhay.
In the event reason held sway and Richard was reburied in Leicester, but Fotheringhay church, along with Leicester Cathedral, York Minster and Westminster Abbey, was one of four sites to host books of remembrance for Richard III.
In June 2015 I was surprised to find that the book here was still in use at the west end of the nave, and is still regularly signed by people. Perhaps they think it is the visitors book.
Simon Knott. June 2015.
www.flickr.com/photos/norfolkodyssey/19327047848/in/photo...
Designer: Tan Yaopeng (譚耀彭)
1957, December
Prospect of Lushan
Lushan qianjing (廬山前景)
Call nr.: PC-1957-016 (Private collection)
More? See: chineseposters.net
Got this without the Kids in view though these were older, i get a bit funny about taking pictures when the schools arnt off the coaches as some people could get funny about it, a bloke standing on the corner with a camera in his hand. Also droping off at the rep theatre was Prospect Coaches PD11TRD a Dennis Javelin / Plaxton Profile C70F. Photo taken 08/01/14