View allAll Photos Tagged Proportion
This photo shows proportion. The front of the building and some of the plants are closer to the camera, compared to the back of the building, which is further away.
The new (July 2012) Corbridge Hoard display at Corbridge Roman Museum. This represents only a tiny proportion of the Hoard (more of which can be seen in the Great North Museum).
I never study a church before I go, maybe that's a fault on my part because I might miss something important and so have to go back. But for me, it's the wonder as you walk through the porch or door into the church, not knowing what to expect.
St Mary's looks like a typical Suffolk church from the outside, nice proportioned tower, good quality flint knapping. And yet once you enter, your breath is taken away by the glorious restored ceiling.
----------------------------------------------
It is not easy to find Huntingfield; even the signposts do not bear its name until you are within the parish boundary. Yet this shallow valley, divided by the infant river Blyth, with church and parsonage on one bank and manor house on the other, has been owned by some notable families in England's history.
The church is a Grade 1 Listed Building, largely due to its amazing Victorian painted ceiling.
The existing church certainly dates from the 11th century but there are signs that there had been a chapel here long before.
Some fragments of carved stones are set into the wall of the tower. At the beginning of this century they were turned up by a ploughman in a field called 'Chapel Field', a little to the south of the present church. They are fragments from a Saxon stone coffin and standing cross of the 10th century, long since disappeared.
The oldest part of the church is the wall between the nave and the north aisle which was the solid outer wall of the original twelfth century church. That church would have been small and dark, the whole building probably standing within the area of the present nave. The light would have come from small high windows of which one still remains above the two round-headed arches.
This wall has been altered at least twice. It was first broken through when the north aisle was built, and again in the nineteenth century when the arches were given their present 'Norman' curves. That first church was built by the family who took their name from the village and lived in the manor for 250 years, the Lords de Huntingfield.
The chancel was added in the thirteenth century.
By the end of the fourteenth, the south side of the nave had been altered and both aisles had been built in the fashionable Gothic style with its pointed arches. The five small high, or clerestory, windows on the south side of the nave would have provided light into the nave, the advent of affordable glass having made such things possible.
The east window of the south aisle has all that remains of the medieval glass that would once have filled many of the windows. There is a record of what was still to be seen here in the sixteenth century which lists the memorial windows with the coats of arms borne by the families who once owned the Manor.
The windows of the south aisle are particularly pretty and date from the fifteenth century. Their Perpendicular style is indicated by their familiar flat-topped shape. The porch is also from the fifteenth century.
The font dates from the fourteenth century.
The ceiling painting is very special and is explained on a separate page. The work was carried out in the 19th century while William Holland was rector. At the same time the organ and vestry were added with the Vanneck family vault beneath.
The ceiling is a masterpiece of Victorian church decoration, painted from end to end in brilliant colours, with carved and coloured angels, with banners, crowns and shields, all in the medieval style and of a most intricate and detailed finish.
The scheme of decoration is important as it reflects the ecclestiastical devotion of the late Victorian period clergy and their patrons, combined with the heightened liturgical practices of the Oxford Movement.
It was painted by Mildred Holland, the wife of William Holland who was rector for 44 years from 1848 until his death in 1892. The church was closed for eight months from September 1859 to April 1860 while she painted the chancel roof. Tradesmen provided scaffolding and prepared the ceiling for painting but there is no record to show that she had any help with the work, and legend has it that she did much of it lying on her back. We may imagine Victorian ladies wearing tight laced corsets and many petticoats, and wonder how she managed the ladders, scaffolding and hard labour of painting. She had an adviser on her schemes, a Mr. E. L. Blackburne F.S.A., an authority on medieval decoration.
The twelve large panels of the chancel ceiling each show an angel holding either a scroll with the words of the canticle 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel', or the emblems of the Passion: the cross, the hammer and nails, the scourge, the lance, the crown of thorns and the reed.
Two pelicans in their piety (pecking their breasts to feed their young) are in the last small panels.
Between the beam ends of the chancel roof there are Bible verses in Gothic lettering,
then two tiers of panels; the lower have pictures of the Lamb of God alternating with`the Keys of Heaven. Above, are crowned monograms.
Above the Chancel Arch, the Lamb of God is depicted with the words 'Glory, Honour, Praise and Power unto the Lamb for Ever and Ever', lines taken from the Book of Revelation.
Three years later Mildred Holland began to paint again in the nave. In 1866 her husband William makes a note 'scaffolding finally taken down, September Ist'. The whole cost of repairing the nave roof, preparing it for painting and for materials amounted to £247.10s.7d of which £16.7s.6d was for 225 books of gold leaf and £72 for colours. William Holland's notes show that between 1859 and 1882 a total of £2,034. 10s.0d was spent on the church restoration, of which, apparently, he gave all but £400.
Recent research has found the complete record of William Holland's work in restoring and furnishing the church. These are available for interested students.
The figures on the nave roof are of the twelve apostles and two female saints. Each is painted in the lower tier with their traditional symbols and again in the upper tier clothed in heavenly raiment holding scrolls bearing their names.
Note that Saints Margaret and Andrew are both included as there is a tradition that these two saints were specially venerated here. There are niches for statues in the south aisle which may have held statues of them. The cult of St Margaret of Antioch grew in the 10th century and her veneration was brought back to England by crusaders. Her inclusion here may hint at an early date for the church's foundation.
Mildred Holland died in 1878; William served on until 1892, a total of forty years. He gave the font cover in memory of his wife and also the brass lectern with its graceful angels and winged dragons. Their graves are in the churchyard to the west of the entrance gates. Side by side they lie, beneath a table tomb alongside a standing cross.
It is natural to speculate about the roof. It is of a single hammer-beam construction, arch-braced principals alternating with hammer-beams ending in carved angels. The angels in the nave carry a crown or a banner, those in the chancel have heraldic shields bearing arms. The question all ask is: are these angels genuinely medieval work which escaped the axes of the post-Reformation Puritans, (and remember that William Dowsing, the arch-destroyer, came from nearby Laxfield) or are they all the handiwork of Victorian craftsmen?
Traditional East Anglian hammer-beam roofs generally terminate in a carving of some sort, and the de la Poles made angel roofs in the churches of their manors, even taking Suffolk carpenters to Ewelme in Oxfordshire to make one there. But our angels are too perfect to be so old. Entries in a tradesman's account of 1865 would seem to settle the matter; or do they?
The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were times of great development and two families, both wealthy and influential, used their means to beautify and rebuild the churches on their manors including St Mary's. Keeping up with the neighbours is not a new fashion. Both left their marks on the font which, standing on restored steps and with a splendid cover, shows two heraldic shields.
The shield facing south depicts the arms of de Ufford while that on the north side is of de la Pole.
The de Ufford shield is that of Sir William de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk during the reign of Edward III. He held Framlingham Castle for the King and owned several manors in Suffolk. Among these were Parham, where he built the church, and Huntingfield.
The other shield is that of Michael de la Pole, Lord Chancellor and Earl of Suffolk, who married Catherine, daughter and heiress of Sir John Wingfield of Wingfield Castle. He succeeded to the manor of Huntingfield through his wife, and died in 1389. The shield shows both of their arms.
Michael de la Pole's has three polecat faces while Catherine Wingfield's has three open wings. Both are puns on their names. (For another heraldic pun look for the arms of Huntingfield being held by one of the angels in the roof: three hunting horns on a 'field'.)
In Ufford church you can see a medieval font cover which was a model for ours when it was made in the nineteenth century. In Wingfield church there is a font so like ours that it was probably made by the same craftsman.
www.stmaryshuntingfield.org.uk/history.htm
-----------------------------------------------
There is nowhere else in Suffolk quite like St Mary. Huntingfield is one of the county's most obscure villages; there are hardly any signposts to it. It is the nearest village to the great pile of Heveningham Hall, and perhaps these two facts are not unconnected. But it is worth getting out the old Ordnance Survey map, because here at St Mary was a remarkable 19th century restoration.
In the second half of that century, many parish churches were drawn by the excitement of the age into major reconstructions and revisions. They often looked to London stars like Scott and Butterfield, or local plodders like Phipson, or else mavericks like Salvin. The demands of the new liturgical arrangements, coupled with a renewed sense of the need to glorify God, led them into what was often a rebuilding rather than a restoration. Internal decorations were, perhaps, the bespoke work of the architect; witness Phipson's meticulous attention to detail at St Mary le Tower, Ipswich.
Other restorers relied on the big picture, a vision that encompassed walls and floors, but left the fittings to others; as, for example, Salvin's Flixton St Mary. What was the driving force behind Victorian revisionism? Essentially, what happened in England between about 1830 and 1870 was a cultural revolution, a ferment of new ideas and the reaction to them. The changes proposed by the Oxford Movement were, at first, objectionable, and then merely controversial; but gradually, they seeped into the mainstream, until by about 1890 they had become as natural as the air we breathe.
By the centenary of the movement in the 1930s, one Anglican clergyman could observe "It is as if the Reformation had never happened". Well, not quite. And now, the pendulum has swung the other way, leaving the ritualists high and dry. But the evidence of the energy of those days survives, especially at Huntingfield, where it was the local vicar who drove the Oxford Movement through the heart of the parish, like a motorway through a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
What the vicar of Huntingfield had, and many other ministers didn't, was a visionary wife. Between 1859 and 1866, Mrs Mildred Holland planned, designed and executed the most elaborate redecoration of a church this county had seen since the Reformation. For seven years, she lay on her back at the top of scaffolding, first in the chancel (angels) and then in the nave (saints on the ceilure, fine angels on the beam ends), gilding, lettering and painting this most glorious of small church roofs. Her husband, the Reverend William Holland, kept a journal throughout this period, and there is no suggestion that she had any assistance, beyond that of workmen to raise the scaffolding, and a Mr E.L. Blackburne FSA, who was, apparently, an 'authority on medieval decoration'.
J.P. St Aubyn was responsible for the structural restoration of this largely 15th century building, and it is very restrained and merciful. He did, however, refit the little windows in the south clerestory. But you come here to see the painted roofs, which are perfectly splendid. Beware if you come with children, or it will cost you a fortune in pound coins to activate the illuminations.
The font cover is not part of Mildred Holland's work; rather, it is her memorial, as is the art nouveau lectern. It is as if her art was a catalyst, inspiring others to acts of beauty. She died in the 1870s, predeceasing her husband by twenty years. They are both now buried by the churchyard gate. How fitting, that they should lie in the graveyard of the church they loved so much, and to which they gave so much of their time, energy and money.
Curiously, Ann Owen, the wife of the vicar of nearby Heveningham, produced the stained glass there; a novel is waiting to be written about these two women.
For such an obscure village, St Mary has had its share of influential patrons. Four major families in particular have left their mark here. Before the Reformation, the de la Poles and Uffords, whose shields you'll find on the font, and in later years the Cokes and the Pastons, both more usually associated with Norfolk.
But, as I have said, you don't come to Huntingfield because of important dead people. Look up, look all around, and see the true memorial to Mrs Holland. It does not have the gravitas of Lound, or the piety of Kettlebaston. And I really love it for that. I think this is a place that should be better known, and not just because of the way it contrasts with the less successful 19th century restorations at neighbouring Cookley and Walpole.
What we have here is as fine a display of 19th century folk art as you'll find anywhere in the county.
Simon Knott, 2001 (updated 2007)
We're Here! exploring the color blue.
Don't forget to vote for the Party of the Golden Proportion! The ratio of us vs them is improving every day!
You probably will approach Birchington from Thanet Way, the A299, heading over rolling fields past the huge Planet Thanet greenhouses which supply a lot of our salad plants through the year.
Birchington speawls into the countryside, building up as the road approaches the main square of the town, now a traffic intersection. And standing tall beside the square is All Saints.
I can gladly report that the church is now open Saturday mornings until midday. Sadly, we arrived at ten to twelve meaning a rush round, so a return visit will be required.
We were driving to Margate, and as ever I was looking for signs that the church was open, it seemed the porch door was open and lights on inside.
My luck was in.
All Saints is clearly old, with the north aisle and chapel apparently older than the main body, and despite being heavily Victorianised, there is plenty of interest. Most in the side chapel, the family chapel of the families that owned Quex Park. The chapel has the most wonderful collection of memorials I have seen in Kent.
------------------------------------------------------
Famous as the burial place of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and whose grave stands outside the main south door, this church contains so much more of interest. Mostly thirteenth century with a fourteenth century veneer it is full of treasures. The best collection of memorials in East Kent may be found in the north chapel owned for centuries by the series of owners of Quex House. The Quex, Crispe, Powell and Powell-Cotton families have been commemorated in monuments that reflect the styles oil the centuries. There are 6 brasses now on the wall, a huge 6-portrait bust tablet and a huge classical entablature. Opposite is a more usual but excellently crafted Prie- Dieu with gaudy colouring. The rest of the church does not disappoint. The SW corner of the church has dumpy piers and rudimentary vaulting showing that a new tower was planned there, though it was never built. The nave piers and chancel arch show remarkable degradation in the stonework. There seems to be no reason for this but it is almost that the church has been consumed by fire at some time. The reredos was designed by the 19th century architect Charles Beazley (see also Acol and Westgate) and painted by Nathaniel Westlake. It badly needs a clean to make it sing again. The altar rails are by the Canterbury College of Art, 1930s, and a really a fine period piece. What an interesting church this is – built to serve a farming village with a big house and later adapted to suit the holidaymakers who came here by the thousand. What a shame that it is difficult of access (though the helpful Church Office is happy to oblige).
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Birchington
------------------------------------------------------
NORTHWARD from Minster lies the parish of Birchington, adjoining to the sea. It is said to have been antiently called, sometimes Birchington in Gorend, and at other times Gorend in Birchington, from a place called Gorend, in this parish, where it is reported the church formerly stood, though the most usual name was always, as it is at present, Birchington only.
THIS PARISH is within the liberty and jurisdiction of the cinque ports, and is a member of the town and port of Dover; and though Gorend in it, is said to have been united to that town and port, ever since the reign of king Edward I. yet in king Henry VI.'s reign it was disputed whether this parish was not in the county at large; to take away therefore all doubt of it, the king, by letters patent, united it to Dover, the mayor of which appoints a deputy here, to whom the inhabitants have recourse for justice.
By the Landtax act of 1711, it was enacted, that in future, the parishes of St. John, St. Peter, and Birchington, in the Isle of Thanet, within the liberty of Dover, should be deemed and taken to be a distinct division within the said liberty, and in the executing of that act, should be charged towards making up the whole sum charged on the town of Dover, and the liberty thereof, according to the proportion which was assessed upon the said parishes by the act of the 4th of William and Mary, for granting an aid of four shillings in the pound, &c.
THIS PARISH joins the sea shore northward, along the whole of which it is bounded by high cliffs of chalk, through which there are several apertures made for the conveniency of a passage on to the sea shore. The parish is, in general, high land, and very pleasantly situated; in the middle of it stands the church and village adjoining, tolerably well sheltered with elm trees. This village, in a pleasing situation, on a gentle eminence, commands many delightful prospects over sea and land; particularly a fine view up the delightful vale to Canterbury, the principal tower of which cathedral froms a conspicuous object, though at the distance of twelve miles; beyond which, in clear weather, are plainly seen the range of hills and the losty woods in Chilham and Godmersham parks, more than six miles further southward.
About three quarters of a mile north-west of the church, and near as much from the sea shore, is Goreend, antiently a place of note, being particularly men tioned in the great charter of the cinque ports, as one of the members of the town and port of Dover. Leland, in his Itinerary, vol. vii. says, "Reculver is now scarce half a mile from the shore, but it is to be supposid, that yn tymes paste these cam hard to Goreende, a two mile from Northmouth, and at Gore ende is a litle straite caullid Broode Staires to go downe the clive: and about this shore is good taking of mullettes. The great Raguseis ly for defence at Gore ende and thens again is another sinus on to the Forelande." Here it is said the church stood antiently, and that it was lost by the falling of the cliff on which it stood, and that the present one was built in its stead; near this is a farm, called Upper Gore end, which was given by the owner of it, Henry Robinson, gent. by his will in 1642, for the maintenance of two fellows and two scholars in St. John's college, in Cambridge, as has been already related before. About a mile southward, lie Great and Little Brooksend; and at a like distance eastward, Great and Little Quekes. At the north-east boundary of the parish is Westgate, where there is a small hamlet of houses; from which place Domneva's deer is said to have begun its course across this island, running for some space eastward, till it turned southward towards the boundary of it, at Sheriffs Hope, in Minster.
This parish is somewhat more than two miles and an half each way; about the village and Quekes, it is pleasantly sheltered with trees; the lands in it are fertile, and like the other parts adjoining to it, are arable and mostly uninclosed, lying high, with hill and dale intermixed. The high road from Sarre to Margate runs along the southern side of the parish. There is a bay of the sea adjoining to the shore of this parish, called Hemmings bay; probably so called from Hemming, the Danish chiestan, who landed with his companion Anlef and their forces in this island, in the year 1009.
By the return made to the council's letter by archbishop Parker's order in 1563, there were then computed to be in this parish forty housholds; and by the return of the survey made by order of the same queen, in her 8th year, of the several maritime places in this county, it appears that there were then here houses inhabited forty-two; that there was a landing place, but it had neither ship nor boat.
A whale was cast ashore within the bounds of this parish in the year 1762.
The manor of Monkton claims paramount over this parish, subordinate to which is
THE MANOR OF QUEKES, or QUEX, as it is frequently spelt in the antient deeds of it. It is situated in the south-east part of this parish, about three quarters of a mile from the church, and was antiently the seat of a family who gave name to it, many of whom lie buried in this church, several of whose gravestones and inscriptions yet remain; among which are those of John Quek, who died possessed of it in the year 1449, anno 28 Henry VI. and of his son Rich. Quek in 1456; (fn. 1) from the latter of whom this seat devolved by paternal descent to John Quekes, esq. who about the beginning of king Henry VII.'s reign, left an only daughter and heir Agnes, who carried it in marriage to John Crispe, esq. descended of an antient family seated at Stanlake, in Oxforshire; he afterwards resided here, and died possessed of it in 1500, anno 16 Henry VII. He left by her four daughters, married to Barret, Gosborne, Thomas, and Symons; and one sone and heir John Crispe, who was sheriff in the 10th year of king Henry VIII. and kept his shrievalty at this seat of Quekes. He had three sons, John, the eldest, was of Cleve-court, in Monkton, of whom further mention has been made in the description of that place; Henry, the second, was of Quekes; and William, the third, was lieutenant of Dover castle.
Henry Crispe, esq. the second son, of Quekes, kept his shrievalty at this seat in the 38th year of the above reign, anno 1546, being the last of it, and was a man of great name and eminency, and of singular estimation for his discretion and weight in the management of the public affairs of the county, as well as for his hospitality, insomuch that he was reputed to have the entire rule of all this island. He died at Quekes, at a good old age, in the year 1575, leaving by his second wife six children; of whom Nicholas Crispe, esq. the eldest son, was of Grimgill, in Whitstaple. He was sheriff in the 1st year of queen Elizabeth, and died here in his father's life time, anno 1564, leaving an only daughter Dorothy. John, the second son, by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Roper, esq. of Eltham, left a son Henry, heir to his grandfather, who will be further mentioned hereafter; and Henry, the youngest, had three sons, Henry, who was first of Great Chart, and afterwards succeeded to this seat of Quekes, of whom further mention will be made; Thomas, who was first of Canterbury and afterwards of Goudhurst, where he died in 1663. He left three sons, Thomas, who at length succeeded to Quekes, as will be mentioned hereafter; Henry, who was of Monkton, and died in 1678, being ancestor of Henry and Thomas Crispe, esqrs. of the custom-house, in London, and of West Ham, in Essex, the latter of whom ended in an only surviving daughter Susan, who married the late George Elliot, esq. of Upton, in that county; and Richard, the third son, died s. p.
Now to return to Henry, the only son and heir of John, the second son of Sir Henry Crispe, of Quekes, by his second wife, who became his grandfather's heir and possessed of Quekes; he was knighted and resided here till his death in 1648. He was twice married, but left no issue; he bore for his arms two coats for Crispe, viz. first, Ermine, a fess chequy; and second, Or, on a chevron, sable, five horse shoes, argent. (fn. 2) On his death in 1648, this seat came, by the entail of it, to his first-cousin Henry Crispe, gent. of Great Chart, before-mentioned, (the eldest son of Henry, the fourth and youngest brother of Nicholas Crispe, of Grimgill, the father of Sir Henry Crispe, last-mentioned.) He removed to Quekes, and in the year 1650 was appointed sheriff; but on account of his great age and infirmities, his son was suffered to execute this office in his room. He was commonly called Bonjour Crispe. from his having been kept a prisoner in France for some time, and never learning more French than those words, at least he never would use any other whilst there. In August 1657, he was forcibly, in the night time, taken away and carried from his seat of Quekes, by several persons, Englishmen and others, to Bruges, in Flanders, and detained there as a prisoner, till the sum of 3000l. should be paid for his ransom. A few days after his arrival at Bruges, he sent to his nephew Thomas, who then lived near Quekes, to come over to him, to assist him in his great exigencies and extremities. After some consultation together, he dispatched his nephew to England, to join his endeavours, with those of his son Sir Nicholas Crispe, for his ransom and enlargment, in which they found great difficulty, as Oliver Cromwell, who was then protector, suspected the whole to be only a collusion, to procure 3000l. for the use of king Charles II. then beyond the seas; and accordingly an order was made by the protector in council, that Mr. Crispe should not be ransomed; upon which much difficulty arose in procuring a licence for it; Sir Nicholas died before it could be effected, and then the whole care of it devolved on Mr. Thomas Crispe, to obtain the licence and raise the money, which finding himself not able to do without the sale of some of his uncle's lands, he impowered him and his son-in law, Robert Darell, for that purpose, who made every dispatch in it; but it was eight months before the ransom could be paid, and Mr. Crispe released out of prison; when he returned to England, and died at Quekes, in 1663. (fn. 3)
This enterprize was contrived and executed by Captain Golding, of Ramsgate, who was a sanguine royalist, and had sometime taken refuge with Charles II. in France. The party landed at Gore-end, near Birchington, and took Mr. Crispe out of his bed, without any resistance; though it appears that he had been for some time under apprehensions of such an attack, and had caused loopholes, for the discharge of muskets, to be made in different parts of the house, and had afforded a generous hospitality to such of his neighbours as would lodge in his house, to defend him; but all these precautions were at this time of no effect, so that they conveyed him, without any disturbance being made, in his own coach, to the sea side, where he was forced into an open boat, without one of his domestics being suffered to attend him, although that was earnestly requested as a favour. He was conveyed first to Ostend, and then to Bruges, both which places were then in the power of Spain, which had been at war with England for more than two years. (fn. 4) He died possessed of this seat above-mentioned, having had one son and one daughter, who married Robt. Darell, esq Nicholas the son was knighted, but died before his father at Quekes, in 1657, leaving an only daughter and heir, who married Sir Richard Powle, of Berkshire.
On Mr. Crispe's death in 1663, without surviving male issue, this seat came, by the entail made of it, to his nephew Thomas Crispe, (the eldest son of his next brother Thomas Crispe, of Goudhurst) who afterwards resided at Quekes, where he died in 1680, leaving by his wife, whom he married in Holland, four daughters his coheirs, viz. Maria Adriana, married to Richard Breton, esq. of the Elmes, in Hougham; Frantosi, or Frances, to Edwin Wiat, esq. of Maidstone, sergeant at law; Elizabeth, to Christopher Clapham, esq. of Wakefield, in Yorkshire, and Anne-Gertruy Crispe, who died unmarried in 1708. On the division of their inheritance, this seat fell to the lot of Richard Breton, esq. who immediately afterwards sold it to Edwin Wiat, esq. and he alienated it, after some little interval, to John Buller, esq. of Morvall, in Cornwall, whose son William dying s. p. the reversion of it, (after the death of his wife, who was entitled to it for life, as part of her jointure) (fn. 5) was sold to Sir Robert Furnese, bart. of Waldershare, but he never came into the possession of it; for Mr. Buller's widow, afterwards the widow of F. Wiat, esq. son of Edwin above-mentioned, enjoyed it till her death in 1760, when it came into the possession of Catherine, countess of Guildford, one of the three daughters and coheirs of Sir Robert Furnese, bart. who in 1767 sold it to Henry Fox, lord Holland, and he conveyed it to his second son, the hon. CharlesJames Fox, who passed away his interest in it to John Powel, esq. who dying s. p. his sister, then the wife of William Roberts, became his heir and entitled to this estate, and he is now in her right possessed of it. At this house king William used to reside till the winds favoured his embarking for Holland. A room said to be the bedchamber of the royal guest is still shewn. His guards encamped on an adjoining inclosure.
It has been a large commodious structure, built partly of timber and partly of brick, much of which has been within these few years pulled down, and the rest modernized and converted into a farm house. It is pleasantly situated among a toll of trees, which defend it from the winds. There was formerly a vineyard in the gardens, which are walled round.
This antient seat, like most others of the same rank, has been for some years going fast to ruin, the weather penetrated into most of the apartments, which had been the principal ones; the roof and windows were greatly demolished, and no part of it inhabited, or indeed capable of being so, except a small part at the end occupied by the farmer; a grand suit of apartments at the north-west corner was demolished in 1781, and much of the remaining parts of it were taken down by piecemeal at different times, for the sale of the materials; in which ruinated state this seat remained till the year 1789, when Mr. Powell took down great part of it, and rebuilt the rest as it remains at present. (fn. 6)
THE MANOR OF WESTGATE, alias GARLING, lies at the eastern part of this parish, extending likewise into the parish of St. John. It had antiently owners of its own name, for it appears by the book of knight's fees in the exchequer, and other records, that Robert de Westgate held it in the reigns of king Henry III. and Edward I. of the abbot of St. Augustine's, by knight's service. He left at his death his son Robert, under age, who afterwards was in the custody of Sir Henry de Sandwich, and he held it accordingly as such in the latter of those reigns. It went into the family of Leyborne very soon after this, for William de Leyborne died possessed of it in the 3d year of Edward II. leaving Juliana his grand-daughter his heir, (daughter of his son Thomas, who died in his life-time) who being heir both to her father and grandfather, became entitled to large possessions in this and several other counties, for the greatness of which she was usually stiled the Infanta of Kent, who having issue by neither of her husbands, (for she had three) whom she survived, this manor escheated to the crown for want of heirs; for it appears by the inquisition taken after her death, in the 43d year of king Edward III. that there was then no one who could make claim to her estates, either by direct or even collateral alliance. After which this manor continued in the crown, till king Richard II. in his 11th year, gave it to the priory of Canons,alias Chiltern Langley in Hertfordshire, where it continued till the dissolution of that house in the 30th year of Henry VIII. when it was, with all its possessions, surrendered into the king's hands, and was confirmed to him and his heirs, by the general words of the act, passed the next year for that purpose.
King Henry VIII. becoming thus possessed of it, granted this manor, with all itsrights, members, and appurtenances, among several other premises, for divers good causes and considerations, to Richard, suffragan bishop of Dover, to hold to him and assigns, during his life, without any account of rent whatsoever; provided, if he should be promoted to one or more ecclesiastical benefices, or other dignity or annuity, of the yearly value of 100l. that then this grant should be void. This certainly happened before the 36th year of that reign, for the king that year granted this manor to Sir Thomas Moyle, to hold in capite by knight's service; he alienated it in the first year of Edward VI. to Roger and Valentine Byer, alias Bere, (fn. 7) to the use of the former, who died possessed of it in the 4th and 5th year of Philip and Mary, and was succeeded in it by John Byer, his son and heir, and he conveyed it, anno 3 Elizabeth, to Thomas Adam, who in the 17th year of that reign, alienated it to Thomas Dane, of Herne, whose daughter and heir Thomasine marrying Robert Denne, esq. of Denne-hill, entitled him to the possession of this manor. His eldest son Thomas Denne, esq. who was recorder of Canterbury, died in 1656, and was succeeded in it by his eldest son Thomas, of GraysInn, esq. who dying s. p. devised it by will to his brother John, of the Inner Temple, esq. who dying likewise s. p. gave it by will to his four maiden sisters; the eldest of whom, Thomasine, on the share of the inheritance left them by their brother, became entitled to it, and afterwards marrying Sir Nicholas Crispe, of Quekes, he became in her right possessed of it, and died in 1657, leaving an only daughter Anne, who carried it in marriage in 1673 to Sir Richard Powle, K. B. of Berkshire, whose son John Powle, esq. of Lincoln's Inn, dying in 1740, s. p. this manor, among other estates, by the entail of it, reverted to the right heirs of his mother Anne Crispe, in the person of Tho. Crispe, esq. of West-Ham, in Essex, (descended from Tho. Crispe, of Goudhurst, the next brother of Henry, the father of Sir Nicholas Crispe, above mentioned) whose sole daughter and heir Anne married Sir Rich. Powle, K. B. the father of John, who died s.p. in 1740, as above mentioned.) He left an only surviving daughter and heir Susan, who married in 1757, the late Geo. Elliot, esq. of Upton, in Essex, who possessed it in her right, and in 1764 alienated it to Mr. John Wotton, of this island, as he did again to Mr. James Taddy, gent. of St. John's, whose surviving sons and devisees James and Edward Taddy, became entitled to it, but the latter is since become the sole possessor of it.
BROOKSEND, antiently spelt Brookesende, is a manor situated about a mile south-west from the church of Birchington; it was part of the antient possessions of the priory of Christ-church; and in the 10th year of king Edward II. the prior obtained a grant of free warren for his demesne lands in this manor among others, after this it continued with the priory till the final suppression of it in the 31st year of Henry VIII. when this manor, among the other possessions of it, came into the king's hands, where it did not continue long, for he settled it, among other premises, in his 33d year, on his new-erected dean and chapter of Canterbury, part of whose inheritance it still continues. There is not any court held for this manor.
The manerial rights the dean and chapter reserve in their own hands; but the scite and demesne lands are demised on a beneficial lease, the present lessee being Mr. John Friend, junior, who is the present occupier of it.
THE MANOR OF BROADGATE, otherwise called Brockmans, lies within the bounds of this parish, and extends likewise into Monkton; it was part of the possessions of Henry Beaufort, duke of Somerset, and on his attainder in the 8th year of king Edward IV. came to the crown, whence it was granted to John Brockman, esq. of Witham, in Essex, to hold by the same tenure and services as it was held in the 1st year of his reign, and he died possessed of it in the 16th year of king Henry VII. anno 1500, as was found by the inquisition then taken. (fn. 8)
Charities
TEN ACRES AND ONE HALF OF LAND, were given for the repairs of the church here, or perhaps purchased with the several legacies left to the church fabric, of which one acre is let by the churchwardens to a poor man employed by them, to keep the boys orderly at church; the residue is let out, and the rents applied to the use of the church.
ANNA-GERTRUY CRISPE, fourth daughter and coheir of Thomas Crispe, esq. of Quekes, by her will in 1707, devised to the overseers of the poor of Birchington and ville of Achole, for ever, 47 acres of land in Birchington and Monkton, then in lease at 18l. per annum, in trust, to pay to the clerk of the parish yearly 20s. to keep clean the isle and monuments belonging to Quex; to three widows of Birchington 3l. to two widows of Achole 2l. for wearing apparel to appear at church; to keep at school with dame or master, 12 boys and girls, and to give to each, at leaving the school, a bible; the overseers to take yearly ten shillings; to dispose of the remaining money for binding a school-boy apprentice; that the overseers fix up a yearly account of receipts and payments, and pass the same before a justice of the peace. (fn. 9)
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Westbere.
The church, which is exempted from the archdeacon, and dedicated to All Saints, is a handsome building, situated on a rising ground; it consists of a nave and two isles, reaching but half the length of it, and what is remarkable, they are all spanned by a single roof; beyond these are three chancels. That on the north side of it belongs to the antient seat of Quekes, in this parish, and is repaired by the owners of it; in it are many fine antient monuments and memorials of the families of Quekes and Crispe, &c. The south chancel is made into a handsome vestry, and just by stands the steeple, which is a tower, on which is placed a spire covered with shingles, of great use to ships at sea as a land-mark. There are five bells in it. In the windows of the church are some few remains of painted glass, just sufficient to shew that there was much more formerly. Before the reformation, there were here beside the high altar, altars and images with lights before them, for the blessed Virgin Mary, St. Nicholas, the Holy Trinity, St. Anne, and St. Margaret; to each of which legacies of a few pence and sometimes shillings, were almost constantly devised by the parishioners; as appears by their wills, remaining in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury.
Among other memorials in this church, in the high chancel, is a stone with a brass plate, having on it, the effigies of a priest in his habit, and an inscription for master John Heynes, clerk, late vicar of Monkton, obt. 1523. In the vestry, on a brass plate, an inscription for Mrs. Margaret Crispe, late wife of Mr. John Crispe, the youngest daughter and heir of George Rotherham, esq. obt. 1508. In the Quekes, formerly called St. Mary's chancel, are many gravestones, with brass plates and monuments well preserved, for the family of Crispe, of Quekes, with their busts, several of which, as well as the ornaments, are of excellent sculpture, from the year 1508 to 1737. A very handsome mural monument and inscription for dame Anne Powel, only daughter and heir of Sir Nicholas Crispe, of Quex, and relict of Sir Richard Powel, K. B. obt. 1707, leaving only one son John Powel, esq. of Lincoln'sInn, who died unmarried 1740, and lies here interred. By her death, all his mother's estates in Kent pursuant to her deeds of settlement, descended to Henry and Thomas Crispe, esqrs. of the custom-house, London, the only surviving branch in the male line of this antient name and family. A memorial for Wm. Buller, esq. of Quekes, ob. 1708; arms, Sable, on a cross, argent, four eagles displayed of the field, a crescent for difference; impaling sable, a chevron between three pelicans, or. John Blechenden, gent. of Birchington, appears, by his will, anno 1580, to lie buried in the nether end and north side of the chancel, where Sir Henry Crispe was buried. There are engravings of three of the monuments of the Crispe's in Lewis's History of Thanet.—On an antient tomb in this chancel, lie the effigies of a man and woman; on the sides and end of it are the arms of Crispe singly, and those of Scott, three catherine wheels in a bordure, engrailed, and Crispe, impaling the same several times. In the middle isle, a memorial for Capt. George Friend, of this parish, obt 1721; and several others for the same family. A memorial, shewing, that in a vault underneath, lie several of the Neames, of Gore-end, and Mockett, of Dandelion. One for Samuel Brooke, esq. obt. 1774. Several memorials for the Kerbys, of Southend, and Brooksend; Austens, and of Gore. A memorial for Thomas Underdown, late of Fordwich, and thrice mayor of that corporation; he died 1709. A stone, on which is a brass, with a priest in his habit, the inscription gone, but in small circular brasses at each corner are his initials, I. F. conjoined in the manner of a cypher.
In the church yard, on the north side, there stood formerly a small house, called the Wax-house, where they used to fabricate the lights for the church processions, &c. In the time of the sequestration of this vicarage, about the year 1642, or rather the resignation of it by Dr. Casaubon, on the ordinance against pluralities, this church was left by the vicar, to any one who would officiate in it, and this house was fitted up at the parishioners charge, or perhaps at the expence of the family of Crispe, who were defirous of a conformist's officiating here, for the minister to live in. Accordingly Mr. Edmund Fellows, A. M. of Sandwich, officiated here as minister from 1657 till after 1660; but in a late vicar's time, this house was, by his order, pulled down, and the materials carried away.
This church was one of the chapels belonging to the vicarage of Monkton, and is now the only one of them in being. As this church was a chapelry of the parish church of Monkton, and the chapel was erected for the ease of the inhabitants, they were antiently obliged to contribute towards the repairs of the mother church; but this usage, as well as that of the other chapels in this island, (except St. Nicholas, which still continues to pay a certain sum towards the repairs of its mother church of Reculver) has been for a long time discontinued.
By the endowment of the vicarage of Monkton in 1367, it was decreed, that the vicar of Monkton for the time being, should find one chaplain in this chapel of Birchington, dependant on that church, daily to celebrate, as far as he conveniently could, which chaplain should officiate in this chapel duly in divine services; for which the vicar allowed him a stipend of six pounds per annum.
In the valuation of the vicarage of Monkton, in the king's books, the vicar of it is charged for a priest at the chapels of Birchington and Wode, 11l. 13s. 4d. In 1640 here were 240 communicants.
The vicar of Monkton now finds a curate to officiate in this church, being collated by the archbishop, the patron, to the vicarage of Monkton, with the chapels of Birchington and Wode appendant to it; but the appropriate parsonage of this parish, including that of Wood adjoining, as an appendage to that of Monkton, which was part of the possessions of the priory of Christ-church, was yet a distinct parsonage from it, and as such was granted, after the dissolution, by king Henry VIII. in his 33d year, by his dotation charter, to his new-erected dean and chapter of Canterbury, in whom the inheritance of it is at this time vested.
The parsonage of Birchington, including that of Wood, alias Woodchurch, adjoining, is let on a beneficial lease for twenty-one years. In 1778 the rack rent of it was two hundred pounds per annum; but it was valued, on a survey, at six hundred pounds per annum, having 2000 acres of titheable land within the tithery of it. The family of Hugessen, of Provender, were lessees of it. From the coheirs of the late William Western Hugessen, esq. their interest in this lease was sold, in 1791, to Mr. George Bushell, of Minster, whose son Mr. Benjamin Bushell is the present lessee.
¶The parish clerk here had formerly some peculiar privileges, as appears by the antient book of the clerks for collecting his dues, (fn. 10) different from those enjoyed by other parish-clerks in this island; besides certain sums of money, amounting to 5s. 6d. and a groat a year for every cottage; and he had paid him in kind by the farmers, twelve cops and twelve sheaves of wheat, and twelve cops and two sheaves of barley; but in the year 1638, an assessment was made by the parishioners of this parish, and of the parish and ville of Wood, wherein they rated their lands at twelve pence the score acres, and the cottages at four pence each, for the clerk's wages.
www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol10/pp294-310
-----------------------------------------------------
The oldest standing building in Birchington, is of course, the Parish Church of All Saints Birchington, which stands in the centre of the village adjacent to the Square, and like other churches of Thanet about three quarters of a mile back from the sea.
It is positioned at the crossroads of two old roads, one which led from Minster Abbey to the sea at the little port of Gore-end, and the other to Canterbury crossing the River Wantsum by the ferry at Sarre.
Its distinguished tower with its tall, graceful spire creates an unmissable landmark on the approach to Thanet, and years ago ships passing by on the offing used it as such.
It is believed that a Church stood in this location for many years before the present building was constructed. There is a possibility that a Church stood here in Saxon times.
It is most likely that the church was originally a chapel of ease under Monkton and in its earliest form had a simple nave and chancel.
This evidence of the older building, can still be seen in the outside south wall, where some stones have been re-used.
There is evidence of some of the pre-Reformation features, including the base panels of the medieval rood screen at the chancel steps, reinstated in 1905, and one of the corbels that held the great rood beam itself. Between 1863 and 1883 the Victorians made their contribution with a major renovation programme.
The most memorable windows in the church are in memory of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who died in Birchington in 1882. The left is a reproduction of one of his own paintings, while the right was designed by Frank Shields.
In recent times there have been less dramatic changes. Among them, through the generosity of the present owner of Quex Park, the Quex Chapel has been made into a chapel of worship once more. In late 2010, the spire of All Saints became illuminated at night. It still stands like a beacon, welcoming people into the village from St Nicholas roundabout, encouraging travellers, as it has done since about 1350, to travel those last two miles with a lighter heart, knowing they are so near home.
The exact date of the current church and the names of its founders are not known but it can be deduced from the records and from the style of architecture, the oldest parts of the Church are the Chancel with its side chapels, along with the Tower. It is believed that in c. 1250 the chancel was rebuilt, with the owners of Quex Park then adding a North Chapel, while the monks of Monkton added a southeast tower and chapel.
It is possible that the original owners of Quex may have built the original church, especially considering the north or Quex Chapel is the private chapel and property of the owners of the Quex Estate.
The Nave of the old church was increased in size in c. 1350 along with its five fine arcades of five bays, two narrow aisles and Norman door to the North side and is in the perpendicular style.
The large southwest pillar within the church suggest to us of plans that had to be altered, probably because of the Black Death, which resulted in us having two half aisles under one enormous roof. Around the same time, the spire was added to the tower - it still contains its original framework.
The walls of the Church are very thick and solid, built of rubble and faced with broken flints, the Kentish cobbles.
The south wall contains some old stones within it, which can be seen on either side of the south porch, which was added c. 1430. These old stones which are of anterior date to the other stones used in the building have suggested that in line with tradition, they were brought from an ancient church which stood at Gore-end and which was pulled down on the encroachment of the sea and used in the re-construction and enlargement of the present church.
There are old octagonal piers constructed from old Kent Ragstone, which have well moulded caps and bases. The east window was rebuilt of Bath stone during the Victorian restoration of the Church in 1863 when the present tracery was inserted.
One of the oldest parts of the building is the south chapel, or the St. Margaret's Chapel, above which is located the Tower in an unusual position at the south-east end of the Church. When the original small church of the three chapels was built in about 1250, before the Nave was added in the 1300's, the Tower was in the usual position — at the south-west end of the church. The Tower, crowned with an ancient shingle spire is the only ancient shingled spire in Thanet. The spire has been re-shingled several times, with the last occurring in 1968 using Canadian Red Cedar Wood shingles. Historically, sailing ships found the Spire great use at sea to steer by on their way from the Thames to the Foreland and Trinity House provided a grant of £100 in 1864 to repair it. Capping off the Spire is mounted a vane in the shape of an arrow with the date 1699 cut out in the centre.
The Church for many centuries had a tiled roof which has been renewed on several occasions. Much of the woodwork of the roof was renewed at the 1863 restoration.
At the base of the piers are stone seats which until the end of the 14th century were in most churches the only seats in naves.
In the near centre of the north wall behind the current location of the font, opposite the south door may be seen the outline of an arch used formerly as another door and blocked probably at the restoration of 1863.
The Chancel is dedicated to All Saints. The beautiful reredos, was completed in 1883 takes the form of a triptych. This was designed by a Mr. C. N. Beazley and painted by Mr. N. H. J. Westlake, F.S.A., a well known artist at that time. This was restored and cleaned at the end of 2010. On the north side of the Altar is what is probably an Easter Sepulchre. The oak Altar rails were installed in 1938, which were made by a local craftsman. On the south side of the Chancel attached to a pier is a brass of a priest wearing the vestments of the period. This was formerly on a ledger stone in the Sanctuary. The inscription states that the brass is to John Heynes, priest, sometime vicar of Monkton who died 9th October A.D. 1523.
The Crucifixion is the theme of the east window and was dedicated in 1873. The west window was the gift of Mr. Thomas Gray of Birchington Hall, which was later to become Spurgeons Childrens Home then Birch Hill Park and was dedicated in 1873.
In the vault beneath the Quex Chapel, formally the Lady Chapel, now filled in, are buried the previous owners and their relatives of Quex. This Chapel contains some wonderful and interesting monuments in brass, alabaster, stone and marble commemorating the owners of Quex from the early 15th century to the present day.
The Tower contains eight bells, the oldest being made in 1633. The Church Clock was installed in 1887, as a memorial of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. There are a number of old and interesting tombstones in the Churchyard, the one of most general interest is that of Rossetti whose grave lies near the south porch, which was designed by his friend Ford Maddox Brown. In 1910, the two vestries were added.
There is evidence of some of the pre-Reformation features, including the base panels of the medieval rood screen at the chancel steps, reinstated in 1905, and one of the corbels that held the great rood beam itself. Between 1863 and 1883 the Victorians made their contribution with a major renovation programme.
The most memorable windows in the church are in memory of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who died in Birchington in 1882. The left is a reproduction of one of his own paintings, while the right was designed by Frank Shields.
In recent times there have been less dramatic changes. Among them, through the generosity of the present owner of Quex Park, the Quex Chapel has been made into a chapel of worship once more. In late 2010, the spire of All Saints became illuminated at night. It still stands like a beacon, welcoming people into the village from St Nicholas roundabout, encouraging travellers, as it has done since about 1350, to travel those last two miles with a lighter heart, knowing they are so near home.
www.allsaintsbirchington.com/All_Saint_Birchington/Histor...
Beautiful Redhead Ginger Goddess! Pretty Bikini Beach Model! Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Red Hair Athena, Artemis, Helen, Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models! 45SURF dx4/dt=ic
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
A class 47 with seven passenger coaches heading towards Edinburgh at South Queensferry.
59 plain mount (1.2) adj 1
Finally, I finished this with a better proportion.
Minifigure can sit in there and has a very good frame.
Hope you like it.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.
Portsmouth’s First World War losses were very great, with about 6000 believed to have been killed, serving in both the army and the navy. As a great naval port, Portsmouth provided a high proportion of those who served and died during the conflict, including in the largest naval action of the war, the Battle of Jutland (31 May-1 June 1916).
In the immediate aftermath of the First World War, a War Memorial Committee was established with the purpose of commemorating the servicemen and women of Portsmouth who had lost their lives. A prominent site was chosen near the Guildhall, Victoria Park and Commercial Road, and immediately to the south of the railway, the semi-circular screen of the war memorial reflecting the curve of the railway embankment. A competition for the design was won by Messrs Gibson and Gordon of London. Samuel Salter’s tender for the building of the memorial was the lowest received, but at £19,997 was still above the estimated cost. The architect and builder were instructed to decide which items could be removed from the design, and as a consequence a number of features including a fountain, ironwork, statuary, and an arch connecting the memorial with the railway were omitted. It was decided that as well as the cenotaph – the word deriving from the Greek for an empty tomb – two statues should be included, one of a naval and one of a military nature. The sculpture was by Charles Sargeant Jagger, who saw active service during the First World War, for which he was awarded the Military Cross. Jagger brought realism to his depiction of conflict, working on a number of war memorials, of which the most celebrated is the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner (1921-5). The foundation stone of the Portsmouth memorial was laid on 25 May 1921 and the monument was unveiled, as yet incomplete, on 19 October 1921, in a ceremony attended by more than 30,000 people.
Follow me for more on instagram! instagram.com/45surf ! :)
Nikon D810 with the Nikon MB-D12 Multi Battery Power Pack / Grip for D800 and D810 Digital Cameras allows one to shoot at a high to catch the action FPS! Ballerina Dance Goddess Photos! Pretty, Tall Ballet Swimsuit Bikini Model Ballerina Goddess! Captured with the 50mm F1.4 Art Lens and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens! Ballerina dancer dancing ballet in pointe shoes! Jete! Arabesque!
www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology
Ballerina dancing ballet! Pretty ballerina girl with dark brown hair and black eyes!
A pretty goddess straight out of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey!
New Instagram! instagram.com/45surf
New facebook: www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology
Pretty, Tall Bikini Swimsuit Model Goddess!
New blog!
Ask me any questions! :)
She was a beauty--a gold 45 goddess for sure! A Gold 45 Goddess exalts the archetypal form of Athena--the Greek Goddess of wisdom, warfare, strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. A Gold 45 Goddess guards the beauty of dx4/dt=ic and embodies 45SURF's motto "Virtus, Honoris, et Actio Pro Veritas, Amor, et Bellus, (Strength, Honor, and Action for Truth, Love, and Beauty," and she stands ready to inspire and guide you along your epic, heroic odyssey into art and mythology. It is Athena who descends to call Telemachus to Adventure in the first book of Homer's Odyssey--to man up, find news of his true father Odysseus, and rid his home of the false suitors, and too, it is Athena who descends in the first book of Homer's Iliad, to calm the Rage of Achilles who is about to draw his sword so as to slay his commander who just seized Achilles' prize, thusly robbing Achilles of his Honor--the higher prize Achilles fought for. And now Athena descends once again, assuming the form of a Gold 45 Goddess, to inspire you along your epic journey of heroic endeavour.
ALL THE BEST on your Epic Hero's Odyssey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
Been busy traveling and shooting landscapes and working on my books The Golden Hero's Odyssey about the golden rectangle and divine proportion I use in a lot of my compositions! Also working on my physics book on Dynamic Dimensions Theory! The equation d4/dt=ic is on a lot of the 45surf swimsuit and shirts and all! :)
Follow me & 45surf!!
www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology/
Just checking for proportion and some errors. Pending artwork since August. Almost done, with a little bit more of final retouch. l'll post the finished work when done.
Model: JEWEL KAY (Kikay group, Moderu Royal Plum Venice Mall, Philippines Fashion Show)
Photography/ Colored Pencil Drawing by: Manny De Guzman, Jr.
Visit my Facebook ART PAGE for more art demo - www.facebook.com/MannyDeGuzmanJrArtPage
The harbour in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales.
Porthmadog came into existence after William Madocks built a sea wall, the Cob, in 1810 to reclaim a large proportion of Traeth Mawr from the sea for agricultural use. The diversion of the Afon Glaslyn caused it to scour out a new natural harbour which had a deep enough draught for small ocean-going sailing ships, and the first public wharves were built in 1825.
Individual quarry companies followed, building a series of wharves along the shore and slate was carted from Ffestiniog down to the quays along the Afon Dwyryd, then boated to Porthmadog for transfer to seagoing vessels.
In the second half of the 19th century Porthmadog was a flourishing port, its population expanding from 885 in 1821 to over 3,000 by 1861. The rapidly expanding cities of England needed high quality roofing slate, which was transported to the new port by tramway from the quarries in Ffestiniog and Llanfrothen. The Ffestiniog Railway opened in 1836, followed by the Croesor Tramway in 1864 and the Gorseddau Tramway in 1856, and by 1873 over 116,000 tons were exported through Porthmadog in more than a thousand ships.
By 1841 the trackway across the reclaimed land had been straightened out and was to be developed as Stryd Fawr, the main commercial street of the town. Along this street were a range of shops and public houses and a post office. To the north was an industrial area where foundries, timber saw mills, slate works, a flour mill, soda-pop plant and gasworks were constructed.
Porthmadog's role as a commercial port, already reduced by the opening of the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway in 1867, was effectively ended by the First World War, when the lucrative German market for slate disappeared. The 19th century wharves still survive, but the slate warehouses have been replaced by holiday apartments, and the harbour is used by leisure yachts.
Information source:
Tudor Gothic in style but not well proportioned.
Buildings to see in Perth. St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Victoria Square.
Surprisingly this cathedral was designed by the Catholic Bishop Joseph Serra and Brother Ascione and it was built from 1863. It is a typical Victorian era Gothic building in the romantic tradition. It has a steep tiled roof, the walls are rendered, and the bell tower with its spires emphasises the vertical lines of the whole cathedral. The gable facing the street, with tall Gothic arched windows is divided into thirds by the design. The top of columns are mounted with mini-spires or pinnacles to further emphasize the height of the total structure. The façade is majestic and solid.
The Perth Mint, 310 Hay Street.
This was built after the discovery of gold in Kalgoorlie. It is probably the oldest still operating mint in the world but the Abbott government proposed to sell it. It was built 1896-8.This fine limestone building with a Marseilles terracotta roof was an avant guard structure when opened. Like most Victorian buildings it uses classical features- colonnade façade, grand arched entrance but it also has many Italianate Victorian features- verandas, sash windows, wooden balconies etc.
London Court, 647 Hay Street.
This “Ye Old England” structure reflects some of the other Tudor Gothic buildings of Perth but this is a relatively modern structure being erected in 1936 as an upmarket shopping court. Note the clocks and the St. George Dragon above the St. George’s Terrace entrance. The original court included 24 apartments as well as shops.
Central Government Offices, St Georges Terrace by Cathedral Avenue.
This wonderful building, designed by the Public Works department architect who also designed the Perth Railway Station and other public buildings is a good example of a Victorian French style building. It looks like a French chateau, with a mansard sloping roof with dormer style windows. The walls have almost excessive stucco and enrichment features. But it also has a few classical elements such as the stucco work around the windows, and the short pilasters and pediment around the windows in the roof. It was built in 1874. The façade has a pavilion design with the middle part of the building inset in relation to the rest. It is of good proportions.
Land Titles Office, Cathedral Avenue and Hay Street.
The WA colonial architect George Poole designed this structure in 1897. It is a typical Federation style classical building with a different approach to classical elements. The balconies on each street face are cantilevered, with good Corinthian columns divided by a balustrade. Above these balconies you can see a beautiful arcade of rounded windows and the wall behind them is slightly inset. To balance a plain section of wall a delightful circular window with a small triangular pediment above is set into the brick word. This emphasises the asymmetry with the rest of the wall which has two levels of classical style balconies. There is good contrast between the red brick work and white stucco work throughout the building. Another unusual feature of this building, but typical of this period, is the decision to make the ground floor appear like a basement. Next door is St. George’s Cathedral, built in red brick by architect Edmund Blackett between 1879-88. This replaced the 1845 St. George’s church.
Perth Town Hall, Barrack Street.
Although this was built at the height of the Victorian era in 1867-70 it has a more modern austere look about it. Nevertheless, the Perth Town Hall is a good example of a Gothic inspired building, not for ecclesiastical purposes. It has a typical Gothic gable façade, with a tall tower one side, and a much shorter tower on the other. The façade is anything but symmetrical. The main clock tower has a very steep sided roof, with small spires or pinnacles on the corner pillars and some iron fret work around the very top of the roof. The stone arches or mullions dividing the windows create almost horizontal rather than Gothic arched windows. It uses a bold mix of red brickwork and white stone and stucco work around the windows. Almost like a church it has a round or rose window above the main entrance but it is very simple in form.
Government House, St Georges Terrace. This is a fine example of a Victorian Tudor style building. (Perhaps the best example in Adelaide is Prince Alfred College.) Government house was built between 1859 and 1863 using convict labour. Note in particular the curved (or ogee) shaped roofs on the towers. Its looks like a Scottish castle. The quoins are all in stone, with brick work for the walls. It has a Gothic style arch to the main entrance and porch and arched Gothic arches to a colonnaded veranda. In places it has brick Dutch style gables with curved edges. The windows have stone division or mullions. It is not symmetrical and it is certainly picturesque. This almost fortified medieval style building is preeminently suited to a Government House which was the symbol of the strength of the British monarchy in Australia. Today it represents Australia.
Supreme Court Building, Barrack Street.
This court house is an example of Federation era interpretation of a classical style building. Note the impressive double Ionic columned portico beneath the triangular pediment for the central entrance. This is the main focal point of the whole building. It is a building with fine symmetry. It was constructed in 1906. A fine balustrade parapet hides the roof. It has the look of a Greek temple. But the side sections of the building away from the portico have less of a classical look about them. Not far away in Barrack Street is the original Court House, the oldest building in Perth dating from 1836. The WA Law Society has offices in this restored almost British India colonial style building.
The Weld Club, 3 Barrack Street.
Most of us will be familiar with Federation Queen Ann style houses in Adelaide and the Weld Club is an excellent example in Perth. It has a corner tower complete with a steep terracotta tile roof and fancy ironwork atop which is a common feature of this style and it has fancy barge boards on the edge of gables, decorated with wooden embellishments. The verandas have lots of wood and are lined with a vertical style balustrade. The eclectic style incorporates some Gothic style arches for the lower veranda and strong horizontal lines through the use of white stucco work and banding between the floors. It also has a projecting bay window with a small tiled roof to the bay. Overall it has a wonderful asymmetrical façade and looks like a truly romantic building! It was built in 1892.
Old Pensioners’ Barracks, St Georges Terrace.
The architect who designed Government House also designed these barracks. The barracks have been demolished and only the entrance arch remains. Like Government House it is a good example of a Victorian Tudor style building. It was built in the same period as Government House in 1863 using convict labour. The Tudor effect is heightened with the battlement with crenellations across the top and with square towers beside a large recessed Gothic stone arch .The windows in the shape of a cross, all add to the effect of a Tudor castle. Note the fine brick work above and around the windows. Note how the arch above the doors is wider and flatter than the Gothic arch above the windows. The use of brick work makes it look like a stronger more substantial building.
Well proportioned BDV Recovery of Flixborough Iveco EuroTrakker 8x4 heavy recovery Y811JAW.
Seen at the White Rose Group Rally, Whitley, North Yorks.
Pretty Golden Ratio Gold 45 Revolver Bikini Swimsuit Lingerie Model! Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Portraits of Fitness Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models! dx4/dt=ic
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
It’s a distillation process: identifying the crème de la crème… de la crème, until you finally arrive at a car so superlatively special that, to quote one expert source, its sale “sends shockwaves through the community of automotive enthusiasts around the world”.
Ferrari is a badge most car-lovers would be proud to wear on the grille, whatever the model. But even among the top Ferrari collectors, the 275 GTB – unveiled at the 1964 Paris Motor Show – is a very special, beautifully proportioned, race-inspired successor to the 250 GTO that commands huge interest (and prices) today. Especially the lightweight competition versions. But the competition versions were themselves based on the remarkable 275 GTB/C Speciale, of which only three were built by the Ferrari factory – specifically for FIA homologation and factory racing development.
All three Speciales could boast super-lightweight aluminium bodies that utilised smaller, lighter tubes, along with a race-style, 3.3-litre, dry-sump engine sitting low in the chassis, and topped by six Weber carburettors (as seen in the 250 LM).
A remarkable racing machine – as proved at Le Mans in 1965
What this meant in practical terms was an extra 70 horsepower over the standard 275 GTB road car, packaged in a much lighter chassis. It was a remarkable racing machine – as proved at Le Mans in 1965. Prepared by Ferrari for the Belgian team Ecurie Francorchamps, and painted in the team’s traditional yellow, chassis no. 06885 was driven by Willy Mairesse and Jean Blaton in the GT class of the famous 24-hour race. Not only did the car win its class with supreme confidence (gaining the first Le Mans victory for a 275 GTB), it was also placed third overall: an astounding result.
Eyebrow-raising rumours:
The Le Mans car, chassis 06885, has been owned since 1970 by renowned enthusiast Preston Henn and is of almost unguessable value. Henn has stated that he has no intentions of selling his prized Ferrari but there are rumours that – if ever it did come to the market in future – it could perhaps be the first car in the world to sell at the magic ‘nine-figure’ level. Since it’s not for sale, there is no way to establish the truth of such an eyebrow-raising rumour, and nor is the third and final car built, chassis 07185, about to see the auctioneer’s gavel. It remains firmly part of a private collection.
The crème de la crème (de la crème)
But that leaves the first 275 GTB/C Speciale built, chassis no. 06701, the car pictured here. The latest news running through the collectors’ market like wildfire is that this superlative Ferrari is indeed being put up for sale – by RM Auctions, at its Monterey sale on 15-16 August 2014. With a meticulously researched and well-known provenance from new, with – of course – an original, matching-numbers engine, we wait with baited breath to see what this crème de la crème (de la crème) Ferrari will achieve on the world auction stage.
[Text courtesy of Classic Driver]
www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/timeless-classics-f...
So, how much did it sell for:
Lot 239
1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale by Scaglietti
To be auctioned on Saturday, August 16, 2014
Sold for $26,400,000
Chassis no. 06701
Engine no. 06701
Internal engine no. 044/64
www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068795
This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale (1964 - Scaglietti), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.
A delicately proportioned woman rides on the back of a muscular male creature that is human from the waist up with scroll-like front legs and a leafy-finned, serpentine body. The pair are Greco-Roman sea deities. The female is a Nereid, or ocean nymph. The male figure, often identified as a Triton, is more accurately a sea-centaur (ichthyocentaur), a mythological hybrid being with the upper body of a man, equine front legs, and the lower body of a serpent. Frequently represented on classical reliefs, Triton and Nereid figures appear as a lone couple on ancient gems, and on marble sarcophagi as boisterous crowds fighting sea battles or accompanying triumphal sea processions (marine thiasoi). However, Triton and Nereid pairs are not the isolated subjects of classical statuettes. This bronze group is a Renaissance invention made in emulation of the antique while at the same time freely departing from it.
Creating independent statuettes that were inspired by classical and contemporary relief sculptures recalls the compositional approach of the Paduan bronze master Andrea Riccio. The formal similarities between the Triton and Nereid group and Riccio’s other bronze figures have led scholars to credit the conception of this model to the master. However, none of the surviving casts of the Triton and Nereid exhibits the highly distinctive hammering in the metal that is a hallmark of Riccio’s bronzes, and only the example in the Bargello has been tentatively related to Riccio’s shop. The Met Triton and Nereid is much more summarily modeled than its Bargello counterpart; it lacks the decorative pricking on the Triton’s legs and the refined tooling on the figures’ features and hair. An unknown, presumably Paduan sculptor who might have had access to Riccio’s models probably fashioned our bronze after the master’s death.
Twelve versions of the Triton and Nereid statuette are known. The number of surviving bronzes suggests that the motif resonated with audiences in the Veneto, where marine thiasoi were emblematic of Venice’s relationship to the sea. Triumphal sea processions adorn the monumental bronze flagpole bases erected in 1507 in the Piazza San Marco. Cosmological sea-thiasoi reliefs are the foundational scenes at the foot of Riccio’s towering bronze Paschal Candelabrum (p. 00, fig. 13c) in the Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua. The central civic importance of such public imagery might have encouraged the development of the Triton and Nereid statuette for the private domestic sphere.
The distinctive figure types, poses, and gestures of the Triton and Nereid ultimately derive from a fragmentary sea-triumph sarcophagus in Rome that was well known during the Renaissance. On it, as on most classical sarcophagi, the Nereid passengers are depicted as if in mirror image, one shown from the front, the other from the back. Both views are combined in this engaging statuette, which is composed to feature equally well from either side whether placed high on a shelf or low on a table (the most common domestic locations in which bronzes were displayed). The Triton’s dramatic gestures and turn of the head—presumably toward the viewer—suggests the statuette was designed to be seen principally from the male side, affording a modest view of the Nereid’s graceful back. When placed low on a table, its complementary play between the Nereid, seen from the front, and her much larger male companion is revealed. Her classically idealized sensuality contrasts with the Triton’s monstrous hybrid muscularity. Her graceful, balanced pose and calm introspective expression temper the Triton’s bellicose posturing and belligerent outward gaze.
The Triton looks up sharply to his left and opens his mouth, revealing his teeth. He originally held an object in his raised right hand; the fingers and thumb curl around the rather large insertion hole. The Triton’s gesture is consistent with brandishing a weapon, as seen, for example, in Mantegna’s famous late fifteenth-century engravings of the Battle of the Sea Gods. In his lowered left hand, the Triton holds a syrinx (panpipes), an attribute of the deity Pan, and one common to the followers of the god of wine and ecstatic transport, Bacchus. During the Renaissance, sea triumphs and Bacchic processions symbolized physical, mental, and spiritual transitions, and thus are often represented together. In the Triton and Nereid, the relationship between these subjects is distilled with utmost refinement, granting the small bronze the capacity to be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on the needs and moods of its viewers. In a scholar’s study or collector’s cabinet, for example, the lively bronze figures might have been perceived to embody the inspired Bacchic energy so necessary to creative thinking. On the other hand, contemplation of the Triton and Nereid’s journey might have evoked the classical sea processions on sarcophagi that symbolized the spirit’s transit to eternity.
-- Denise Allen, Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, Met Museum
Possibly workshop of Andrea Briosco, called Riccio (Italian, Trent 1470–1532 Padua), after 1532-before ca. 1550.
Overall dimensions (confirmed): 8 5/8 × 4 3/8 × 6 1/8 in. (21.9 × 11.1 × 15.6 cm)
Met Museum, New York (49.7.59a, b)
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
Beautifully proportioned stone built house close to the quarry and tunnel entrance. Survived into the 1990's. What a loss.
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
In posting shots on other social media last year, it seemed that my shots at Ruckinge were not as complete as they should have been.
I did call in last year, but due to COVID, the church was locked.
On Saturday, we were in Ham Street so I could hunt butterflies, and surprisingly, Ham Street has no church within the village, instead there is Ruckinge and Orelestone to the north and east.
Orelestone I only visited last year, so have not been inside, but Ruckinge I last saw inside in 2014.
Saturday mornings there is a regular coffee morning in the shop, and I arrived just after midday as the refreshments were being packed away. Another role into which parish churches step into as other civic buildings are sold off up and down the country.
The tall, squat dower is visible from half a mile away, towering over the mature trees between. Clearly an ancient construction, Norman for sure, and topped by a wee little steeple.
Being a glorious day, I walked round the outside of the church, recording some of the finer details, like the tympanums over the west and south doors.
-------------------------------------------
A large church of Norman origins, the west door being a much-weathered example of twelfth-century work. The south doorway is also Norman and has the remains of two mass dials carved into its dressed stonework. The masonry inside the church shows clear signs of fire damage, and a nice crownpost roof of the fourteenth century probably marks the date of the rebuilding after the fire. Of the same period are the returned stalls on the south side of the chancel - the fronts being little more than a series of plain upright planks, with some spectacularly proportioned poppy-heads at each end. Outside, the upper stage of the tower dates from the thirteenth century and has a small pyramidal roof with needle spire.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Ruckinge
--------------------------------------------
RUCKING
LIES the next parish westward from Bilsington, for the most part upon the clay-hills. It is written in Domesday, Rochinges, and now usually called and written Ruckinge. Part of it, in which the church stands, is in the hundred of Newchurch, and another part in the hundred of Ham. That part of it which is below the hill southward is in the level of Romney Marsh, and within the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it, and the residue is within that of the justices of the county, and within the district of the Weald.
The PARISH lies so obscurely as to be but little known, it is a dreary unpleasant place, the roads are very narrow and miry, as bad as any in the Weald, the soil being a deep miry clay; that from Limne, through Bilsington, Ham-street, and Warehorne, crosses this parish on the side of the clay-hill, inclining nearer to the Marsh. The church stands on the side of the hill, overlooking the Marsh, which lies at the foot of it southward. The upper or northern side of it is mostly coppice wood. It contains about 930 acres of upland, and as many of marsh-land. There is no village, the houses being dispersed about the parish, and are mostly inhabited by poorer sort of people.
IN THE YEAR 791 king Offa gave to Christ-church, in Canterbury, fifteen plough-lands in Kent, among which was this estate of Roching, together with several dennes, for the feed of hogs, in the Weald; (fn. 1) but it was afterwards wrested from the church, during the Danish wars, and it continued in lay hands at the time of the conquest, soon after which it appears to have been in the possession of Hugo de Montfort, from whom archbishop Lanfranc recovered it again to his church, in the solemn assembly, held on this occasion by the king's command, at Pinenden-heath, in the year 1076. This estate coming thus into the hands of the church, on the division made of the revenues of it between the archbishop and his monks, was allotted by him to the latter, and the possession of it was confirmed to them by king Henry I. and II. In Somner's Gavelkind, is a transcript of a release anno 17 Edward I. of the base services of several of the tenants of this manor (gavelkind men) who brought them out, and consequently it was a mere change from service into money, by the mutual consent of lord and tenant. King Edward II. in his 10th year, granted to the prior and convent of Christ-church, free-warren in all their demesne lands in Rucking, among other places. In which state this manor continued till the suppression of the priory, anno 31 Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, where it did not remain long, for the king settled it by his dotation charter, in his 33d year, on his new-erected dean and chapter of Canterbury, part of whose possessions it still remains. The heirs of the Rev. Dr. James Andrews, lately deceased, are now entitled to the lease of it. There is no court held for this manor.
The OTHER PART of this parish, not included in the above grant of king Offa, seems to be that which Cuthred, king of Kent, in the year 805, with the consent and leave of Cœnulf, king of Mercia, gave to Aldbertht his servant, and Seledrythe the abbot, being two plough-lands in Hrocing, situated on both sides of the river Limene, to hold in perpetual inheritance, free from all regal tribute, &c. (fn. 2) Soon after the Norman conquest Hugo de Montfort was become possessed of lands in this parish, some of which were those which had been given by king Offa, as above-mentioned, to the priory of Christ-church, which were again recovered from him by archbishop Lanfranc, at the great meeting held at Pinenden. The residue continued in his possession, and are accordingly entered in the survey of Domesday, under the general title of the lands of Hugo de Montfort:
Ralph, son of Richard, holds of Hugo half a suling in Rochinges, which Leuret held of king Edward. It was taxed at half a suling. The arable land is two carucates. There are now twelve villeins having one carucate and an half. Of wood the pannage for one hog. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth fifty shillings, and afterwards thirty shillings, now fifty shillings.
IN THIS PART was the MANOR OF WESTBEREIS, alias Rokinges, which seems to have been once accounted as a moiety of the manor of Rucking. The former of these names it appears to have taken from the antient owners of it. After this name was extinct here, which was before the reign of king Henry IV. this manor was come into the name of Prisot, and in the 21st year of king Henry VI. was owned by John Prisot, who was that year made a sergeant-at-law, and in the 27th year of it knighted, and made chief justice of the common pleas, (fn. 3) in whose descendants it continued till the 8th year of king Henry VIII. when Thomas Prisot passed it away by sale to George Hount, in which name it continued till the 9th year of queen Elizabeth, when it was sold to Reginald Stroughill, usually called Struggle, who was in the commission of the peace in king Edward VI.'s reign, a name of antient extraction in Romney Marsh, where there were lands so called, and there they continued in good esteem at Lyd, of which town they were jurats, and possessed lands for many years afterwards. From this name this manor of Westberies, alias Rokinges, went by sale to Pearse, and anno 23 Elizabeth John Pearse, alienated it, being held in capite, to Richard Guildford and Bennet his wife, but he being indicted for not taking the oath of supremacy, they fled the realm, and were attainted of treason, and his lands became forfeited to the crown, where this manor seems to have remained till the death of the latter in 1597, anno 39 Elizabeth, when the queen granted the fee of it to Walter Moyle, gent. who sold it soon afterwards to Francis Bourne, esq. of Sharsted, and his grandson James Bourne owned it at the latter end of king Charles I.'s reign, and in his descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Parker, in which name it remained till John Parker, of London, alienated it in 1706 to Edward Andrews, of Hinxhill, and his daughter Susanna, who married George I'anns, of this parish, and left a daughter of her own name, who afterwards married first John Gray, M. D. of Canterbury, and secondly Tho. Ibbott, clerk, and entit led each of her husbands in turn respectively to the possession of this manor. On her death without issue, her heirs on her mother's side became entitled to it, and in them, to the number of more than thirty, the inheritance of it is at this time vested.
The MANOR OF BARDINDEN, or Barbodindenne, was likewise most probably situated in this part of Rucking, and was antiently so called from a family of the same name, who were possessors of it, one of whom, William de Barbodindenne, held it at his death, which was in the 9th year of king Edward III. and in his descendants it continued till at length it was alienated to Sir Robert Belknap, chief justice of the common pleas, who being attainted and banished in the 11th year of king Richard II. his estates became forfeited to the crown. Notwithstanding which, the king, who considered him as a martyr to his interest, granted him his estates again, and among others this manor, which he died possessed of in the 2d year of king Henry IV. His grandson John Belknap, in the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, alienated it to Engham, in which name it continued till king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it was sold to Sir Matthew Browne, of Beechworth, who held it in capite at his death, anno 4 and 5 Philip and Mary. His grandson Sir Thomas Browne passed it away by sale, in the 7th year of queen Elizabeth, to Thomas Lovelace, esq. whose cousin and heir William Lovelace, of Bethesden, sergeant-at-law, succeeded him in the possession of it, which afterwards descended down to Col. Richard Lovelace, who, soon after the death of king Charles I. alienated it, with his estates at Bethersden, to Mr. Richard Hulse, afterwards of Lovelace-place, in that parish, but whereabouts this manor is precisely situated, or who have been the proprietors of it since, I have not as yet been able to gain any discovery of.
POUNDHURST is a manor, situated about a mile north-west from the church. It belonged in 1651 to Richard Watts, who sold it to Gadsley, from which name it passed to Hatch, and then to Read, who passed it away to Clarke, of Ashford, and Grace Clarke carried it in marriage to the Rev. Thomas Gellibrand, and at her death in 1782, gave it by will to her son the Rev. Joseph Gellibrand, of Edmonton, the present possessor of it.
The MANOR OF MORE was antiently held by owners of the same name, one of whom, Matthew at More, held it by knight's service in the 20th year of king Edward III. after which this manor of More came into the possession of the family of Brent, who were possessed of it in king Henry VII.'s reign. At length Thomas Brent, esq. of Wilsborough, dying in 1612, s. p. by his will gave this manor to his nephew Richard Dering, esq. of Pluckley, in whose descendants it continued down to Sir Edward Dering, bart. now of Surrenden, the present possessor of it.
Charities.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave to this parish an annuity of 20s. paid out of lands in Romney Marsh, occupied by Mr. Stone, of Great Chart, which is yearly distributed on New Year's day to the poor, who receive no parish relief.
The poor constantly relieved are about twenty, casually forty.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is a very small building, having at the west end a pointed tower, out of which rises a small slender spire. In the tower there are five bells. It has a middle isle, and two narrow ones coving to it on each side. It has one chancel, and another building at the east end of the south isle, built of flint, with two handsome gothic windows on the south side, and seems to have been a chantry or oratory. It is now made use of to lay the materials in for the repairs of the church. There is a white stone in the north isle, having once had the figures of a man and woman in brass. There are no other memorials or gravestones in the church. On the outside of the steeple, on the west side, there is a very antient Saxon arched door-way, with carved capitals and zig-zag ornaments round it, and some sculpture under the arch. And there is such another smaller one on the middle of the south side of the south isle.
The church of Rucking seems to have been esteemed part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury ever since the restoring of it to that church, by the means of archbishop Lanfranc as above mentioned, when, on the allotment of the manor to the priory and monks of Christ-church, the archbishop most probably retained the advowson of this church to himself. His grace the archbishop is the present patron of it.
It is a rectory, valued in the king's books at 14l. 13s. 4d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 9s. 4d. In 1588 it was valued at one hundred pounds, communicants one hundred. In 1640 it was valued at eightyfive pounds, communicants the same as before. There are about eighteen acres of glebe.
In the petition of the clergy, beneficed in Romney Marsh, in 1635, for setting aside the custom of twopence an acre, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage, a full account of which has been given before, under Burmarsh, the rector of Rucking was one of those who met on this occasion; when it was agreed on all sides, that wool in the Marsh had never been known to have been paid in specie, the other tithes being paid or compounded for.
¶There is a modus of one shilling per acre on all grafs lands in this parish within the Marsh, and by custom, all the upland pays four-pence per acre for pasturage, and one shilling per acre when mowed, no hay having ever been taken in kind, the other tithes are either taken in kind, or compounded for. Formerly the woods of this parish paid tithes, after the rate of two shillings in the pound, according to the money paid for the fellets of them; but in a suit in the exchequer for tithe of wood, anno 1713, brought by Lodge, rector, against Sir Philip Boteler, it was decreed against the rector, that this parish was within the bounds of the Weald, and the woods in it consequently freed from tithes. Which decree has been acquiesced in ever since.
This Banpresto Mazinger Z seems too slim and a bit out of proportion thus looks weak. However, a welcome addition to my collection.
Beautiful Fine Art Ballerina Dancing Classical Ballet in Pointe Shoes Goddess! Golden Ratio Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Professional Ballerinas!
Bikini Swimsuit Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models! 45SURF dx4/dt=ic
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
[day 271]
One month after working as a graphic designer, I really learn a lot
from colleague about the printing in graphic industry, yeah, this is what I need to learn before go to the next step of my planning in this life journey. Well, I learn how to speak and deal with client everyday, design bunting, banner, restaurant menu, name card, logo, sticker, touch up, and control a printing machine :) quite interesting but sometimes it's very tiring, I wish everything will be alright. Have a nice day.
View in Light Box for more detail by pressing letter "L"
Golden Number Ratio Divine Proportion Compositions Fine Art Photography Dr. Elliot McGucken : Using the Nature's Golden Cut to Exalt Nature Photography!
Join my golden ratio groups!
www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/
www.facebook.com/groups/1401714589947057/
instagram.com/goldennumberratio
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape & Nature Photography
New book page!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Epic Landscape Photography: The Mythological Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography
Ansel Adams used the golden ratio in his photography too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlzAaBgsDI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrOUX3ZCl7I
The Fibonacci Numbers are closely related to the golden ratio, and thus they also play a prominent role in exalted natural and artistic compositions!
I'm working on a far deeper book titled The Golden Ratio Number for Photographers. :)
The famous mathematician Jacob Bernoulli wrote:
The (golden spiral) may be used as a symbol, either of fortitude and constancy in adversity, or of the human body, which after all its changes, even after death, will be restored to its exact and perfect self.
Engraved upon Jacob’s tombstone is a spiral alongside the words, "Eadem Mutata Resurgo," meaning "Though changed, I shall rise again." And so it is that within the Golden Ratio Principle, the golden harmonies rise yet again.
The golden ratio is oft known as the divine cut, the golden cut, the divine proportion, the golden number, and PHI for the name of the architect of the Parthenon Phidias. It has exalted classical art on down through the millennia and it can exalt your art too!
Ask me anything about the golden ratio! :) I will do my best to answer!!
Enjoy my Fine Art Ballet instagram too!
Dr. Elliot McGucken's Golden Ratio Principle: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Dr. E’s Golden Ratio Principle: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after. Robust, ordered growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in nature’s elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which all their vital sustenance and they themselves had been created—the golden ratio. the golden number, rectangle, and spiral!
Strasbourg (/ˈstræzbɜrɡ/, French pronunciation: [stʁaz.buʁ, stʁas.buʁ]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace were historically Alemannic-speaking, hence the city's Germanic name.[5] In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community 467,375 inhabitants. With 759,868 inhabitants in 2010, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 884,988 inhabitants in 2008.[6]
Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights.[7]
Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is immersed in the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012.[8]
Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany.
Etymology and Names
The city's Gallicized name (Lower Alsatian: Strossburi, [ˈʃd̥rɔːsb̥uri]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is of Germanic origin and means "Town (at the crossing) of roads". The modern Stras- is cognate to the German Straße and English street, all of which are derived from Latin strata ("paved road"), while -bourg is cognate to the German Burg and English borough, all of which are derived from Proto-Germanic *burgz ("hill fort, fortress").
Geography
Strasbourg seen from Spot Satellite
Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across the river to the German town Kehl. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which here flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from, the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city.
The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain, at between 132 metres (433 ft) and 151 metres (495 ft) above sea level, with the upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 20 km (12 mi) to the west and the Black Forest 25 km (16 mi) to the east. This section of the Rhine valley is a major axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself, and major roads and railways paralleling it on both banks.
The city is some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Paris. The mouth of the Rhine lies approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) to the north, or 650 kilometres (400 mi) as the river flows, whilst the head of navigation in Basel is some 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) by river.
Climate
In spite of its position far inland, Strasbourg's climate is classified as Oceanic (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, totaling 631.4 mm (24.9 in) annually. On average, snow falls 30 days per year.
The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in August 2003, during the 2003 European heat wave. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) in December 1938.
Strasbourg's location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from the dominant winds by the Vosges and Black Forest mountains, results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France.[10][11] Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution.
Prehistory
The first traces of human occupation in the environs of Strasbourg go back many thousands of years.[16] Neolithic, bronze age and iron age artifacts have been uncovered by archeological excavations. It was permanently settled by proto-Celts around 1300 BC. Towards the end of the third century BC, it developed into a Celtic township with a market called "Argentorate". Drainage works converted the stilthouses to houses built on dry land.[17]
From Romans
The Romans under Nero Claudius Drusus established a military outpost belonging to the Germania Superior Roman province at Strasbourg's current location, and named it Argentoratum. (Hence the town is commonly called Argentina in medieval Latin.[18]) The name "Argentoratum" was first mentioned in 12 BC and the city celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 1988. "Argentorate" as the toponym of the Gaulish settlement preceded it before being Latinized, but it is not known by how long. The Roman camp was destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times between the first and the fifth centuries AD: in 70, 97, 235, 355, in the last quarter of the fourth century, and in the early years of the fifth century. It was under Trajan and after the fire of 97 that Argentoratum received its most extended and fortified shape. From the year 90 on, the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stationed in the Roman camp of Argentoratum. It then included a cavalry section and covered an area of approximately 20 hectares. Other Roman legions temporarily stationed in Argentoratum were the Legio XIV Gemina and the Legio XXI Rapax, the latter during the reign of Nero.
The centre of Argentoratum proper was situated on the Grande Île (Cardo: current Rue du Dôme, Decumanus: current Rue des Hallebardes). The outline of the Roman "castrum" is visible in the street pattern in the Grande Ile. Many Roman artifacts have also been found along the current Route des Romains, the road that led to Argentoratum, in the suburb of Kœnigshoffen. This was where the largest burial places were situated, as well as the densest concentration of civilian dwelling places and commerces next to the camp. Among the most outstanding finds in Kœnigshoffen were (found in 1911–12) the fragments of a grand Mithraeum that had been shattered by early Christians in the fourth century. From the fourth century, Strasbourg was the seat of the Bishopric of Strasbourg (made an Archbishopric in 1988). Archaeological excavations below the current Église Saint-Étienne in 1948 and 1956 unearthed the apse of a church dating back to the late fourth or early fifth century, considered to be the oldest church in Alsace. It is supposed that this was the first seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Strasbourg.
The Alemanni fought the Battle of Argentoratum against Rome in 357. They were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their King Chonodomarius was taken prisoner. On 2 January 366, the Alemanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire. Early in the fifth century, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine, conquered, and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part of Switzerland.
In the fifth century Strasbourg was occupied successively by Alemanni, Huns, and Franks. In the ninth century it was commonly known as Strazburg in the local language, as documented in 842 by the Oaths of Strasbourg. This trilingual text contains, alongside texts in Latin and Old High German (teudisca lingua), the oldest written variety of Gallo-Romance (lingua romana) clearly distinct from Latin, the ancestor of Old French. The town was also called Stratisburgum or Strateburgus in Latin, from which later came Strossburi in Alsatian and Straßburg in Standard German, and then Strasbourg in French. The Oaths of Strasbourg is considered as marking the birth of the two countries of France and Germany with the division of the Carolingian Empire.[19]
A major commercial centre, the town came under the control of the Holy Roman Empire in 923, through the homage paid by the Duke of Lorraine to German King Henry I. The early history of Strasbourg consists of a long conflict between its bishop and its citizens. The citizens emerged victorious after the Battle of Oberhausbergen in 1262, when King Philip of Swabia granted the city the status of an Imperial Free City.
Around 1200, Gottfried von Straßburg wrote the Middle High German courtly romance Tristan, which is regarded, alongside Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and the Nibelungenlied, as one of great narrative masterpieces of the German Middle Ages.
A revolution in 1332 resulted in a broad-based city government with participation of the guilds, and Strasbourg declared itself a free republic. The deadly bubonic plague of 1348 was followed on 14 February 1349 by one of the first and worst pogroms in pre-modern history: over a thousand Jews were publicly burnt to death, with the remainder of the Jewish population being expelled from the city.[20] Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to remain in town after 10 pm. The time to leave the city was signalled by a municipal herald blowing the Grüselhorn (see below, Museums, Musée historique);.[21] A special tax, the Pflastergeld (pavement money), was furthermore to be paid for any horse that a Jew would ride or bring into the city while allowed to.[22]
Construction on Strasbourg Cathedral began in the twelfth century, and it was completed in 1439 (though, of the towers, only the north tower was built), becoming the World's Tallest Building, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza. A few years later, Johannes Gutenberg created the first European moveable type printing press in Strasbourg.
In July 1518, an incident known as the Dancing Plague of 1518 struck residents of Strasbourg. Around 400 people were afflicted with dancing mania and danced constantly for weeks, most of them eventually dying from heart attack, stroke or exhaustion.
In the 1520s during the Protestant Reformation, the city, under the political guidance of Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck and the spiritual guidance of Martin Bucer embraced the religious teachings of Martin Luther. Their adherents established a Gymnasium, headed by Johannes Sturm, made into a University in the following century. The city first followed the Tetrapolitan Confession, and then the Augsburg Confession. Protestant iconoclasm caused much destruction to churches and cloisters, notwithstanding that Luther himself opposed such a practice. Strasbourg was a centre of humanist scholarship and early book-printing in the Holy Roman Empire, and its intellectual and political influence contributed much to the establishment of Protestantism as an accepted denomination in the southwest of Germany. (John Calvin spent several years as a political refugee in the city). The Strasbourg Councillor Sturm and guildmaster Matthias represented the city at the Imperial Diet of Speyer (1529), where their protest led to the schism of the Catholic Church and the evolution of Protestantism. Together with four other free cities, Strasbourg presented the confessio tetrapolitana as its Protestant book of faith at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530, where the slightly different Augsburg Confession was also handed over to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
After the reform of the Imperial constitution in the early sixteenth century and the establishment of Imperial Circles, Strasbourg was part of the Upper Rhenish Circle, a corporation of Imperial estates in the southwest of Holy Roman Empire, mainly responsible for maintaining troops, supervising coining, and ensuring public security.
After the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, the first printing offices outside the inventor's hometown Mainz were established around 1460 in Strasbourg by pioneers Johannes Mentelin and Heinrich Eggestein. Subsequently, the first modern newspaper was published in Strasbourg in 1605, when Johann Carolus received the permission by the City of Strasbourg to print and distribute a weekly journal written in German by reporters from several central European cities.
From Thirty Years' War to First World War
The Free City of Strasbourg remained neutral during the Thirty Years' War 1618-1648, and retained its status as a Free Imperial City. However, the city was later annexed by Louis XIV of France to extend the borders of his kingdom.
Louis' advisors believed that, as long as Strasbourg remained independent, it would endanger the King's newly annexed territories in Alsace, and, that to defend these large rural lands effectively, a garrison had to be placed in towns such as Strasbourg.[23] Indeed, the bridge over the Rhine at Strasbourg had been used repeatedly by Imperial (Holy Roman Empire) forces,[24] and three times during the Franco-Dutch War Strasbourg had served as a gateway for Imperial invasions into Alsace.[25] In September 1681 Louis' forces, though lacking a clear casus belli, surrounded the city with overwhelming force. After some negotiation, Louis marched into the city unopposed on 30 September 1681 and proclaimed its annexation.[26]
This annexation was one of the direct causes of the brief and bloody War of the Reunions whose outcome left the French in possession. The French annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The official policy of religious intolerance which drove most Protestants from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 was not applied in Strasbourg and in Alsace, because both had a special status as a province à l'instar de l'étranger effectif (a kind of foreign province of the king of France). Strasbourg Cathedral, however, was taken from the Lutherans to be returned to the Catholics as the French authorities tried to promote Catholicism wherever they could (some other historic churches remained in Protestant hands). Its language also remained overwhelmingly German: the German Lutheran university persisted until the French Revolution. Famous students included Goethe and Herder.
The Duke of Lorraine and Imperial troops crossing the Rhine at Strasbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, 1744
During a dinner in Strasbourg organized by Mayor Frédéric de Dietrich on 25 April 1792, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composed "La Marseillaise". The same year François Christophe Kellermann, a child of Strasbourg was appointed the head of the Mosel Army. He led his company to victory at the battle of Valmy and saved the young French republic. He was later appointed Duke of Valmy by Napoléon in 1808.
During this period Jean-Baptiste Kléber, also born in Strasbourg, led the French army to win several decisive victories. A statue of Kléber now stands in the centre of the city, at Place Kléber, and he is still one of the most famous French officers. He was later appointed Marshal of France by Napoléon.
Strasbourg's status as a free city was revoked by the French Revolution. Enragés, most notoriously Eulogius Schneider, ruled the city with an increasingly iron hand. During this time, many churches and monasteries were either destroyed or severely damaged. The cathedral lost hundreds of its statues (later replaced by copies in the 19th century) and in April 1794, there was talk of tearing its spire down, on the grounds that it was against the principle of equality. The tower was saved, however, when in May of the same year citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian cap. This artifact was later kept in the historical collections of the city until it was destroyed by the Germans in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war.[27]
In 1805, 1806 and 1809, Napoléon Bonaparte and his first wife, Joséphine stayed in Strasbourg.[28] In 1810, his second wife Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma spent her first night on French soil in the palace. Another royal guest was King Charles X of France in 1828.[29] In 1836, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte unsuccessfully tried to lead his first Bonapartist coup in Strasbourg.
During the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Strasbourg, the city was heavily bombarded by the Prussian army. The bombardment of the city was meant to break the morale of the people of Strasbourg.[30] On 24 and 26 August 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts was destroyed by fire, as was the Municipal Library housed in the Gothic former Dominican church, with its unique collection of medieval manuscripts (most famously the Hortus deliciarum), rare Renaissance books, archeological finds and historical artifacts. The gothic cathedral was damaged as well as the medieval church of Temple Neuf, the theatre, the city hall, the court of justice and many houses. At the end of the siege 10,000 inhabitants were left without shelter; over 600 died, including 261 civilians, and 3200 were injured, including 1,100 civilians.[31]
In 1871, after the end of the war, the city was annexed to the newly established German Empire as part of the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt. As part of Imperial Germany, Strasbourg was rebuilt and developed on a grand and representative scale, such as the Neue Stadt, or "new city" around the present Place de la République. Historian Rodolphe Reuss and Art historian Wilhelm von Bode were in charge of rebuilding the municipal archives, libraries and museums. The University, founded in 1567 and suppressed during the French Revolution as a stronghold of German sentiment,[citation needed] was reopened in 1872 under the name Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität.
Strasbourg in the 1890s.
A belt of massive fortifications was established around the city, most of which still stands today, renamed after French generals and generally classified as Monuments historiques; most notably Fort Roon (now Fort Desaix) and Fort Podbielski (now Fort Ducrot) in Mundolsheim, Fort von Moltke (now Fort Rapp) in Reichstett, Fort Bismarck (now Fort Kléber) in Wolfisheim, Fort Kronprinz (now Fort Foch) in Niederhausbergen, Fort Kronprinz von Sachsen (now Fort Joffre) in Holtzheim and Fort Großherzog von Baden (now Fort Frère) in Oberhausbergen.[32]
Those forts subsequently served the French army (Fort Podbielski/Ducrot for instance was integrated into the Maginot Line[33]), and were used as POW-camps in 1918 and 1945.
Two garrison churches were also erected for the members of the Imperial German army, the Lutheran Église Saint-Paul and the Roman Catholic Église Saint-Maurice.
1918 to the present
A lost, then restored, symbol of modernity in Strasbourg : a room in the Aubette building designed by Theo van Doesburg, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp.
Following the defeat of the German empire in World War I and the abdication of the German Emperor, some revolutionary insurgents declared Alsace-Lorraine as an independent Republic, without preliminary referendum or vote. On 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day), communist insurgents proclaimed a "soviet government" in Strasbourg, following the example of Kurt Eisner in Munich as well as other German towns. French troops commanded by French general Henri Gouraud entered triumphantly in the city on 22 November. A major street of the city now bears the name of that date (Rue du 22 Novembre) which celebrates the entry of the French in the city.[34][35][36] Viewing the massive cheering crowd gathered under the balcony of Strasbourg's town hall, French President Raymond Poincaré stated that "the plebiscite is done".[37]
In 1919, following the Treaty of Versailles, the city was annexed by France in accordance with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" without a referendum. The date of the assignment was retroactively established on Armistice Day. It is doubtful whether a referendum in Strasbourg would have ended in France's favour since the political parties striving for an autonomous Alsace or a connection to France accounted only for a small proportion of votes in the last Reichstag as well as in the local elections.[38] The Alsatian autonomists who were pro French had won many votes in the more rural parts of the region and other towns since the annexation of the region by Germany in 1871. The movement started with the first election for the Reichstag; those elected were called "les députés protestataires", and until the fall of Bismarck in 1890, they were the only deputies elected by the Alsatians to the German parliament demanding the return of those territories to France.[39] At the last Reichstag election in Strasbourg and its periphery, the clear winners were the Social Democrats; the city was the administrative capital of the region, was inhabited by many Germans appointed by the central government in Berlin and its flourishing economy attracted many Germans. This could explain the difference between the rural vote and the one in Strasbourg. After the war, many Germans left Strasbourg and went back to Germany; some of them were denounced by the locals or expelled by the newly appointed authorities. The Saverne Affair was vivid in the memory among the Alsatians.
In 1920, Strasbourg became the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, previously located in Mannheim, one of the oldest European institutions. It moved into the former Imperial Palace.
When the Maginot Line was built, the Sous-secteur fortifié de Strasbourg (fortified sub-sector of Strasbourg) was laid out on the city's territory as a part of the Secteur fortifié du Bas-Rhin, one of the sections of the Line. Blockhouses and casemates were built along the Grand Canal d'Alsace and the Rhine in the Robertsau forest and the port.[40]
Between the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and the Anglo-French declaration of War against the German Reich on 3 September 1939, the entire city (a total of 120,000 people) was evacuated, like other border towns as well. Until the arrival of the Wehrmacht troops mid-June 1940, the city was, for ten months, completely empty, with the exception of the garrisoned soldiers. The Jews of Strasbourg had been evacuated to Périgueux and Limoges, the University had been evacuated to Clermont-Ferrand.
After the ceasefire following the Fall of France in June 1940, Alsace was annexed to Germany and a rigorous policy of Germanisation was imposed upon it by the Gauleiter Robert Heinrich Wagner. When, in July 1940, the first evacuees were allowed to return, only residents of Alsatian origin were admitted. The last Jews were deported on 15 July 1940 and the main synagogue, a huge Romanesque revival building that had been a major architectural landmark with its 54-metre-high dome since its completion in 1897, was set ablaze, then razed.[41]
In September 1940 the first Alsatian resistance movement led by Marcel Weinum called La main noire (The black hand) was created. It was composed by a group of 25 young men aged from 14 to 18 years old who led several attacks against the German occupation. The actions culminated with the attack of the Gauleiter Robert Wagner, the highest commander of Alsace directly under the order of Hitler. In March 1942, Marcel Weinum was prosecuted by the Gestapo and sentenced to be beheaded at the age of 18 in April 1942 in Stuttgart, Germany. His last words will be: "If I have to die, I shall die but with a pure heart". From 1943 the city was bombarded by Allied aircraft. While the First World War had not notably damaged the city, Anglo-American bombing caused extensive destruction in raids of which at least one was allegedly carried out by mistake.[42] In August 1944, several buildings in the Old Town were damaged by bombs, particularly the Palais Rohan, the Old Customs House (Ancienne Douane) and the Cathedral.[43] On 23 November 1944, the city was officially liberated by the 2nd French Armoured Division under General Leclerc. He achieved the oath that he made with his soldiers, after the decisive Capture of Kufra. With the Oath of Kuffra, they swore to keep up the fight until the French flag flew over the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
Many people from Strasbourg were incorporated in the German Army against their will, and were sent to the eastern front, those young men and women were called Malgré-nous. Many tried to escape from the incorporation, join the French Resistance, or desert the Wehrmacht but many couldn't because they were running the risk of having their families sent to work or concentration camps by the Germans. Many of these men, especially those who did not answer the call immediately, were pressured to "volunteer" for service with the SS, often by direct threats on their families. This threat obliged the majority of them to remain in the German army. After the war, the few that survived were often accused of being traitors or collaborationists, because this tough situation was not known in the rest of France, and they had to face the incomprehension of many. In July 1944, 1500 malgré-nous were released from Soviet captivity and sent to Algiers, where they joined the Free French Forces. Nowadays history recognizes the suffering of those people, and museums, public discussions and memorials have been built to commemorate this terrible period of history of this part of Eastern France (Alsace and Moselle). Liberation of Strasbourg took place on 23 November 1944.
In 1947, a fire broke out in the Musée des Beaux-Arts and devastated a significant part of the collections. This fire was an indirect consequence of the bombing raids of 1944: because of the destruction inflicted on the Palais Rohan, humidity had infiltrated the building, and moisture had to be fought. This was done with welding torches, and a bad handling of these caused the fire.[44]
In the 1950s and 1960s the city was enlarged by new residential areas meant to solve both the problem of housing shortage due to war damage and that of the strong growth of population due to the baby boom and immigration from North Africa: Cité Rotterdam in the North-East, Quartier de l'Esplanade in the South-East, Hautepierre in the North-West. Between 1995 and 2010, a new district has been built in the same vein, the Quartier des Poteries, south of Hautepierre.
In 1958, a violent hailstorm destroyed most of the historical greenhouses of the Botanical Garden and many of the stained glass windows of St. Paul's Church.
In 1949, the city was chosen to be the seat of the Council of Europe with its European Court of Human Rights and European Pharmacopoeia. Since 1952, the European Parliament has met in Strasbourg, which was formally designated its official 'seat' at the Edinburgh meeting of the European Council of EU heads of state and government in December 1992. (This position was reconfirmed and given treaty status in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam). However, only the (four-day) plenary sessions of the Parliament are held in Strasbourg each month, with all other business being conducted in Brussels and Luxembourg. Those sessions take place in the Immeuble Louise Weiss, inaugurated in 1999, which houses the largest parliamentary assembly room in Europe and of any democratic institution in the world. Before that, the EP sessions had to take place in the main Council of Europe building, the Palace of Europe, whose unusual inner architecture had become a familiar sight to European TV audiences.[45] In 1992, Strasbourg became the seat of the Franco-German TV channel and movie-production society Arte.
In 2000, a terrorist plot to blow up the cathedral was prevented thanks to the cooperation between French and German police that led to the arrest in late 2000 of a Frankfurt-based group of terrorists.
On 6 July 2001, during an open-air concert in the Parc de Pourtalès, a single falling Platanus tree killed thirteen people and injured 97. On 27 March 2007, the city was found guilty of neglect over the accident and fined €150,000.[46]
In 2006, after a long and careful restoration, the inner decoration of the Aubette, made in the 1920s by Hans Arp, Theo van Doesburg, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp and destroyed in the 1930s, was made accessible to the public again. The work of the three artists had been called "the Sistine Chapel of abstract art".
Architecture
Strasbourg, Cathedral of Our Lady
The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite France district or Gerberviertel ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renowned Maison Kammerzell stands out.
Notable medieval streets include Rue Mercière, Rue des Dentelles, Rue du Bain aux Plantes, Rue des Juifs, Rue des Frères, Rue des Tonneliers, Rue du Maroquin, Rue des Charpentiers, Rue des Serruriers, Grand' Rue, Quai des Bateliers, Quai Saint-Nicolas and Quai Saint-Thomas. Notable medieval squares include Place de la Cathédrale, Place du Marché Gayot, Place Saint-Étienne, Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait and Place Benjamin Zix.
Maison des tanneurs.
In addition to the cathedral, Strasbourg houses several other medieval churches that have survived the many wars and destructions that have plagued the city: the Romanesque Église Saint-Étienne, partly destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombing raids, the part Romanesque, part Gothic, very large Église Saint-Thomas with its Silbermann organ on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert Schweitzer played,[49] the Gothic Église protestante Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune with its crypt dating back to the seventh century and its cloister partly from the eleventh century, the Gothic Église Saint-Guillaume with its fine early-Renaissance stained glass and furniture, the Gothic Église Saint-Jean, the part Gothic, part Art Nouveau Église Sainte-Madeleine, etc. The Neo-Gothic church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Catholique (there is also an adjacent church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Protestant) serves as a shrine for several 15th-century wood worked and painted altars coming from other, now destroyed churches and installed there for public display. Among the numerous secular medieval buildings, the monumental Ancienne Douane (old custom-house) stands out.
The German Renaissance has bequeathed the city some noteworthy buildings (especially the current Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie, former town hall, on Place Gutenberg), as did the French Baroque and Classicism with several hôtels particuliers (i.e. palaces), among which the Palais Rohan (1742, now housing three museums) is the most spectacular. Other buildings of its kind are the "Hôtel de Hanau" (1736, now the city hall), the Hôtel de Klinglin (1736, now residence of the préfet), the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts (1755, now residence of the military governor), the Hôtel d'Andlau-Klinglin (1725, now seat of the administration of the Port autonome de Strasbourg) etc. The largest baroque building of Strasbourg though is the 150 m (490 ft) long 1720s main building of the Hôpital civil. As for French Neo-classicism, it is the Opera House on Place Broglie that most prestigiously represents this style.
Strasbourg also offers high-class eclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, the Neustadt, being the main memory of Wilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of this architectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palace Palais du Rhin, the most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are the École internationale des Pontonniers (the former Höhere Mädchenschule, girls college) with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles[50] and the École des Arts décoratifs with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork and majolica.[51]
Notable streets of the German district include: Avenue de la Forêt Noire, Avenue des Vosges, Avenue d'Alsace, Avenue de la Marseillaise, Avenue de la Liberté, Boulevard de la Victoire, Rue Sellénick, Rue du Général de Castelnau, Rue du Maréchal Foch, and Rue du Maréchal Joffre. Notable squares of the German district include: Place de la République, Place de l'Université, Place Brant, and Place Arnold
As for modern and contemporary architecture, Strasbourg possesses some fine Art Nouveau buildings (such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and houses and villas like Villa Schutzenberger and Hôtel Brion), good examples of post-World War II functional architecture (the Cité Rotterdam, for which Le Corbusier did not succeed in the architectural contest) and, in the very extended Quartier Européen, some spectacular administrative buildings of sometimes utterly large size, among which the European Court of Human Rights building by Richard Rogers is arguably the finest. Other noticeable contemporary buildings are the new Music school Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain and the Hôtel du Département facing it, as well as, in the outskirts, the tramway-station Hoenheim-Nord designed by Zaha Hadid.
Place Kléber
The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-towered Ponts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to the Ponts Couverts is the Barrage Vauban, a part of Vauban's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are the ornate 19th-century Pont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) and Pont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architect Marc Mimram's futuristic Passerelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004.
The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is the Place Kléber. Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 in Cairo. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Jacques François Blondel, architect of the king, in 1765–1772.
Parks
The Pavillon Joséphine (rear side) in the Parc de l'Orangerie
The Château de Pourtalès (front side) in the park of the same name
Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: the Parc de l'Orangerie, laid out as a French garden by André le Nôtre and remodeled as an English garden on behalf of Joséphine de Beauharnais, now displaying noteworthy French gardens, a neo-classical castle and a small zoo; the Parc de la Citadelle, built around impressive remains of the 17th-century fortress erected close to the Rhine by Vauban;[52] the Parc de Pourtalès, laid out in English style around a baroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel,[53] and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture.[54] The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The Parc des Contades, although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic Parc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives, spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park is Parc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing the hôpital civil.
I finally added the photo. The photo didn't turn out exactly the way I had hoped. It looks much better in motion, so have a look at this video if you want to. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEaflsH0Oro
(Some of this is sarcasm. Don't take it entirely seriously. It's mostly serious, though.)
This is the strange and incredible tale of Gamma Ray, a man who tries his hardest to succeed but uncannily wrecks more spectacularly in proportion to how much effort he puts into something.
Way back when I was a little, little boy in the late 80s and very early 90s, I used to go to Boston with my parents. We used to visit relatives. My aunt, uncle, and cousin. We had lots of good times. Those earliest memories of mine from the 90s are some of my fondest. I believe it was the summer of 1991 that we last went there.
It's more than 22 years later, and I'm on vacation. I genuinely wanted to get away from home and see something new. You see, I'm growing tired of the status quo. I don't know if I want to make a big change, but I wanted to expand my horizons.
Perhaps my desires were clouded by delusions. When I put my mind to something these days, I go at it with an "everything's going to be all right" attitude. Even if I throw myself into something, I can fight my way out of it because I know I'm going to work hard enough to succeed. This approach does work fairly often. It has also toughened me up. However, I need to learn discretion. This story will make that quite apparent.
Yesterday morning, I decided to go to Boston. I had already thought about it a bunch, but yesterday was the day that I was going to do it. I packed and packed. I packed clothes. I packed my GPS. I packed money. I packed two dolls. I have a dear friend in Boston who I wanted to meet up with if she was able to while I was there. I was going to stay there for nearly a week anyway, so there would be plenty of time.
I researched hotels. I used one of their addresses as my GPS target point. It got me moving in the right direction. Before I got to Boston, the GPS also worked very well. It hiccupped at one point, but it was no big deal because I was paying attention anyway.
The drive to Boston was pretty good, all things considered. Taking the NJ Parkway and then the NJ Turnpike up north and east was fine. The upper level of the George Washington Bridge was rocky, as were the rest of the roads in New York, but it wasn't anything major. Connecticut was nice. I chuckled when I passed by what appeared to be the WWE headquarters. I wasn't expecting that. I wonder if they were in the same place when I was a little kid and when they were the WWF. I was probably sleeping at the time, so I wouldn't have remembered. I did decide to stop for a bathroom break in Connecticut, and I decided to get gas at the service area while I was there. After about 10 minutes of me pressing the help button because I had never pumped my own gas before (people in New Jersey aren't allowed to pump their own gas) and not getting any help, I decided to leave. I still had plenty of gas anyway.
I hit half tank in Massachusetts. I needed gas. Luckily, the first gas station in that state has two attendant-assisted pumps. The attendant was nice. He joked with me about "you darn Joisey people" :D Then he wiped down my windshield and rear window. I hadn't gotten service like that in New Jersey in nearly two decades. (Well, that would have been my parents getting that service, but I digress.) I told him that I felt like a king :D It was a nice experience, but it was a misdirection for how much of a nightmare the trip would become.
Before I got to Boston, I saw traffic getting backed up tremendously going west. I thought it was a little early for that. It was certainly strange. As I was getting closer, I got caught up in traffic, too. There was one exit that I had to take that was an A-B-C exit. That's where things first got congested for me. That was also where my GPS first started being indecisive. It began telling me to go to one letter exit, but then it told me to go to another letter. Then it told me to go back to the first letter. I figured it was confused because I wasn't moving very much, so I just stuck with the first exit it told me.
After I got off that ramp, I ended up on another highway that was barely moving at all. I also had to get all the way from the left to the right in order to take another exit. That was incredibly not fun. Luckily there was a nice school bus driver who let me over a couple times. However, after the next exit, there was a colossal cluster foul-up of gigantic proportions. The traffic lights seemed to be more vague suggestions than an actual control mechanism. The congestion didn't help things. I eventually scooted over to the right and got on my way.
It was about this time that I ended up in the city. The city. I can be quite naive, you know. When you say Boston, I think USS Constitution, Paul Revere, a quaint place. I got a barrage of big city NYC-style hopelessness. I could see NYC being less frustrating to drive in, though. A good chunk of that city makes navigational sense. Boston is one big cluster foul-up. Nothing gives a novice a sense of direction or place. I tried navigating with my compass, but that was a waste. The GPS had a hard time keeping up. I even ended up in some sort of underground highway a couple times, and the GPS lost satellite connection. For some reason I passed by TD Garden twice. I have no idea why. I somehow ended up on this one road (a science museum is on it) that was a nightmare. Nothing was moving. It was hard to tell what lane was for what. There was a police officer guiding cars. There was no accident. It was just a guy's futile attempt to tame the beast of Boston streets.
I drove in the city for hours. As I was trying to find hotels on my list. I found a few, I gave up on others. None of the ones I found were good options, though. I only spotted a few parking garages, but they all appeared to be closed. I had no confidence in navigating on foot, so making it to a hotel that I did find was going to be another ordeal that I was unprepared for.. I wasn't expecting it to be like this. I was expecting the hotels to have parking lots. I wasn't expecting it to be so urban. I know I said this all before, but it needs repeating.
I eventually ended up in a more suburb-ish area of Boston on my final hotel quest. It was getting very late. I was getting hungry, and I was in danger of running out of steam before I found someplace safe to stay. I found a Domino's Pizza and parked in the no parking area of the electrical supply company's place next door. It looked like they were closed, so I didn't think anybody would have minded. I guess I could have parked at the animal hospital across the street, but that would have just been selfish.
I don't know if all Domino's places are like this because I don't usually eat Domino's, but this place had no sit-down space. I got my pizza and then ate it in my car. As I was eating it, I called my dad. I told him that if I ever had a crazy idea like this ever again, I wanted him to break my legs. We bickered for a while. He eventually told me that the first time he went to Boston alone, he got lost for four hours. I really, really wished he told me that sooner. I told him as I was eating and talking to him that I was contemplating just coming back home. I was in danger of something seriously bad happening. Heck, I didn't even know if I was in a good neighborhood. Maybe I was in danger of being mugged. Four out of six slices of the personal pizza later, I told him that I was going to get moving again. I rinsed my hands with some bottled water, and then I drove. I tried finding that final hotel for a little longer, but I gave up. It was getting far too late, and I needed to get someplace safe before I was in danger of falling asleep behind the wheel. Even if that place was all the way back in New Jersey.
Long story short, I ended up back in the city area of Boston before I got back on the interstate westbound and out of there. That time was miserable, too. It can be summarized in the list of Boston driving annoyances below.
*The infrastructure bites. Street lines are faded. Signs telling you which lane is which hardly exist. Instead of medians, they have bricks. Some may say quaint. I say they're too cheap for a few curbs.
*The streets are all over the place, and nothing makes any sense.
*Parking is a drag. I did most of my GPS reworking while I was caught in traffic. The only time I could stop and collect myself was when I was eating the pizza.
*The GPS told me that I had made it to my destination while I was still underground. Ugh.
*Traffic is the worst I have ever seen in my entire life. Even before rush hour, it was bad. Then it got worse. I've never been to Los Angeles (or was that San Francisco?), but it can't be any worse than this.
*They haven't invented flashing yellow lights yet. There are full stop lights that have flashing green lights or flashing red lights. I don't know what any of it means. I made a left turn at a flashing red. I don't know if that's even allowed. I just looked around for cops and then went for it.
*Roundabouts. Those miserable things can get skewered six ways from sideways Saturday. We don't have these things in New Jersey. We may have the occasional circle, but at least it's not a roundabout. Good luck knowing what the heck is going on when you're on a roundabout. I ran into two of these on my way out of the city.
*People parking their cars on the road. I don't mean parking spots on the side of the road, too. I mean people park their cars in actual lanes. I think I'm in a lane, and then BAM! Parked car. Now I've got to get left. In New Jersey, we have parking space lines, or we just have extra space that isn't misleading to look like a lane. Boston has dashed lines, for goodness sake! It's a lane! It's not a parking spot!
*The interstate sign on the way out of the city is blocked by a light pole or something. It's actually sort of a miracle that I ended up on the highway at all. There was a secondary sign on the pole, but it was tiny and didn't say much.
*Listening to the song Radar Love while stuck in traffic really is that frustrating.
I don't know how many laws I broke while driving in Boston. The whole place was madness. I felt like I was going to be lucky to get out of there with everything intact. It was really that bad.
Once I got on the interstate, it was dark. Luckily, the congestion had cleared up. Unluckily, no more gas station attendants. I stopped a couple times to pump my own gas. That was interesting. I don't like how you can't feed it cash, though. I realized that I never called my credit card company to tell them that I was going to Boston, but luckily everything went through. I was expecting to be able to hook the nozzle to the gas tank like they do in New Jersey, but I had to hold it. I didn't overflow the tank, thankfully.
The first gas station was all right, but the second one was more confusing. At one point it asked me for my zip code, but it gave me an option to press yes or no. Neither option did anything. I then just typed my zip code on the keypad which made absolutely no sense contextually, but that worked after 10 minutes.
Besides pumping my own gas, the drive home was no big deal. There was a slight GPS hiccup regarding the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York, but it was downright pleasant compared to the entirety of my Boston experience. It was just many, many, many hours on the road. However, the entrance to the lower level of the George Washington Bridge has a section that is dangerous beyond belief. It's two lanes zipping really quick left then really quick right with big barriers on each side. I blurted some choice expletives then positioned myself between the lanes so the turn wasn't so sharp while also slowing down a lot. I don't know if I annoyed anybody, but I made it through.
When I got home, my dad was already asleep. I microwaved the last two slices of pizza and ate them. I have never microwaved Domino's before, so I made it too hot.
I reflected on the time I spent. I wanted to have a good time there. I wanted to see some historical stuff. I wanted to visit my family. For a long time, I had dreamed of seeing the sunrise over the Boston harbor. As silly as it may be, the video game Stunt Race FX for the Super Nintendo has a deep connection to myself and to Boston. There's one track called Harbor City. While you're racing, the sun rises. Well, it's 16-bit, so you can't see the sun, but the sky pleasantly transforms into brightness on the final lap. Yes, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go to Boston was because of a video game I played in 1996 that reminded me of 1990. It was one of the things that kept my heart close to my earliest memories. However, I was just glad to be home and safe by that point.
I checked my computer and found out that my friend was excited to meet me and see my dolls. I must have disappointed her. I went to bed.
This morning, the top of my mouth is still burned, and my right arm is tingling from gripping the steering wheel tightly for hours. I didn't have a good sleep, and I'm feeling woozy now. But tomorrow's another day. Today's not going to be fun, though.
Strasbourg (/ˈstræzbɜrɡ/, French pronunciation: [stʁaz.buʁ, stʁas.buʁ]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace were historically Alemannic-speaking, hence the city's Germanic name.[5] In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community 467,375 inhabitants. With 759,868 inhabitants in 2010, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 884,988 inhabitants in 2008.[6]
Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights.[7]
Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is immersed in the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012.[8]
Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany.
Etymology and Names
The city's Gallicized name (Lower Alsatian: Strossburi, [ˈʃd̥rɔːsb̥uri]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is of Germanic origin and means "Town (at the crossing) of roads". The modern Stras- is cognate to the German Straße and English street, all of which are derived from Latin strata ("paved road"), while -bourg is cognate to the German Burg and English borough, all of which are derived from Proto-Germanic *burgz ("hill fort, fortress").
Geography
Strasbourg seen from Spot Satellite
Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across the river to the German town Kehl. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which here flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from, the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city.
The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain, at between 132 metres (433 ft) and 151 metres (495 ft) above sea level, with the upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 20 km (12 mi) to the west and the Black Forest 25 km (16 mi) to the east. This section of the Rhine valley is a major axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself, and major roads and railways paralleling it on both banks.
The city is some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Paris. The mouth of the Rhine lies approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) to the north, or 650 kilometres (400 mi) as the river flows, whilst the head of navigation in Basel is some 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) by river.
Climate
In spite of its position far inland, Strasbourg's climate is classified as Oceanic (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, totaling 631.4 mm (24.9 in) annually. On average, snow falls 30 days per year.
The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in August 2003, during the 2003 European heat wave. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) in December 1938.
Strasbourg's location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from the dominant winds by the Vosges and Black Forest mountains, results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France.[10][11] Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution.
Prehistory
The first traces of human occupation in the environs of Strasbourg go back many thousands of years.[16] Neolithic, bronze age and iron age artifacts have been uncovered by archeological excavations. It was permanently settled by proto-Celts around 1300 BC. Towards the end of the third century BC, it developed into a Celtic township with a market called "Argentorate". Drainage works converted the stilthouses to houses built on dry land.[17]
From Romans
The Romans under Nero Claudius Drusus established a military outpost belonging to the Germania Superior Roman province at Strasbourg's current location, and named it Argentoratum. (Hence the town is commonly called Argentina in medieval Latin.[18]) The name "Argentoratum" was first mentioned in 12 BC and the city celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 1988. "Argentorate" as the toponym of the Gaulish settlement preceded it before being Latinized, but it is not known by how long. The Roman camp was destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times between the first and the fifth centuries AD: in 70, 97, 235, 355, in the last quarter of the fourth century, and in the early years of the fifth century. It was under Trajan and after the fire of 97 that Argentoratum received its most extended and fortified shape. From the year 90 on, the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stationed in the Roman camp of Argentoratum. It then included a cavalry section and covered an area of approximately 20 hectares. Other Roman legions temporarily stationed in Argentoratum were the Legio XIV Gemina and the Legio XXI Rapax, the latter during the reign of Nero.
The centre of Argentoratum proper was situated on the Grande Île (Cardo: current Rue du Dôme, Decumanus: current Rue des Hallebardes). The outline of the Roman "castrum" is visible in the street pattern in the Grande Ile. Many Roman artifacts have also been found along the current Route des Romains, the road that led to Argentoratum, in the suburb of Kœnigshoffen. This was where the largest burial places were situated, as well as the densest concentration of civilian dwelling places and commerces next to the camp. Among the most outstanding finds in Kœnigshoffen were (found in 1911–12) the fragments of a grand Mithraeum that had been shattered by early Christians in the fourth century. From the fourth century, Strasbourg was the seat of the Bishopric of Strasbourg (made an Archbishopric in 1988). Archaeological excavations below the current Église Saint-Étienne in 1948 and 1956 unearthed the apse of a church dating back to the late fourth or early fifth century, considered to be the oldest church in Alsace. It is supposed that this was the first seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Strasbourg.
The Alemanni fought the Battle of Argentoratum against Rome in 357. They were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their King Chonodomarius was taken prisoner. On 2 January 366, the Alemanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire. Early in the fifth century, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine, conquered, and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part of Switzerland.
In the fifth century Strasbourg was occupied successively by Alemanni, Huns, and Franks. In the ninth century it was commonly known as Strazburg in the local language, as documented in 842 by the Oaths of Strasbourg. This trilingual text contains, alongside texts in Latin and Old High German (teudisca lingua), the oldest written variety of Gallo-Romance (lingua romana) clearly distinct from Latin, the ancestor of Old French. The town was also called Stratisburgum or Strateburgus in Latin, from which later came Strossburi in Alsatian and Straßburg in Standard German, and then Strasbourg in French. The Oaths of Strasbourg is considered as marking the birth of the two countries of France and Germany with the division of the Carolingian Empire.[19]
A major commercial centre, the town came under the control of the Holy Roman Empire in 923, through the homage paid by the Duke of Lorraine to German King Henry I. The early history of Strasbourg consists of a long conflict between its bishop and its citizens. The citizens emerged victorious after the Battle of Oberhausbergen in 1262, when King Philip of Swabia granted the city the status of an Imperial Free City.
Around 1200, Gottfried von Straßburg wrote the Middle High German courtly romance Tristan, which is regarded, alongside Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and the Nibelungenlied, as one of great narrative masterpieces of the German Middle Ages.
A revolution in 1332 resulted in a broad-based city government with participation of the guilds, and Strasbourg declared itself a free republic. The deadly bubonic plague of 1348 was followed on 14 February 1349 by one of the first and worst pogroms in pre-modern history: over a thousand Jews were publicly burnt to death, with the remainder of the Jewish population being expelled from the city.[20] Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to remain in town after 10 pm. The time to leave the city was signalled by a municipal herald blowing the Grüselhorn (see below, Museums, Musée historique);.[21] A special tax, the Pflastergeld (pavement money), was furthermore to be paid for any horse that a Jew would ride or bring into the city while allowed to.[22]
Construction on Strasbourg Cathedral began in the twelfth century, and it was completed in 1439 (though, of the towers, only the north tower was built), becoming the World's Tallest Building, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza. A few years later, Johannes Gutenberg created the first European moveable type printing press in Strasbourg.
In July 1518, an incident known as the Dancing Plague of 1518 struck residents of Strasbourg. Around 400 people were afflicted with dancing mania and danced constantly for weeks, most of them eventually dying from heart attack, stroke or exhaustion.
In the 1520s during the Protestant Reformation, the city, under the political guidance of Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck and the spiritual guidance of Martin Bucer embraced the religious teachings of Martin Luther. Their adherents established a Gymnasium, headed by Johannes Sturm, made into a University in the following century. The city first followed the Tetrapolitan Confession, and then the Augsburg Confession. Protestant iconoclasm caused much destruction to churches and cloisters, notwithstanding that Luther himself opposed such a practice. Strasbourg was a centre of humanist scholarship and early book-printing in the Holy Roman Empire, and its intellectual and political influence contributed much to the establishment of Protestantism as an accepted denomination in the southwest of Germany. (John Calvin spent several years as a political refugee in the city). The Strasbourg Councillor Sturm and guildmaster Matthias represented the city at the Imperial Diet of Speyer (1529), where their protest led to the schism of the Catholic Church and the evolution of Protestantism. Together with four other free cities, Strasbourg presented the confessio tetrapolitana as its Protestant book of faith at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530, where the slightly different Augsburg Confession was also handed over to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
After the reform of the Imperial constitution in the early sixteenth century and the establishment of Imperial Circles, Strasbourg was part of the Upper Rhenish Circle, a corporation of Imperial estates in the southwest of Holy Roman Empire, mainly responsible for maintaining troops, supervising coining, and ensuring public security.
After the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, the first printing offices outside the inventor's hometown Mainz were established around 1460 in Strasbourg by pioneers Johannes Mentelin and Heinrich Eggestein. Subsequently, the first modern newspaper was published in Strasbourg in 1605, when Johann Carolus received the permission by the City of Strasbourg to print and distribute a weekly journal written in German by reporters from several central European cities.
From Thirty Years' War to First World War
The Free City of Strasbourg remained neutral during the Thirty Years' War 1618-1648, and retained its status as a Free Imperial City. However, the city was later annexed by Louis XIV of France to extend the borders of his kingdom.
Louis' advisors believed that, as long as Strasbourg remained independent, it would endanger the King's newly annexed territories in Alsace, and, that to defend these large rural lands effectively, a garrison had to be placed in towns such as Strasbourg.[23] Indeed, the bridge over the Rhine at Strasbourg had been used repeatedly by Imperial (Holy Roman Empire) forces,[24] and three times during the Franco-Dutch War Strasbourg had served as a gateway for Imperial invasions into Alsace.[25] In September 1681 Louis' forces, though lacking a clear casus belli, surrounded the city with overwhelming force. After some negotiation, Louis marched into the city unopposed on 30 September 1681 and proclaimed its annexation.[26]
This annexation was one of the direct causes of the brief and bloody War of the Reunions whose outcome left the French in possession. The French annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The official policy of religious intolerance which drove most Protestants from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 was not applied in Strasbourg and in Alsace, because both had a special status as a province à l'instar de l'étranger effectif (a kind of foreign province of the king of France). Strasbourg Cathedral, however, was taken from the Lutherans to be returned to the Catholics as the French authorities tried to promote Catholicism wherever they could (some other historic churches remained in Protestant hands). Its language also remained overwhelmingly German: the German Lutheran university persisted until the French Revolution. Famous students included Goethe and Herder.
The Duke of Lorraine and Imperial troops crossing the Rhine at Strasbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, 1744
During a dinner in Strasbourg organized by Mayor Frédéric de Dietrich on 25 April 1792, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composed "La Marseillaise". The same year François Christophe Kellermann, a child of Strasbourg was appointed the head of the Mosel Army. He led his company to victory at the battle of Valmy and saved the young French republic. He was later appointed Duke of Valmy by Napoléon in 1808.
During this period Jean-Baptiste Kléber, also born in Strasbourg, led the French army to win several decisive victories. A statue of Kléber now stands in the centre of the city, at Place Kléber, and he is still one of the most famous French officers. He was later appointed Marshal of France by Napoléon.
Strasbourg's status as a free city was revoked by the French Revolution. Enragés, most notoriously Eulogius Schneider, ruled the city with an increasingly iron hand. During this time, many churches and monasteries were either destroyed or severely damaged. The cathedral lost hundreds of its statues (later replaced by copies in the 19th century) and in April 1794, there was talk of tearing its spire down, on the grounds that it was against the principle of equality. The tower was saved, however, when in May of the same year citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian cap. This artifact was later kept in the historical collections of the city until it was destroyed by the Germans in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war.[27]
In 1805, 1806 and 1809, Napoléon Bonaparte and his first wife, Joséphine stayed in Strasbourg.[28] In 1810, his second wife Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma spent her first night on French soil in the palace. Another royal guest was King Charles X of France in 1828.[29] In 1836, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte unsuccessfully tried to lead his first Bonapartist coup in Strasbourg.
During the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Strasbourg, the city was heavily bombarded by the Prussian army. The bombardment of the city was meant to break the morale of the people of Strasbourg.[30] On 24 and 26 August 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts was destroyed by fire, as was the Municipal Library housed in the Gothic former Dominican church, with its unique collection of medieval manuscripts (most famously the Hortus deliciarum), rare Renaissance books, archeological finds and historical artifacts. The gothic cathedral was damaged as well as the medieval church of Temple Neuf, the theatre, the city hall, the court of justice and many houses. At the end of the siege 10,000 inhabitants were left without shelter; over 600 died, including 261 civilians, and 3200 were injured, including 1,100 civilians.[31]
In 1871, after the end of the war, the city was annexed to the newly established German Empire as part of the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt. As part of Imperial Germany, Strasbourg was rebuilt and developed on a grand and representative scale, such as the Neue Stadt, or "new city" around the present Place de la République. Historian Rodolphe Reuss and Art historian Wilhelm von Bode were in charge of rebuilding the municipal archives, libraries and museums. The University, founded in 1567 and suppressed during the French Revolution as a stronghold of German sentiment,[citation needed] was reopened in 1872 under the name Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität.
Strasbourg in the 1890s.
A belt of massive fortifications was established around the city, most of which still stands today, renamed after French generals and generally classified as Monuments historiques; most notably Fort Roon (now Fort Desaix) and Fort Podbielski (now Fort Ducrot) in Mundolsheim, Fort von Moltke (now Fort Rapp) in Reichstett, Fort Bismarck (now Fort Kléber) in Wolfisheim, Fort Kronprinz (now Fort Foch) in Niederhausbergen, Fort Kronprinz von Sachsen (now Fort Joffre) in Holtzheim and Fort Großherzog von Baden (now Fort Frère) in Oberhausbergen.[32]
Those forts subsequently served the French army (Fort Podbielski/Ducrot for instance was integrated into the Maginot Line[33]), and were used as POW-camps in 1918 and 1945.
Two garrison churches were also erected for the members of the Imperial German army, the Lutheran Église Saint-Paul and the Roman Catholic Église Saint-Maurice.
1918 to the present
A lost, then restored, symbol of modernity in Strasbourg : a room in the Aubette building designed by Theo van Doesburg, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp.
Following the defeat of the German empire in World War I and the abdication of the German Emperor, some revolutionary insurgents declared Alsace-Lorraine as an independent Republic, without preliminary referendum or vote. On 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day), communist insurgents proclaimed a "soviet government" in Strasbourg, following the example of Kurt Eisner in Munich as well as other German towns. French troops commanded by French general Henri Gouraud entered triumphantly in the city on 22 November. A major street of the city now bears the name of that date (Rue du 22 Novembre) which celebrates the entry of the French in the city.[34][35][36] Viewing the massive cheering crowd gathered under the balcony of Strasbourg's town hall, French President Raymond Poincaré stated that "the plebiscite is done".[37]
In 1919, following the Treaty of Versailles, the city was annexed by France in accordance with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" without a referendum. The date of the assignment was retroactively established on Armistice Day. It is doubtful whether a referendum in Strasbourg would have ended in France's favour since the political parties striving for an autonomous Alsace or a connection to France accounted only for a small proportion of votes in the last Reichstag as well as in the local elections.[38] The Alsatian autonomists who were pro French had won many votes in the more rural parts of the region and other towns since the annexation of the region by Germany in 1871. The movement started with the first election for the Reichstag; those elected were called "les députés protestataires", and until the fall of Bismarck in 1890, they were the only deputies elected by the Alsatians to the German parliament demanding the return of those territories to France.[39] At the last Reichstag election in Strasbourg and its periphery, the clear winners were the Social Democrats; the city was the administrative capital of the region, was inhabited by many Germans appointed by the central government in Berlin and its flourishing economy attracted many Germans. This could explain the difference between the rural vote and the one in Strasbourg. After the war, many Germans left Strasbourg and went back to Germany; some of them were denounced by the locals or expelled by the newly appointed authorities. The Saverne Affair was vivid in the memory among the Alsatians.
In 1920, Strasbourg became the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, previously located in Mannheim, one of the oldest European institutions. It moved into the former Imperial Palace.
When the Maginot Line was built, the Sous-secteur fortifié de Strasbourg (fortified sub-sector of Strasbourg) was laid out on the city's territory as a part of the Secteur fortifié du Bas-Rhin, one of the sections of the Line. Blockhouses and casemates were built along the Grand Canal d'Alsace and the Rhine in the Robertsau forest and the port.[40]
Between the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and the Anglo-French declaration of War against the German Reich on 3 September 1939, the entire city (a total of 120,000 people) was evacuated, like other border towns as well. Until the arrival of the Wehrmacht troops mid-June 1940, the city was, for ten months, completely empty, with the exception of the garrisoned soldiers. The Jews of Strasbourg had been evacuated to Périgueux and Limoges, the University had been evacuated to Clermont-Ferrand.
After the ceasefire following the Fall of France in June 1940, Alsace was annexed to Germany and a rigorous policy of Germanisation was imposed upon it by the Gauleiter Robert Heinrich Wagner. When, in July 1940, the first evacuees were allowed to return, only residents of Alsatian origin were admitted. The last Jews were deported on 15 July 1940 and the main synagogue, a huge Romanesque revival building that had been a major architectural landmark with its 54-metre-high dome since its completion in 1897, was set ablaze, then razed.[41]
In September 1940 the first Alsatian resistance movement led by Marcel Weinum called La main noire (The black hand) was created. It was composed by a group of 25 young men aged from 14 to 18 years old who led several attacks against the German occupation. The actions culminated with the attack of the Gauleiter Robert Wagner, the highest commander of Alsace directly under the order of Hitler. In March 1942, Marcel Weinum was prosecuted by the Gestapo and sentenced to be beheaded at the age of 18 in April 1942 in Stuttgart, Germany. His last words will be: "If I have to die, I shall die but with a pure heart". From 1943 the city was bombarded by Allied aircraft. While the First World War had not notably damaged the city, Anglo-American bombing caused extensive destruction in raids of which at least one was allegedly carried out by mistake.[42] In August 1944, several buildings in the Old Town were damaged by bombs, particularly the Palais Rohan, the Old Customs House (Ancienne Douane) and the Cathedral.[43] On 23 November 1944, the city was officially liberated by the 2nd French Armoured Division under General Leclerc. He achieved the oath that he made with his soldiers, after the decisive Capture of Kufra. With the Oath of Kuffra, they swore to keep up the fight until the French flag flew over the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
Many people from Strasbourg were incorporated in the German Army against their will, and were sent to the eastern front, those young men and women were called Malgré-nous. Many tried to escape from the incorporation, join the French Resistance, or desert the Wehrmacht but many couldn't because they were running the risk of having their families sent to work or concentration camps by the Germans. Many of these men, especially those who did not answer the call immediately, were pressured to "volunteer" for service with the SS, often by direct threats on their families. This threat obliged the majority of them to remain in the German army. After the war, the few that survived were often accused of being traitors or collaborationists, because this tough situation was not known in the rest of France, and they had to face the incomprehension of many. In July 1944, 1500 malgré-nous were released from Soviet captivity and sent to Algiers, where they joined the Free French Forces. Nowadays history recognizes the suffering of those people, and museums, public discussions and memorials have been built to commemorate this terrible period of history of this part of Eastern France (Alsace and Moselle). Liberation of Strasbourg took place on 23 November 1944.
In 1947, a fire broke out in the Musée des Beaux-Arts and devastated a significant part of the collections. This fire was an indirect consequence of the bombing raids of 1944: because of the destruction inflicted on the Palais Rohan, humidity had infiltrated the building, and moisture had to be fought. This was done with welding torches, and a bad handling of these caused the fire.[44]
In the 1950s and 1960s the city was enlarged by new residential areas meant to solve both the problem of housing shortage due to war damage and that of the strong growth of population due to the baby boom and immigration from North Africa: Cité Rotterdam in the North-East, Quartier de l'Esplanade in the South-East, Hautepierre in the North-West. Between 1995 and 2010, a new district has been built in the same vein, the Quartier des Poteries, south of Hautepierre.
In 1958, a violent hailstorm destroyed most of the historical greenhouses of the Botanical Garden and many of the stained glass windows of St. Paul's Church.
In 1949, the city was chosen to be the seat of the Council of Europe with its European Court of Human Rights and European Pharmacopoeia. Since 1952, the European Parliament has met in Strasbourg, which was formally designated its official 'seat' at the Edinburgh meeting of the European Council of EU heads of state and government in December 1992. (This position was reconfirmed and given treaty status in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam). However, only the (four-day) plenary sessions of the Parliament are held in Strasbourg each month, with all other business being conducted in Brussels and Luxembourg. Those sessions take place in the Immeuble Louise Weiss, inaugurated in 1999, which houses the largest parliamentary assembly room in Europe and of any democratic institution in the world. Before that, the EP sessions had to take place in the main Council of Europe building, the Palace of Europe, whose unusual inner architecture had become a familiar sight to European TV audiences.[45] In 1992, Strasbourg became the seat of the Franco-German TV channel and movie-production society Arte.
In 2000, a terrorist plot to blow up the cathedral was prevented thanks to the cooperation between French and German police that led to the arrest in late 2000 of a Frankfurt-based group of terrorists.
On 6 July 2001, during an open-air concert in the Parc de Pourtalès, a single falling Platanus tree killed thirteen people and injured 97. On 27 March 2007, the city was found guilty of neglect over the accident and fined €150,000.[46]
In 2006, after a long and careful restoration, the inner decoration of the Aubette, made in the 1920s by Hans Arp, Theo van Doesburg, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp and destroyed in the 1930s, was made accessible to the public again. The work of the three artists had been called "the Sistine Chapel of abstract art".
Architecture
Strasbourg, Cathedral of Our Lady
The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite France district or Gerberviertel ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renowned Maison Kammerzell stands out.
Notable medieval streets include Rue Mercière, Rue des Dentelles, Rue du Bain aux Plantes, Rue des Juifs, Rue des Frères, Rue des Tonneliers, Rue du Maroquin, Rue des Charpentiers, Rue des Serruriers, Grand' Rue, Quai des Bateliers, Quai Saint-Nicolas and Quai Saint-Thomas. Notable medieval squares include Place de la Cathédrale, Place du Marché Gayot, Place Saint-Étienne, Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait and Place Benjamin Zix.
Maison des tanneurs.
In addition to the cathedral, Strasbourg houses several other medieval churches that have survived the many wars and destructions that have plagued the city: the Romanesque Église Saint-Étienne, partly destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombing raids, the part Romanesque, part Gothic, very large Église Saint-Thomas with its Silbermann organ on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert Schweitzer played,[49] the Gothic Église protestante Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune with its crypt dating back to the seventh century and its cloister partly from the eleventh century, the Gothic Église Saint-Guillaume with its fine early-Renaissance stained glass and furniture, the Gothic Église Saint-Jean, the part Gothic, part Art Nouveau Église Sainte-Madeleine, etc. The Neo-Gothic church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Catholique (there is also an adjacent church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Protestant) serves as a shrine for several 15th-century wood worked and painted altars coming from other, now destroyed churches and installed there for public display. Among the numerous secular medieval buildings, the monumental Ancienne Douane (old custom-house) stands out.
The German Renaissance has bequeathed the city some noteworthy buildings (especially the current Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie, former town hall, on Place Gutenberg), as did the French Baroque and Classicism with several hôtels particuliers (i.e. palaces), among which the Palais Rohan (1742, now housing three museums) is the most spectacular. Other buildings of its kind are the "Hôtel de Hanau" (1736, now the city hall), the Hôtel de Klinglin (1736, now residence of the préfet), the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts (1755, now residence of the military governor), the Hôtel d'Andlau-Klinglin (1725, now seat of the administration of the Port autonome de Strasbourg) etc. The largest baroque building of Strasbourg though is the 150 m (490 ft) long 1720s main building of the Hôpital civil. As for French Neo-classicism, it is the Opera House on Place Broglie that most prestigiously represents this style.
Strasbourg also offers high-class eclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, the Neustadt, being the main memory of Wilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of this architectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palace Palais du Rhin, the most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are the École internationale des Pontonniers (the former Höhere Mädchenschule, girls college) with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles[50] and the École des Arts décoratifs with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork and majolica.[51]
Notable streets of the German district include: Avenue de la Forêt Noire, Avenue des Vosges, Avenue d'Alsace, Avenue de la Marseillaise, Avenue de la Liberté, Boulevard de la Victoire, Rue Sellénick, Rue du Général de Castelnau, Rue du Maréchal Foch, and Rue du Maréchal Joffre. Notable squares of the German district include: Place de la République, Place de l'Université, Place Brant, and Place Arnold
As for modern and contemporary architecture, Strasbourg possesses some fine Art Nouveau buildings (such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and houses and villas like Villa Schutzenberger and Hôtel Brion), good examples of post-World War II functional architecture (the Cité Rotterdam, for which Le Corbusier did not succeed in the architectural contest) and, in the very extended Quartier Européen, some spectacular administrative buildings of sometimes utterly large size, among which the European Court of Human Rights building by Richard Rogers is arguably the finest. Other noticeable contemporary buildings are the new Music school Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain and the Hôtel du Département facing it, as well as, in the outskirts, the tramway-station Hoenheim-Nord designed by Zaha Hadid.
Place Kléber
The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-towered Ponts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to the Ponts Couverts is the Barrage Vauban, a part of Vauban's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are the ornate 19th-century Pont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) and Pont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architect Marc Mimram's futuristic Passerelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004.
The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is the Place Kléber. Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 in Cairo. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Jacques François Blondel, architect of the king, in 1765–1772.
Parks
The Pavillon Joséphine (rear side) in the Parc de l'Orangerie
The Château de Pourtalès (front side) in the park of the same name
Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: the Parc de l'Orangerie, laid out as a French garden by André le Nôtre and remodeled as an English garden on behalf of Joséphine de Beauharnais, now displaying noteworthy French gardens, a neo-classical castle and a small zoo; the Parc de la Citadelle, built around impressive remains of the 17th-century fortress erected close to the Rhine by Vauban;[52] the Parc de Pourtalès, laid out in English style around a baroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel,[53] and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture.[54] The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The Parc des Contades, although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic Parc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives, spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park is Parc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing the hôpital civil.
Pwllheli is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula (Welsh: Penrhyn Llŷn), north-west Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwynedd. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, the population declining slightly to 3,947 in 2021. of whom a large proportion, 81%, were Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of the Welsh poet Sir Albert Evans-Jones (bardic name Cynan).
Pwllheli has a range of shops and other services. As a local railhead with a market every Wednesday, the town is a gathering point for the population of the whole peninsula.
The town's name means salt-water basin.
The town was given its charter as a borough by Edward, the Black Prince, in 1355, and a market is still held each Wednesday in the centre of the town on 'Y Maes' (‘the field’ or ‘the town square’ in English).
The town grew around the shipbuilding and fishing industries and the granite quarry at Gimlet Rock (Welsh: Carreg yr Imbill).
The population in 1841 was 2,367.
During the 1890s the town was developed by Solomon Andrews, a Cardiff businessman. This work included the promenade, roads and houses at West End. A tramway was built linking the town to Llanbedrog. The trams ran until 1927, when the section of track between Carreg-y-Defaid and Tyddyn-Caled was seriously damaged by a storm. Andrews ran the Cardiff Road section in 1928 and offered to sell the tramway to Pwllheli Corporation at the end of the season, but they did not take up his offer. He then sold the assets and the Corporation removed the tracks during the winter of 1928/29.
Poet Albert Evans-Jones, who was an archdruid for the National Eisteddfod of Wales and was known by his bardic name 'Cynan', was born in Pwllheli; before becoming an archdruid he joined the First World War effort through the Welsh Student Company of the RAMC, serving in Salonika and France, initially as an ambulance driver and medic, later as the company's chaplain. He was the son of the proprietor of the Central Restaurant in Penlan Street, Pwllheli.
Pwllheli Town Council consists of fifteen members elected from the North and South wards.
Pwllheli North and Pwllheli South are the county wards covering the town; they each elect one county councillor to Gwynedd Council.
Ysgol Glan y Môr was formed by the merger in 1969 of the former Pwllheli Grammar School at Penrallt and the Frondeg Secondary Modern School in Upper Ala Road to form a comprehensive school based on two sites in the town. The junior pupils (year 1 and year 2) were located at the Penrallt site and the senior pupils (year 3 and upwards) at a new complex in Cardiff Road. This new school was subsequently expanded to accommodate all pupils under the Ysgol Glan y Môr name.
The Penrallt site was later redeveloped as the Pwllheli campus of Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor. The façade of the main building of the old grammar school was retained and incorporated into the design of the current college buildings. Thus the 'old school' is readily seen from the town square (Y Maes), as it has been since the former Pwllheli County School moved to Penrallt in the early 20th century.
Pwllheli railway station is the terminus of the Cambrian Coast Railway, running to Machynlleth with services continuing to Shrewsbury and Birmingham. The station is operated and served by Transport for Wales. The rail link to Caernarfon via the Carnarvonshire Railway was axed under the Beeching cuts and as a result it closed in December 1964.
Pwllheli is connected to the wider road network by the A497 to Porthmadog and the A499 to Caernarfon. From there major roads lead away from Gwynedd to the rest of Wales.
Buses serve most of the town as well as the rest of the wider Llŷn Peninsula. Services to Caernarfon give connections to Bangor.[citation needed] Pwllheli bus station is in the town centre.
Attractions
Plas Bodegroes, which until 2009 was a Michelin starred restaurant
Penarth Fawr, a 15th-century house
Hafan y Môr, a former Butlins holiday camp now operated by Haven
Pwllheli Market
Neuadd Dwyfor, a theatre and cinema in Penlan Street
Pwllheli has a section of the Wales Coast Path along its shoreline.
Pwllheli has a small harbour at the confluence of the Afon Erch and Afon Rhyd-Hir.
Hafan Pwllheli is a marina built in Pwllheli Harbour during the 1990s.
Notable people
Eleazar Roberts (1825–1912), musician, translator, writer and amateur astronomer
Owen Davies (1840–1929), Baptist minister and writer
Sir (Albert) Cynan Evans-Jones CBE (1895–1970), bardic name Cynan, was a war poet and dramatist.
William Richard Williams (1896–1962), Principal of the United Theological College, Aberystwyth
John Robert Jones (1911–1970), philosopher
Hywel Williams (born 1953), Plaid Cymru politician, MP for Arfon, previously Caernarfon, since 2001
David Dawson (born 1960), artist
Gareth Pierce (born 1981), actor and musician
Pwllheli hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1925, 1955 and 2023 as well as an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1875.
According to the United Kingdom Census 2011 80% of the population spoke Welsh.
Pwllheli is home to association football team Pwllheli F.C., rugby union team Pwllheli RFC and running club Llŷn Striders. There is a hockey club, Clwb Hoci Pwllheli, which is part of the rugby, cricket and hockey club.
Pwllheli is a hub for water sports, owing in part to a marina, Pwllheli Sailing Club and Plas Heli - the Welsh National Sailing Academy.
The town has two beaches, South Beach and Glan-y-don. South Beach stretches from Gimlet Rock, across the Promenade and West End, towards Penrhos and Llanbedrog. Glan-y-don Beach is on the eastern side of the river mouth and runs for 3 miles (5 km) from behind the marina workshops and out towards Penychain (holiday camp).
The town has a golf club on the Llŷn coastline.
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
Gwynedd is the second largest county in Wales but sparsely populated, with an area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2) and a population of 117,400. After Bangor (18,322), the largest settlements are Caernarfon (9,852), Bethesda (4,735), and Pwllheli (4,076). The county has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 64.4%, and is considered a heartland of the language.
The geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. Much of the county is covered by Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which contains Wales's highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa; 3,560 feet, 1,090 m). To the west, the Llŷn Peninsula is flatter and renowned for its scenic coastline, part of which is protected by the Llŷn AONB. Gwynedd also contains several of Wales's largest lakes and reservoirs, including the largest, Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid).
The area which is now the county has played a prominent part in the history of Wales. It formed part of the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the native Principality of Wales, which under the House of Aberffraw remained independent from the Kingdom of England until Edward I's conquest between 1277 and 1283. Edward built the castles at Caernarfon and Harlech, which form part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. During the Industrial Revolution the slate industry rapidly developed; in the late nineteenth century the neighbouring Penrhyn and Dinorwic quarries were the largest in the world, and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is now a World Heritage Site. Gwynedd covers the majority of the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire.
In the past, historians such as J. E. Lloyd assumed that the Celtic source of the word Gwynedd meant 'collection of tribes' – the same root as the Irish fine, meaning 'tribe'. Further, a connection is recognised between the name and the Irish Féni, an early ethnonym for the Irish themselves, related to fían, 'company of hunting and fighting men, company of warriors under a leader'. Perhaps *u̯en-, u̯enə ('strive, hope, wish') is the Indo-European stem. The Irish settled in NW Wales, and in Dyfed, at the end of the Roman era. Venedotia was the Latin form, and in Penmachno there is a memorial stone from c. AD 500 which reads: Cantiori Hic Iacit Venedotis ('Here lies Cantiorix, citizen of Gwynedd'). The name was retained by the Brythons when the kingdom of Gwynedd was formed in the 5th century, and it remained until the invasion of Edward I. This historical name was revived when the new county was formed in 1974.
Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th century, when it was conquered by England. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the entirety of the historic counties of Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, and all of Merionethshire apart from Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd); and also a few parishes of Denbighshire: Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.
The county was divided into five districts: Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor, Meirionnydd and Anglesey.
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1 April 1996, and its area was divided: the Isle of Anglesey became an independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the former Denbighshire parishes) passed to the new Conwy County Borough. The remainder of the county was constituted as a principal area, with the name Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, as it covers most of the areas of those two historic counties. As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itself Gwynedd on 2 April 1996. The present Gwynedd local government area is governed by Gwynedd Council. As a unitary authority, the modern entity no longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain as area committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as a preserved county for a few purposes such as the Lieutenancy. In 2003, the boundary with Clwyd was adjusted to match the modern local government boundary, so that the preserved county now covers the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Conwy county borough is now entirely within Clwyd.
A Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the 1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with the Flintshire and Denbighshire county forces, retaining the name Gwynedd. In one proposal for local government reform in Wales, Gwynedd had been proposed as a name for a local authority covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd Constabulary was therefore renamed the North Wales Police.
The Snowdonia National Park was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation, the park fell entirely within the boundaries of Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council. After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park fell under Conwy County Borough, and the park's administration separated from the Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council still appoints nine of the eighteen members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority; Conwy County Borough Council appoints three; and the Welsh Government appoints the remaining six.
There has been considerable inwards migration to Gwynedd, particularly from England. According to the 2021 census, 66.6% of residents had been born in Wales whilst 27.1% were born in England.
The county has a mixed economy. An important part of the economy is based on tourism: many visitors are attracted by the many beaches and the mountains. A significant part of the county lies within the Snowdonia National Park, which extends from the north coast down to the district of Meirionnydd in the south. But tourism provides seasonal employment and thus there is a shortage of jobs in the winter.
Agriculture is less important than in the past, especially in terms of the number of people who earn their living on the land, but it remains an important element of the economy.
The most important of the traditional industries is the slate industry, but these days only a small percentage of workers earn their living in the slate quarries.
Industries which have developed more recently include TV and sound studios: the record company Sain has its HQ in the county.
The education sector is also very important for the local economy, including Bangor University and Further Education colleges, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai, both now part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai.
The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census who said they could speak Welsh.
Gwynedd has the highest proportion of people in Wales who can speak Welsh. According to the 2021 census, 64.4% of the population aged three and over stated that they could speak Welsh,[7] while 64.4% noted that they could speak Welsh in the 2011 census.
It is estimated that 83% of the county's Welsh-speakers are fluent, the highest percentage of all counties in Wales.[9] The age group with the highest proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd were those between ages 5–15, of whom 92.3% stated that they could speak Welsh in 2011.
The proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd declined between 1991 and 2001,[10] from 72.1% to 68.7%, even though the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased during that decade to 20.5%.
The Annual Population Survey estimated that as of March 2023, 77.0% of those in Gwynedd aged three years and above could speak Welsh.
Notable people
Leslie Bonnet (1902–1985), RAF officer, writer; originated the Welsh Harlequin duck in Criccieth
Sir Dave Brailsford (born 1964), cycling coach; grew up in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon
Duffy (born 1984), singer, songwriter and actress; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Edward II of England (1284–1327), born in Caernarfon Castle
Elin Fflur (born 1984), singer-songwriter, TV and radio presenter; went to Bangor University
Bryn Fôn (born 1954), actor and singer-songwriter; born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire.
Wayne Hennessey (born 1987), football goalkeeper with 108 caps for Wales; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
John Jones (c. 1530 – 1598), a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest and martyr; born at Clynnog
Sir Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet (1832–1891), landowner and politician, co-founder of the Y Wladfa settlement in Patagonia
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), archaeologist, army officer and inspiration for Lawrence of Arabia, born in Tremadog
David Lloyd George (1863–1945), statesman and Prime Minister; lived in Llanystumdwy from infancy
Sasha (born 1969), disc jockey, born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Sir Bryn Terfel (born 1965), bass-baritone opera and concert singer from Pant Glas
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978), architect of Portmeirion
Owain Fôn Williams, (born 1987), footballer with 443 club caps; born and raised in Penygroes, Gwynedd.
Hedd Wyn (1887–1917), poet from the village of Trawsfynydd; killed in WWI
High Res Santa Monica Pretty Fitness Model! Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Models! dx4/dt=ic
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
Black Gold 45 Revolver Bikini Swimsuit Model 45SURF Goddess! Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena! Athletic Fitness Models! dx4/dt=ic
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Happy 4th of July American Flag Bikini Swimsuit Model Red, White, and Blue Bikini! Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits Swimsuit Bikini Models! Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models! dx4/dt=ic
Durga
------
In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा, meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; Bengali: দুর্গা, durga) or Maa Durga (Bengali: মা দুর্গা, ma durga, meaning "Mother Durga") "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having ten arms, riding a lion or a tiger, carrying weapons and a lotus flower, maintaining a meditative smile, and practicing mudras, or symbolic hand gestures.
An embodiment of creative feminine force (Shakti), Durga exists in a state of svātantrya (independence from the universe and anything/anybody else, i.e., self-sufficiency) and fierce compassion. Kali is considered by Hindus to be an aspect of Durga. Durga is also the mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya. She is thus considered the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, goddess Parvati. Durga manifests fearlessness and patience, and never loses her sense of humor, even during spiritual battles of epic proportion.
The word Shakti means divine feminine energy/force/power, and Durga is the warrior aspect of the Divine Mother. Other incarnations include Annapurna and Karuɳamayi (karuɳa = kindness). Durga's darker aspect Kali is represented as the consort of the god Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing.
Durga Slays Mahishasura, Mahabalipuram sculpture.
As a goddess, Durga's feminine power contains the energies of the gods. Each of her weapons was given to her by various gods: Rudra's trident, Vishnu's discus, Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandalu, Kuber's Ratnahar, etc.
According to a narrative in the Devi Mahatmya story of the Markandeya Purana text, Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight an asura (an inhuman force/demon) named Mahishasura. He had unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds, and he could not be defeated by any man or god, anywhere. The gods went to Brahma, who had given Mahishasura the power not to be defeated by a man. Brahma could do nothing. They made Brahma their leader and went to Vaikuntha — the place where Vishnu lay on Ananta Naag. They found both Vishnu and Shiva, and Brahma eloquently related the reign of terror Mahishasur had unleashed on the three worlds. Hearing this Vishnu, Shiva and all of the gods became very angry and beams of fierce light emerged from their bodies. The blinding sea of light met at the Ashram of a priest named Katyan. The goddess Durga took the name Katyaayani from the priest and emerged from the sea of light. She introduced herself in the language of the Rig-Veda, saying she was the form of the supreme Brahman who had created all the gods. Now she had come to fight the demon to save the gods. They did not create her; it was her lila that she emerged from their combined energy. The gods were blessed with her compassion.
It is said that upon initially encountering Durga, Mahishasura underestimated her, thinking: "How can a woman kill me, Mahishasur — the one who has defeated the trinity of gods?" However, Durga roared with laughter, which caused an earthquake which made Mahishasur aware of her powers.
And the terrible Mahishasur rampaged against her, changing forms many times. First he was a buffalo demon, and she defeated him with her sword. Then he changed forms and became an elephant that tied up the goddess's lion and began to pull it towards him. The goddess cut off his trunk with her sword. The demon Mahishasur continued his terrorizing, taking the form of a lion, and then the form of a man, but both of them were gracefully slain by Durga.
Then Mahishasur began attacking once more, starting to take the form of a buffalo again. The patient goddess became very angry, and as she sipped divine wine from a cup she smiled and proclaimed to Mahishasur in a colorful tone — "Roar with delight while you still can, O illiterate demon, because when I will kill you after drinking this, the gods themselves will roar with delight".[cite this quote] When Mahashaur had half emerged into his buffalo form, he was paralyzed by the extreme light emitting from the goddess's body. The goddess then resounded with laughter before cutting Mahishasur's head down with her sword.
Thus Durga slew Mahishasur, thus is the power of the fierce compassion of Durga. Hence, Mata Durga is also known as Mahishasurmardhini — the slayer of Mahishasur. According to one legend, the goddess Durga created an army to fight against the forces of the demon-king Mahishasur, who was terrorizing Heaven and Earth. After ten days of fighting, Durga and her army defeated Mahishasur and killed him. As a reward for their service, Durga bestowed upon her army the knowledge of jewelry-making. Ever since, the Sonara community has been involved in the jewelry profession [3].
The goddess as Mahisasuramardhini appears quite early in Indian art. The Archaeological Museum in Matura has several statues on display including a 6-armed Kushana period Mahisasuramardhini that depicts her pressing down the buffalo with her lower hands [4]. A Nagar plaque from the first century BC - first century AD depicts a 4-armed Mahisamardhini accompanied by a lion. But it is in the Gupta period that we see the finest representations of Mahisasuramardhini (2-, 4-, 6-, and at Udayagiri, 12-armed). The spear and trident are her most common weapons. a Mamallapuram relief shows the goddess with 8 arms riding her lion subduing a bufalo-faced demon (as contrasted with a buffalo demon); a variation also seen at Ellora. In later sculptures (post-seventh Century), sculptures show the goddess having decapitated the buffalo demon
Durga Puja
----------
Durga puja (pronounced [ˈd̪uɾga ˈpudʒa], Bengali: দুর্গা পূজা ,Oriya: ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା ,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava (Bengali: দুর্গোৎসব, ‘Festival of Durga’), is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi , Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha (Bengali:দেবী পক্ষ , ‘Fortnight of the Goddess’). Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya (Bengali: মহালয়া), the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Pokkho (Bengali: পিতৃ পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Forefathers’), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja (Bengali: কোজাগরী লক্ষ্মী পূজা, ‘Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night’).
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday.In West Bengal and Tripura which has majority of Bengali Hindus it is the Biggest festival of the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and in Bangladesh where 10% population are Hindu. Nowadays, many diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum.
The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj in Bengal. After the Hindu reformists identified Durga with India, she became an icon for the Indian independence movement. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja was popularised due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world.
Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Saraswati and Kartikeya. Modern traditions have come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically depicted idols (murti) of Durga, exchange of Bijoya Greetings and publication of Puja Annuals.
Source: www.Wikipedia.com
Working on a book titled THE GOLDEN HERO'S ODYSSEY!
Check out my epic album: Golden Rectangle, Golden Ratio, Golden Spiral, Phi Grid, and Fibonacci Spiral in Fine Art Photography Compositions!
www.flickr.com/photos/herosjourneymythology45surf/albums/...
Boticelli's The Birth of Venus! Divine Proportion on a Divine Goddess! Golden Rectangle Goddess! Fibonacci Spiral Composition for Classical Goddess and Exalted Fine Art!
Pretty Greek Goddesses! Artemis, Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite! Venus, Minerva, and Ares, Demeter, and Nike!
Pretty Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess Nikon D800 Super Sharp AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
All of the new Gold 45 Revolver and 45SURF logos and designs are inspired by the golden number phi and divine proportion! Just as my landscapes oft employ the golden rectangle and fibonacci spiral in composition, all the bikinis, shirts, and lingerie designs are made with the golden section and gold number Phi (1.618) in mind! The golden grids, rectangles, pentagons, and spirals make a far better system for compositions than does the rule of thirds! And too, the golden mean and divine proportion are found in every model--in her pretty face and in the divine proportions of the 45surf goddess's heavenly body! I'm working on a book on all this beautitful craziness in fine art landscapes and models called The Golden Hero's Odyssey, which also ties it to my physics theory Dynamic Dimenions theory (dx4/dt=ic). :)
More of the epic Greek goddess bikini swimsuit models on instagram!
I have been traveling around in Zion, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Bryce Canyon! Will share soon! :)
ALL THE BEST on your Epic Hero's Odyssey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
Follow me & 45surf!!
www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology/
Beautiful Swimsuit Bikini Surfer Girl Athletic Model Goddess ! Sexy, hot, tall, thin, tan,toned, tan, and fit!
Working on a photography book too--Hero's Odyssey Photography! It focuses on my greatest hits while telling the story behind each one, thusly teaching how to shoot epic landscapes, ballerinas, and models!
All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
45SURF! Celebrating epic, heroic poetry, classic goddess beauty and the classical soul! Shakespeare, Homer's Iliad & Odyssey, and Moby Dick!
All the best on your epic hero's odyssey!
This stamp is made of pine, which allows for a more intricate design. Unlike the last stamp which has holes in it for the dye to flow, this stamp is one you dip into the ink and then stamp onto the fabric. If I wasn't afraid of damaging the wood by wetting it I could still use this today.
Golden Number Ratio Divine Proportion Compositions Fine Art Photography Dr. Elliot McGucken : Using the Nature's Golden Cut to Exalt Nature Photography!
Join my golden ratio groups!
www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/
www.facebook.com/groups/1401714589947057/
instagram.com/goldennumberratio
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape & Nature Photography
New book page!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Epic Landscape Photography: The Mythological Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography
Ansel Adams used the golden ratio in his photography too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlzAaBgsDI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrOUX3ZCl7I
The Fibonacci Numbers are closely related to the golden ratio, and thus they also play a prominent role in exalted natural and artistic compositions!
I'm working on a far deeper book titled The Golden Ratio Number for Photographers. :)
The famous mathematician Jacob Bernoulli wrote:
The (golden spiral) may be used as a symbol, either of fortitude and constancy in adversity, or of the human body, which after all its changes, even after death, will be restored to its exact and perfect self.
Engraved upon Jacob’s tombstone is a spiral alongside the words, "Eadem Mutata Resurgo," meaning "Though changed, I shall rise again." And so it is that within the Golden Ratio Principle, the golden harmonies rise yet again.
The golden ratio is oft known as the divine cut, the golden cut, the divine proportion, the golden number, and PHI for the name of the architect of the Parthenon Phidias. It has exalted classical art on down through the millennia and it can exalt your art too!
Ask me anything about the golden ratio! :) I will do my best to answer!!
Enjoy my Fine Art Ballet instagram too!
Dr. Elliot McGucken's Golden Ratio Principle: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Dr. E’s Golden Ratio Principle: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after. Robust, ordered growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in nature’s elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which all their vital sustenance and they themselves had been created—the golden ratio. the golden number, rectangle, and spiral!
My physics equation dx4/dt=ic graces the swimsuits and bikinis, while the golden gun is designed in proportion with the golden ratio, and the photos are oft cropped in divine proportions!
Beautiful Golden Ratio Composition Photography Surf Goddesses! dx4/dt=ic Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite! Athletic Fitness Models!
My Epic Gear Guide for Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ...
Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Follow me friends!
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
Epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
Epic Art & Gear for your Epic Hero's Odyssey:
Enjoy my physics books graces with my fine art photography! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical
Beautiful Surf Goddesses! Athletic Action Portraits of Swimsuit Bikini Models! Athena, Artemis, Helen, and Aphrodite!
The Four Seasons Hotel, New York
57 East 57th Street
New York, New York, U.S.A. 10022
58th Street view: The 54-story limestone skyscraper is finely proportioned.
------------------
In 1987 William Zeckendorf Jr. assembled land on 57th Street between Park and Madison Avenue, consisting of four empty 5-floor buildings on the north side of 57th and an adjoining 58th Street site. Zeckendorf determined the best use for the site was a luxury hotel and began discussions with hotel operators.
One of the parcels at 50 East 58th - is the site of the former 200-room Blackstone Hotel and its restaurant Lottie's Dogwood Room.
Zeckendorf sought I.M. Pei (whose firm designed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center) to design the luxury hotel. Zeckendorf Jr's father William Zeckendorf Sr. provided Pei with his first design job in 1946.
During the same time Harunori Takahashi, who some called the king of resort development projects in the South Pacific, admired Robert H Burns the founder of Regent Hotels International (a Hong Kong hotel company owned by an American!). Burns' first globally recognized luxury hotel, The Regent Hong Kong, opened in 1980. (It is an InterContinental now and not quite its former self).
Takahashi had just bought from Robert Burn's company the The Regent Sydney and was looking for more hotels to buy through the company he controlled - EIE International Corp. (Electronic & International Enterprises got its start in the 1940s importing from the US magnetic disc tapes). Takahashi also bought 30% of Regent Hotels from Robert Burns who retained 65%. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation owns 5 percent.
Burns knew William Zeckendorf Jr. and he knew Takahashi wanted to own an extraordinary hotel in New York City. The concept of a tall limestone luxury hotel on the 25,000 square foot lot was ready to move forward.
The hotel was announced in January 1989. It was expected to be the grandest hotel built in New York since the Waldorf=Astoria. The original plan was for 400 rooms and a main tower of 46-stories. A consortium of six Japanese banks led by Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB) secured construction financing. The hotel was named Regent New York Hotel and to be managed by Regent International Hotels of Hong Kong. William Zeckendorf, Jr. acted as development consultant. Architects were I.M. Pei and Frank Williams, and Tishman Construction was the construction manager. (Frank Williams designed the 55-story W hotel in Times Square)
The interiors were to be designed by John F. Saladino, who was replaced by Hong Kong based Chhada, Siembieda & Associates, which was founded by Chandu Chhada and Don Siembieda in 1980.
Total costs for the 372-room project were estimated at $370 million - a million per room. By completion time the cost had swelled to $477 million, or $1.3 million a room.
A contemporary-modern approach was taken for the Regent, not a classical motif. The hotel's 52-story tower required a series of cascading set backs to comply with strict zoning requirements. Custom designed 12-foot decorative lanterns grace the upper levels. Honey-colored French Mangy limestone from France clad the facade.
The standard guest rooms are 610 sq ft with 10'4" ceilings. Fiddleback English Sycamore was used for all cabinetwork, doors and furniture.
Robert Burns was a stickler for detail especially on how to build a bathroom. Burns is quoted saying "I just feel that nobody should sit in a tub where somebody stood." The Regent New York baths are built with a glass enclosed shower stall and separate soaking tub.
Just after the hotel's topping off event in 1990 the Japanese real estate market imploded. EIE and Regent Hotels was forced to sell the Regent hotel chain and hotels under development at that time were in New York City, Bali, Milan, and Istanbul - all were subsequently opened as Four Seasons.
One of the major figures during Japan's bubble economy years was EIE's Harunori Takahashi, who bought up Hyatt and Regent hotels with $6 billion borrowed from the credit unions that were run by his friends. He was also president of a credit union which lent his own businesses over $1.26 billion. Takahashi died in 2005 a convicted felon.
The opening of the Regent New York closely coincided with the chains loss of the Mayfair Regent, which was a Regent hotel from 1978 to 1991. That affiliation ended when Heitman Financial of Chicago, a longtime Mayfair owner, took on a new partner, Cogeta Hotels of Italy and rebranded the hotel to the Mayfair Baglioni.
In March 1992 Four Seasons Hotels Inc. paid $102 million for the Regent International Hotels group, providing the North American hotel operator an Asian foothold. Ownership of the under-construction Regent remained with Japan's Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB).
LTCB, later renamed Shinsei, epitomized Japan’s banking problems. It is a story of greed, corruption and at time madness. LTCB was once the world’s 9th biggest bank. It collapsed in 1998 with $50 billion of bad loans.
The opening general manager was Wilfried N. Wagner.
According to the NY Times in August 1996 The Four Seasons Hotel was sold to a group of Hong Kong investors led by the Lai Sun Group (which also bought the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February 1996). The seller was the Japanese bank LTCB. The sale price was estimated between $190 million, well below the $450 million it cost to build. Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. of Toronto, with a minority interest in the hotel, continued to operate it.
In February 1999 57 BB Property LLC (BB stands for Beanie Babies) otherwise known as Ty Warner acquired the Four Seasons Hotel from Lai Sun Group for $275 million or $743,243 per room.
The Michelin star restaurant L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon took its place in the hotel lobby.
With renowned restaurants in Paris, Tokyo and Las Vegas, Joël Robuchon focuses on the highest-quality ingredients, prepared with precision and creativity. With just 20 seats at the pearwood counter – considered the most desirable, with their view of the kitchen – and only 26 more at individual tables, L’Atelier offers an atmosphere that is both intimate and dynamic.
Covering the entire top floor of the Hotel, the nine-room Ty Warner Penthouse, accessed by its own private elevator, is reported to be the most expensive hotel suite in the U.S. at $35,000 per night.
Ty Warner, collaborated with designer Peter Marino and architect I.M. Pei, who came out of retirement to design the 4,300 square foot suite - which creates the sense of living within a multilayered work of art. Amenities include TVs programmed for every channel worldwide, unlimited global telephone calling, a personal butler, a personal trainer/therapist, and a chauffeured Rolls Royce Phantom.
Warner has diversified beyond toys with significant investments in hotels, property and golf courses. Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts include the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, the Sandpiper golf course, the Four Seasons Resort in Santa Barbara, California, the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, the Kona Village resort in Hawaii purchased in July 2004, the Montecito Country Club and the Las Ventanas al Paraiso Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico which was acquired in September 2004. In 2005, Warner also bought the beachfront Miramar resort and Rancho San Marcos golf course.
In 2009 Ty Warner held discussions of a sale of the 368-room luxury hotel. He is holding firm on pricing expectations of $644,000.000 million or a whopping $1,750.000 per room - according to Real Estate Alert.
The property's occupancy rate averaged 58% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2009 down from 72% in calendar year 2008, according to Realpoint. The average room rate dipped slightly, to $1,086 from $1,112, but revenue per available room fell to $635 from $798.
The Four Seasons Hotel New York is not heavily leveraged. The property has $185.6 million of mortgage debt - well below the price being sought by Warner.
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
----------------------------------------------------
A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
-------------------------------------------
PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)