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Massive Sports Hall with a strong PVC roof and sides, 4 Days to Complete PVC Roofing and sides. This picture was taken when the covered had just been brought across the structure.
Brockdish is one of three parish churches within about a mile that can be seen from the A143, but only the top of the tower is visible when heading north, and only fleetingly. THe only other clue is the truncated Church Lane which cuts across the main road, the name of which indicates the nearby church.
I came here at about eleven in the morning, having visited Oulton in Suffolk earlier, and wasn't expecting to find it open to be honest. But I heard the bells being rung, or at least pealing in intermittent intervals, the reason being some people were being given lessons.
Three cars were parked in the lane beside the church, which you reach by traveling up a green lane north out of the village before taking the track to the church.
The door to the tower, where the bellringers were being taught was ajar, and I could have gone up, but instead I go to the porch to try the door, and finding it open, I go inside lest someone comes and closes it.
Soon I am joined inside by the warden who is surprised, but pleased, to find a visitor: she is there to make teas for the ringers, and would I like one?
My breath had already been taken away by the tiles in the chancel, which are of exceptional quality. Tiles are something easily overlooked, and indeed many were clearly bought from catalogues, and so many are similar, but when more attention to detail was given, when extra quality was installed, it shines through.
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When I first visited this church in 2005, it was with something of a sinking heart to arrive at the third church in a row that was locked without a keyholder notice. Today, nothing could be further from the truth. In the south porch there is a large notice now which reads Come in and enjoy your church! Fabulous stuff.
The trim graveyard includes some substantial memorials to the Kay family, including one massive structure with an angel under a spire which would not look out of place opposite the Royal Albert Hall. No expense was spared by the Victorians here at Brockdish. The rebuilding was paid for by the Rector, George France, who also advised architect Frederick Marable on exactly what form this vision of the medieval should take. The tower above is curiously un-East Anglian, looking rather unusual surrounded by Norfolk fields. All around the building headstops are splendid, and fine details like faux-consecration crosses on the porch show that France was generally a man who knew what a medieval church should look like.
It will not surprise you to learn that St Peter and St Paul is similarly grand on the inside, if a touch severe. France actually devised a church much more Anglo-catholic than we find it today; it was toned down by the militantly low church Kay family later in the century. They took down the rood and replaced it with a simple cross, painting out the figures on the rood screen as well. When I first visited, the very helpful churchwarden who'd opened up for me observed that Brockdish is the only church in Norfolk that has stained glass in every window, which isn't strictly true (Harleston, three miles away, has as well) but we can be thankful that, thanks to the Reverend France's fortunes, it is of a very good quality. The glass seems to have been an ongoing project, because some of it dates from the 1920s. In keeping with low church tradition, the glass depicts mainly Biblical scenes and sayings of Christ rather than Saints, apart from the church's two patron Saints in the east window of the chancel. There are also some roundels in the east window of the south aisle, which appear to be of continental glass. They depict the Adoration of the Magi, the deposition of Christ, what appears to be Paharoah's daughter with the infant Moses, and the heads of St Matthias, St John the Evangelist, and Christ with a Crown of Thorns. However, I suspect that at least some of them are the work of the King workshop of Norwich, and that only the Deposition and the Old Testament scene are genuinely old.
If this is rather a gloomy church on a dark day, it is because of the glass in the south clerestory, a surprisingly un-medieval detail - the whole point of a clerestory was to let light reach the rood. The glass here is partly heraldic, partly symbolic. The stalls in the chancel are another faux-medieval detail - there was never a college of Priests here - but they looked suspiciously as if they might contain old bench ends within the woodwork. Not all is false, because the chancel also contains an unusual survival from the earlier church, a tombchest which may have been intended as an Easter Sepulchre.
Above all, the atmosphere is at once homely and devotional, not least because of the exceptional quality of the tiled sanctuary, an increasingly rare beast because they were so often removed in the 1960s and 1970s, when Victorian interiors were unfashionable. Brockdish's is spectacular, a splendid example that has caught the attention of 19th century tile enthusiasts and experts nationally.
Also tiled is the area beneath the tower, which France had reordered as a baptistery. The font has recently been moved back into the body of the church; presumably, whoever supplies the church's liability insurance had doubts about godparents standing with their backs to the steps down into the nave.
I liked Brockdish church a lot; I don't suppose it gets a lot of visitors, but it is a fine example of what the Victorians did right.
Simon Knott, June 2005, revisited and updated July 2010
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/brockdish/brockdish.htm
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Is the next adjoining town eastward, through which the great road passes to Yarmouth; on the left hand of which, stands the church, on a hill by itself, there being no house near it but the parsonage, which joins to the east side of the churchyard. The advowson always belonged to the Earl's manor here, with which it now continues.
In Norwich Domesday we read, that the rector had a house and 30 acres of land, that it was then valued at 15 marks, and paid as it now doth for synodals 1s. 9d. procurations 6s. 8d. and 12d. Peter-pence. It stands in the King's Books thus:
10l. Brokedish rectory. 1l. yearly tenths.
And consequently pays first-fruits, and is incapable of augmentation. The church stands included in the glebe, which is much the same in quantity as it was when the aforesaid survey was taken. It is in Norfolk archdeaconry, Redenhall deanery, and Duke of Norfolk's liberty, though he hath no lete, warren, paramountship, or superiour jurisdiction at all in this town, the whole being sold by the family along with the manors of the town.
In 1603, there were 103 communicants here, and now there are 50 families, and about 300 inhabitants; it was laid to the ancient tenths at 4l. but had a constant deduction of 14s. on account of lands belonging to the religious, so that the certain payment to each tenth, was 3l. 6s.
The Prior of St. Faith at Horsham owned lands here, which were taxed at 2s. 6d. in 1428.
The Prior of Thetford monks had lands here of the gift of Richard de Cadomo or Caam, (fn. 1) who gave them his land in Brokedis, and a wood sufficient to maintain 20 swine, in the time of King Henry I. when William Bigot, sewer to that King, gave to this priory all the land of Sileham, which from those monks is now called Monks-hall manor, and the water-mill there; all which Herbert Bishop of Norwich conveyed to his father, in exchange for other lands, he being to hold it in as ample a manner as ever Herbert the chaplain did; and in Ric. the Second's time, the monks bought a piece of marsh ground in Brokedis, to make a way to their mill, which being not contained in the grant of Monks-hall manor from Hen. VIII. to the Duke of Norfolk, William Grice, Esq. and Charles Newcomen, who had a grant of such lands as they could find concealed from the Crown, seized on this as such; and upon their so doing, the owner of the mill was obliged to purchase it of them, by the name of Thetford-Mill-Way, and it hath ever since belonged to, and is constantly repaired by the owner thereof.
Rectors of Brockidish.
12 - - Robert
12 - - Sir Ralf de Creping, rector.
1313, Sir Stephen Bygod. The King, for this turn.
1324, Nic. le Mareschal. Tho. Earl of Norfolk and Marshal.
1326, Mathew Paumer, or Palmer. Ditto. He changed for Canefield-Parva in London diocese with
Master Robert de Hales. Ditto.
1333, John de Melburn. Ditto.
1355, Roger de Wombwell. Lady Eleanor and Thomas de Wingfield, attorneys to Sir John Wingfield, Knt.
1356, John Knyght of Exeter. Mary Countess-Marshal, widow of Tho. de Brotherton, who recovered the advowson by the King's writ, against Sir J. Wingfield, Knt. and Thomas his brother, William de Lampet and Alice his wife, and Catherine her sister, and so Wombwell was ejected.
1357, John de Esterford. Mary Countess-Marshal. He resigned in
1367, to John son of Catherine de Frenge, and he in
1368, to John Syward. Sir Walter Lord Manney.
1382, John de Balsham, who changed for Stowe St. Michael in Exeter diocese, with
Bartholomew Porter. Margaret Marshal, Countess of Norfolk.
1405, Sir John Dalyngho of Redcnhall. Eliz. Dutchess of Norf. in right of her dower.
1417, he exchanged with Thomes Barry, priest, for the vicarage of Berkyng church in London. John Lancaster, Ric. Sterisacre, and Rob. Southwell, attorneys to John Duke of Norfolk, EarlMarshal and Notyngham, who was beyond the seas. Barry resigned in
1422, to Sir Thomas Briggs, priest, who died rector. Ditto.
1454, Sir Hen. White, priest. John Duke of Norf. Earl-Marshal and Notingham, Marshal of England, Lord Mowbray, Segrave, and Gower. He resigned in
1455, to Sir Thomas Holm, priest. Ditto. And he in
1478, to John Nun. The King, as guardian to Richard Duke of York and Norfolk, and Lady Ann his wife, daughter and heir of John late Duke of Norfolk.
1491, John Mene; he had a union to hold another benefice.
1497, John Rogers, A. M. Eliz. Dutchess of Norfolk. He resigned in
1498, to Sir John Fisk, priest, chaplain to the Dutchess. Ditto. At whose death in
1511, Sir Robert Gyrlyng, chaplain to Thomas Earl of Surrey, had it of that Earl's gift: he was succeeded by
Sir William Flatberry, chaplain to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, who presented him; he resigned in
1540, to Sir Nic. Stanton, chaplain to his patron, Tho. Duke of Norf. Lord Treasurer and Earl-Marshal, and was succeeded by
William Hide, priest. Ditto. He resigned, and the Duke presented it in
1561, to Sir John Inman, priest, who was buried here Aug. 1, 1586.
1586, Aug. 4, Master Richard Gibson was instituted, who was buried Oct. 1, 1625; he was presented by Robert Nichols of Cambridge, by purchase of the turn from William le Grice, Gent. and Hester le Grice, wife of Charles le Grice, Gent. true patrons.
1625, William Owles, who held it united to Billingford. John Knapp of Brockdish, by grant of this turn. He was succeeded in
1645, by Brian Witherel, and he by
Mr. James Aldrich, who died rector Nov. 10, 1657, from which time somebody held it without institution, till the Restoration, and then receded, for in
1663, May 14, Sir Augustine Palgrave, patron of this turn, in right of Catherine his wife, presented George Fish, on the cession of the last incumbent; he was buried here Oct. 29, 1686.
1686, Thomas Palgrave, A.M. buried here March 24, 1724. Fran. Laurence, Gent.
1724, Abel Hodges, A.B. he held it united to Tharston, and died in 1729. Richard Meen, apothecary, for this turn.
1729, Richard Clark, LL. B. was instituted Dec. 3, and died about six weeks after. Mrs. Ellen Laurence of Castleacre, widow.
1730, Alan Fisher. Ditto. He resigned in
1738, and was succeeded by Robert Laurence, A. B. of Caius college, who lies buried at the south-east corner of the chancel, and was succeeded in
1739, by Francis Blomefield, clerk, the present rector, who holds it united to Fresfield rectory, being presented by Mrs. Ellen Laurence aforesaid.
The church is dedicated to the honour of the apostles St. Peter and Paul, and hath a square tower about 16 yards high, part of which was rebuilt with brick in 1714; there are five bells; the third, which is said to have been brought from Pulham in exchange, hath this on it;
Sancta Maria ora pro nobis.
and on the fourth is this,
Uirgo Coronata duc nos ad Regna beata.
The nave, chancel, and south isle are leaded, the south porch tiled, and the north porch is ruinated. The roof of this chancel is remarkable for its principals, which are whole trees without any joint, from side to side, and bent in such a rising manner, as to be agreeable to the roof. The chancel is 30 feet long and 20 broad, the nave is 54 feet long and 32 broad, and the south isle is of the same length, and 10 feet broad.
At the west end of the nave is a black marble thus inscribed,
Here lyeth buried the Body of Richard Wythe Gent. who departed this Life the 6 of Sept. 1671, who lived 64 Years and 4 Months and 9 Days.
This family have resided here till lately, ever since Edw. the Third's time, and had a considerable estate here, and the adjacent villages. See their arms, vol. iv. p. 135.
Another marble near the desk hath this,
Near this Place lays Elizabeth Wife of John Moulton Gent. who died Oct. 31, 1716, aged 32 Years. And here lieth Mary the late Wife of John Moulton, who died March 20, 1717, aged 27 Years. And also here lyeth the Body of John Moulton Gent. who died June 12, 1718, aged 38 Years.
Moulton's arms and crest as at vol. iv. p. 501.
In a north window are the arms of De la Pole quartering Wingfield.
In 1465, Jeffry Wurliche of Brockdish was buried here, and in 1469 John Wurliche was interred in the nave, and left a legacy to pave the bottom of the steeple. In 1518, Henry Bokenham of Brockdish was buried in the church, as were many of the Spaldings, (fn. 2) Withes, Howards, Grices, Tendrings, and Laurences; who were all considerable owners and families of distinction in this town.
The chapel at the east end of the south isle was made by Sir Ralf Tendring of Brockdish, Knt. whose arms remain in its east window at this day, once with, and once without, a crescent az. on the fess, viz. az. a fess between two chevrons arg.
His altar monument stands against the east wall, north and south, and hath a sort of cupola over it, with a holy-water stope by it, and a pedestal for the image of the saint to which it was dedicated, to stand on, so that it served both for a tomb and an altar; the brass plates of arms and circumscription are lost.
On the north side, between the chapel and nave, stands another altar tomb, covered with a most curious marble disrobed of many brass plates of arms and its circumscription, as are several other stones in the nave, isle, and chancel. This is the tomb of John Tendring of Brockdish-hall, Esq. who lived there in 1403, and died in 1436, leaving five daughters his heirs, so that he was the last male of this branch of the Tendrings. Cecily his wife is buried by him.
On the east chancel wall, on the south side of the altar, is a white marble monument with this,
Obdormit hìc in Domino, lætam in Christo expectans Resurrectionem, Robertus, Roberti Laurence, ac Annæ Uxoris ejus, Filius, hujusce Ecclesiæ de Brockdish in Comitatû Norfolciensi Rector, ejusdem Villæ Dominus, ac Ecclesiæ Patronus, jure hereditario (si vixîsset) Futurus; Sed ah! Fato nimium immaturo abreptus; Cœlestia per Salvatoris merita sperans, Terrestria omnia, Juvenis reliquit. Dec. 31°. Anno æræ Christianæ mdccxxxixo. Ætatis xxvo. Maria, unica Soror et Hæres, Roberti Frankling Generosi Uxor, Fraterni Amoris hoc Testimonium animo grato, Memoriæ Sacrum posuit.
1. Laurence, arg. a cross raguled gul. on a chief gul. a lion passant guardant or.
2. Aslack, sab. a chevron erm. between three catherine-wheels arg.
3. Lany, arg. on a bend between two de-lises gul. a mullet of the field for difference.
4. Cooke, or, on a chevron ingrailed gul. a crescent of the field for difference, between three cinquefoils az. on a chief of the second, a lion passant guardant of the first.
5. Bohun, gul. a crescent erm. in an orle of martlets or.
6. Bardolf, az. three cinquefoils or.
7. Ramsey, gul. a chevron between three rams heads caboshed arg.
8. as 1.
Crest, a griffin seiant proper.
Motto, Floreat ut Laurus.
On a flat stone under this monument, is a brass plate thus inscribed,
Sacrum hoc Memoriæ Roberti Laurence Armigeri, qui obijt xxviijo die Julij 1637, Elizabeth Uxor ejus, Filia Aslak Lany Armigeri posuit.
Arms on a brass plate are,
Lawrence impaling Lany and his quarterings, viz. 1, Lany. 2, Aslack. 3, Cooke. 4, Bohun. 5, nine de-lises, 3, 3, and 3. 6, Bardolf. 7, Charles. 8, on a chevron three de-lises. 9, Ramsey. 10, Tendring. 11, on a fess two coronets. 12, Wachesam, arg. a fess, in chief two crescents gul. 13, a lion rampant. 14, Lany.
There is a picture of this Robert drawn in 1629, æt. 36. He built the hall in 1634; it stands near half a mile north-east of the church, and was placed near the old site of Brockdishe's-hall; the seat of the Tendrings, whose arms, taken out of the old hall when this was built, were fixed in the windows. The arms of this man and his wife, and several of their quarterings, are carved on the wainscot in the rooms.
On the south side of the churchyard is an altar tomb covered with a black marble, with the crest and arms of
Sayer, or Sawyer, gul. a chief erm. and a chevron between three seamews proper.
Crest, a hand holding a dragon's head erased proper.
To the Memory of Frances late the wife of Richard Tubby Esq. who departed this Life Dec. 22, 1728, in the 60th Year of her Age.
And adjoining is another altar tomb,
In Memory of Richard Tubby Esq. (fn. 3) who died Dec. 10th. 1741, in the 80th Year of his Age.
There are two other altar tombs in the churchyard, one for Mr. Rich. Chatton, and another for Eliz. daughter of Robert and Eliz. Harper, who died in 1719, aged 8 years.
The town takes its name from its situation on the Waveney or Wagheneye, which divides this county from that of Suffolk; the channel of which is now deep and broad, though nothing to what it was at that time, as is evident from the names of places upon this river, as the opposite vill, now called Sileham, (oftentimes wrote Sayl-holm, even to Edw. the Third's time) shows; for I make no doubt, but it was then navigable for large boats and barges to sail up hither, and continued so, till the sea by retiring at Yarmouth, and its course being stopt near Lowestoft, had not that influence on the river so far up, as it had before; which occasioned the water to retire, and leave much land dry on either side of the channel; though it is so good a stream, that it might with ease, even now, be made navigable hither; and it would be a good work, and very advantageous to all the adjacent country. That [Brod-dic] signifies no more than the broad-ditch, is very plain, and that the termination of ò, eau, or water, added to it, makes it the broad ditch of water, is as evident.
Before the Confessor's time, this town was in two parts; Bishop Stigand owned one, and the Abbot of Bury the other; the former afterwards was called the Earl's Manor, from the Earls of Norfolk; and the other Brockdishe's-hall, from its ancient lords, who were sirnamed from the town.
The superiour jurisdiction, lete, and all royalties, belonged to the Earl's manor, which was always held of the hundred of Earsham, except that part of it which belonged to Bury abbey, and that belonged to the lords of Brockdishe's-hall; but when the Earl's manor was sold by the Duke of Norfolk, with all royalties of gaming, fishing, &c. together with the letes, view of frankpledge, &c. free and exempt from his hundred of Earsham, and the two manors became joined as they now are, the whole centered in the lord of the town, who hath now the sole jurisdiction with the lete, belonging to it; and the whole parish being freehold, on every death or alienation, the new tenant pays a relief of a year's freehold rent, added to the current year: The annual free-rent, without such reliefs, amounting to above 3l. per annum. At the Conqueror's survey the town was seven furlongs long, and five furlongs and four perches broad, and paid 6d. to the geld or tax. At the Confessor's survey, there were 28 freemen here, six of which held half a carucate of land of Bishop Stigand, and the others held 143 acres under the Abbot of Bury, and the Abbot held the whole of Stigand, without whose consent the freemen could neither give away, nor sell their land, but were obliged to pay him 40s. a year free-rent; (fn. 4) and if they omitted paying at the year's end, they forfeited their lands, or paid their rent double; but in the Conqueror's time they paid 16l. per annum by tale. There were two socmen with a carucate of land, two villeins and two bordars here, which were given to Bury abbey along with the adjacent manor of Thorp-Abbots, but were after severed from that manor, and infeoffed by the Abbot of Bury in the lord of Brockdishe's-hall manor, with which it passed ever after. (fn. 5)
Brockdish-Earl's Manor, or Brockdish Comitis.
This manor always attended the manor of Forncet after it was granted from the Crown to the Bygods, along with the half hundred of Earsham, for which reason I shall refer you to my account of that manor at p. 223, 4. It was mostly part of the dower of the ladies of the several noble families that it passed through, and the living was generally given to their domestick chaplains. In 3 Edward I. the Abbot of Bury tried an action with Roger Bigod, then lord and patron, for the patronage; (fn. 6) pleading that a part of the town belonged to his house, and though they had infeoffed their manor here in the family of the Brockdishes, yet the right in the advowson remained in him; but it appearing that the advowson never belonged to the Abbot's manor, before the feofment was made, but that it wholly was appendant ever since the Confessor's time, to the Earl's manor, the Abbot was cast: notwithstanding which in 1335, Sir John Wingfield, Knt. and Thomas his brother, William de Lampet and Alice his wife, and Catherine her sister, owners of Brockdishe's manor, revived the claim to the advowson; and Thomas de Wingfield, and lady Eleanor wife of Sir John Wingfield, presented here, and put up their arms in the church windows, as patrons, which still remain; but Mary Countess Marshal, who then held this manor in dower, brought her quare impedit, and ejected their clerk; since which time, it constantly attended this manor, being always appendant thereto. In 15 Edw. I. Roger Bigot, then lord, had free-warren in all this town, as belonging to this manor, having not only all the royalties of the town, but also the assise of bread and ale, and amerciaments of all the tenants of his own manor, and of the tenants of Reginald de Brockdish, who were all obliged to do suit once a year at the Earl's view of frankpledge and lete in Brockdish; and it continued in the Norfolk family till 1570, and then Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, obtained license from Queen Elizabeth to sell it; it being held in capite or in chief of the Crown, as part of the barony and honour of the said Duke, who accordingly sold the manor, advowson, free-fishery, and all the place or manor-house, and demean lands; together with the lete, view of frankpledge, liberty of free warren, and all other royalties whatsoever, free and exempt from any jurisdiction or payment to his half hundred of Earsham, to
Charles le Grice, Esq. of Brockdish, and his heirs, who was descended from Sir Rorert le Grys of Langley in Norfolk, Knt. equerry to Ric. I. and Oliva his wife, whose son, Sir Simon le Grys, Knt. of Thurveton, was alive in 1238, and married Agnes daughter and coheir to Augustine son of Richard de Waxtenesham or Waxham, of Waxham in Norfolk, by whom he had Roger le Grys of Thurton, Esq. who lived in the time of Edward I. whose son Thomas le Grice of Thurton, had Roger le Grice of Brockdish, who lived here in 1392; whose son Thomas left John le Grice his eldest son and heir, who married a Bateman, and lies buried in St. John Baptist's church in Norwich; (see vol. iv. p. 127;) but having no male issue, William le Grice of Brockdish, Esq. son of Robert le Grice of Brockdish, his uncle, inherited; he married Sibill, daughter and sole heir of Edmund Singleton of Wingfield in Suffolk, and had
Anthony le Grice of Brockdish, Esq. (fn. 7) who married Margaret, daughter of John Wingfield, Esq. of Dunham, who lived in the place, and died there in 1553, and lies buried in the church, by whom his wife also was interred in 1562. His brother Gilbert Grice of Yarmouth, Gent. (fn. 8) first agreed with the Duke for Brockdish, but died before it was completed; so that Anthony, who was bound with him for performance of the covenants, went on with the purchase for his son,
Charles le Grice aforesaid, (fn. 9) to whom it was conveyed: he married two wives; the first was Susan, daughter and heir of Andrew Manfield, Gent. and Jane his wife, who was buried here in 1564; the second was Hester, daughter of Sir George Blagge, Knt. who held the manor for life; and from these two wives descended the numerous branches of the Grices of Brockdish, Norwich, Wakefield in Yorkshire, &c. He was buried in this church April 12, 1575, and was found to hold his manor of the hundred of Earsham, in free soccage, without any rent or service, and not in capite; and Brockdishe's-hall manor of the King, as of his barony of Bury St. Edmund in Suffolk, which lately belonged to the abbey there, in free soccage, without any rent or service, and not in capite, and
William le Grice, Esq. was his eldest son and heir, who at the death of his mother-in-law, was possessed of the whole estate; for in 1585, William Howard, then lord of Brockdishe's-hall manor, agreed and sold it to this William, and Henry le Grice his brother, and their heirs; but Howard dying the next year, the purchase was not completed till 1598, when Edw. Coppledick, Gent. and other trustees, brought a writ of entry against John son of the said William Howard, Gent. and had it settled absolutely in the Grices, from which time the two manors have continued joined as they are at this day; by Alice, daughter and heiress of Mr. Eyre of Yarmouth; he left
Francis le Grice, Esq. his son and heir, who sold the whole estate, manors, and advowson, to
Robert Laurence of Brockdish, Esq. (fn. 10) who married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard, son of Edmund Anguish of Great-Melton, by whom he had
Robert Laurence, Esq. his son and heir, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Aslack Lany, who survived him, and remarried in 1640, to Richard Smith, Gent. by whom she had one child, Eliz. buried here in 1641: he died July 24, 1637, and lies buried by the altar as aforesaid: he built the present hall, and had divers children, as Aslak Laurence, Robert, born in 1633, buried in 1635, Samuel Laurence, born in 1635, Ellen, born in 1635, Elizabeth, who married William Reynolds of Great-Massingham, Gent. and
Francis Laurence of Brockdish, Esq. his eldest son and heir, who married Ellen, daughter of Thomas Patrick of Castle-acre, Gent. widow of Mathew Halcote of Litcham, Gent. who survived him, and held Brockdish in jointure to her death, which happened Jan. 6, 1741, when she was buried in the nave of Litcham church: they had Frances, and Elizabeth, who died infants; Mary, who died single about 1736, and was buried in the vestry belonging to Castleacre church; Jane, married to Mr. Thomas Shin of Great Dunham, by whom a Thomas, a son, &c. she being dead; Ellen, now widow of Thomas Young of Oxboro, Gent. who died Oct. 1743, leaving issue, the Rev. Mr. Thomas-Patrick Young of Caius college in Cambridge, Benjamin and Mary, and
Samuel Lawrence, Gent. their second son, is now alive and single; and
Robert Lawrence, Esq. their eldest son and heir, is long since dead, but by Anne daughter of John Meriton, late rector of Oxburgh, his wife, he left one son,
Robert Laurence, late rector of Brockdish, who died single, and
Mrs. Mary Laurence, his only sister, who is now living, and married to Robert Frankling, Gent. of Lynn in Norfolk, is the present lord in her right, but they have no issue.
Brockdishe's-Hall Manor,
Belonged to Bury abbey as aforesaid, till the time of Henry I. and then the Abbot infeoffed
Sir Stephen de Brockdish in it, from whom it took its present name; he was to hold it at the 4th part of a knight's fee of that abbey: it contained a capital messuage or manor-house, called now Brockdishe's-hall; 105 acres of land in demean, 12 acres of wood, 8 of meadow, and 4l. 13s. 10d. rents of assise; he left it to
Jeffery de Brockdish his son, and he to
William, his son and heir, who in 1267, by the name of William de Hallehe de Brokedis, or Will. of Brockdish-hall, was found to owe suit and service once in a year with all his tenants, to the lete of the Earl of Norfolk, held here. He left this manor, and the greatest part of his estate in Norwich-Carleton (which he had with Alice Curson his wife) to
Thomas, his son and heir, and the rest of it to Nigel de Brockdish, his younger son; (see p. 102;) Thomas left it to
Reginald, his eldest son and heir, and he to
Sir Stephen de Brockdish, Knt. his son and heir, who was capital bailiff of all the Earl of Norfolk's manors in this county; he was lord about 1329, being succeeded by his son,
Stephen, who by Mary Wingfield his wife, had
Reginald de Brockdish, his son and heir, (fn. 11) to whom he gave Brockdish-hall manor in Burston, (see vol. i. p. 127, vol. ii. p. 506,) but he dying before his father, was never lord here; his two daughters and heiresses inheriting at his father's death, viz.
Alice, married to William de Lampet about 1355, and Catherine some time after, to William son of John de Herdeshull, lord of North Kellesey and Saleby in Lincolnshire, who inherited each a moiety, according to the settlement made by their grandfather, who infeoffed Sir John de Wingfield, Knt. and Eleanor his wife, and Thomas his brother, in trust for them; (fn. 12) soon after, one moiety was settled on Robert Mortimer and Catherine his wife, by John Hemenhale, clerk, and John de Lantony, their trustees; and not long after the whole was united, and belonged to
Sir William Tendring of Stokeneyland, Knt. and Margaret his wife, daughter and coheir of Sir Will. Kerdeston of Claxton in Norfolk, Knt. who were succeeded by their son and heir
Sir John Tendring of Stokeneyland, Knt. who jointly with Agnes his wife, settled it on
Sir Ralf Tendring of Brockdish, Knt. one of their younger sons, who built the old hall (which was pulled down by Robert Lawrence, Esq. when he erected the present house) and the south isle chapel, in which he and Alice his wife are interred; his son,
John Tendring of Brockdish, Esq. who was lord here and of Westhall in Colney, (see p. 5,) and was buried in the said chapel, with Cecily his wife, died in 1436, and left five daughrers, coheiresses, viz.
Cecily, married to Robert Ashfield of Stowlangetot in Suffolk, Esq.
Elizabeth, to Simeon Fincham of Fincham in Norfolk, Esq.
Alice, to Robert Morton.
Joan, to Henry Hall of Helwinton.
Anne, to John Braham of Colney.
Who joined and levied a fine and sold it to
Thomas Fastolff, Esq. and his heirs; and the year following, they conveyed all their lands, &c. in Wigenhall, Tilney, and Islington, to
Sir John Howard, Knt. and his heirs; and vested them in his trustees, who, the year following, purchased the manor of Fastolff to himself and heirs; this Sir John left Brockdish to a younger son,
Robert Howard, Esq. who settled here, and by Isabel his wife had
William Howard of Brockdish, Esq. who was lord in 1469; he had two wives, Alice and Margaret, from whom came a very numerous issue, but
Robert, his son and heir, had this manor, who by Joan his wife had
William Howard, his eldest son and heir, who died in 1566, seized of many lands in Cratfield, Huntingfield, Ubbeston, and Bradfield in Suffolk; and of many lands and tenements here, and in Sileham, &c. having sold this manor the year before his death, to the Grices as aforesaid; but upon the sale, he reserved, all other his estate in Brockdish, in which he dwelt, called Howard's Place, situate on the south side of the entrance of Brockdish-street; which house and farm went to
John Howard, his son and heir, the issue of whose three daughters, Grace, Margaret, and Elizabeth, failing, it reverted to
Mathew, son of William Howard, second brother to the said John Howard their father, whose second son,
Mathew Howard, afterwards owned it; and in 1711, it was owned by a Mathew Howard, and now by
Mr. Bucknall Howard of London, his kinsman (as I am informed.)
The site and demeans of the Earl's manor, now called the place, was sold from the manor by the Grices some time since, and after belonged to Sir Isaac Pennington, alderman of London, (see vol. i. p. 159,) and one of those who sat in judgment on the royal martyr, for which his estate was forfeited at the Restoration, and was given by Car. II. to the Duke of Grafton; and his Grace the present Duke of Grafton, now owns it.
the benefactions to this parish are,
One close called Algorshegge, containing three acres, (fn. 13) and a grove and dove-house formerly built thereon containing about one acre, at the east end thereof; the whole abutting on the King's highway north, and the glebe of Brockdish rectory west: and one tenement abutting on Brockdish-street south, called Seriches, (fn. 14) with a yard on the north side thereof, were given by John Bakon the younger, of Brockdish, son of John Bakon the elder, of Thorp-Abbots; the clear profits to go yearly to pay the tenths and fifteenths for the parish of Brockdish when laid, and when they are not laid, to repair and adorn the parish church there for ever: his will is proved in 1433. There are always to be 12 feoffees, of such as dwell, or are owners in the parish, and when the majority of them are dead, the survivors are to fill up the vacancies.
In 1590, 1 Jan. John Howard, Gent. John Wythe, Gent. William Crickmere and Daniel Spalding, yeomen, officers of Brockdish, with a legacy left to their parish in 1572, by John Sherwood, late of Brokdish, deceased, purchased of John Thruston of Hoxne, Gent. John Thruston his nephew, Thomas Barker, and the inhabitants of Hoxne in Suffolk, one annuity or clear yearly rent-charge of 6s. 8d. issuing out of six acres of land and pasture in Hoxne, in a close called Calston's-close, one head abutting on a way leading from Heckfield-Green to Moles-Cross, towards the east; to the only use and behoof of the poor of Brockdish, to be paid on the first of November in Hoxne church-porch, between 12 and 4 in the afternoon of the same day, with power to distrain and enter immediately for non-payment; the said six acres are warranted to be freehold, and clear of all incumbrances, except another rentcharge of 13s. 4d. granted to Hoxne poor, to be paid at the same day and place
In 1592, John Howard of Brockdish sold to the inhabitants there, a cottage called Laune's, lying between the glebes on all parts; this hath been dilapidated many years, but the site still belongs to the parish.
From the old Town Book.
1553, 1st Queen Mary, paid for a book called a manuel 2s. 6d.; for two days making the altar and the holy-water stope, and for a lock for the font. 1554, paid for the rood 9d. 1555, paid for painting the rood-loft 14d. At the visitation of my Lord Legate 16d. To the organs maker 4d. and for the chalice 26s. 1557, paid for carriage of the Bible to Bocnam 12d. for deliverance of the small books at Harlstone 15d.; the English Bibles and all religious Protestant tracts usually at this time left in the churches for the information and instruction of the common people, being now called in by the Papist Queen. Paid for two images making 5s.; for painting them 16d. for irons for them 8d. But in 1558, as soon as Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, all these Popish, images, &c. were removed out of the church. Paid for sinking the altar 4d.; carrying out the altar 5d.; mending the communion table 3d.; 1561, paid for the X. Commandments 18d.; for pulling down the rood-loft 14d.; paid Roger Colby repairing the crosse in the street 26s. 8d.; for a lock to the crosse-house, &c.; 1565, for digging the ground and levelling the low altar, (viz. in the south chapel,) and mending the pavement. For makyng the communion cup at Harlston 5s. 4d. besides 6s. 2d. worth of silver more than the old chalice weyed. 1569, paid to Belward the Dean for certifying there is no cover to the cup, 8d. 1657, layd out 19s. 4d. for the relief of Attleburgh, visited with the plague. Laid out 17s. for the repair of the Brockdish part of Sileham bridge, leading over the river to Sileham church. This bridge is now down, through the negligence of both the parishes, though it was of equal service to both, and half of it repaired by each of them. In 1618, the church was wholly new paved and repaired; and in 1619, the pulpit and desk new made, new books, pulpit-cloth, altar-cloth, &c. bought.
From the Register:
1593, Daniel son of Robert Pennington, Gent. bapt. 13 July. 1626, John Brame, Gent. and Anne Shardelowe, widow, married Sept. 2. 1631, John Blomefield and Elizabeth Briges married May 30. 1666, Roger Rosier, Gent. buried. 1735, Henry Blomefield of Fersfield, Gent. single man, and Elizabeth Bateman of Mendham, single woman, married Feb. 27.
www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol5...
I found this at the edge of a recreation ground whilst looking for something else. At first I thought it was a railway tunnel air vent but there aren't any tunnels in the area. Also, whilst it seems circular, the other side is actually flat. So no idea, really.
HOLLYWOOD - A blaze broke out Wednesday morning which consumed a vacant theater that was tucked between several other buildings on three sides. Thankfully, firefighters protected all surrounding structures without injury, and have two persons of interest being questioned.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the 1400 block of North Las Palmas Avenue at 8:57 AM on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 to find a vacant two-story theater with smoke showing. Firefighters ascended ladders to the roof, and made ground-level entry to the interior of the 9,082 square-foot theater built in 1905. Shortly after, flames erupted through the roof. The Incident Commander announced a change to defensive tactics on the radio and all crews withdrew from the building.
Firefighters spent the majority of the incident in defensive operations, as heavy fire compromised the structure, making it extremely hazardous to enter. Firefighters deployed hose lines, heavy streams, and ladder pipes from the exterior of the building, and on adjacent rooftops. Despite the heavy fire load and partial structural collapse of the vacant structure, firefighters were able to successfully protect all neighboring structures (on all three sides with neighbors), including several stand-alone units of the Hollywood Center Motel, the Hollywood Guest Inn, and a multi-family residential building.
Firefighters extinguished the flames in just under two hours. This address will be red tagged by the Department of Building and Safety due to the significant structural damage. Fire investigators from LAFD's Arson/Counter Terrorism Section arrived on scene for investigation and, in coordination with LAPD, have detained one man and one woman for questioning. Thankfully, there were no injuries caused by this fire. The fire-cause investigation remains active.
LAFD Incident: 071322-0476
Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | Gary Apodaca
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This brick structure is on the banks of the River Wear, Sunderland, just below the football ground "the Stadium of Light" (built on the site of the old Wearmouth Colliery). It is part of a coal staithe and was used for the quick loading of coal into ships or colliers, bulk coal carrying cargo ships.
A vehicle fire in a fully loaded equipment and hay barn bring mutual aid from CT,NY, and MA . Unfortunately the fast moving fire totally destroyed the structure and it's contents.
Over a 106 years old, the Egmore Railway Station in Chennai, remains one of the cities centrally located, renowned landmarks. Its bright red and white colors, and vaulted metal ceiling on the interiors are what make it striking. With typical Victorian wrought iron beams,
DOWNTOWN - A major emergency structure fire consumed a large downtown Los Angeles flooring business early Sunday morning, with unseasonal weather causing a strong and persistent smoke odor to linger across the greater Los Angeles area for more than two days.
Due to weather conditions, residual smoke from this fire may be noted in the greater Los Angeles area until Tuesday afternoon.
The fire was reported at 2:57 AM on August 21, 2022, bringing the first of more than 150 Los Angeles Fire Department responders to 1228 South Compton Avenue, where firefighters arrived quickly to find heavy smoke and fire within a 15,000 square foot U-shaped one-story metal clad commercial building housing C.Y. Flooring, a purveyor of wood, laminate and vinyl flooring products.
Firefighters forced entry onto the property and into the well secured premises to battle fierce flames, which involved retail space and dense warehousing of flooring products within conjoined metal structures.
As fire swept through the main building and into an annex, firefighters were forced to transition to defensive operations, successfully preventing fire from consuming the firm's office space or damaging a pair of immediately adjacent industrial buildings.
The non-injury fire was brought under control in just 83 minutes with the extinguishment of active flame. No injuries were reported.
With countless tons of smoldering debris and physically unstable building remnants, the LAFD assigned more than a dozen personnel to remain continuously on scene through Tuesday, deploying heavy equipment such as excavators and the LAFD RS3 Robotic Firefighting Vehicle to abate structural hazards, overhaul the scene and further soak the hot and smoking mountain of debris.
The cause of the fire remains under active investigation.
Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | Harry Garvin
LAFD Incident 082122-0181
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
Yellow indicates permanent structures in both the new and old spaces. Red diagonals are doorways. Red floor is oak, green floor is porcelain tile. Red lines are windows (see front elevation photos on this photostream).
New doorway at top between the bookshelf and the yellow-colored closet leads to the dining room and to the bath and bedrooms. There is an oak floor under these areas already. The doorway will be a pocket door with full-length glass so that we can keep the dog, smells, and sounds corralled when we need it and yet not isolate the kitchen when door is closed. We will need to reconcile the new floor with the old oak floor here.
Green area is front lobby and includes a long coat closet. Lobby windows are awning style overlooking driveway. Front door has full-length glass with blinds to increase natural light during daytime. In previous photos, many of the walls of this area are painted green as a test of the color. There is a door at top of green area in drawing which was the original front door position in 1951. (We retained a door here when we expanded the house into the former front step area in 1975. We will retain the hollowcore oak door at this postion for dog, smell, and sound control as well as to block view of interior of house from front door when we need to do this.) Beyond this door are the living room, another bedroom, and a deck door that is almost directly in line with this doorway. We will need to reconcile the old oak floor at this position with the new tile floor.
Stairway to basement will have windowless pocket door. Most of the time this doorway will be open to allow dog access to basement walkout, but closed when needed. Steve has redone the entire basement stairway to allow a safe, wide top step threshold before the first descending step and to even out the stair heights. This was a lot of work and it cost us the lower half of the existing coat closet (which is cut off in photo).
Pantry closet was planned to be angled but we decided to square-off the access route; door will be windowless hinged door (I would like louvers but we'll see.)
Door to garage is a steel firedoor to be painted to match something in the lobby. This door sees a lot of action because Steve works on autos in garage and washes hands in kitchen. The coat closet will have a blaze orange section. The blind cupboard corner of the kitchen abutting this closet will have an access door from inside the coat closet instead of access from the kitchen. This will allow offseason boot storage. Closet door is two sliding doors, not bifolds as shown.
We will commission a custom bookshelf in the area formerly a doorway leading to the bathroom and bedrooms at upper left in photo. A small eating table with a piece of art behind it will lie between refrigerator and bookcase--it will be viewed down the long hall from the garage, so it has to be attractive and inviting. Another piece of art will be mounted on the uninterupted wall of the pantry closet--it will be best seen from the inside of the G. Another piece of art will be positioned to the left of the awning windows in the lobby, which can be seen from stools or after entering from dining room or when removing coat in lobby.
In previous photos, the middle of walls inside of the G-shaped kitchen are painted red as a test. There are upper cupboards on the top and bottom of the G but not on window wall or peninsula. Decor of the room(s) will be eclectic: Spare Scandinavian-style pale cupboards, modern white glass pendant lights, probably "pewter" door hardware, and a minimal backsplash. All countertops will be laminate except two butcherblock 2' x 2' sections either side of the range. Art works may include a mix of Audubon birds, a Breckenridge watercolor of a heron rookery, a couple oil landscapes, and national park early photos. Display pieces on the bookshelf will include Old Sheffield Plate silver antiques and Benningtonware teapots. A wooden hayfork may make an appearance somewhere here. Lobby and desk and table chairs may be early 19th century "fancy chairs" or similar items. A repro mahogany utility cupboard will serve in the lobby under the window until we find something more suitable.
As of late May, 2010, we have come to the point where we must make some flooring final decisions. Steve will be reconciling the ceiling first (so the slop does not fall on oak floor) and then will begin laying tile and oak. We must use strong porcelain tile instead of ceramic because of the potential heaving of old fill under the house.
Because of personal preference and energy conservation, we have no recessed lights. The green area and hall toward patio have 3 successive ceiling-hugging lights. There is a matching utilitarian light to be positioned centrally off the pantry closet corner to give general light to the kitchen hall and there are two matching ceiling-hugging fixtures n the center of the G. There will be undercounter lights on the two ends of the kitchen. Three pendants will hang in front windows and two over the peninsula. A funky semi-antique small chandelier will hang over the table. Yes, that's a lot of lights. Not sure how much we will use any of them yet, but we know how much the ceiling-huggers will be workhorses because this space has so many different walkpaths. Wiring all this new stuff and removing vestigial wiring has been a challenge for Steve.
We have to have things done as much as possible for daughter Rebecca's visit from Alaska the 2nd week in June.
We bit the bullet at the end of May and commissioned someone else to put the finish on the cupboards. This will speed the work so that Steve can go to the Arctic in July.
____
Within the G, the wall on the left has two breadboards. The one next to refrigerator will make this a sandwich and toast station. It and the one under the window will also allow the countertop to expand in size to hold dishes coming and going to dinner parties in dining room. Lower left corner of G is the microwave and beverage station. Lower right corner is the baking area, with a breadboard, mixer on countertop and baking gear in drawers below. Peninsula of the G will have another breadboard and a drawer to accept peelings and such as we chop. Compost bucket goes under small sink. Double-trash is next to sink. We anticipate this to be the major veg chopping station. Although the range is simple electric range with hood above, there is access on both sides of it so two cooks should be happy. A portable induction plate can be used adjacent to range to expand cooking options during heavy use periods. We will countersink (pun!) two containers into the butcherblock to hold utensils to right of range and a large slit to hold knives left of range.
This kitchen and lobby should allow two people to enjoy it without feeling that the space is oversized, but when out of town family members come to stay for a period of time or when friends attend a party, they should be able to find a place here that is comfortable and welcoming. (Previously they were not allowed to stand about in the old kitchen.) When the muse attacks Linda and she announces a dinner party, she will no longer be restricted in the number of dishes or serving courses or wine glasses. In the summer when life is oriented toward the deck and the lake, it will be easier to move food and dishes from deck to kitchen via the hall by the green floor in the photo.
We have sacrificed a very large, beloved teak china cupboard in order to make the new entrance to the dining room. Items from it will be stored in kitchen. China, silverware, napkins, etc. will live in the lower drawers on the left side of this photo. Hope it all fits! Tablecloths were supposed to go into these drawers, but now they are designated to hang in the half-closet that was former coat closet. Flower arranging gear also will go into this closet, which still has a full-sized door on it, but someday, we may redo it as a true built-in cupboard (with attic access still in its ceiling!).
All it takes is money, time, expertise, and resolve!
Additional comment: Sept 2010...It should be noted that we extended the tile floor across the entrance to the basement. There is a nice looking piece of oak perpendicular to the walkpath, then the oak flooring that runs parallel to the front of the house.
View large to see the intricate, perfect structure of nature even (or especially) after all the blooming and growing is done.
Down at the end of the Leslie Street Spit, I found something vaguely ominous.
Mamiya 645 AFD with ZD digital back. 1/350" @ f/3.5, 35mm f/3.5 lens. ISO 200, WB cloudy.
Post in Capture One and Photoshop.
(Be sure to press "L" on your keyboard)
Browsing through some photos from about two years ago I came upon a few I quite liked.
via Tumblr lawrence9gold.tumblr.com/post/107993948912
A T T E N T I O N:P S Y C H O A C T I V E______________________
INSTRUCTION IN THE SOMATIC ABILITY
TO DISSOLVE THE HIDDEN GRIP OF AFFLICTION
OR THE COMPULSION TO BE ANYTHING, IN PARTICULAR
— horse training —
— You’re the horse. | You’re the trainer. — Finding Ourselves Out
First thing: I should know about what I’m talking about. I’m an expert on identity formation, as I’ve been running and reforming this identity for years. One of these days, somebody’s going to find me out and we’ll all end up in show-biz.
In show-biz, to the degree that an actor/ess is free within his/her identity set and free to change, to that degree he or she can play different roles well.
(This could be a clue.)
No one of us has a single identity — and that doesn’t necessarily mean we all have Multiple Personality Disorder. It means that our identity changes (more or less), from moment to moment, and in the circumstances of the moment, as we resonate with our circumstances.
The one thing that persists in some way is the vague idea of “self” — the one to whom this identity purportedly belongs. People rarely talk about that one! (It’s our ‘sacred cow’ self — the one “outside it all” and viewing it all, the one who ostensibly never becomes hamburger, supra-Kosmic or otherwise.)
The expression of self changes, but the owner of it seems somehow the same: the secret identity. The Continuity of Memory.
But behaviors, and the provisional identity of the moment, fluctuate. Which one is the “real” identity? Ha-HAH!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~and now, a very important disclaimer:
That doesn’t mean that we’re the political flip-flopper
who flips and who flops with every passing wind
whose words are as passing wind
and whose meaning has no reliable connection to a functional outcome
whose integrity has big gaps, or lots of little gaps
whose principles are weak
whose equilibrium is easily upset
who takes an unstable stand
the dependent
who has too little active capacity to bring order,
who is not yet educated enough
to create forms with integrity,
who has too little capacity to reverse the course of entropy
in his environment and himself
who uses the word, “fight”, instead of “create”
the secret nature of a mediocre nincompoop
in a position of responsibility beyond him
whose primary interest is
to get rich and avoid getting into trouble
to avoid any kind of crisis, lest he flub his response
he, in a position of visibility,
who fears to look like an incompetent
— or worse — have to face consequences.
Maybe it’s what makes him a schlimazl
for whom nothing good ever seems to happen
since he can’t marshal all the forces needed
to make it happen.
or makes him a shlemiele
(closely related to a no-account fool)
not good at much of anything,
fallen back into being a good-for-nothing freeloader,
an imbiber by days
and something of a hapless dimwit at twilight
walking into lampposts
or, alas, maybe he’s just a poor putz —
a person who’s a total loss
uneducated
unperceptive
incomprehending
wrong and insistent.
Maybe he’s a shmoygeh,
or its sillier version, shmegeggie
whatever that is
a slob
a nudnick (dumb-kopf!)
or a no-goodnick in our eyes
but look!
He has a nice suit!
NO! This is a smart person!
a wonderful person!
He cleans up after himself.
He picks up his clothes.
He can read.
He’s nice.
He’s also a clever person, having learned a thing or two.
He knows the difference between
“flip” and “flop”
knows when it’s OK to be flip
and knows when his flippancy has flopped.
Oh, most unflappable one,
I see you keep your equilibrium pretty well —
— most of the time.
You are intelligently mindful of how we are unavoidable affected by each other
and inextricably interconnected,
with everything unified in the present moment,
not as an idea or ideal, but as a perception
of how things actually are,
feeling and observing how we are affected by this moment
in a resonant and moving equilibrium
continuous in moment to moment experience
participating and yet mystified,
faithful in nothing in this life made of change,
in which the currents of our own existence
carry murky, turbulent memories
that shape and color our times.
You sound like a wise man (or woman).
How did that happen?
~~~~~~~~~~
So, when I speak of identity, I’m not speaking of socialization or role. I’m speaking of something much more fundamental, something that explains human behavior, how we get stuck in behavior, and how we may deliberately grow or evolve through an “unhooking” or “unlocking” process.
To the point:Four steps are involved in identity formation:
experience: the emergence of the “present” from the unknown: self, others and things, the momentary and total condition of “now” | Without the gathering and coalescing of attention and aggregations of memory, experience is void, without meaning, without significance, without object, just movements of the unknown
memory : persistence of experience, the experience of “now” (immediate memory), meaning, recognizable events, holding on to experience and experiences, having experience “be in your face”
identification: choosing to stick with a certain experience at any moment : assigning importance, assuming memory (persistence) is reality : taking remembered experiences of self as self and our perception of other things as “the way they really are.” (The Myth of Actuality = “The Myth of the Given”)
perpetuation: intending, inviting, seeking to make more, or refusing, seeking to make less, all motivation, all “go”, all “stop”, all spin, all involvement with, all imagining
The four Stages of Things Becoming a Priority. Obviously, I have to define my terms, so here goes.
EMERGING EXPERIENCE: ” BEING”, BECOMING
(“the One” multiplied by becoming “the Many”)
At every moment, we have a sense of “how things are”. It’s our most obvious sense of the plain-old present.
It consists of our experience of our situation and our sense of ourselves. Most of this sense of experience is submerged in subconsciousness. But we experience it every time we meet a new person and visit a new place. It’s our first impression — which fades with familiarity, into the background.
This first impression, or sense of the moment, is, at first, of “unknown" (yes, I wrote that rightly). Our first impression is of "unknown". Gradually, with enough time and enough exposure, "unknown" fades-in into "something known" — a memory is formed. Until a sufficiently vivid memory is formed, no experience is being had.
The motions of experience inscribe upon memory an ongoing trail, movements of attention from one thing to another.
MEMORY : THE BASIS OF THE MOVEMENT BETWEEN HARMONY AND DIS-HARMONY
We resort to memory as a proxy for (approximation of) actual experience, so we can more easily focus on experiences that have that pattern, and look for what’s changing, moving, happening. It’s beginning from a presumed base of knowledge.
As we get familiar with anything, we form a memory of it. That memory constitutes our knowing of “how things are”.
Then, the experience of the moment is seen always in terms of existing memories, which grow in a moving, changing pattern. The growing edge of memory is experiencing what is emerging out of the unknown, clothing it in imagination so it may seem known, then forming memories and bridging them with other memories. Impressions form over time about the “realities” of life, colored by memories brought to life by imagination, imagination informed by memory and going beyond.
We form our memories from our experiences of the moving moment of life, the changing harmonics of life. All sensory impressions that go into memory refer to movements and harmonics of life, memories of persons, places and things. Our memories of “the movements and harmonics of life” flavor or dress up all of our sense-impressions of the moment.
A memory of “a movement and a felt harmonic” gets called up every time we recall something and every time we put ourselves in a situation to experience anything familiar. Memory creates expectation.
A way of finding the force of a memory is to notice how much it matters to you.
ASSUMING MEMORIES are REALITY, TRUTH or SELF
We give our memories the status of “truth”, and memories of our own state the status of “self”.
To the degree that something feels, “in your face”, that’s the degree that you take it for truth, for reality, or as self. That’s how solidly set your / my attention is in memory, how solidly fixated, how ingrained, how entranced. That’s how much experience has “got us” by the ….. (ooch!) .
PERPETUATING and/or REFUSING THE EXPERIENCES WE REMEMBER
Persistence and resistance (or intending and refusing) are two forms of the same thing: one is “wanting to make it more” and the other is “wanting to make it less”; the difference, only one of direction; both are “wanting”.
When someone “knows” something, they want (to some degree — strongly or mildly) either to reinforce/assert their knowledge or to minimize/deny it. They want to rely upon it or they want to forbid it. Either way, they want to do that for themselves, for their own sake.
By those acts, they form an attitude, a key part of the ability of identity to express itself, a felt memory.
Once a person has an attitude, they want to impose it upon the world. (Even the idea of “not wanting to impose it on the world” is an attitude.)
That’s the activity of identity, of self-propagation, the genetic imperative that distinguishes itself from others on the basis of memories.
A case in point: Take, for an example, ten year old Jimmy.
experience
Jimmy has never been to a baseball game.
His father comes home with tickets to see the Cardinals.
They go on a Saturday.
At the ballpark, Jimmy takes it all in, eyes open wide.
Dizzy Dean is pitching.
He winds up. There’s the pitch.
Foul ball. Into the stands.
Jimmy catches the ball.
memories
Now, Jimmy has a story to tell the guys in the neighborhood.
What does that do for his social status?
Jimmy likes the attention. He brings the ball to school, he tells the story at Sunday School, around …
The more Jimmy tells the story,
the more he reinforces the memory of it
and his place in it.assuming memories are truth, reality, or self
Jimmy takes credit for catching the foul ball,
lays claim to special status, reason for pride.
casts himself into a self-image that he takes for himself
and shows around.perpetuating what we remember as extended forms of “self”
Soon, Jimmy is a fan.
He’s read up on Dizzy Dean, knows his statistics,
roots for the Cardinals,
feels the glory when they win
feels the humiliation when they lose.
He’s even gotten into a couple of fights over it.
He can’t help himself.
But then, he’s only ten.
That was a long, long time ago.
Now, Jimmy’s a Republican.
another case-in-point:
George enlists in the army.
Goes to war. It’s his patriotic duty.
He’s sent to the front. Wounded.
Now he has a limp. And a medal.
He’s honorably discharged and sent home. He gets special recognition, special privileges. (This was an earlier time.)
He’s sent to an innovative form of therapy that promises he can walk, again. In fact, he’ll lose the limp.
But now, George doesn’t know “who he’d be” without his war wound. He’d seem ordinary. He also can’t imagine walking normally, again. He’s forgotton his “pre-army” state. His wound and his status as a wounded war vet, based in memory and the seeming permanence of his wound, have made him into something else.
The therapy doesn’t work.
He gets into politics. Eventually, he runs for political office.
Now, he gets some mileage out of being a wounded war vet. His wound is his badge of courage. He cherishes the identity of “War Vet”, keeps it low-key on the campaign trail. He imagines that it is some of the basis of the respect with which people treat him, that it’s a “trump card”: On certain topics, no one dares challenge his position.
And, of course, years later, he’s a Republican.
An identity is a standpoint and general ways of operating based on memories of experience, a standpoint that wants to reinforce (or perpetuate) its way of operating in the world.
Everything we know, we want to continue to be “right knowledge”. That’s why people dislike “being wrong” and why “being made wrong” is such a politically incorrect social impropriety. It’s about what “wanting to be right” means — not having to change.
So, first we experience something. And then, as we experience it, we remember it. Then, we assume that memory represents and actually says something reliable about either oneself or something or someone other. We carry all the accumulated memory patterns that form out of the interaction of the world with our memoried self. We act as if life exists in terms of those memory patterns — and so act accordingly — either to perpetuate and reinforce or to refuse or counteract.
That explains how we form behavior patterns, how we get stuck in behavior patterns (egotism, arrogance, “anything goes” or cold-fish authoritarianism), and also how we learn to grow and evolve. It’s a spooky business.
Just as we form innumerable memories from moment to moment, we form innumerable identities for each moment — and hopefully they’re all well interconnected, so we don’t get trapped in one.
The tricky thing about all this is how to avoid getting stuck in the sheer mass and momentum of accumulated memories.
One answer is, to reverse the process. What would happen for Jimmy if he imagined himself going back up the chain of identity formation?
I present The Gold Key Release ( which a New Age Flower Child might call, “The Somatic Crystal Decrystallization Process”, a soul brother: “Da Big, Divine Kosmic Kiss” (mmmWAH!) or, an academic professor, rather stuffily, “A Somatic Faculty”) —- viz:
(NOTE: vizier = one who writes, “viz”.
“Vizier” is Arabic for “wise guy”.)
"Somatic Awakening" is not an "awakening to" or "awakening into"; it’s an awakening as and then an awakening from.
It’s “awakening as” what most ordinarily IS,
scanning it with attentiveness,
feeling it, inhabiting it,
enfolding it,
assessing its “charge”: how one feels implicated (i.e., compelled to act),
the force of memory,
detecting imagination in memory,
then awakening from imagining,
releasing the sense of “something there”, feeling it dissolve into the formless root of attention, feeling attention as no-self.
There. Which is Here.
It’s going backward through
the stages of priority
"upstream" of the creative process,
to awaken, undefined, as self-source — the Natural State, the experience of which feels like A Big, Divine Kosmic Kiss, which we may symbolize by the word,
"mmmmWAH!!!"
which is also what it feels like, as we dissolve into the undefined Condition.
See? No? You will.
He feels his position, attitude, standpoint, or whatever he is stuck with or is perpetuating — his knowledge, his chosen identity, his refuge to the immunity of rightness. Whatever it is, it’s a sensation, felt bodily, with a location, size, shape, and intensity in the overall body-sense (kinesthetic body, subtle body, etheric body, dream body). Feel each term. Pretty similar, huh?
It may occur to him that he may have “bought in to something” — assigning the status of “reality” to his memory-shaped-colored perspective in the world: “the truth” or “The Truth”, “oneself” or “the Self”. It may occur to him that, that he does not “have” it, but that it “has” him. That he lives “inside” it and is subject to its limitations, which he takes as a product of Reality and not a product of his way of remembering and seeing things, his perspective. To him, it’s solid, real, and consequential. The mood is, “This is real." or "This matters" (to a greater or lesser degree— but note: If something makes a difference to you, you’ve bought into it and it has you.)
He feels how much of this sense of “solid truth” or “things mattering with consequences” feels like memory and how much of memory feels like imagination. It’s a “feel” thing, not an “answer” that he comes up with. He traces the feeling from the sense of solid truth to memory to imagination.
He imagines the appearance of a scenario that’s developing and has expectations that are informed, in part, by memory, and so his perception is shaped by memory.
Remembering is re-imagining something into our experience. The seeming persistence, the solidity or reality of anything you can put your attention upon is memory. Memory fades unless refreshed by imagining. The denser the memory, the more persistent it is.The way we do it:
We put attention on the feeling of having some experience.
We sense the feeling of experience without words,
as a sensation someplace within us
We feel its size, shape, intensity.
We pump up our ability to sense our somatic state
with “attention maneuvers”.
We sense how much (not “what”) intention we have toward it
We notice how steadying attention solidifies intention.
We feel the whole package as a single, contained force:
the thing we are experiencing
and our intention toward it made solid by attention.
How intention + attention = memory.
Now, we feel how much it matters
in order to bring ourselves into the relationship
and acknowledge how much we are involved.
How much it matters has to do with our relation to the world.
Try it.
We may then own the intensity of the memory
even if we don’t know what the memory is
and we may sift that intensity
for the movements of imagining.
We feel how much it feels like “solid reality”, how much feels like memory, and how much of the memory feels a bit like imagining (or as we like to say, “daydreaming” or “being entranced”).
We feel “remembering” and “imagining” and alternate between them until we can zero in on each equally steadily and equally easily, and so can balance them. What makes it easier to alternate more to one side than the other is that we are more entranced by it. These words make sense with experience, but perhaps not before. Save yourself the brain-fog; instead of “trying to figure it out”, just do it. (Once.)
If you have trouble with this step, deliberately remember something. Feel what remembering feels like. Then imagine something. Feel what imagining feels like.
Now apply those distinctions to your sense of “solid truth”.
Feel the dissolution of his “fix” (or fixation) — the thing he has been perpetuating — as his discovery or sense of “how much of it is imagination” is “the little valve” through which the “air” that has inflated his sense of “solid truth” (and ego) escapes. Simpler if he just does Step 3. (Imagination is easier to let go than “solid truth”.)
He takes a breath, lets go and falls into his identity-less, natural state, at least for the moment. (Don’t do this while driving or try to understand this by reading it. Do the procedure. Do it well at least once.)
He checks the remaining intensity of the feeling. If anything is left, he starts at Step 1.
QUESTION: Would he quit being a Republican?
I ask you.
From here, we go to the first magical process for decrystallizing crystallized identity patterns:
The Gold Key Release
MORE:Other Magic Following Upon the Gold Key ReleaseThe Wish-Fulfilling Gem
Esoteric Somatics and Tibetan BuddhismSEARCH KEYWORDS:(to return to this entry again, later.
caring | | 42
harmony | 85 | 94
memory | | 89
identification | 7 | 148
perpetuation | 78 | 162
copyright 2014 Lawrence Gold
This writing may be reproduced only in its entirety
with accurate attribution of authorship.
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