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D'une construction remarquable, bien qu'effectuée à différentes époques, l'église de Polignac est un véritable joyau de l'art roman qui mérite une visite attentive. Le chœur est des Xème et XIème siècles, la nef du XIIème siècle, sauf la dernière travée, qui fut ajouté au siècle dernier. Ses dimensions : 30m de long, 14m de large et 12m de haut (sous voûte) en font un édifice remarquable pour une petite agglomération. L'église est (sauf la dernière travée à l'intérieur) construite en pierre taillée, ocre ou noire, provenant des coulées volcaniques de la Denise. Cette pierre se prêtant mal à la sculpture fine, a été remplacée pour la plupart des chapiteaux par la pierre blanche des carrières de Blavozy.
Le bâtiment comporte une nef centrale, deux nefs latérales et un transept incomplet. Les piliers massifs, en forme de croix, sont agrémentés dans les angles, par de belles colonnettes en fuseau, qui ornent également le pourtour de l'église.
L’existence de l’église Saint Martin est attestée dès 1062. Des chanoines y célèbrent la messe, jusqu’à ce que le vicomte de Polignac s’en empare. En 1128, l’évêque rétablit l’ordre des choses. En 1588 l’église est cédée sous la contrainte au Collège des Jésuites et rétrocédée en 1597. Mais en 1603 le Parlement Toulousain confirme le droit des Jésuites. Les villageois refusent alors de payer la dîme jusqu’en Juillet 1617, où le parlement Bordelais fait signer une transaction. L’intérieur de cette église romane, construite à partir de brèches volcaniques, mérite l’attention des visiteurs. Des fresques murales ont été mises à jour en 1923 et restaurées quelques années plus tard. La plus impressionnante demeure le jugement dernier à travers des tableaux de l’Enfer et du Paradis. Imposante par sa taille, l'église a été régulièrement restaurée dès le début du XIXème siècle.
Un grand merci pour vos favoris, commentaires, encouragements et critiques toujours très appréciés.
Many thanks for your much appreciated favorites and comments
Des mains d'agriculteur! Cette photo va être imprimée sur une très grande bâche à l'entrée d'un village d'Occitanie pour la période estivale. Fière.
The abbey was founded in 1129 by Duke Godfrey, surnamed "Barbatus" ("the Bearded"), who possessed an immense park near Leuven and had invited the Premonstratensians to take possession of a small church he had built there.
Walter, abbot of St Martin's, Laon, brought a colony of his canons and acted as their superior for nearly three years, until the canons, now in sufficient number, elected Simon, another canon of Laon, as their abbot. The canons performed the general work of the ministry in the district of Leuven, in opposition to the heretic Tanchelm.
In 1137 the abbot was able to found Ninove Abbey. Godfrey made the Abbot of the Park and his successors his archchaplains. Simon died on 30 March 1142 and was succeeded by Philip, whose correspondence with Saint Hildegard of Bingen was preserved in the Park Abbey archives. Philip and his successors enlarged the buildings and prepared the land for agriculture. At the time there a canon living in the abbey, Blessed Rabado, whose devotion to the Passion was attested by miracles.
Abbot Gerard van Goetsenhoven (1414–34) had much to do with the establishment of the Catholic University of Leuven, and was also delegated by John IV, Duke of Brabant to transact state affairs with the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy. Abbot van Tulden (1462–94) was successful in his action against commendatory abbots being imposed on religious houses in Belgium. Abbot van den Berghe (1543–58) managed the contributions levied in support of the Belgian theologians present at the resumed Council of Trent.
The abbey seen from across one of the fishponds
The abbey frequently suffered during the wars waged by William of Orange and the Calvinists. Abbots included Loots (1577–1583), van Vlierden (1583–1601), Jan Druys (1601–1634), Maes (1635–1647), De Pape (1648–1682), and van Tuycum (1682–1702). They all favoured higher education at the University of Leuven, and academic study flourished in the abbey.
Under Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the abbey was confiscated, because Abbot Wauters (died 23 November 1792) refused to send his religious to the general seminary erected by the emperor at Leuven. In the successful revolution against the emperor, the religious returned to their abbey. Wauters was succeeded by Melchior Nysmans (1793–1810).
Under the French Republic the abbey was confiscated again on 1 February 1797. At the request of the people the church was declared to be a parish church and was thus saved. The abbey was bought by a friendly layman who wished to preserve it for the religious, in better times. One of the canons, in the capacity of parish priest, remained in or near the abbey.
When Belgium was made a kingdom and religious freedom was restored, the surviving religious resumed community life and elected Peter Ottoy, then rural dean of Diest, as their superior.
In 1897 the abbey undertook the foundation of a priory in Brazil. (Wikipedia) Leuven, Belgium
Foire aux chameaux de Pushkar, état du Rajasthan, Inde.
Le soleil vient juste de se lever sur les bivouacs des marchands de chameaux de la foire de Pushkar mais il ne fait pas encore très chaud. Encore un peu ensommeillé, l'homme se pelotonne dans sa couverture avant de commencer une nouvelle journée de transactions.
Quelques centaines de marchands de dromadaires mais aussi de chevaux se donnent rendez-vous chaque année en novembre dans la plaine de Pushkar pour une manifestation certes commerciale durant laquelle sont négociés des milliers d'animaux, mais aussi religieuse, dédiée au dieu hindouiste Brahma. A cette occasion, de nombreuses activités commerciales, religieuses et festives animent la ville durant douze jours
L'actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Rémy est l'ancienne abbatiale de l'abbaye bénédictine fondée en 673 par saint Berchaire sur des terres données par le roi Childéric II. A la Révolution, l'ancienne église paroissiale de Montier-en-Der, du vocable de Saint-Rémy, fut détruite. Les paroissiens retrouvèrent un lieu de culte dans l'abbatiale inoccupée qui était alors dédiée à Notre-Dame et où ils continuèrent à célébrer leur ancien patron, saint Rémy.
L'abbé Adson (960-982) entreprit la reconstruction de l'église qui fut consacrée en 998 (il en subsiste les grandes arcades de la nef).
Au cours de la 1ère moitié du 11e siècle, on dota la nef de tribunes et d'un massif antérieur à tours et à la fin 12e on édifia le choeur et la tour de façade qui furent probablement achevés aux alentours de 1200.
Au 14e siècle, l'abbé Ferry éleva la chapelle des fonts au nord du choeur. Au début du 16e siècle, l'abbé commendataire François de Dinteville modifia la partie antérieure de l'église (reconstruction de la façade et destruction de sa tour septentrionale) et remplaça les charpentes des tribunes par des voûtes.
Une transaction fut passée le 6 février 1556 entre le cardinal Charles de Lorraine, archevêque de Reims et abbé commendataire, et Girard de Hault, procureur des habitants dépendants de l'abbaye pour que ces derniers effectuent 600 charrois pour la réparation de l'église (réfection des flèches des deux clochers de l'abbaye et de leur couverture en ardoise), d'autres travaux comme la démolition des corps de logis en bois de l'abbaye (maisons abbatiales, trésorerie, chantrerie, aumônerie, étables, prévôté) et reconstruire le mur de clôture de l'abbaye avec quatre tours à canonnière, un pont-levis et une herse à l'entrée.
En 1773, les bâtiments abbatiaux furent reconstruits puis transformés en haras en 1811 et enfin rasés en 1860.
Sous l'impulsion de Prosper Mérimée, le choeur, la chapelle axiale et le déambulatoire furent restaurés par Emile Boeswillwald entre 1851-1855 et 1860-1863. Son fils, Paul-Louis Boeswillwald, reconstruisit la charpente de la nef, brûlée par un incendie en 1893, et les parties supérieures du clocher entre 1896 et 1901.
L'édifice fut bombardé et incendié le 14 juin 1940 ce qui entraîna un grand chantier de restauration dès 1941 et la reconstruction quasi-totale de la nef sous la direction de Jacques Laurent, architecte en chef des Monuments Historiques. Cette phase de travaux s'acheva au milieu des années 1950 mais la flèche de la tour ne fut posée qu'en 1982
Imaged during the night of the 3-4 March this is an image of the galaxy triplet in the constellation of Leo.
Two of the galaxies were catalogued by Charles Messier, M66 (top left) and M65 (bottom left). The third galaxy (right) is found in the NGC Catalogue as NGC 3628.
NGC 3628 is popularly known as the "Hamburger Galaxy" due to its edge on appearance to us said to resemble a Hamburger.....!
Lying at a distance of 35 million light-years from us they are a true group of interacting systems.
Our viewpoint means we see the three galaxies at different angles. NGC appears edge-on - displaying lots of dust and a prominent dust lane.
M65 & M66 are inclined enough so that their spiral arms are visible.
The three systems are very different in character.
M66 is a barred and shows a high rate of star formation with numerous tell-tale red/pink areas of glowing hydrogen gas. Its spiral arms are also deformed, indicative of interactive gravitational forces within the group.
M65 is an intermediate spiral and is poor in dust and star formation. It appears the least affected by interaction showing a more or less classical spiral shape.
NGC3628 is an unbarred spiral which we see edge on. The galaxy is transacted by a broad band of dust which stretches along its outer edge hiding young stars in the galaxy arms.
Imaged with an Esprit 120ED with flattener and a cooled ZWO 2600MC camera.
Thanks for looking!
As I’ve recounted in prior postings, the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam which became New York after the war between Great Briton and the Netherlands originated on the southern tip of the island of Manhattan, it is the oldest part of the city. The age of the area which was organized prior to the grid pattern of streets that dominates the rest of the island which really only has Broadway traversing diagonally across the pattern, explain why it streets cross and turn sometimes without logic; remember that Broadway was in fact an original Lenape Indian trail. I enjoy walking this part of the city, without the grid pattern, you end up in a different direction before you know it. It is just east of the aforementioned Broadway at the intersection of Liberty Street and Liberty Place that one encounters 65 Liberty Street what today is the International Commercial Bank of China. However as captured on this image on the buildings restored façade, etched in the stone above its six two story columns are carved “1768 Chamber of Commerce 1901” which reveals the edifice’s original purpose. Opening in 1902 though its cornerstone was actually laid on November 8, 1901 (which is what the 1901 stands for) and it was a designed by James B. Baker during the City Beautiful Movement that spawned the architectural masterpieces such as the majestic entrance to the Manhattan Bridge that I posted previously
[ flic.kr/p/pqXEUq ]. The architect Baker’s design was French Renaissance Eclectic Style. What is captured in this image is the top of the building from Liberty Street, reminiscent of the Paris Opera House with large fluted columns, topped by a gently curved mansard copper clad roof with distinct ornate dormers which contained the the Assembly Hall where most of the gatherings for the Chamber of Commerce of New York State were held during its heyday.
What is the 1768 stand for? That is when a group of twenty New York City merchants met on April 5th at Bolton and Sigel's Tavern (today Fraunces Tavern [ flic.kr/p/CcLpzj ]) to forge a mercantile union that would promote and protect their collective interests, which was initially called ‘The New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry”. Yes, it predated the American Revolutionary War and in 1770 was granted a royal charter from good old King George III himself, incorporating as “the Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce in the City of New York in America.” It survived the British occupation of New York City during the Revolutionary War as it was a divided organization, the Patriots left New York City when the Brits arrived, but the Loyalist remained and continued to hold meetings and transact business in the city. The organization grew, though for its first century it was a gypsy of sorts, moving from location to location. Initially meeting at Bolton and Sigel’s Tavern, in 1770 after receiving their royal charter it moved its home-base to the Royal Exchange. After the British evacuation in 1783, the organization moved to the Merchants' Coffee House building where the following year they received a new charter reincorporating it as "the Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York." A decade later in 1793 the organization migrated across the street to the Tontine Association. In 1827 the Chamber of Commerce took over the Merchants Exchange Building until the great New York City fire of 1835 found the organization moving to the Merchants Bank located on Wall Street. It was during this time the powerful Chamber of Commerce heavily pushed with it influence the building of the Erie Canal citing the interest of serving regional commerce which greatly contributed to the development of the ever growing New York City. The sphere of influence of the organization was far reaching during most of the 19th Century, expansion of New York City’s water & waste water system, the building of a rapid transit system for the city, even health initiatives like developing measures to protect New York during the cholera outbreaks of the 1890’s were championed by the visionary members of this group.
The organization continued to grow in power and influence at the turn of the 20th Century, and it was actually in 1897 that the Chamber of Commerce began a building fund to build a permanent and proper headquarters. After securing the location at 65 Liberty Street, they chose James B. Baker to design the building. The building would open in November of 1902 with an impressive list of guest attending the opening ceremony including sitting US President Theodore Roosevelt (a New York City native), former president Grover Cleveland (a Caldwell New Jersey native), the French & British Ambassadors, New York City Mayor Seth Low, the Consul Generals of Russia, Germany and Britan as well as several European Royals. The building was not completely finished at the opening; eventually in 1903 three donated statues were placed in the three spans between the fluted columns, statues of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and De Witt Clinton. Then in 1921 architects Helmle & Corbett began a major remodeling which required that the building be closed for six months reopening in January of 1922. The organization remained in the magnificent white Vermont marble building until 1980; it being designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and National Historic Landmark in 1977. The Chamber of Commerce moved in with an affiliate organization, The New York City Partnership in 1980. In 2002 the two organizations merged into The Partnership for New York City and sadly that is where New York Chamber of Commerce ended its existence, which was amongst the oldest merchant organizations in the States.
Before the International Commercial Bank of China completely moved into the historic edifice in this image, extensive restoration was done by Haines Lundberg Waehler in 1991. The damage of acid rain and pollution had deteriorated the white marble façade of the building to the extent that it required 25,000 tons of white Vermont marble to accomplish the restoration. Sadly the three aforementioned statues of Hamilton, Jay and Clinton as well as a statue of Mercury were beyond repair when the restoration was completed in 1992.
Captured on Olympus E-5 using an Olympus Zuiko 12-60MM F2.8-4.0 SWD lens hand held processed with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
Project 365 (one photo per day for 2022 taken on 5x4 large format film)
Event: Project 365
Location: Bedroom at home
Camera: Wista 45VX
Lens(s): Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Symmar 210mm f/5.6
Film: Ilford Delta 100
Shot ISO: 80
Light Meter: Minolta Spot Meter F
Movements: Rear swing, front swing, front tilt forwards, front rise
Bellows: 240mm (+0.33)
Exposure: 1s @ f/32
Lighting: Vivanco VL300 - 11:45am
Mounting: Tripod - Manfrotto
Firing: Cable release
Developer: Ilford DD-X(1+4)
Scanner: Epson V800
Post: Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop (dust removal)
Best viewed LARGE size. This drawing of the William Henry Sternberg residence at 1065 North Waco Avenue appeared in the 1887 Wichita City Directory. The house is still standing today (09/2010) and looks much the same except for maintenance and upkeep on the structure and the south chimney is temporarily down due to structural instability. Sternberg Mansion is the only one of the "Fabulous 10" homes (see photostream for the Fabulous 10 flyer) to survive from Wichita's economic boom of the 1870s and 1880s. The house incorporates a variety of Sternberg design elements also seen on other Sternberg-designed Sternberg-built homes such multiple ornate chimney flues that corbel down through the second and/or first floors, diamond designs within the slate roof, a zig-zag "V"-shaped design at the very apex of the roof, one and only one half-moon window in the entire structure and located on the 3rd floor, an asymmetrical roofline broken with multiple dormers and pitches, a triangular porch roof over the main entry way with a square porch over that, second and third story windows held together with decorative designs which give the appearance of a two-story enclosure, multiple fuctional porches on the first and second levels and decorative porches (too small to be functional) appearing on the 3rd level, a fourth floor dormer with windows, uncovered stairs entering into the home, large heavy carved double front doors, a plethora of decorative gingerbread ornamentation, two-story bay windows separated with bands of fishscales between the first and second story and many other features common to Sternberg.
William Henry Sternberg was a highly skilled and popular builder during Wichita’s boom years of the 1870s and 1880s. Mr. Sternberg came to Kansas from New York in 1875. He grew up on a family farm in Norwich, New York helping his father in the family saw mill, felling and hauling trees, cutting lumber, woodworking and working as a carpenter on local homes and buildings. As years passed and Sternberg continued working as a contractor and a carpenter, his skills in building grew and he became well-known throughout New York State for his elegant and innovative building designs, his integrity, work quality and prudent approach to costs. People far and wide knew of his reputation for quality and knew him as a fair man in dealing with customers. Partly as a result of his reputation for being a fair and honest man in addition to his first-rate work as a builder, he was elected Mayor of Norwich for a period of several years. Although comfortable with his life in New York, Mr. Sternberg increasingly heard about Wichita, Kansas ~ a rapidly growing nucleus on the plains. Indeed the growth bubble (from the late 1870’s until about 1890) was so significant that Wichita was by some estimates the fastest growing city in the country! At one point, the absolute value of real estate transactions in Wichita ranked it the third highest in the nation in terms of dollars transacted. This was behind only New York City (#1) and Kansas City (#2). People were speculating on land and buildings and making handsome profits in return.
“In the first five months of 1887 real estate transactions
totaled $34,893,565 according to Dunn and Bradstreet’s
reports. Wichita was third in the nation in total real estate
transactions. Only New York and Kansas City were ahead
of Wichita (in terms of volume). Chicago was fourth having
$33,173,950 in transactions.”
However, in terms of the dollar value of real estate transactions per capita, Wichita was first in the country for a period of several years in the mid-late 1880s, because New York City and Kansas City had much larger populations to produce a similar amount of real estate transactions. The volume of real estate transactions going on in Wichita was a little surprising to say the least (shocking may be a better word) because in the 1870s,1880s and 1890s, New York City was the largest city (population-wise) in the country. Kansas City was around the 75th largest city of the top 100 cities in the U.S. and Wichita didn't even figure into the top 100 largest cities until the 1920 census! In terms of population numbers, New York boasted 1,206,299 in 1880. Kansas City came in at 55,785 in 1880 and Wichita came in 4,911 in 1880 but had more dollars of real estate being transacted per person than a city 10 times its size (KC) or even 250 times its size (NYC)! With its new found wealth, Wichita was progressive in its early days and news of its budding wealth traveled the country. Evidence of its progressive spirit was noted with much fanfare on May 23, 1873 when Wichita’s first regularly-scheduled electrified street cars (trolley cars) began shuttling people between the bustling downtown and the outskirts of the city. Three years later, Wichita installed several hundred nighttime electric street lamps throughout downtown, while still retaining some of its existing gas and “vapor” lamps. Then, in 1882 Wichita began installing an underground water system with corner hydrants for fire suppression. In this year, Wichita contracted with a St. Louis firm for laying a 14-inch main, six inch supply pipes and a total of 60 hydrants throughout the city. This system was finished, tested and in operation by Spring of 1883.
Spying an opportunity for building, Mr. Sternberg moved his family to Wichita and after only a few months, was successfully bidding contracts, hiring workers and constructing buildings at a frenzied pace. The economic bubble of Wichita in the 1880s was perhaps the most dynamic growth spurts of any city in American history. Wealth sprung up practically overnight. Land offices implemented numbering systems and pecking rules for the crowds frequently waiting outside to get in. Not uncommonly, people camped out overnight in front of the land offices to get an early ticket for the next day. Indeed, wealth was fast and easy and people such as William Griffenstein, George Pratt, Bertrand H. Campbell and John O. Davidson displayed their newly found wealth by building palatial mansions of the highest quality and most extraordinary craftsmanship. When Wichita’s well-to-do wanted homes or buildings, W.H. Sternberg was the builder of choice by a wide margin. The 1888 book, Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kansas (Chapman Brothers; Chicago, 1888) in which Sternberg is noted, states about him:
“Ninety brick stores in Wichita stand as monuments of
his skill and industry, besides numberless other
buildings, probably twice as many as have been put
up by any other contractor in the city.”
Not long after coming to Wichita, Mr. Sternberg used a marketing approach – common today, but relatively unheard of at the time, called a “spec home”. The spec home he built was his own (drawing above) and it was a huge 7,500 sq. ft. showcase home that contained virtually every ornamental and stylish feature that he and his crews could muster. He located his home on the most elite street in Wichita at the time ~ Waco Avenue (as it was to become). Before Waco became the “elite street” of Wichita, city planners named it “Waco Street”. As elegant mansions continued to appear on Waco, property owners in this well-dressed district became dissatisfied with the designation of “Street”, so local residents petitioned the City and officially had the name changed to “Avenue” to be more in keeping with the fashionable tone of the neighborhood. Today, the official name of "Waco" is actually "Waco Avenue". Mr. Sternberg reckoned that showcasing the capabilities and ornate building skills of the construction trade would draw customers to him, and it proved to be a very successful technique. Even back in 1886 when he completed his Victorian gingerbread mansion people acknowledged it was something extraordinary. His worthy showcase mansion was written up in the newspapers as well as the 1888 Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick, County, Kansas as follows,
“The residence of Mr. Sternberg, a handsome and costly structure, is beautifully located on a rise of ground commanding a fine view of its surroundings. Within and without it bears the evidence of refined tastes and ample means, and it is universally admired by all who have occasion to pass it.”
Even before the Sternberg’s mansion was finished, the newspaper was remarking about its exceptional characteristics as the September 6, 1886 edition of the Wichita Beacon commented,
“Mr. Sternberg is building for his own use a fine residence on the corner of 10th and Waco Streets. Judging by the foundation it will be one of the largest and finest in the city.”
Within weeks after finishing his home at 1065 North Waco Avenue, Mr. Sternberg was flooded with requests to build other fine mansions for Wichita’s “polite society”. And in 1887 and 1888, Sternberg and his crews built first-class mansions and buildings all over Wichita as quickly as they could.
The Sternberg Mansion at 1065 North Waco Avenue is historically significant because it represents the height of elegance, style and Victorian housing dreams at the height of one of the greatest sustained economic booms in American history . . . it was the height of pure style and “refined tastes” on “Wichita’s Fifth Avenue,” when money was easy and the future was indeed bright. That the Sternberg Mansion is historically significant is demonstrated in part by the fact that it is listed on the: (1) National Register of Historic Places, (2) the Register of Historic Kansas Places, and (3) the Wichita Register of Historic Places. But there are additional reasons that speak for the historical significance of the Sternberg Mansion . . . The house at 1065 North Waco Avenue and its builder W. H. Sternberg are historically significant for a number of “firsts”. Sternberg set precedence in building design at a time when style and social status was highly important and people had the money to express it. Sternberg (unlike other home designers and builders of the day) built custom features into his homes that allowed the occupants to enjoy their home more, such as low rise stairs, windows at the apex of the home which create strong upward movement of air through the home and staircases that turn allowing access while maintaining privacy. In addition to an extensive use of smaller more intimate porches in his homes and particularly romantic highly corbelled chimney flues, Sternberg was also the first builder in Wichita to construct a very practical laundry chute into a home (the first home in Wichita to have a laundry chute was the Pratt house at 1313 North Emporia). The idea of such a feature so that people didn’t have to climb up and down stairs was new and unheard of in 1887, but Sternberg believed a home should be both beautiful and comfortable. It was new and trend-setting features such laundry chutes, ornate porches, better ventilation, floor plans and walls that visually enlarged the home yet kept personal areas private and his ability to create exceptional milled gingerbread work that brought acclaim and respect to Sternberg. Other builders simply didn’t offer such features, and most didn’t have the expertise to do so.
In early Wichita before there were wood millworking shops with millworking equipment, local saw mills would attempt to create ornate millwork on ordinary saws and equipment for example by holding the wood pieces and cutting curves. But more often than not this didn't work. Pieces frequently broke or were cut the wrong way and when a final piece was struck, the wood was often quite rough especially in curved areas - not meeting Sternbergs standards for high quality millwork.
In New York state where Sternberg grew up and worked for many years before coming to Wichita, he is credited with being the first person to build a Mansard-style roof. The concept was made popular at the 1855 Worlds Fair in Paris - which reports indicate Sternberg attended. A mansard roof is a French style that allows more unencumbered space on the attic level than a traditional pitched roof does. Although not an architect by training, Sternberg often had considerable input into the design and layout of the homes he built. Indeed Sternberg publically advertised himself as an architect. Many of his customers, unaware of the need for an architect at the time when deciding to build a house, would contact Sternberg first when they wanted to build and then it was Sternberg who would usually contact an architect of his choice and advise the architect on what the home-owner wanted and could afford. So the architect (if there was one) would frequently follow Sternberg's ideas and designs. Sternberg was the first recorded builder to and use an “outside” (New York) architect purely for style and design in a Wichita residence. The house, designed by Stanford White and built by Sternberg was the Charles R. Miller residence at 507 S. Lawrence Avenue (now Broadway Street). Stanford White although building a national reputation would a few years later would receive national acclaim for his designs including Madison Square Garden in New York as well as many homes for the Vanderbilts, the Astors, Joseph Pulitzer and other notables of the day. The design and construction of this Sternberg-built home that Stanford White-designed was eye-catching and charming to Wichitans of the day and the local Wichita Beacon in April 18, 1883 commented about the house,
“It will be of brick, 40 x 44 feet in area, with basement
eight feet, two stories above that, and a ten foot mansard
attic. The basement will be used for a steam heater,
laundry, coal, etc. The facades will be broken by swells,
bay windows and porches. It will be one of the finest
in southern Kansas.”
Obviously, Sternberg felt that for some exceptional projects, local architects were not up to the task, and Sternberg liked the press attention. What's more and another “first” for Sternberg is that he was the only builder during the 1870s-1880s working in Wichita to have also built major public and private buildings in at least two other states. No other builders in Wichita at the time are known to have done anything outside the area. In addition, he’s the only builder during Wichita’s boom period to have his works from three states (Kansas Missouri and New York) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally his 30 years of experience in the lumber business grading qualities of woods and knowing the particular characteristics of various woods allowed Sternberg to build with exceptional quality. Arguably he provided the highest quality and was the most highly skilled builder of the day in Wichita. An article from November 2, 1969 in the Eagle-Beacon newspaper noted the quality of the Sternberg Mansion,
“It was built to last with joists
of 2 by 8-inch timbers, and wood-
work of pine so hard it will not take
a regular nail and one interior
wall that is 15 inches thick.”
Indeed modern-day carpenters have remarked when doing remodel work on Sternberg Mansion that “when hammering, nails, they bend before they go into the wood;” even today the wood still prefers to bend nails.” For Sternberg’s own residence and for other first-class houses, Sternberg selected only the highest grades of lumber, had them cut extra thick and insisted they be cut to maximize the wood grain for the particular use of the wood. Sternberg was a dedicated builder ~ he loved woodworking and building and he was still bidding and building up until about a month before his death (1906). Mr. Sternberg’s passion for Wichita, Kansas wasn’t just a passing affair when the boom period ended, either. After moving to Wichita in 1875, he remained in Wichita for 31 years until his death in August, 1906. His two sons continued living and working in Wichita for many years after their father’s death and almost the entire family including W. H. Sternberg is buried in Wichita. The current owner is pursuing an additional status of “National Historic Landmark” for the Sternberg Mansion ~ identifying it as a structure worthy of national attention, partly based on the fact that Sternberg built structures throughout the country that today are designated historical, but in addition, historic information indicates that Sternberg built a fair amount of temporary housing for people moving to the area to take part in various land rushes. Not uncommonly, people would move Wichita (as it was the largest major town close to the Oklahoma border) or between Wichita and the Oklahoma border sometimes two to three years in advance of a land rush. Tens of housands of people did this and land rushes were opened several different times (there wasn't just one land rush). Sternberg was directly involved in helping with housing for these people getting ready to take part in a land rush and thereby helping to settle the western frontier.
Of the surviving local homes and buildings that W.H. Sternberg built or contributed to, not all are protected with historic designation. Following are some of the structures that Sternberg and his crews constructed. Note the Carey Hotel (originally called the "Carey House but now the Eaton Apartments) and Garfield University (now Friends University) had multiple contractors. Sternberg wasn’t the sole contractor on these two buildings, but he did contribute significantly to their erection (such as the ornamental stonework, window headers, windows, doors and interior carpentry). These two buildings (the Eaton and Friends) are protected on historical registers. It was somewhat unusual in Sternberg’s day with buildings as large and lavish as the Carey Hotel or Garfield University to have only one contractor do all the work. To Sternberg’s credit, however, he was the sole contractor on the Sedgwick County Courthouse.
List of Confirmed Sternberg-designed and built structures:
1)Alfred W. Bitting residence - Wichita
2)Finlay Ross residence - Wichita
3)Sternberg Mansion - Wichita
4)High School building - Wichita
5)Expansion of the Occidental and renovations to it - Wichita
6)County Poor House – 1886 in Wichita - Wichita
7)Garfield Memorial Hall (corner of 1st and Water) - Wichita
8)Carey Hotel (carpentry all doors, windows and interior woodwork) - Wichita
9)Sedgwick County Courthouse - Wichita
10)First Ward School - Wichita
11)City Hall and Government Building in Springfield Missouri - Springfield
12)Gettos Block Building in Wichita – Wichita (SW corner of Main & Second St)
13)Second Ward School in Wichita
14)Garfield University (Friends University Administration Building) - Wichita
15)The Methodist Church in Guilford New York
16)The Chenango County Poor House in New York
17)The Methodist Episcopal Church in Norwich New York
18)The residence of Charles Merritt in Norwich New York
19)The store of John O. Hill & Company in New York
20)The residence of Warren Newton in New York
21)An elegant mansion for himself in New York which had the first Mansard roof – Norwich, NY
22)New Telephone Building (on North Market immediately south of Hose House #1) - Wichita
23)New Baptist Church (begun in September 1883 in Wichita, Kansas) - Wichita
24)Ferrell’s Brick Block (opposite the Post Office) in Wichita
25)The house and two lots adjoining Mr. Barnes on North Lawrence Avenue – enlarging it and raising it to occupy himself - Wichita
26)The new Masonic Temple (formerly the YMCA building) - Wichita
27)Masonic home and the limestone buildings on its grounds - Wichita
28)Four story brick building for W.H. Porter @ 211 – 213 E. Douglas - Wichita
29)Additions to the Masonic Home (June 1904) - Wichita
30)Congregational Church (October 1885) - Wichita
31)Naftzger Building (three stories high, corner of St. Francis and Douglas 50’ X 140’) - Wichita
32)Central Power Station of the Wichita Electric Railway Company (June 1890) - Wichita
33)The Little-Reed Building - Wichita
34)Two homes for Kos Harris - Wichita
35)Four homes on the 1200 block of North Waco Avenue – Wichita
1231 North Waco Avenue – Russell Harding Superintendent MO Pacific Rail Road
1235 North Waco Avenue – Robert A. Hamilton – 1891 (Manager of Whittaker P H).
1235 North Waco Avenue, W E Reeves
1230 N. Waco Avenue – Mr. George B. Chapman in 1891 and Miss Sarah
Chapman in 1891 (Chapman & Walker)
36)One brick home on University Avenue – Wichita (1813 W. University Avenue in Wichita, Kansas)
37)The Hydraulic Mills - Wichita
38)The old Post Office and Federal Building - Wichita
39)Two old frames on the west side of Main belonging to Emil Werner to put up a two story brick building with a 50 foot front - Wichita
40)Residence of C.N. Lewis in Wichita - Wichita
41)Residence of Albert. W. Oliver in Wichita - Wichita
43)Residence of Aaron Katz in Wichita Katz Aaron, prop Philadelphia store, r 420 s Main
44) Residence of Mark J. Oliver at 1105 North Lawrence in Wichita
45)Residence of Hiram. Imboden in Wichita
46)Residence of M.W. Levy (1st and Topeka) - Wichita
47)Residence of Peter Gettos in Wichita – Wichita (255 N. Water)
48)Residence of Reuben H. Roys in Wichita - Roys Reuben H, atty 217 e Douglas, r 1127 n Lawrence
49)Residence of Finlay Ross in Wichita - Wichita
50)Residence of William H. Whitman in Wichita
51)Residence of Jacob Henry Aley @ 1505 Fairview in Wichita
52)Residence of Robert E. Gutherie on Third Street in Wichita
53)Residence of J.R. Van Zandt in Wichita
54)Residence of George Pratt (now the Pratt Campbell Mansion on Emporia in Wichita)
55)Residence of C.W. Bitting (corner of Pine and Lawrence) - Wichita
56)Residence of A.W. Bitting in Wichita - Wichita
57)Residence of Judge James L. Dyer in Wichita
58)Residence of Charles M Jones in Wichita
59)Residence of Dr. G.E. McAdams in Wichita
60)Residence of Charles Smyth in Wichita
61)Residence of Dr. J. Russell in Wichita
62)Eads Block Building - Wichita
63)Smyth & Sons Block Building - Wichita
64)Fletcher Block Building - Wichita
65)Union Block (corner of Douglas and Water) – Wichita
66)Temple Block Building - Wichita
67)Bitting Block Building / Bitting Building (corner of Market and Douglas) - Wichita
68)Elliott’s Store - Wichita
69)Peter Getto’s Store - Wichita
70)Finlay Ross’s Furniture Store (corner of Main and 1st Street 119 & 121 N. Main) - Wichita
71)Roys Block at the corner of Lawrence and Douglas - Wichita Roys Block 217 219 227 and 229 e Douglas
72)Market Street Block (August 1887) – Wichita
Count: 75 structures Sternberg confirmed either built or did significant work on.
The 6 buildings below (all still standing) are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Sternberg either designed, built or both:
1)Sternberg Mansion
2)Friends University Administration Building
3)Sedgwick County Courthouse
4)Eaton Hotel (formerly the Carey Hotel)
5)Occidental Hotel Building
6)Methodist Episcopal Church in Norwich New York (brick)
In all W. H. Sternberg built hundreds and hundreds of buildings and homes in Wichita alone after moving here in 1875. Other homes and buildings he is known to have built before coming to Wichita include: (1) the Methodist Church in Guilford, New York, (2) the Chenango County Poor House in Norwich, New York, (3) the Methodist Episcopal Church in Norwich, New York at a cost of $47,000, he later completed the beautiful case inside this church for the church organ, (4) the residence of Charles Merritt in Norwich, New York at a cost of $35,000, (5) the store of John O. Hill & Co. at a cost of $23,000, (6) the residence of Warren Newton in New York and (7) “an elegant mansion for himself” which had the first mansard roof in the town.
Mr. Sternberg was a remarkable man. In 1888, Chapman Brothers in Chicago, Illinois printed an expensive first-class volume of notable persons in Sedgwick County, Kansas ~ a sort of “Who’s Who” of the time. At the time, Wichita was growing so fast, the value of real estate transactions during the 1880s ranked Wichita third largest city in the country behind only New York and Kansas City. The book, entitled “Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.” Contained “Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County together with Portraits and biographies of all the governors of Kansas, and of the Presidents of the United States.” Mr. Sternberg is listed on pages 190 – 191 in the Album. His biography notes:
“William H. Sternberg, who is one of the prominent citizens
of Wichita, arrived here in time to assist in the building up of
the town, the growth of which has been phenomenal. He has
been one of the most interested witnesses of its progress
and development, and no unimportant factor in bringing it to
its present proud position. As a man of influence, public
spirit and liberal, this brief record of his history will be more
than ordinarily interesting to those who are identified in any
way with the business or industrial interests of one of the
leading cities of the West.”
In addition the biography noted that,
“Ninety brick stores in Wichita stand as monuments of
his skill and industry, besides numberless other
buildings, probably twice as many as have been
put up by any other contractor in the city.”
Sternberg is credited in Masonic history books as being one of three key individuals whose work and labors were instrumental in reviving the early (and struggling) Masons movement in Wichita particularly by giving the Masons a grand and wonderful place in which to conduct their activities. W.H. Sternberg was an active and devoted member of the Mason's movement in Wichita and even though Sternberg didn't originally build the Scottish Rite Temple, after the somewhat impoverished Mason's acquired it, he undertook and completed extensive renovations to the interior of it (without any expectation of compensation at the time - although the Masons did later compensate Sternberg for his work on this building).
And as always, whatever the job, W. H. Sternberg was noted for work of the finest quality and expertise. Mr. Sternberg had a reputation for only hiring the best workers which sometimes was hard to do as the building boom created quite a shortage of workers, never-the-less, he was known for the fact that he and “his workmen should be persons of the highest skill and reliability.” In 1888, just two years after. Sternberg personally built and constructed his own “showcase” mansion for himself, it was written up in the Portrait and Biographical Album as though it was undeniably a special residence in Wichita . . . .
“The residence of Mr. Sternberg, a handsome and costly
structure is beautifully located on a rise of ground
commanding a fine view of its surroundings. Within and
without it bears the evidence of refined tastes and ample
means, and is universally admired by all who have
occasion to pass it.”
Today, historical authorities who know the Sternberg Mansion lay accolades on it for its style, its authentic representation of Victorian influence, its extreme ornamentation and its first-rate quality throughout. The following is an excerpt from the City of Wichita’s Historic Landmark website (www.wichitagov.org/Residents/History/Listing51-60) about the Sternberg Mansion:
“William H. Sternberg, a prominent builder during Wichita's
economic boom days of the 1880's built his own resi-
dence in 1886, incorporating the Victorian penchant
for "gingerbread" millwork with this extravagantly gabled
Queen Anne-styled home. This house is one of a few
remaining homes of this elaborate style in the city and
is regarded as a quintessential product of the late
Queen Anne residential design and stylistic features.
From its native stone foundation to the four corbelled
brick chimneys with their decorative flues, the house
served as a showcase for the builder's trade including
colored glass window panes, stained glass windows in
the ornate stairway, several fireplaces and combination
gas/electric chandeliers. The two and one-half story
residence also has porches projecting from each of
the three main elevations.”
A quote in the Wichita Eagle-Beacon from Wichita’s Historic Preservation Officer, Marian Cone on April 10, 1977 stated about the mansion,
“The Sternberg Mansion…is unusual in that its
eclectic style incorporates all the elements Stern-
berg could fabricate…Sternberg used his own
home as a sort of ‘model home,’ a tangible ex-
ample of his expertise for prospective customers…
it is the only remaining Queen Anne-style man-
sion of its size in the city and it is a magnificent
example of architecture…The use of exterior
wood in patterns is most unusual as are the var-
iations of the use of colored and plain glass.
The leaded and stained glass windows on the
landing of the very ornate staircase are most
unusual in that they are of a geometric pattern
not common until the 1920s.”
Yet another article about the Sternberg Mansion in the Eagle-Beacon in November 16, 1976 states,
“The house, built in 1886 by William H. Stern-
berg, one of Wichita’s foremost builders during
the city’s early boom days, is the only remaining
Queen Anne style mansion of this size in the city.
It is seen as a magnificent example of Victorian
architecture, with most of the original detailing
and gingerbread on the exterior, a large walnut
staircase, wood paneling, and six fireplaces.”
And Mr. Sternberg located his first-rate mansion in Wichita’s finest district at the time (on Waco Avenue). Yet another article appearing in the Wichita Evening Eagle on August 3, 1933 comments,
“in the early ‘70s (1870s)…Waco avenue was
‘the elite’ street. Waco avenue in the very early
day was considered to be the best residential street
and many believed that when the city grew large it
would be the choice residence district of the city.”
Indeed, W. H. Sternberg was an extraordinary person in Wichita at a time when the rest of the country was curiously taking note of this fast-growing prairie town. His work as a contractor, his involvement in civic groups, his reputation for doing the highest quality work possible, his reputation for being hard-working and fair to all, his diligence to hire only the most highly skilled workers and his pioneering ideas in building style and function bestowed to the people of Wichita and beyond an authentic Victorian legacy to be enjoyed by all for generations to come.
Your comments, ideas, thoughts and/or stories about this drawing or this place (Sternberg Mansion) are greatly appreciated and welcomed!
La tour Agbar, est un gratte-ciel de Barcelone en Catalogne, datant du début du xxie siècle. Elle a été dessinée par l'architecte français Jean Nouvel en collaboration avec la société b720 Fermin Vazquez Arquitectos. La tour a ouvert ses portes en juin 2005, et a été inaugurée officiellement par la famille royale d'Espagne le 16 septembre 2005.
Le 16 novembre 2013, il est annoncé que le gratte-ciel a été racheté par la chaîne hôtelière Hyatt et qu'il sera transformé en hotel de luxe. La transaction s'élève à 150 millions d'euros1,2.
Il offre 30 000 m2 de bureaux, 3 210 m2 pour les services techniques et 8 351 m2 destinés à des fonctions diverses, avec notamment un auditorium et des parkings, pour une superficie totale de 50 693 m2. La tour Agbar mesure 145 mètres de haut et comporte 38 étages, dont quatre en sous-sol.
Son design mêle différentes conceptions en matière d'architecture : une structure en béton armé, entièrement recouverte d'une façade de verre, créant plus de 4 400 fenêtres.
Cette tour est devenue l'un des bâtiments les plus remarquables de Barcelone, occupant désormais la troisième place en termes de hauteur, derrière l'Hôtel Arts et la Tour Mapfre, qui culminent tous deux à 154 mètres. Elle est située sur l'avenue Diagonale, près de la Place des Glòries Catalanes. Le bâtiment possède, intégrés à sa façade, plus de 4 000 dispositifs de types DEL qui permettent la création d'images sur les parois extérieures. De plus, des capteurs de température, placés à l'extérieur du gratte-ciel, permettent d'agir sur l'ouverture ou la fermeture des fenêtres, et par là même, de réduire la consommation d'énergie du dispositif d'air conditionné. Ce bâtiment abritera le siège du groupe Aigües de Barcelona, la Société des Eaux de Barcelone.
La tour s'éclaire différemment lors des équinoxes, d'ailleurs, son inauguration a eu lieu quelques jours avant l'équinoxe d'automne (21 septembre).
La Torre Agbar est appelée par les Barcelonais par le joli surnom de « suppositoire » (supositori). Un surnom en verdict populaire qui reste assez réducteur pour qualifier ce projet.
L'ambition délibérée fut de créer une icône pour la ville de Barcelone s'inscrit dans un contexte de profusion architecturale en Asie et dans les pays du Golfe a conduit à choisir l'architecte super-star Jean Nouvel. La Torre Agbar répond doublement à l'architecte super-star anglais Norman Foster, qui a fait sa marque de fabrique la production de "bâtiments symboliques" ("New Symbol...), comme l’exceptionnelle tour de communication de Barcelone justement, ou encore la tour londonienne en forme d'ogive conçue en 2004 appelée le Gherkin, le "cornichon" par les Londoniens. Mais ici pour insérer la Torre Agbar dans la ville de Barcelone, les architectes font appel à l’héritage architectural de Barcelone, et plus précisément à l’œuvre de l'architecte GAUDI selon deux références claires, la forme et la couleur.
1-Le profil de la tour est une parabole (x2) appelée chaine, catène ou caténa par les architectes : La simple suspension d'une chaine permet d'obtenir la courbe d'égale tension, en inversant nous déduisons la courbe d'égale compression, tel fut l’extraordinaire apport de Gaudi, à la pensée constructive et à l'esthétique de la ville ainsi qu'à l'architecture en général. Ici, seule l'enveloppe offre cette expression de catène, on peut regretter que la structure ne l'ai pas suivie (si ici le dogme fonctionnaliste s'applique à cette tour « form follows functions », disait Louis Sullivan, on peut regretter que la forme ne suive pas la structure comme le prônait Gaudi et bien d'autres architectes, on peut se demander quelle fut la part d'innovation structurelle ici? Il semble que ce ne fut pas l'ambition du projet.
2-Les couleurs miroitantes modulables sont aussi une belle interprétation contemporaine des revêtements en céramiques multicolore des façades et cheminées de l’œuvre de Gaudi.
Mais au delà des références symboliques relatives à la ville ou à la concurrence entre architectes ou entre les métropoles, on retrouve dans ce projet une constance de l’œuvre de Jean Nouvel : vouloir rendre les bâtiments vivants, cette ambition poétique est atteinte dans le projet de double peau et elle trouve son apogée quand la ville est plongée dans la nuit ; les jalousies de verre oscillent pour faire passer l'air et les couleurs chatoient.
WIKIPEDIA
Touchay (Cher)
Château de l'Isle-sur-Arnon.
Situé aux rives de l'Arnon en contrebas du village.
La construction du château est attribuée à Jean Dumas (Jean du Mas ou de Mas), conseiller et chambellan de Louis XI en 1480 et enrichi par son fils, évêque de Périgueux en 1494, puis passe aux mains de Jean de Beaufort, prince de Canillac en 1579, mais fut incendié par le prince de Condé en 1650 après avoir perdu une partie de ses défenses en 1591 à la suite d'un siège.
Par une transaction intervenue en 1175 entre Jean II, seigneur de Lignières et Isambert, abbé de Puyferrand, nous savons qu'une seigneurie de l'Isle existait déjà au XIIe siècle.
Au XIIIe siècle plusieurs seigneurs de l'Isle se succéderont. Au XIVe siècle, le domaine est dans la famille du Mas, famille qui tirait son nom du lieu dit le Mas Sarrazin commune de Préveranges (Cher).
Les deux premiers seigneurs de l'Isle du nom de du Mas sont Isambert et Humbault (fin du XIVe siècle). Humbault ou Humbert du Mas était écuyer comme l'indique une quittance de gages du 18 mars 1386. qui lui furent octroyés pour l'indemniser de ses frais pendant la dernière campagne.
A Humbault succéda Pierre du Mas vers 1450, auquel la tradition attribue la construction d'un château féodal. Il mourut le 8 juillet 1456, et fut inhumé dans une chapelle latérale de l'église Saint-Martin de Touchay. De son mariage avec Jacqueline de Chamcour, Pierre du Mas laissa plusieurs fils : Philippe, Gabriel, Pierre et Jean.
Philippe du Mas était seigneur de l'Isle en 1460-1470.
Gabriel entra dans les ordres et sera, peut-être, seigneur du Mas -Sarrazin, la terre d'origine de la famille. Sixte IV nommera Gabriel évêque de Mirepoix en 1475. En 1497, il devient évêque de Périgueux, qu'il administra par l'intermédiaire d'un tiers.
Pierre du Mas se consacra également à l'Eglise, comme moine, et deviendra le trente-cinquième abbé du monastère de Chezal-Benoît. Le couvent était en triste état, ayant été pillé et incendié par les Anglais, et la discipline s'était relâchée. Grâce à la puissante protection de son frère Jean, le monastère put être entièrement reconstruit (il sera de nouveau détruit par un incendie au XVIIIe siècle). Il rétablit également l'ordre intérieur dans le couvent en changeant la règle. La Règle de Pierre du Mas subsista jusqu'à l'époque
de Richelieu.
Jean du Mas hérita de la seignerie de l'Isle et fut conseiller et favori de deux rois de France et d'une régente. Dans sa jeunesse, vers 1463, Jean du Mas batailla, avec quelques compagnons bourguignons, contre Louis XI, mais celui-ci sut se l'attacher par quelques faveurs. Jean de Mas fut de l'expédition contre Jacques d'Armagnac, duc de Nemours, celui-ci ayant participer au complot féodal de la "Ligue du Bien Public" contre le pouvoir royal. Jean de Mas participa à la prise du château de Carlat, possession du duc de Nemours. Jean de Mas fera partie des 17 qui jugeront le duc de Nemours à la décapitation en place publique, à Paris, le 4 août 1477. Les biens de l'accusé furent donnés aux juges, en confirmation de la promesse faite avant le procès. Jean du Mas s'était vu attribuer la seigneurie de Vigouroux et la vicomté de Murat. A la mort de Louis XI, à Amboise, le 30 août 1483, Jean du Mas resta dans les bonnes grâces de la régente Anne de Beauleu (le roi n'avait que 13 ans), puis de Charles VIII. Jean du mas fut le probable maître d'oeuvre du château actuel.
Au XVIe siècle, la terre de l'Isle sortira de la famille du Mas, vers 1578-1579, pour passer dans celle des Beaufort-Montboissier Canillac. A la fin du XVIe siècle, l'Isle était une des places fortes du Berry en faveur du roi. C'est ainsi qu'elle fut assiégée le 5 janvier 1591 par le maréchal de La Châtre, qui avait rompu avec Henri IV, et venait d'échouer dans le siège d'Aubigny. La place était forte, elle était entourée de larges fossés qu'alimentait la rivière l'Arnon, de plus elle avait d'épaisses murailles. La position de la rivière rendant impossible l'établissement de canons devant la porte d'entrée, le château fut prit grâce à un pétard* attaché à la porte par un habitant du village, le nommé Texier, probablement par ruse. M. de la Châtre fit détruire les remparts du château.
Au début du XVIIe siècle, la terre de l'Isle est dans la famille de Varie (ou Varye). René de varie, seigneur de l'Isle, avait pour grand père Guillaume de Varie clerc et bras droit de l'argentier Jacques Coeur. Guillaume fut entraîné dans la chute de Jacques Coeur, ses biens furent vendus et il fut emprisonné en 1453, mais il put bénéficier de la réhabilitation que le roi accorda à la mémoire de Jacques Cœur.
Philippe de Varie, héritier de René, seigneur de l'Isle et de la Brosse, résidait habituellement à l'Isle, sans doute avec ses frères. En 1638, les frères de Varie accordèrent l'hospitalité aux habitants de Linières qui fuyaient la ville infestée par la peste.
Les familles Longueval et Villeneuve Trans succéderont aux Varie dans la possession de la seigneurie de l'Isle.
En 1650, pendant la Fronde, le château de l'Isle, ayant pour seigneur Antoine de Villeneuve marquis de Trans, restait fidèle au roi. La même année, le 13 juillet, les troupes du prince de Condé s'emparèrent de la place. Les assiégeants occupèrent la place pendant huit jours et abattirent une tour d'enceinte et toute la muraille orientale. Les bâtiments furent incendiés**.
Anthoine de Villeneuve mourut en 1672 sans laisser d'enfants et sa veuve*** vendit ou donna l'Isle à Henry de Mousnier, écuyer, seigneur de Meslan. Le fils d'Henry de Mousnier, Louis de Mousnier vendit l'Isle, à son tour, à Georges Goujenot, écuyer conseiller et secrétaire du roi, tuteur onéraire des enfants du régent et plus tard du prince de Condé. Sa famille le conserva jusqu'à la Révolution.
Adrien Gougenot, chevalier des Mousseaux,seigneur de l'Isle, Mallerays et autres lieux, devait être avant la
Révolutionl e dernier châtelain de cette terre. Il partit pour l'émigration en 1792.
Le château, y compris la réserve, fut adjugé le 24 ventôse, an II, au citoyen Étienne Boulié dont la famille l'a gardé jusqu'en 1859.
Au XIXème siècle, des tours menaçant de ruines ont été abattues, dégageant la cour du château. Ce château est actuellement habité et propriété privée.
* Les pétards étaient des petits canons qu'on accrochait aux portes pour les défoncer.
** Une inscription sur le mur intérieur d'une tour en témoigne : "Cette place a été prise le XIII juillet 1650 à
XI heures de nuict et brûlée le XXVI du mesme mois par les Condéistes."
*** Gabrielle du Mas de Castellane qui descendait des du Mas.
(Pour l'essentiel, voir François Deshoulières)
visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=30000004083972&I=2...
maison.omahony.free.fr/ascendants/fiche dumas jean.pdf
Wedensday.
And still on the Island.
Through the night, yet more rain fell, and into the morning so I woke to the sound of yet another cloudburst. But it should be clearing soon.
So, I leap out of bed, do 50 press-ups, have a cold shower and am ready for the rigours of the day ahead, and in this I would be helped by a pot of black coffee and the finest sausage and bacon sandwich known to man.
And a man in the kitchen makes it for me, so all I have to do is eat it.
Non nom nom.
I drink the last dregs off the coffee, and I'm away to work.
It was supposed to be a slow and easy start, but I was summoned to an emergency department meeting, and needed to be at the factory to get internet access.
Our soon-to-be-ex-boss is now officially our ex-boss, and we have a new interim manager.
That's it.
So on with the audit.
Outside, the clouds did clear and the sun did shine, and did shine into the meeting room where even in November was so warm the air conditioning could not cope and we got very warm indeed.
We broke for lunch, and talked about the struggles we face, and how jolly nice the Island is.
Well, it is.
We were done by half three, so I drove back to the hotel, but saw the sign I had passed dozens of times, pointing to the 11th century church of St John the Baptist. Today would be the day to visit.
Light was fading fast, but with a warm light, and only with my compact camera, my shots won't win many prizes, but the best camera is the one you have.
From the outside, it seems to be a very Victorian church, but there is a Norman arch in the porch, and many more details inside, among the Victorian fixtures and fittings.
Inside there is a very tall and narrow Jacobian pulpit, some fine monuments from before the 19th century work, and some what I think is medieval glass, or at least fragements reset.
Back at the hotel I wrote a little then decided I really should go an exercise my fat little legs, so should walk into Cowes for a pint at the Ale House, where there was a fine firkin of porter on.
But, before then, as I walked along the promenade, over the other side of the Solent, the just past full moon rose over the Pompy skyline. It was pretty breath-taking, I leaned on railings to watch it rise and get brighter and its yellow colour fade to pure white.
Dozens of other people were doing the same thing too.
And it was a free show.
My favourite price.
I walk into town and up the Ale House, a group of sailing types were talking over pints of fizzy Eurolager, so I order porter just because I can.
There was a wide range of places to eat, most with lots of free tables.
I wasn't in a seafood mood, curry perhaps, but then at a restaurant I saw they had a dish called "sambal chicken". Sambal is a spicy chili sauce from Indonesia, that I sued to eat lots of when I was on the survey boats.
I asked, do you make your own sambal?
They did.
And cocktails were two for £15.
I order the sambal chicken and a marshmallow martini.
Very fuckin sophisticated.
The sambal was hot, just about bearable, but not not leave any doubt, it came with sliced fresh chilli, as did the Thai spiced cheesy chips.
I eat most of it all, then finish up with a "rhubarb and custard cocktail, which did mix quite poorly with the sambal on the walk back to the hotel.
Back to the hotel, I settle the bill and so all ready to leave in the morning, as I have to catch the six o'clock ferry.
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The Church of St. John the Baptist is a parish church located in Northwood, Isle of Wight. The church dates from the 12th century. The mid-19th century saw extensive restoration work carried out on the church. In 1864 the wooden tower and dormer window were both swept away. The restoration was completed in 1874. Despite this restoration work, the church still retains many of its original features including a Norman arch over the south doorway and a Jacobean pulpit.
www.spottinghistory.com/view/12080/church-of-st-john-the-...
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NORTHWOOD
Northewode (xiii cent.).
Northwood is a parish and village midway between Newport and Cowes, and now includes Pallance Gate. In 1894 the parish was extended to include a part of the parish of St. Nicholas. (fn. 1) The soil is for the most part loam, while the subsoil is of clay and gravel. The parish contains 4,333 acres, of which 878 acres are arable, 2,612 acres are permanent grass and 419 acres woodlands. There are also 292 acres of foreshore, 2 of land covered by water and 78 by tidal water. Cowes contains 576 acres, of which 2 acres are arable and 166 permanent grass. There are also 35 acres of foreshore and 5 acres of land covered by water. (fn. 2) There is a station on the Isle of Wight Central railway at the cement works, available for Northwood, and the pumping station of the Cowes Waterworks is situated at Broadfields within the parish. The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers have large works on the Medina at the West Medina Mills, and there are brickworks at Hillis belonging to Messrs. Pritchett. There existed a confraternity of Brothers and Sisters of St. John Baptist (fn. 3) in a building, later called the Church House, which was standing in 1690. It was founded c. 1500 and dissolved in 1536. An old glebe barn, with a date stone 'Restored 1742,' was pulled down in 1901. There is a Council school (mixed), built in 1855 and enlarged in 1906. The rectory-house lies to the east of the church and dates from the 18th century. (fn. 4)
The parish has a long seaboard as the north-west boundary, which includes the bays of Thorness and Gurnard, the latter the landing-place of Charles II in 1671. Gurnard (fn. 5) is a small village, mostly consisting of villas with a number of artisans' dwellings. There are a coastguard station here and a Council school, erected in 1863.
Northwood Park, the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, was occupied from 1902 to 1906 by a community of Benedictine nuns, who have since moved to Appley, near Ryde (q.v.). The house, which is properly in Cowes, was built in 1837, on the site of a former residence called Belle View, by Mr. George H. Ward, uncle to the present owner, and is a somewhat stately stone building of classic detail, to which a wing has been since added.
At Hurstake on the Medina there was in the 18th century a flourishing shipyard, but by the end of the century it had fallen to decay. (fn. 6)
Cowes was taken out of Northwood and constituted a separate parish under the Local Government Act of 1894. (fn. 7) It is a thriving seaport town, daily increasing inland to the south, and is a terminus of the Isle of Wight Central railway and the main entrance to the Isle of Wight from Southampton. A steam ferry and launch service connect it with East Cowes. The town affairs are regulated under the Local Government Act of 1894 by an urban district council, who have acquired control of the water supply and gasworks. There is a steamboat pier and landingstage, and the Victoria Promenade Pier was built by the urban district council in 1901. There are wharves and storehouses along the Medina. The principal industries are the shipbuilding business of John Samuel White & Co., Ltd., the brass and iron foundry of Messrs. William White, the ropery of Messrs. Henry Bannister & Co. and the well-known sail-making establishment of Messrs. Ratsey & Lapthorn. A recreation ground of 9 acres was presented to the town by Mr. W. G. Ward in 1859.
The main or High Street of Cowes is a narrow, winding, old-fashioned road, widening as it approaches the shore at the north end, and finally terminating in the Parade, the principal sea-front of the town. At the end of the Parade is the Royal Yacht Squadron (fn. 8) Club House, converted to its present use in 1858, and beyond is the 'Green,' made over to the town authorities in 1864 by Mr. George R. Stephenson. The well-known annual regatta is held here the first week in August. (fn. 9) The oldest inn is the 'Fountain,' by the landing-pier, dating from the 18th century. The Gloucester Hotel, by the Parade, was the former home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and probably owes its name to the visit of the Duke of Gloucester and his sister the Princess Sophia in 1811. The Royal Marine Hotel, also on the Parade, was certainly in existence at the beginning of the 19th century. (fn. 10) A public cemetery, about half a mile south of the town, was opened in 1855, and is under a joint burial board composed of members from Cowes and Northwood.
Besides Northwood Park, the principal residences are Egypt House, (fn. 11) the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, and Nubia House, the home of Sir Godfrey Baring, late M.P. for the Island.
The name Cowes dates from the beginning of the 16th century, before which time the port—if port it could be called—was higher up the river at Shamblers. (fn. 12) In 1512 the fleet under Sir Edward Haward victualled at Cowes (the Cowe) on its way to Guienne, (fn. 13) so it is evident the place did not take its name from the defensive work, which was certainly not built before 1539. (fn. 14) Leland speaks of forts both at East and West Cowes, (fn. 15) but the former had become a ruin by the 17th century. (fn. 16) The latter, however, was kept up and added to, and had, in addition to the gun platform and magazine, apartments for the captain and gunners, and at the end of the 18th century mounted eleven nine-pounders. (fn. 17)
The inhabitants of this part of Northwood parish seem to have been seafarers and traders, or at any rate smugglers, as early as the 14th century. In July 1395 Thomas Shepherd received a 'pardon of the forfeitures and imprisonment incurred by him because he and two of the ferrymen sold two sacks of wool to men of a skiff from Harflete, carried the said wool as far as le Soland and there delivered the same, taking money.' (fn. 18) At another time he 'sold wool without custom . . . with the clerks of the chapel of the Earl of Salisbury, and at another time with a skiff from Harflete belonging to Janin Boset of Harflue.' (fn. 19)
The merchants' houses and stores were principally at East Cowes, where most of the business was transacted; but West Cowes in the 18th century became a shipbuilding centre, contributing many first-class battleships to the English navy. (fn. 20) By the year 1780 it was 'the place of greatest consideration in the parish of Northwood,' (fn. 21) and though the town was indifferently built, with very narrow streets, the inhabitants managed to be 'in general, genteel and polite although not troublesomely ceremonious.' (fn. 22)
In 1795 there were 2,000 inhabitants and the town had a good trade in provisions to the fleets riding in the roads waiting for a wind or a convoy. While the lower part of Cowes was crowded with seamen's cottages and business premises, the upper part on the hill slope was occupied by villas, chiefly of retired naval men. (fn. 23)
By the 19th century the tide of prosperity began to flow from East to West Cowe, which became a favourite bathing and boating resort, patronized by Royalty. The town now grew rapidly, and in 1816 an Act was passed for 'lighting, cleansing and otherwise improving the town of West Cowes . . . and for establishing a market within the said town.' (fn. 24)
The advent of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and the consequent popularity of racing, put a seal on West Cowes. It became fashionable and has remained so ever since—the hub of the yachting world.
There are two halls for entertainments—the Foresters' Hall in Sun Hill and another in Bridge Road, each capable of seating over 500 people.
There are Council schools in Cross Street (infants), and a mixed school has been lately erected in the same street; boys' and infants' in York Street; non-provided (boys and girls) in Cross Street.
MANORS
There is no mention of a manor of NORTHWOOD in Domesday Book, and it seems probable that then, as in the 13th century, the greater part of the land in the parish formed a member of the manor of Bowcombe in Carisbrooke (fn. 25) (q.v.). In the 17th century this land came to be regarded as a separate manor, but it continued to follow the descent of Bowcombe (fn. 26) until the latter half of the 18th century, when it was presumably sold to the Wards, whose representative, Mr. Edmund Granville Ward, is the present lord of the manor.
There was a small holding in Northwood possibly, as Mr. Stone suggests from research he has made, to be identified with Shamlord (q.v.). It was held, together with other property, under the manor of Bowcombe by a branch of the Trenchard family at least as early as 1338. (fn. 27) In 1560 Richard Trenchard, who seems to have been the grandson of John Trenchard of Chessell in Shalfleet, died seised of this property, which he had held 'in socage by fealty and rent of 25s. yearly, suit at court and finding one man and one woman yearly to mow the corn of the farmer of Bowcombe for one day.' He was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 28)
There were also lands in Northwood which formed a member of the manor of Alvington in Carisbrooke and were held in the reign of Henry III by William de St. Martin. (fn. 29) They afterwards belonged to Sir Stephen Popham (fn. 30) and descended to Sir Nicholas Wadham in the early part of the 16th century, at which time they were regarded as a separate manor; they continued, however, to follow the descent of Alvington (q.v.).
In the reign of Henry VIII there was in the parish much woodland which belonged before the Dissolution to the Prior and convent of Christchurch Twyneham, (fn. 31) who had perhaps bought it from the abbey of St. Mary, Romsey, to which it belonged in the 13th century. (fn. 32) In 1280 this abbey had received from Edward I a confirmation of a charter of Henry II granting them 'all their wood of Northwood, as King Edward gave it to them.' (fn. 33) There is, however, no mention of any property in Northwood among the possessions of Romsey Abbey at its dissolution. In 1544 the wood was granted to Thomas Hopson (fn. 34) and subsequently followed the descent of Ningwood in Shalfleet (q.v.). It was described as 'the manor of Northwood' in 1626, at which time it was in the possession of John Hopson. (fn. 35)
The manor of WERROR (Werore, xii cent.; Werole, xiii cent.; Warror, xvi cent.) was granted to God's House, Southampton, immediately after its foundation about 1197, for it was confirmed to the hospital by Richard I in 1199. (fn. 36) It had been given to the hospital by a certain Mark, and his gift was confirmed in 1209 by his son Roger, of whom the manor was to be held at a yearly rent of 6d. (fn. 37) William de Redvers Earl of Devon (1184–1216) granted to the hospital rights of pasturage and fuel, except for six weeks each year, over the whole land of Werror which belonged to his fee, and which is described as lying within Parkhurst, Northwood, Carisbrooke and the Medina. (fn. 38)
The estate remained in the hands of successive priors until the Dissolution (fn. 39) and passed with God's House to Queen's College, Oxford, (fn. 40) by whom the manor is still owned. (fn. 41)
CHURCHES
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST lies to the east of the road from Newport to Cowes. It was built as a chapel for the northern portion of the parish of Carisbrooke in the middle of the 12th century, and consists of a chancel, a nave with north and south aisles and a modern tower with spire added at the west end in 1864. The south door is a good specimen of 12th-century work, to be classed with those of Yaverland and Wootton. Both aisles are very narrow and are of four bays, with columns having the characteristic splay-cornered capitals found elsewhere in the Isle of Wight, (fn. 42) and must have been added towards the end of the century, the south being the later. (fn. 43) There are curious flying arches across these, evidently inserted later, to withstand the thrust of the roof and carry the flat above. In the 15th century windows of the period were inserted in the walls and the chancel reroofed, (fn. 44) if not rebuilt, and a small door inserted in the north wall of the nave. There is a good canopied Jacobean pulpit, somewhat similar in detail to that at Wootton. The chancel arch is a plain splay springing direct from the wall without an impost, and looks as though the earlier one had been destroyed and the opening widened in the 15th century. The memorials of interest are a painted wooden tablet to the children of Samuel and Grace Smith, who died in 1668 and 1670, and a curious memorial to Thomas Smith, rector, who died in 1681. (fn. 45)
The one bell, founded by Mears, was hung in 1875.
The plate consists of a chalice inscribed 'T.H. E.L.'; a paten inscribed 'Thomas Troughear, D.D. istius Ecclĩae Rector,' dated 1732; a flagon (plated) inscribed 'Northwood Church, 1831'; an oval paten inscribed '1813.'
The registers date from 1539, and are in seven books (fn. 46) : (i) 1539 to 1593; (ii) 1594 to 1598; (iii) 1599 to 1605; (iv) 1606 to 1618; (v) 1621 to 1660; (vi) 1653 to 1759; (vii) 1743 to 1812.
There is a mission church in Pallance Road with a Sunday school attached.
The church of ST. MARY, WEST COWES, built in 1867 on the site of an earlier church erected in 1657, is a stone structure consisting of chancel, nave of four bays and aisles, with a tower containing one bell and a clock. It has a handsome reredos and a fine organ. There is a brass memorial tablet to Dr. Arnold of Rugby. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke. The register dates from 1679.
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, built of brick in 1832 at the sole expense of the late Mrs. S. Goodwin, was enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1862. It has a western tower with embattled cornice and angle pinnacles. The register dates from 1833. The living is in the gift of Mr. Ll. Loyd.
The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Terminus Road is a white brick building erected in 1796. There is a large altar-piece by Cau representing the Descent from the Cross, and another of the Death of the Virgin, on the north wall.
At Gurnard is the church of ALL SAINTS, attached to Holy Trinity, Cowes. It is of brick with Bath stone dressings, and has nave, chancel, north and south transepts and a turret with one bell.
ADVOWSONS
The church of Northwood was a chapel of ease to Carisbrooke, and belonged in early times to the priory there, (fn. 47) to which it had been granted by William de Redvers Earl of Devon. When the prior and convent obtained the rectory and endowed the vicarage of Carisbrooke, the tithes of Northwood, both great and small, were assigned to the vicar. (fn. 48) In the reign of Henry VIII Northwood obtained parochial privileges and was exempted from contribution to the repairs of Carisbrooke Church. (fn. 49) The living is still attached to Carisbrooke, and the patrons at the present day are the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford.
Cowes is ecclesiastically divided into two districts. The church of St. Mary was built in 1657, and further endowed in 1679 by George Morley Bishop of Winchester, 'provided that the inhabitants should pay the minister (who is always of their own choosing) £40 a year.' (fn. 50) The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £130, in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke.
The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury was served at the beginning of the 19th century by two chaplains of Napoleon's Foreign Legion. The earliest register contains the names of several of the officers and men.
¶There are several large Nonconformist chapels in the town. The oldest of these is the Congregational chapel, which was built in 1804. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1831, the Baptist chapel in 1877 and the Primitive Methodist and United Methodist Free Churches in 1889.
nrhp # 75001178- The First Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace took place in the town of Hamilton, June, 1798. At that time Chenango County included what later became Madison County.
First business transacted was the entry of an order that Thomas R. Gold, Joseph Kirkland, Nathan Williams, Stephen O. Runyon, Nathaniel King, Arthur Breese, Peter B. Garnsey and Medad Curtis be admitted to practice as attorneys and counselors of the court.
Second Court was held at Oxford in October of the same year. Subsequently court was held alternately at these two places three times each year.
The first Circuit Court was held July 10, 1798, at the Academy in Oxford.
March 6, 1807 the supervisors selected the site of court house and goal (jail) in the Norwich village, within one mile of the residence of Stephen Steere, (now site of Cole Muffler, 32 North Broad Street, Norwich, NY).
Josiah Dickinson and George Saxton where hired to erect the court house and jail. It was completed in 1809. “A wooden structure, two stories high and substantially built. It was square and well proportioned; but its interior dimensions proved inadequate to the accommodation of the large audiences which congregated when trials of interest took place. Its entire cost was sixty-five hundred dollars”. They were over budget by $1500.
March 24, 1837, an act was passed for erection of a new court house at Norwich (the current one). A tax was levied on the taxable property for $7000, not more than $400 of which was to be levied in any one year. The bond was authorized to draw the entire amount, at six per cent interest, due in 5 years. William Randall, of Norwich, and William Knowlton, of Smithville, were appointed to superintend the construction of the new building; subsequently David Griffing and Alfred Purdy, both of Norwich, were substituted in their place. The new building exceeded the amount originally allowed by $9000.
from co.chenango.ny.us
Title / Titre :
Contract of sale between Louis Motart and Father Rageot, 1715 /
Contrat de vente entre Louis Motart et le curé Rageot, 1715
Description: “Contract of sale by Louis Motard, dit la Motte, to the Reverend Father and the Parish of Cap-Santé, July 8, 1715. Louis Motard, resident of Portneuf, and Élisabet Langlois, his wife, authorize this transaction and the sale or transfer to the Fabrique of the Parish of Holy Family in Cap-Santé, accepted by Charles Rageot Morin, Parish Priest, and François Tellico, former warden, of two arpents of land from north-east of the barn, as far as the school and down to the beach. The Fabrique and the priest agree to say two low masses for the sellers and their family. In addition, the sellers will have use of their pew in the church free of charge during their lifetimes.”
Contract made before the Royal Notary in the provost of Quebec.” /
« Contrat de vente fait par Louis Motard, dit la Motte, à monsieur le curé et à la fabrique de la paroisse de Cap-Santé, le 8 juillet 1715. Louis Motard, habitant de Portneuf, et Élisabet Langlois, sa femme, autorise la transaction et que soit vendu, cédé à la fabrique de l’Église paroissiale de la Sainte-Famille de Cap-Santé, ce acceptant par Monsieur Charles Rageot Morin, prêtre et curé de la paroisse, et François Tellico, ancien marguillier, deux arpents de terre au nord-est de la grange jusqu’à l’école et qui descend à la grève. La fabrique et le curé acceptent de faire dire deux messes basses pour les vendeurs et leur famille. De plus, les vendeurs auront leur banc gratuit dans l’église pendant leur vie. Contrat par devant le notaire Royal en la prévôté de Québec. »
Source: Conseil du patrimoine culturel de Cap-Santé, 1516-81 Conseil du patrimoine Cap-Santé (1)
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This album features examples of images that have been digitized by external heritage communities and that have received funding for digitization and access projects.
The Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) ensures that Canada’s continuing memory is documented and accessible to current and future generations by adopting a more collaborative approach with local documentary heritage communities. The program will be delivered in the form of contributions that will support the development of Canada’s local archival and library communities by increasing their capacity to preserve, provide access to and promote local documentary heritage. Additionally, the Program will provide opportunities for local documentary heritage communities to evolve and remain sustainable and strategic.
The DHCP provides financial assistance to the Canadian documentary heritage community for activities that:
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*Increase the capacity of local documentary heritage institutions to better sustain and preserve Canada’s documentary heritage.
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Cet album comprend des exemples d’images qui ont été numérisées par des collectivités du patrimoine externes qui ont reçu du financement pour des projets de numérisation et d’accès.
Le Programme pour les collectivités du patrimoine documentaire (PCPD) établit une approche axée sur la collaboration avec les collectivités du patrimoine documentaire local pour que la mémoire continue du Canada soit documentée et rendue accessible aux générations actuelles et futures. Ce programme de contributions favorisera l’épanouissement des collectivités des bibliothèques et des archives en développant leur capacité à préserver, rendre accessible et promouvoir le patrimoine documentaire local. Il leur donnera aussi l’occasion d’évoluer, de rester viables et de conserver leur importance stratégique.
Le PCPD finance des activités de la collectivité canadienne du patrimoine documentaire visant à :
*faire connaître et rendre plus facilement accessibles les institutions du patrimoine documentaires locales du Canada et leurs collections;
*accroître la capacité à préserver le patrimoine documentaire du Canada de façon plus durable.
"The Society Italiana Di Mutuo Soccorso Guglielmo Marconi was founded on December 15, 1912. It was incorporated pursuant to the Ontario Insurance Act on August 22, 1917 as “a friendly Society transacting sick and funeral benefits,” and having its head office at the City of Sault Ste Marie, in the Province of Ontario. Since those dates the Society has evolved and expanded its objects while preserving the original objects." - from society website.
"Sault Ste. Marie (/ˈsuː seɪnt məˈriː/ SOO-seint-ma-REE) is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada, close to the Canada–US border. It is the seat of the Algoma District and the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants of the area, call this area Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids." They used this as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. (The anglicized form of this name, Bawating, is used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)
To the south, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. These two communities were one city until a new treaty after the War of 1812 established the border between Canada and the United States in this area at the St. Mary's River. In the 21st century, the two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side, and Huron Street (and former Ontario Secondary Highway 550B) on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
French colonists referred to the rapids on the river as Les Saults de Ste. Marie and the village name was derived from that. The rapids and cascades of the St. Mary's River descend more than 6 m (20 ft) from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary's Rapids" or "Saint Mary's Falls". The word sault is pronounced [so] in French, and /suː/ in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called Saultites.
Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by Prince Township. To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of Algoma District, which includes the local services boards of Aweres, Batchawana Bay, Goulais and District, Peace Tree and Searchmont. The city's census agglomeration, including the townships of Laird, Prince and Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional and the First Nations reserves of Garden River and Rankin, had a total population of 79,800 in 2011.
Native American settlements, mostly of Ojibwe-speaking peoples, existed here for more than 500 years. In the late 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission at the First Nations village. This was followed by development of a fur trading post and larger settlement, as traders, trappers and Native Americans were attracted to the community. It was considered one community and part of Canada until after the War of 1812 and settlement of the border between Canada and the US at the Ste. Mary's River. At that time, the US prohibited British traders from any longer operating in its territory, and the areas separated by the river began to develop as two communities, both named Sault Ste. Marie." - info from Wikipedia.
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"You are our honoured guest, Lady Rebecca. I would invite you not to regard this in any way as a kidnapping. We have no hostile intentions towards you. But, we would prefer that you did not attempt to leave this castle until you have countersigned the appropriate documents, passing full control of your late husband's business empire over to me. And, of course, you may continue to post on social media - so long as you do not attempt to reveal the location at which these negotiations are being held..."
So spoke Pierre Collager, revealed once and for all to be the same individual as the mysterious "Saippuakauppias", who has been messaging me about my business affairs for several months. In the room with Collager were his henchmen "Tip" Toffee and Joe the Juice, and their presence and body language made it very clear that I would be ill-advised to attempt to leave without Collager's express permission.
"I hope you will be very comfortable during your stay with us, Lady Rebecca. My bodyguards have moved your things into our bridal suite, which has a beautiful view over the town and lake below. Once our business with you has been transacted, you can be swiftly on your way back to Monte Carlo."
"Oh dear" I thought to myself. "This is a bit of a jam I have landed in! How am I going to talk my way out of it? Talk? Maybe talk is not the way. But maybe action of a particular kind might be...."
Toodle Pip!
(until next time, I hope!)
xxxxxxx
Lady Rebecca Georgina Arabella Lyndon
(and still) Duchesse de la Baleine D'or
It seems a lifetime ago, but in fact was just four weeks gone, that Jools came up to meet with me in Godmanchester before going to see Mum in Papworth.
I chose Godmanchester because a contact/friend on GWUK had published shots from there, and it looked interesting, and was a ten minute drive from the hospital.
The spire of St Mary can be seen from almost everywhere in the town, drawing me in like a flame to a moth. And thankfully it was open.
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My children both had their birthdays the same weekend, and announced plans to invite all their friends from around the country to spend the weekend and to go out together, fifty or so of them, some of them staying over. They'd have a party in the back garden first, my son DJing. They are good children, generally trustworthy, and their mother promised to keep an eye on them. Smiling, nodding, I reached for the Holiday Inn Express website and booked myself a Saturday night at Huntingdon Holiday Inn. Two days of exploring the churches of south-west Cambridgeshire were in prospect.
The plan for Day One was to circumnavigate Grafham Water, the great reservoir created to serve Cambridge and Peterborough in the 1960s, taking in all the churches along the way. The slight crimp in the plan is that, to retain the rural nature of the area and to stop traffic cutting between A1 and A14, there is no road running to the north of Grafham Water other than the A14, although using the OS Landranger map I was able to piece together what I thought would be enough bridleways, byways and permissive cycle tracks to achieve this object. During the day I would visit thirteen new churches, all of which were open except for two, and they had keyholder notices.
It was a really hot day, and I didn't want to overstretch myself, so I made a leisurely start from Ipswich arriving in Huntingdon at about half past ten. Huntingdon is a small town really, barely 30,000 people, and it is separated by the Ouse from the older town of Godmanchester, pronounced god-m'n-chester, my first port of call. Indeed, Godmanchester is Cambridgeshire's oldest town, a major Roman settlement where Ermine Street crossed the road from Colchester to Chester. In Roman times it was the third biggest place in the east of England after Colchester and Lincoln, and was there long before Peterborough, Huntingdon and Cambridge were a twinkle in the celestial milkman's eye.
The Ouse and its water meadows are wide enough to make Huntingdon and Godmanchester seem separate places. For a town of less than 10,000 people it is really grand, with lots of 18th Century buildings and a delightful setting along the Ouse with islands and a park.
It was already shaping up into a bright, warm summer day as I reached the huge church, one of the biggest in the county, and typical in style of the Ouse valley. The spire is a familiar sight from the A14 rising above the mill on the river below. The nave south aisle you step into is alone bigger than many churches. A wide, gloomy interior, with acres of Kempe glass leavened somewhat by a good, big Burne-Jones window in the south aisle. Very urban, but with plenty of evidence of the borough's importance up until the 18th Century, at which time it was of equal size with neighbouring Huntingdon. But the Industrial Revolution changed all that. All very impressive, but not a place to gladden the heart.
And so, I headed south.
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Godmundcestre (xi cent.), Gutmuncetre, Gudmencestre, Gumencestre, Guncestre (xii cent.), Gumecestre, Gurmundcestre (xiii cent.), Godmanchester (xiv cent.).
The parish and borough of Godmanchester, (fn. 1) which are co-terminous, contain 4,832 acres of land and 75 acres of land covered by water. The River Ouse forms the northern boundary and divides Godmanchester from the borough of Huntingdon. The land near to the river is liable to floods, but the ground rises gradually to the south, where it is mostly arable. The population is chiefly occupied in agriculture, and in 1921 numbered 2,035 persons. In the 17th century Godmanchester was described as 'a very great county Toune, and of as great name for tillage; situate in an open ground, of a light mould, and bending to ye sun.' (fn. 2) In 1604 the borough charter tells of like conditions, and especially exempted the store horses and others employed in agriculture from the king's service. (fn. 3) The inhabitants boasted that they had formerly received kings on their progress with a pageant of nine score ploughs, (fn. 4) but in the royal progresses to and from Scotland in 1633 the borough apparently only presented Charles I and his queen with pieces of plate. (fn. 5) Later records mention feasts at the election of town officials, (fn. 6) but in the 16th century the bailiffs contributed from the town funds to many entertainments, such as bear-baiting, visits of players and of the Lord of Misrule from Offord Cluny. (fn. 7)
Of other industries besides agriculture, coal porterage on the Ouse was formerly an important business, and in the last century a tan-yard, jute factory, iron foundry and brick works existed, and basket-making was also carried on. (fn. 8) At the present day a stocking factory at the bridge provides a considerable amount of work, and there is also a flour mill.
There is a railway station near Huntingdon Bridge which is a junction for the London Midland and Scottish Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway.
The parish was inclosed by private Act of Parliament in 1803, (fn. 9) and the award is in the possession of the Corporation. Preserved at the Court Hall, (fn. 10) is a remarkable series of records, dating from the charter of King John in 1212 to the present day. These materials were used by Robert Fox, one of the bailiffs of the borough in 1831–2, in his History of Godmanchester. (fn. 11) Other natives of Godmanchester who may be mentioned are William of Godmanchester, who was elected Abbot of Ramsey in 1267, (fn. 12) and Stephen Marshall, the Parliamentarian divine and one of the authors of Smectymnuus, (fn. 13) published in 1641.
The town seems to have arisen on the site of a Roman settlement here, which has already been described. (fn. 14) Its lay-out, however, has apparently been changed to suit the later requirements of a market town. Ermine Street, the Roman road from London to the north, and the Roman roads from Sandy and the south and from Cambridge, which joined it, stop abruptly at the points where they touch what is supposed to be the site of the Roman town, and their place is taken by a road which almost circuits the medieval town and so links them up. It was customary in most medieval market towns to arrange the lay-out of the streets so as to compel the traffic to pass through the market place and pay toll. It would appear that Godmanchester was laid out in this way as a market town, although there is little evidence of an early market here. The road from St. Neots to Huntingdon enters the town by West Street towards the south end of what was intended for the market place and passes that from Cambridge towards the north end, by East Street. In the same way the traffic to and from London and the north is carried by the road on the west side of the town, through the same place.
Entering the town from Huntingdon on the north, after crossing Huntingdon Bridge, which has already been described, (fn. 15) the road passes over a causeway which was apparently of ancient construction, as we find that in 1279 its repair was charged on a meadow in the tenure of the prior of St. Mary's, Huntingdon. (fn. 16) In 1331 it was rebuilt (fn. 17) and in 1433 it appears that the road was carried over a series of small bridges. (fn. 18) The causeway was again rebuilt in 1637 by Robert Cooke as a thank-offering for his escape from drowning in a flood here. A stone in the parapet of the southern of the two bridges, each of eight arches, of which the causeway is composed, bears an inscription copied from an earlier one, 'Robertus Cooke ex aquis emersus hoc viatoribus sacrum D.D. 1637.' The bridges underwent repairs in 1767 and were rebuilt in 1784. The causeway (fn. 19) now forms a fine wide approach to the town, with many half-timbered houses of the 17th century and later, on either side. At the north-west corner of East Street stood the vicarage, a 17th-century house, lately demolished; adjoining it on the east side is Church Lane, leading to St. Mary's Church. A little to the east on the south side of East Street is a range of three picturesque half-timber houses with overhanging upper story and an overhanging gable at the west end. The western of the two original chimney stacks bears the date 1611 and the eastern 1613. Over a fireplace in the east room on the first floor are painted the Stuart royal arms with the initials I.R. for James I. There are other 17th-century houses in East Street. Opposite to East Street in the Causeway is the New Court or Town Hall, built in 1844, at which time this part of the Causeway was raised 2 ft. The Town Hall was largely rebuilt in 1899. (fn. 20) Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, a brick building with tiled roof, built about 1560, faces the new Court Hall. It originally consisted of a hall and two-storied porch, bearing above the window of the upper story the inscription 'Eliz. Reg. hujus scholae fundatrix,' over which is a sundial bearing the words 'Sibi Aliisque.' It was restored in 1851 and some buildings were added on the north side. Near the school was the 'cage' for the temporary safeguarding of prisoners, which was built in 1687. The governors of the school, however, complained that the position was 'very inconvenient and unapt,' and so the overseers were ordered to build it near the Court Hall Yard. (fn. 21) In the main street, probably opposite St. Ann's Lane, was a cross called St. Ann's Cross, mentioned in 1526 (fn. 22) and 1545, (fn. 23) and may have existed as early as 1279; tenants of Godmanchester are described as 'ad crucem.' (fn. 24) The road south to old Court Hall was then apparently called Post Street and later Silver Street. Pinfold Lane, which goes off eastward, is referred to in 1539. (fn. 25) In it are the almshouses erected in 1738 by Mrs. Barbary Manser for four dwellings and rebuilt in 1859 for two dwellings. In West Street are some 17th-century half-timber houses, and on the outskirts of the town is a timber and plaster house, formerly the 'Shepherd and Dog' Inn, which bears the date 1593 in the south-west gable. The upper story formerly projected, but has been underbuilt in brick. Further west on the opposite side is Belle Isle House, a 17th-century half-timber house. Returning to the main street, the house at the northeast corner of the island site has an overhanging upper story. Near this spot stood the Horse Shoe Inn in Post Street, (fn. 26) where much of the business of the town was transacted. Southward is Old Courthall, called from the place where the Court Hall, which was pulled down in 1844, formerly stood at the junction of Silver Street and the old bridle road running to Toseland. (fn. 27) At first apparently the hall was only a covered inclosure (fn. 28) in which the view of frankpledge was held, the courts and council meetings or 'parvis' being frequently held in private houses, a custom which persisted even after the Court House was built in 1508. (fn. 29) The Court House was apparently a half-timber building with overhanging gables, and around the walls in the hall were oak benches for the bailiffs. (fn. 30) Near the hall was the 'Pondefolde,' before the gates of the prior of Merton, which may be identified with the town pound, from which Pinfold Lane possibly took its name. Here the king had the right to impound the cattle distrained at the hundred court. (fn. 31) In Old Courthall are two 17th-century inns, the Queen Victoria Inn, a timber and plaster house with overhanging upper story, and the Red Lion Inn, a brick house. Corpus Christi Lane no doubt takes its name from the gild of that name which existed in the town in the 15th century. Here and in Duck End are some 17th-century cottages.
Ermine Street, which is not on the site of the original street of that name, comprises some interesting 17th-century houses, particularly Tudor House, of timber and plaster, at the north end of the street. It bears the date 1600 in the south gable and 1603 on the doorway. There are also two other good timber and plaster houses of a later date in the street. On the Cambridge Road is a 16th-century half-timber house, and also a brick house with a stone panel bearing the date 1714. On the west side of the London Road, on the outskirts of the town, is Porch Farm, a 16th-century house which takes its name from a picturesque wooden porch with brick base added at the end of the century; on the opposite side of the road is Lookers Farm, a 17th-century house with a good chimney stack.
MANOR
¶The manor of GODMANCHESTER was held by Edward the Confessor as 14 hides. (fn. 32) It was valued at £40 a year, which was a sum which it paid in 1086 to William the Conqueror, who succeeded to it as crown land. (fn. 33) Thus, as ancient demesne of the crown, it acquired certain privileges and obligations. (fn. 34) Before Michaelmas, 1190, (fn. 35) Richard I granted Godmanchester to David Earl of Huntingdon, at the increased farm of £50 to hold at the king's pleasure. (fn. 36) In 1194 a new grant in fee was made to the earl and his heirs. (fn. 37) The manor appears to have been in King John's hands in 1199, (fn. 38) but in the same year a new charter was obtained by the earl, (fn. 39) who held it in 1210–12 by the service of one knight's fee. (fn. 40) It again came into the king's hands in 1212, perhaps the most important date in the history of Godmanchester, for in that year King John granted the manor to 'the men of Godmanchester' to hold at the fee-farm rent of £120 a year. (fn. 41) Subsequent grants of the manor by Henry III in 1217 to Faulkes de Breauté, (fn. 42) in 1224 to the Master of the Templars for a debt, (fn. 43) and in 1236 to Eleanor of Provence as part of her dower, (fn. 44) were presumably grants of the rent only. In 1267 the fee-farm rent was granted to Edmund Earl of Lancaster, the king's second son, to hold by military service. (fn. 45) Queen Eleanor, as a widow, unsuccessfully sued her son in 1278 for the manor. (fn. 46) The possession of the rent was also complicated by the claims of Margaret Countess of Derby, one of the eventual co-heiresses of David of Huntingdon. (fn. 47) She seems to have obtained a grant of the manor from Edward I, and a similar grant was made by Edmund for her life at the annual rent of 12d. (fn. 48) Many of her receipts to the town for the fee-farm rent are still in existence. (fn. 49) On her death it reverted to the earls of Lancaster and the manor formed part of the Duchy of Lancaster, finally merging in the crown on the accession of Henry IV. (fn. 50) In 1662, Charles II granted the annual fee-farm rent to Edward Earl of Sandwich, (fn. 51) and it is still paid by the borough to the present Earl of Sandwich.
The charter of 1212 had transferred all the manorial rights at Godmanchester to the men of the manor to hold from the king and his heirs. (fn. 52) The privileges attached to the manor are not specified, but David Earl of Huntingdon had sac and soc, toll and theam and infangenthief, (fn. 53) and these, with possibly further rights, were exercised by the men of Godmanchester. The grant made the town, what is somewhat rare, a self-governing manor or liberty. It did not become a borough, and except the right of self-government, and the custom of borough-English, had none of the usually accepted marks of a borough. The charter was confirmed by Edward I, Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth. (fn. 54) Richard II, however, added a definite list of the privileges enjoyed by the men of Godmanchester. In 1381 he recognised that they and their predecessors in virtue of the charter of 1212 had the chattels of felons and fugitives and waifs and strays, (fn. 55) but in his charter of 1392 they were to have chattels of felons, fugitives, suicides, outlaws and those who renounce the realm of England, infangenthief, outfangenthief, and all forfeitures within the manor, both from residents and foreigners. (fn. 56) He also expressly confirmed their privilege as tenants of ancient demesne, of freedom from toll and similar dues throughout the kingdom. (fn. 57)
The earlier development of the manor from pre-Conquest days, which enabled the men of Godmanchester to obtain a grant of self-government, is unfortunately obscure. We learn little from the Domesday Survey (1086) as to the status of the inhabitants, but it seems probable that the 80 villiens and 16 bordars of Godmanchester, there recorded, (fn. 58) had been a community of free sokemen, holding their lands for a rent payable to the king; indeed in 1279 the tenants of Godmanchester all claimed to be and were accepted as free sokemen, with no bondmen among them. (fn. 59) The pre-Conquest organisation seems to have persisted to some extent during the 12th century, when payments to the sheriff are entered on the Pipe Rolls as due from the commonalty (communis) of Godmanchester. (fn. 60) As already pointed out, the payment of £40 from the manor in 1066 represented the amount received by the king, and it is possible that each holding was already assessed to pay its share of this sum annually. Such a practice was certainly established after 1212, and in 1279 over 500 tenements were assessed for payment of the fee-farm rent, generally at the rate of 8d. an acre. (fn. 61) The system i still in existence, each acre now paying 1d. towards the rent.
The most important result of the grant of the manor was that the king's officers ceased to hold the courts, though the phrases 'the King's manor' or in Elizabeth's reign 'the Queen's court' remained in use. (fn. 62) In 1286 the two town bailiffs claimed on behalf of themselves and the commonalty of the town to have gallows and to hold the view of frankpledge freely, but it was proved that they paid an annual fine of 20s. to the sheriff for the privilege. (fn. 63) In the 15th century the Duchy court decreed that this payment should no longer be made to the sheriff. (fn. 64) The bailiffs also held the usual three-weeks court of the manor, which was peculiarly important on the ancient demesne of the crown. The court rolls are preserved at Godmanchester from 1271; at first no distinction is made in the headings of the rolls between the two courts, the view only being distinguished by the presence of the 12 jurors. (fn. 65) By 1324, however, the roll of the view was kept separately, (fn. 66) though the regular series of rolls does not begin until the reign of Edward III.
The privileges of the liberty of Godmanchester oelonged to the tenants of holdings assessed to the payment of the fee-farm rent, their sons, daughters and widows. (fn. 67) Sons were admitted on reaching the age of twenty, daughters at sixteen. (fn. 68) Foreigners, or those living outside the manor, were also admitted to the freedom of the town at the three-weeks court, by the consent of the commonalty, on payment of a fine and the taking of an oath. (fn. 69) Sureties were required during the 15th century, but the custom disappeared in the reign of Henry VII. (fn. 70) All tenants were bound to be present at the view of frankpledge, and they elected the twelve jurors for the year, but it is not clear whether the tenants or all admitted to the freedom made this election. (fn. 71) Besides the ordinary business of the view, the bailiffs and jurors declared the customs or by-laws of the manor and acted as a town council. The earliest enrolled declaration is in 1278–9, (fn. 72) but in 1324 the commonalty empowered the two bailiffs and the jurors to draw up a custumal which should be accepted by all. The result represents the codification of ancient usage rather than the introduction of new rules. (fn. 73)
A second edition of the custumal was made in 1465, and later additions of the following century have been added on the same roll. (fn. 74) In 1324, for administrative purposes, the town was divided into four quarters or wards named after the chief streets of Godmanchester. The government consisted of two bailiffs, elected for one year by the twelve jurors. The bailiffs were chosen one year from Post Street and Erning (Arning) Street and in the alternate year from West Street and East Street. The elections of all officers took place in the court held next before the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. All rolls were given into the custody of four keepers of the common chest. The complete list of other officials is not given, but mention is made of the collectors of the fee-farm rents and the chief warden of the mills. All officials were to render account of their year of office to the two bailiffs and the jurors. (fn. 75) The rolls of the coroners of Godmanchester exist for the reign of Edward II, so that they must have been functioning in 1324, although their election is not recorded till 1482. (fn. 76) In the 15th century, the election of the officers is regularly recorded in the court books of the threeweeks court. The officials then consisted of the two bailiffs, two constables, eight collectors of the farm, two from each street, two churchwardens, four collectors of amerciaments of the view, the collectors of the aletoll, the warden of the water and the subbailiff. (fn. 77) In 1484, the record shows that three jurors of the leet were elected from each street; (fn. 78) in 1485, the warden of the swans appears, (fn. 79) and in 1486 the bellman. (fn. 80) The clerk of the court is mentioned in 1376, (fn. 81) but no election is shown till 1497, (fn. 82) and it was probably a permanent and not an annual office. The business at the three weeks court consisted of the admission of freemen, landsuits and the surrenders of land, peculiar to manors of the ancient demesne, and civil cases where the damages claimed were under 40s. (fn. 83) In 1592 it was ordained by the bailiffs and jurors that in future cases in this court should be heard by the two bailiffs, three of the twelve suitors at the court on the day of trial and three or four ex-bailiffs. (fn. 84) Appeals from the manorial court were made to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and were heard in the court of the Duchy. (fn. 85) All land in Godmanchester, except the original endowment of the church, (fn. 86) was, and still is, held in socage of the ancient demesne of the crown. (fn. 87) The tenure was never merged, as elsewhere, in copyhold, although in the 16th century land is occasionally described as held by copy of court roll. (fn. 88) Every tenement when it changed hands was surrendered in court into the hands of the bailiffs, who gave seisin to the incoming tenant on payment of a fine or gersom. (fn. 89) This procedure is still followed, but the surrenders are not made in court, but only to the mayor of the borough and, under the Law of Property (Amendment) Act of 1924, this very rare survival of socage of the ancient demesne is disappearing. Each tenement when it is surrendered to the mayor passes to the incoming tenant as ordinary freehold property. All land suits were heard in the three-weeks court; (fn. 90) the cases were begun by the king's little writ of right close. The first writ appears on a 13th-century court roll (fn. 91) and the actual writs are generally attached to the roll on which the case was recorded. (fn. 92) A writ was brought into the Court of Pleas as late as 1805. (fn. 93) The procedure closely followed that of the royal courts in freehold suits. In the early cases in the 13th and 14th centuries, an assize was held with twenty-four jurors, (fn. 94) but later fines and recoveries 'according to the custom of the manor' were more common. (fn. 95) The town was very jealous of its rights, and there were many complaints in the Duchy Courts that tenants had been impleaded in the common law or other royal courts instead of the manorial court. (fn. 96) Except in the use of the little writ of right close, the Godmanchester tenure approximated to free socage and all the terms of a freehold tenure were used: a daughter was given her land in free marriage; (fn. 97) a widow obtained her dower; (fn. 98) no servile services were paid and the land was held for suit of court and a money rent, without even the boonwork often due from freehold land. (fn. 99) From the customal of 1324, it appears that a tenant could assign, sell or bequeath his land by will, saving only the right of the widow to her dower. (fn. 100) This right of the widow persists at the present day, so that a man still cannot sell his land without his wife's consent. The only other restriction in 1324 was the rule forbidding the sale of land to a foreigner or an ecclesiastic. (fn. 101) Land still descends by the rule of Borough English to the youngest son of the first wife, unless testamentary dispositions have been made bequeathing it differently. (fn. 102)
BOROUGH
Godmanchester remained a selfgoverning manor for nearly 400 years, but in the 16th century the town was increasingly prosperous and the townspeople wished for the privileges of incorporation. In their documents the use of such terms as corporation and burgess crept in, (fn. 103) and during a lawsuit in 1569 it was claimed that Godmanchester was 'an ancient borough time out of mind.' (fn. 104) The town used a common seal, (fn. 105) but legally they were not incorporated and when, in 1585, a newly admitted tenant, named Richard Fairpoint, defied the authority of the bailiffs and commonalty, he threatened to sue the bailiffs, officials, and chief inhabitants one by one. (fn. 106)
A charter of incorporation was obtained from James I in 1604, and Godmanchester became a free borough, under the name of 'the Bailiffs, Assistants and Commonalty of the borough of Gumecestre, alias Godmanchester.' (fn. 107) The government of the town, however, was but slightly altered, the Common Council being formed of two Bailiffs and twelve Assistants, who replaced the jurors of the view of frankpledge in matters of town legislation. The first officials were appointed by King James, but the bailiffs after a year of office were in the future to be elected in the Court next before the Nativity of the Virgin Mary by the existing bailiffs and assistants. The assistants were appointed for life and were replaced from the burgesses of the borough by election by the bailiffs and remaining assistants. (fn. 108) It may be noticed that the new constitution was less democratic and placed the power of election in the hands of the Common Council instead of the tenants and freemen. Even the jurors of the leet were in 1615 to be impanelled by the bailiffs. (fn. 109) Other officials under the new charter were the steward, (fn. 110) recorder and town clerk. The borough and manor were granted to the corporation to hold as previously at a fee-farm rent of £120 of lawful English money. (fn. 111)
During the Commonwealth, preliminaries were begun for obtaining a new charter, but nothing was actually done. (fn. 112)
In 1684, the charter of James I was surrendered to Charles II, but it was not restored before his death (fn. 113) and the following year James II granted a new charter. (fn. 114) The differences in it were small and, after the Revolution of 1688, all corporations were ordered to resume their former charters (fn. 115) and the corporation acted under the charter of 1604 until the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. (fn. 116)
The lesser officials, though not named in the charter, were unchanged after the incorporation of the borough and the jurisdiction of the courts remained the same, though they became the courts of the bailiffs, assistants and commonalty instead of the courts of the King. (fn. 117) The manorial court became known as the Court of Pleas. (fn. 118)
A new edition of the by-laws was promulgated in 1615, repeating the main provisions of the older custumals of 1324 and 1465 and later enactments. Considerable additions had been made in the regulations of common rights; the most important, enacted in 1607, provided that only tenements constituted or divided before 28 September 1601 should have the right of common attached to them. (fn. 119) In consequence of these common rights, the freedom of the borough became of considerable value, and large sums were paid by foreigners for admission. (fn. 120) The curious custom by which a freeman gave a bucket and two scoops on admission is mentioned in 1635. (fn. 121) Afterwards the gift was commuted for money, but the system of purchasing the freedom of the borough came to an end in 1875, and the last payment instead of the bucket and scoops was made in 1876. (fn. 122) Now the freedom is an hereditary right and freemen only sign the roll on admission.
In 1835 the old constitution was swept away under the Municipal Corporations Act; a mayor and 4 aldermen and 12 councillors replaced the two bailiffs and assistants and the franchise was vested in the ratepayers. (fn. 123) The Court of Pleas had been growing of less and less importance, a few cases of debts and surrenders of land being its only business, but it continued as the mayor's court till 1847. (fn. 124) Special courts, however, were held for surrenders and giving seisin of land, (fn. 125) but latterly these have taken place in the mayor's presence only. The business of the court leet is now confined entirely to the stocking of the commons. It is held once a year by the mayor, when the 'grass-hirers' are appointed for the year, but the twelve jurors are no longer impanelled. (fn. 126) The limitation of the enjoyment of common rights to freemen tenants of commonable houses has led to a good deal of litigation, while the gradual exclusion of the freemen from the government of the borough has brought about outbreaks of discontent on their part. (fn. 127)
The seal of the borough is circular, 15/8 in. in diameter, with the device of a fleur de lis, possibly in reference to the dedication of the Parish Church, with the legend 'Commune Sigillum Gumecestre.' It seems to be of 13th century date. The mace is of silver of excellent design and bears the date 1745. The mayoral chain is of gold with enamel medallions, given by different donors since 1896.
For parliamentary purposes the borough was united to Huntingdon, which sent two members to Parliament. In 1867 the representation was reduced to one member and in 1885 it was merged into the county constituency.
No right to hold a market appears to have been granted to Godmanchester, but it seems probable that a market was held at the Horseshoe corner. In the bailiffs' accounts for 1533, there is an item paid for crying a cow and two stray horses in the market, (fn. 128) and in 1615 it certainly was the custom to bring fish to the 'Common Market' on Fridays. (fn. 129)
A fair on Easter Tuesday and the following Wednesday was granted by James I in the charter of 1604, together with a court of pie-powder. (fn. 130) It developed into an important horse and cattle fair held in the streets of the town near the old Court Hall. The cattle and sheep disappeared by 1870 after the rinderpest outbreak of the previous years, (fn. 131) but the horse fair continued till Easter 1914. It had been lessening in importance for some years and has never revived since the war. The charter of James II granted a second fair on the Tuesday after the Feast of SS. Simon and Jude, but the right to hold it ceased after the resumption of the old charter in 1688. (fn. 132) The court of pie-powder was held during the 17th century, (fn. 133) but it certainly was no longer held in 1834. (fn. 134)
¶The control of the waters of the Ouse has always been a matter of great importance to the town of Godmanchester. In the 13th century, the obstructions in the river put up by the Abbot of Ramsey, the Prior of Huntingdon and Reginald de Grey as lords of the mills respectively at Houghton, Hartford and Hemingford Grey led to complaints on the part of Huntingdon and not of Godmanchester, (fn. 135) but in the 15th century the latter town suffered severely by the continual flooding of its meadows. A series of complaints were made to the Court of the Duchy of Lancaster by the bailiffs and commonalty (fn. 136) and finally in 1524 the right to control the floodgates at Houghton and Hemingford was transferred from the Duchy authorities to the men of Godmanchester. (fn. 137) This right still exists and has been safeguarded in the various schemes for the improvement of the Ouse navigation, begun by Arnold Spencer in 1638. (fn. 138) It was finally confirmed to the borough in a judgment of the House of Lords in 1897 against Mr. Simpson, who had in 1893 acquired by purchase the entire rights of navigation granted to Spencer, and in the following year began an action against the corporation to prevent them from opening the sluice gates at Godmanchester, Hemingford and Houghton in times of flood. (fn. 139)
In 1279, the bailiffs of Godmanchester claimed that the town held a free fishery by the grant of King John and that they formerly had the right, as appurtenant to the manor, of fishing from Hayle to Swiftiswere, but were prevented by the Bishop of Lincoln and others from doing so. (fn. 140) The right to the free fishery continued, and from the borough custumal drawn up in 1615, it appears that the 'common fishers' of the town were bound to bring their fish to the common market at the Horseshoe corner every Friday and whenever they had fish to sell, on pain of a fine of 6s. 8d. (fn. 141).
In 1086 three water-mills were attached to the manor of Godmanchester, rendering 100s. yearly to the king. (fn. 142) The mills passed with the manor (q.v.) to the men of Godmanchester and in 1279 they paid 15s. a year to the fee-farm rent and a holm containing 8 acres was attached to them. (fn. 143) At the close of the 15th century they were let on lease, and this system seems to have been continued by the corporation until 1884. (fn. 144) At that time no tenant could be found. The corporation applied for leave to sell the property, but opposition was made on the ground that the freemen had the right to have their corn ground freely on the grist stone. No sale took place and the old mill stood derelict (fn. 145) and has been finally pulled down since 1926. A windmill is mentioned in 1599, when it was sold by Robert Green to Oliver Cromwell, alias Williams. (fn. 146)
CHURCH
The Church of ST. MARY consists of a chancel (44 ft. by 20 ft.) with organ chamber and two vestries on the north side, nave (72 ft. by 27 ft.), north aisle (15 ft. wide), south aisle (19 ft. wide), west tower and spire (19 ft. by 17½ ft.) and north and south porches. The walls are of stone and pebble rubble with stone dressings, except the tower, which is of ashlar. The roof coverings are of lead.
¶The church is mentioned in the Domesday Survey (1086) but, except for a few stones in the walling, nothing of this early building remains. The church seems to have been rebuilt about the middle of the 13th century, and of this period are the chancel, the west wall of the nave, and small parts of the west walls of the aisles. About 1340 a north vestry was added to the chancel, and at the end of this century and extending into the next a further reconstruction took place, beginning at the west end of the aisles and embracing the arcades, clearstory and porches, and the raising and altering of the chancel. The tower and spire, being ruinous, were taken down and rebuilt in 1623. The upper part of the south porch was rebuilt probably in 1669. The roofs and parapets were repaired early in the 19th century; the church was generally restored in 1853, the vestry rebuilt and the organ chamber and choir vestry added in 1860. A general restoration took place in 1885, and the chancel was restored in 1912.
The 13th-century chancel, reconstructed and raised c. 1510, (fn. 147) has an east window of three modern lancets. The north wall has a 15th-century two-light window, a 14th-century doorway to the clergy vestry, a 13th-century doorway (visible in the choir vestry), and a modern arch to the organ chamber. The south wall has three 15th-century windows of two-lights, the western set within an earlier opening, and a 15th-century doorway.
The chancel arch is two centred and of two chamfered orders resting on similar responds; most of the stones are of the 13th century, but the arch has been reconstructed and raised, c. 1490, (fn. 148) cutting into the sills of two 13th-century lancets in the gable above, the splays of which still retain some original painted decoration. Under it is a modern; screen. The low-pitched roof is practically all modern; the jack-legs rest on modern shafts and corbels.
The organ chamber and the two vestries on the north are modern, but in the east wall of the former is a reset 15th-century two-light window doubtless from the north wall of the chancel; and the vestry has a 14th-century single-light window reset.
The nave arcades, c. 1500, are of five bays, with two-centred arches of two moulded orders supported by narrow piers formed by the continuation downward of the outer orders of the arch between two attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The contemporary clearstory has five two-light windows on each side. The contemporary roof is of low pitch, has moulded beams, jack-legs and braces, but has been much restored.
The north aisle, c. 1500, has a five-light transomed east window with remains of niches in the splays, which now opens into the organ chamber; (fn. 149) at the extreme south end is a broken piscina. The north wall has four three-light transomed windows, and a reset 13th-century doorway, above which is a blocked doorway opening into a chamber over the porch. The west wall has a four-light transomed window, to the south of which is the splay of an earlier window. The pent roof has plain beams and curved braces, and the jack-legs are supported on carved corbels.
The south aisle, c. 1500, has in the east wall a fivelight transomed window, and a blocked doorway to the rood staircase. The south wall has three threelight windows and a two-light window, all transomed, a doorway with a moulded arch and jamb-shafts flanked on the outside by two niches, and a squareheaded doorway to the stairs leading to the chamber over the porch. The west wall has a four-light transomed window, to the north of which is the jamb and splay of an earlier window. The stairs to the rood loft were in a circular turret outside the wall at the north-east corner, now used as a smoke flue. The roof is similar to that of the north aisle.
The west tower, built in 1623, (fn. 150) has a 13th-century tower arch of three chamfered orders supported on semi-octagonal responds with carved stiff-leaf capitals and moulded bases. The west doorway has a moulded two-centred arch on sunk chamfered jambs and moulded imposts; (fn. 151) above it is a sunk panel with a shield bearing a fleur de lis and a scroll inscribed 'BVRGVS GVMECESTRE,' and above this another panel with date '1623.' Still higher are a pair of twolight windows with semicircular heads. In the next stage the north and south walls have each a two-light; and the belfry has coupled two-light windows with transoms. The tower has buttresses square at the angles, and is finished with an embattled parapet with pinnacles at the angles and a large fleur-de-lis on the central merlons. Behind the parapet rises an octagonal spire with three tiers of lights all on the cardinal faces; the top is 151 ft. 3 in. above the ground. The whole of the details are strongly tinged with Renaissance feeling, but a successful attempt has been made to harmonize with the architecture of the church.
The 15th-century north porch has a moulded two-centred arch on jambs with engaged shafts; the side walls have each a two-light window. Single-light windows in the east and west walls light the chamber above, and there is now a modern single-light window in the north wall. There is a small chamber over this porch, but the present roof and parapets are modern.
The 15th-century south porch has a four-centred outer archway with lily-pot at the apex of the label; on each side of it are large niches. Each side wall has two two-light windows. The chamber above, which is of later date, has a small single-light window in each of the outer walls, and a beam in the roof is dated 1669.
The 13th-century font (fn. 152) is an irregular octagon with crude carved heads projecting from the diagonal faces; the stem and base are modern.
There are eight bells, inscribed (1) Intactum sileo percute dulce cano: T. Osborn, Downham, fecit, 1794; (2) and (3) T. Osborn, founder, 1794; (4) Thomas Osborn, fecit. Our voices shall with joyful sound. Make hills and valleys eccho round. 1794; (5) T. Osborn, fecit, 1794; (6) J. Taylor & Co., Founders, Loughborough, 1870. F. T. Mc.Dougall, D.C.L., Vicar. P. E. Tillard, Henry Quince, Churchwardens; (7) T. Osborn, founder, 1794; (8) Revd. Castle Sherard, Rector, (fn. 153) Jno. Martin, Robt. Waller, Bailiffs, Jno. Scott, Richd. Miles, Ch. Wardens, T. Osborn, fecit: 1794. A sanctus bell seems to have remained as late as 1763. (fn. 154) Osborn had cast the whole peal of eight in 1794, using the metal of an earlier set of five; (fn. 155) the old fourth bell had been cast in 1710, by a shepherd at the Angel Inn in Godmanchester. (fn. 156) The bells were rehung and the 6th bell recast in 1870; it apparently had no inscription on it.
The 15th-century chancel stalls have shaped divisions with carved elbows, poppy heads and misericords, and panelled and traceried fronts. The carvings on the misericords include a falcon displayed, a dog with collar and resting on a cushion, a fleur-de-lis on a shield, a hare in the midst of a sun-in-splendour, (fn. 157) an ape, a wyvern, a fox and goose, the letters W.S. on a shield, (fn. 158) a cat and mouse; on the elbows a jester, angels, crowned heads, &c.; on the poppy heads two owls back to back, four birds, wyverns, etc.
Some of the fronts and backs of the modern seating and some of the bench ends have 15th-century tracery inserted in them.
In the nave is a chained oak poor-box, circular, bound with metal, and with a painted inscription. (fn. 159)
On one of the south buttresses of the chancel is a late 13th-century carved wheel-dial; and on the gable of the south porch is a small dial inscribed 'G. 1623. W.S.'
Lying loose in the porch is a portion of a 12th-century circular stone shaft with scale ornament.
On the floor of the nave is an early 16th-century brass figure of a civilian, with indents for two wives, two groups of children, and inscription panel; and in the chancel is the indent of an inscription plate.
There are the following monuments: In the chancel, to the Rev. Geoffrey Hawkins, Rector of Higham Gobion, Beds, d. 1727 (son of Geoffrey Hawkins, Rector of Chesterton, Hunts), Mary, his wife, d. 1750, and Hannah Worley, widow, d. 1771; Martha (Maylam) wife of George Rowley, d. 1765; John Hawkins, d. 1806; the Rev. Charles Gray, Vicar, d. 1854; and windows to the Rev. Charles Gray, Vicar, 1854; the Rev. W. P. E. Lathbury, Vicar, d. 1855; the Rev. John Hartley Richardson, curate, d. 1863; and the Rev. Henry Hart Chamberlain [d. 1899]. In the nave to Elizabeth (Meadows) wife of Edward Martin, d. 1805, and Edward Martin, d. 1853; Robert Hicks, d. 1825, Mary, widow of Rev. S. Hicks, Rector of Wrestlingworth, Beds, d. 1805, John Hicks, d. 1827, and Mary widow of Robert, d. 1862; floor slabs to Alured Clarke, d. 1744, Ann, his widow, d. 1755, and John Clarke, d. 1745; William Mehew, d. 1772, and Ann his wife, d. 1793; William Mehew, d. 1792; and Richard Miles, d. 1834. In the north aisle, to Alured Clarke, d. 1744, and family; Jos. Bull, d. 1764, Ann his wife, d. 1780, and Elizabeth their daughter, d. 1791; Thomas Townsend, d. 1792, Martha his wife, d. 1789, John, their son, d. 1799, and Ann, widow of John, d. 1817, James Stratton, d. 1800, son-in-law of Tho. Townsend, Ann his wife, d. 1835, Ann their daughter, d. 1826, George Turney her husband, d. 1825, and George Turney their son, d. 1835; John Chapman, d. 1858, and Edward Theodore, his son, d. 1859, Mary Chapman, widow of John, d. 1899; War Memorial 1914–18; and windows to Bishop Francis Thomas McDougall, Vicar, erected 1903; Frederick Robert Beart, d. 1905; Emma Frances Amelia Baumgartner, d. 1911. In the south aisle, to Thomas Betts, d. 1696, and Elizabeth his wife, d. 1700; Edward Martin, d. 1799, Alice his relict, d. 1801, and Harriet their infant daughter, d. 1788; John Martin, d. 1822, and Mary his wife, d. 1854; Henry Percy Tillard, d. 1858; John Thomas Baumgartner, d. 1874; Algernon Tillard, d. 1887; Francis Bonham Tillard, d. 1903, Helen wife of General Robert Julian Baumgartner, d. 1911; Mary Emily (Tillard) wife of Col. I. F. R. Thompson, d. 1915, and Lt.-Col. Ivan Frank Ross Thompson, d. 1917; Allen Victor Herbert, d. 1918; floor slabs to Thomas Bentley, d. 1709; John Martin, d. 1752; Elizabeth daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Fox, d. 1755; Jane, relict of John Martin, d. 1789; and windows to two children of J. T. and P. Baumgartner, d. 1827 and 1844; Phoebe, wife of John Lancaster, d. 1833; John Thomas Baumgartner, d. 1874; Philipa Julia (Baumgartner) wife of Philip Tillard, d. 1885; Philip Tillard, d. 1887; the Rev. Preston John Williams, Vicar, erected 1894; General Robert Julian Baumgartner, d. 1895. In the tower, windows to Edward Martin, d. 1835, and Elizabeth his wife, d. . . . .; and William Beart, d. 1852. In the south porch to the wife and children of the Rev. H. H. Chamberlain.
The registers are as follows: (i) Baptisms, 23 Dec. 1604 to 3 Jan. 1642–3; marriages, 3 Jan. 1603–4 to 30 Aug. 1653, and 6 March 1742–3 to 8 Sept. 1754; burials, 1 Feb. 1604–5 to Dec. 1647, and 1653; (ii) baptisms, 30 Sept. 1653 to 5 Aug. 1660, and three entries in 1669, 1671 and 1674; marriages, 9 Jan. 1653–4 to 16 April 1718; burials, 3 Oct. 1653 to 14 May 1717; (iii) marriages, 13 April 1718 to 11 Jan. 1753; burials, 31 March 1718 to 24 Dec. 1751; (iv) baptisms and burials, 20 Oct. 1754 to 22 April 1798; (v) the official marriage book, 1 Aug. 1754 to 5 Nov. 1783; (vi) the same, 10 Nov. 1783 to 28 Feb. 1811; (vii) baptisms and burials, 13 Jan. 1798 to 30 Dec. 1812; (viii) the official marriage book, 6 March 1811 to 25 Oct. 1812. The first two books are in considerable disorder and apparently several years are missing, and the second book is much damaged by damp. The first book has been rebound and the second requires similar treatment.
The church plate consists of: A silver cup of Elizabethan date, no date letter; a silver gilt cup and cover paten, hall-marked for 1559–60; a silver plate engraved 'Benedicamus Patrem et filium cum spiritu,' and inscribed 'To the Glory of God and the use of St. Mary's Church, Godmanchester, 1848. E. I. W. dedit,' hall-marked for 1846–7; a silver alms-dish, engraved 'hilarem datorem diligit Deus,' and inscribed as last, hall-marked for 1847–8; a plated dish and flagon, the latter inscribed 'The gift of Charles Gray, M.A., Vicar, to the Parish Church of Godmanchester, A.D. 1834.'
ADVOWSON
The Church of St. Mary (fn. 160) is stated to have been given with 3 hides of land by King Edgar (c. 969) to the monks of Ramsey, (fn. 161) but it was no longer in their possession at the time of the Domesday Survey (fn. 162) and they never seem to have laid claim to it. In 1086 a church and priest were attached to the manor (fn. 163) and remained in royal possession until Stephen gave the church to Merton Priory in Surrey. (fn. 164) In 1284, the endowment of the church consisted of 48 acres of land and also 15 acres of meadow held by the Prior of Merton in commutation for all tithes of hay. (fn. 165) He held other lands, but these were assessed to the fee-farm rent and were not spiritualities. (fn. 166) After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the rectory was granted in 1542 to the dean and chapter of Westminster (fn. 167) and except during the reign of Mary and the Commonwealth they have owned it ever since. (fn. 168) It has been held by a succession of lessees and in a lease of 1640 the dean and chapter stipulated for entertainment for two days and two nights for themselves or their officers at the lessee's expense. (fn. 169)
Between 1209 and 1219 the vicarage was instituted and two houses, land and meadow, as well as the vicarial tithes were assigned to it. (fn. 170) The advowson of the vicarage has always been held with the rectory, (fn. 171) although the first recorded presentation by the dean and chapter of Westminster was not till 1599. (fn. 172) A custumal of the vicar's tithing was drawn up in 1599 in great detail and is specially interesting in showing the payments made from parishioners who were not landholders. (fn. 173) In the 17th century the vicarage was too poor to support a suitable vicar for the town and consequently in 1655 the Town Council decided to purchase a house called the Star, next to the vicarage, which was ruinous. (fn. 174) The Star was finally annexed to the vicarage when the dean and chapter had recovered the patronage after the Restoration. (fn. 175) The purchase of the Star is an illustration of control of church affairs by the governing body both before and after Godmanchester became a borough. In 1532 the town officials appointed an organist and the expenses incurred over his engagement were charged to the bailiffs' account. (fn. 176) In the reign of Henry VI the two churchwardens appear amongst the elected officials of the town (fn. 177) and they accounted to the bailiffs and jurors. (fn. 178) Throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries the churchwardens' accounts were presented to the Town Council, although in the 18th century protest was apparently made against the practice. In 1712 a churchwarden, apparently not a freeman of the borough, brought the matter into the spiritual courts to the great indignation of the Council, who decreed that he was never to be admitted to the freedom and also indemnified his successors against any damages they might incur during the trial. (fn. 179) In 1824, the Common Council enacted a careful table of precedence for its members in the corporation pews in the chancel. (fn. 180)
CHANTRIES
The Chantry of the Blessed Mary (fn. 181) or Roode's Chantry, (fn. 182) in the parish church, was in existence in 1297 (fn. 183) and possibly earlier, since in 1279 Martin the chaplain was a town tenant of 4½ acres of land and some meadow, though his benefice is not named. (fn. 184) In 1307, Roger de Strateshill, probably the chaplain of the chantry, wished to endow it with 31 acres of land and 4 acres of meadow to provide a daily celebration of mass, but difficulties appear to have arisen with John Dalderby, Bishop of Lincoln (1300–1329). (fn. 185) The matter was taken up by the town, and at the request of Henry Roode, apparently one of the bailiffs, licence was obtained from the king in 1316 for Roger de Strateshill's gift. (fn. 186) Further gifts of land are recorded (fn. 187) and each incumbent was seemingly given seisin for his life by the bailiffs, 'who reserved the right to annul the grant, thus avoiding any grant of the lands in mortmain. (fn. 188) The chantry was thus especially associated with the town and the chaplain was bound to pray, in English, at the daily mass 'for the good state, welfare and prosperity of the Bayliffs of this town, and all the Comynalty of the same, fundars of this Chauntre.' (fn. 189) At the time of the dissolution of the chantries, the chaplain both provided assistance to the vicar and was also master of a grammar school. (fn. 190) The possessions of the chantry, together with those of the Gilds of Corpus Christi (q.v.) and the Holy Trinity (q.v.) were seized by the crown and in 1553 were leased to John Shepherd and others of the royal household for twenty-one years at an annual rent of £35 16s. 10d. (fn. 191) The fee-farm rents of £5 15s. 5d. due to the bailiffs of Godmanchester were paid by the crown until 1592, (fn. 192) when Elizabeth, in a new lease to Peter Proby, remitted the fee-farm rent and a charge of 4s. payable to the poor and received a lower rent from the lessee. (fn. 193) Soon after the grant of the charter of 1604, the borough unsuccessfully attempted to recover the chantry lands and were involved in lawsuits in the Duchy courts and considerable expenses, (fn. 194) the issue being complicated by the grant in fee, in 1606–7 by James I, of the disputed lands to Edward Newport. (fn. 195) In 1657, they were held by Robert Barnard, (fn. 196) but it seems possible that they were seized by the Commissioners for the sale of fee-farm rents during the Protectorate, (fn. 197) since at some subsequent date they were attached to the Rectory on whose 'lessee the old crown rent of £30 per annum is charged as an annuity in augmentation of the vicarage as also with the sum of £5 19s. 5d. to the annual fee-farm rent of the town.' (fn. 198)
The Gild of Corpus Christi is first mentioned in 1366, (fn. 199) and the fraternity was an established body in 1396. (fn. 200) It consisted of brothers and sisters governed by two wardens. (fn. 201) A later benefactor was John Copegray, chaplain of the gild and vicar of Alconbury (1463–69). (fn. 202) After the dissolution of the chantries, the endowments, which amounted in 1536 to £11 7s. 4d. a year, (fn. 203) passed with those of Roode's Chantry (q.v.). The name is still preserved in Corpus Christi Lane.
The Gild of the Holy Trinity was founded before 1279, when William, chaplain of the Trinity, held 1½ acre of land. (fn. 204) It was governed by two wardens (fn. 205) and is mentioned in wills of Godmanchester inhabitants, (fn. 206) but its endowments were small and at its dissolution amounted to only £3 4s. 9d. a year. (fn. 207) Edmund Archpole was then chaplain of both Corpus Christi (q.v.) and Holy Trinity Gilds, (fn. 208) but there does not seem to have been any formal amalgamation of the gilds. The lands of the gild followed the descent of those of Roode's chantry (q.v.).
Little is known of the origin of the Gild of St. John the Baptist, (fn. 209) but it was founded before 1359, when William Balle seems to have been the chaplain. (fn. 210) Possibly the gild had a separate chapel, since 'land next to the chapel' are mentioned at the same date. (fn. 211) The fraternity appears in the town rentals until 1549, (fn. 212) but all trace of it is afterwards lost and its lands do not appear in the certificate of chantry lands at the dissolution of the chantries. Nine acres of land formed the endowment of certain lights and lamps in the church, and they were valued at 22s. 2d. a year after deducting the fee-farm rent. (fn. 213) In 1553, obit lands appear in the lease of chantry lands to John Shepherd and to later tenants (fn. 214) and a payment of 1s. 10½d. a year to the bellman was chargeable on the chantry lands. (fn. 215)
At the present time there is a Particular Baptist Chapel, founded in 1815, and the Union Chapel, built in 1844, to replace an older chapel. (fn. 216)
CHARITIES
The following charities are regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 12 February 1926:—
Christopher Fisher in 1674 gave a piece of land containing 2 a. and 3 r. in Reed Meadow, and John Dryden by a declaration of trust dated 17 Dec. 1708 gave the sum of £200 which was laid out in the purchase of 24 a. 1 r. 20 p. of land, the rents to be applied in apprenticing poor children of the parish. The endowment of the charities now consists of £1,578 8s. 9d., 2½ per cent. Consols and various other sums of stock with the Official Trustees, the whole producing about £60 annually in dividends which are applied in apprenticing.
John Banks by will dated 19 November 1707 charged his lands and hereditaments in Dunton with a yearly payment of £12 to be applied for apprenticing and for the poor. The endowment now consists of a rentcharge of £12 per annum issuing out of Millow Hall Farm, Dunton, £21 1s. 5 per cent. War Stock and £25 4 per cent. Victory Bonds with the Official Trustees. £5, part of the rentcharge, is applied for the benefit of the poor and the residue £7 is applied for apprenticing.
Note.—Under clause 19 of the above-mentioned scheme the trustees are empowered to apply that part of the income applicable for apprenticing and not required for that purpose in assisting poor persons in the case of Banks's charity and in assisting poor boys for their advancement in life in the case of Fisher's and Dryden's charities.
Fishbourne's Charity. This charity consists of a rentcharge of 10s. per annum issuing out of hereditaments at Hartford. The rent is distributed by the mayor to four poor widows not in receipt of parish relief.
Anonymous Charity for Poor founded in 1727. The endowment of this charity consists of a rentcharge of 3s. 4d. per annum charged upon or issuing out of hereditaments in Post Street. This sum is distributed in bread amongst the poor of the parish.
Grainger's Gift. Robert Grainger by will dated 10 October 1578 charged his mansion-house in Godmanchester with one comb of wheat to be made into bread and distributed among the poor. The value of one comb of wheat is now charged upon property in Godmanchester now in the occupation of Mr. W. F. Beart and distributed to the poor of the parish in bread.
¶The charity known as the Rectory Charge was founded by deed dated 27 January 1443 for the benefit of the poor of the parish. The endowment consists of four quarters of wheat and three quarters of barley charged on the Rectory Farm, Godmanchester. Under the provisions of the above-mentioned scheme the vicar and the mayor (ex-officio trustees) and six representative trustees appointed by the Borough Council, were appointed the trustees of the charities.
Almshouses. These consist of four almshouses in East Chadleigh Lane, Godmanchester, built with money given in 1723 by Mr. Dryden, together with two small almshouses in Penfold Lane (known as Manser's Charity) formerly four houses but converted into two. There are no endowments in connection with these almshouses, which are kept in repair at the parish expense.
Kashgar is an oasis city with an approximate population of 350,000. It is the westernmost city in China, located near the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kashgar has a rich history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. Kashgar is part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Located historically at the convergence point of widely varying cultures and empires, Kashgar has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires. The city has also been the site of an extraordinary number of battles between various groups of people on the steppes.
Now administered as a county-level unit of the People's Republic of China, Kashgar is the administrative centre of its eponymous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which has an area of 162,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately 3.5 million. The city's urban area covers 15 km2, though its administrative area extends over 555 km2.
NAME
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr; Uyghur: قەشقەر). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasi”. Its western and probably indigenous name is the Kāš ("rock"), to which the East Iranian -γar ("mountain"); cf. Pashto and Middle Persian gar/ġar, from Old Persian/Pahlavi girīwa ("hill; ridge (of a mountain)") was attached. Alternative historical Romanizations for "Kashgar" include Cascar and Cashgar.
Non-native names for the city, such as the old Chinese name Shule 疏勒 and Tibetan Śu-lig may have originated as an attempts to transcribe the Sanskrit name for Kashgar, Śrīkrīrāti ("fortunate hospitality")
Variant transcriptions of the official Uyghur: يېڭىشەھەر include: K̂äxk̂är or Kaxgar, as well as Jangi-schahr, Kashgar Yangi Shahr, K’o-shih-ka-erh, K’o-shih-ka-erh-hsin-ch’eng, Ko-shih-ka-erh-hui-ch’eng, K’o-shih-ko-erh-hsin-ch’eng, New Kashgar, Sheleh, Shuleh, Shulen, Shu-lo, Su-lo, Su-lo-chen, Su-lo-hsien, Yangi-shaar, Yangi-shahr, Yangishar, Yéngisheher, Yengixəh̨ər and Еңишәһәр.
HISTORY
HAN DYNASTY
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han dynasty envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.
Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han dynasty), when in 76 BC the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan range.
Ptolemy speaks of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a “Kasia Regio”, probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar and Kashgaria (often applied to the district) are formed. The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam.
In the Book of Han, which covers the period between 125 BC and 23 AD, it is recorded that there were 1,510 households, 18,647 people and 2,000 persons able to bear arms. By the time covered by the Book of the Later Han (roughly 25 to 170 AD), it had grown to 21,000 households and had 3,000 men able to bear arms.
The Book of the Later Han provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region:
"In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BC], the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior [China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel [in charge of] Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BC] changed this title [in 59 BC] to Protector-General.
Emperor Yuan [40-33 BC] installed two Wuji Colonels to take charge of the agricultural garrisons on the frontiers of the king of Nearer Jushi [Turpan].
During the time of Emperor Ai [6 BC-AD 1] and Emperor Ping [AD 1-5], the principalities of the Western Regions split up and formed fifty-five kingdoms. Wang Mang, after he usurped the Throne [in AD 9], demoted and changed their kings and marquises. Following this, the Western Regions became resentful, and rebelled. They, therefore, broke off all relations with the Interior [China] and, all together, submitted to the Xiongnu again.
The Xiongnu collected oppressively heavy taxes and the kingdoms were not able to support their demands. In the middle of the Jianwu period [AD 25-56], they each [Shanshan and Yarkand in 38, and 18 kingdoms in 45], sent envoys to ask if they could submit to the Interior [China], and to express their desire for a Protector-General. Emperor Guangwu, decided that because the Empire was not yet settled [after a long period of civil war], he had no time for outside affairs, and [therefore] finally refused his consent [in AD 45].
In the meantime, the Xiongnu became weaker. The king of Suoju [Yarkand], named Xian, wiped out several kingdoms. After Xian’s death [c. AD 62], they began to attack and fight each other. Xiao Yuan [Tura], Jingjue [Cadota], Ronglu [Niya], and Qiemo [Cherchen] were annexed by Shanshan [the Lop Nur region]. Qule [south of Keriya] and Pishan [modern Pishan or Guma] were conquered and fully occupied by Yutian [Khotan]. Yuli [Fukang], Danhuan, Guhu [Dawan Cheng], and Wutanzili were destroyed by Jushi [Turpan and Jimasa]. Later these kingdoms were re-established.
During the Yongping period [AD 58-75], the Northern Xiongnu forced several countries to help them plunder the commanderies and districts of Hexi. The gates of the towns stayed shut in broad daylight."
And, more particularly in reference to Kashgar itself, is the following record:
"In the sixteenth Yongping year of Emperor Ming 73, Jian, the king of Qiuci (Kucha), attacked and killed Cheng, the king of Shule (Kashgar). Then he appointed the Qiuci (Kucha) Marquis of the Left, Douti, King of Shule (Kashgar). ‹See TfD›
In winter 73, the Han sent the Major Ban Chao who captured and bound Douti. He appointed Zhong, the son of the elder brother of Cheng, to be king of Shule (Kashgar). Zhong later rebelled. (Ban) Chao attacked and beheaded him."
THE KUSHANS
The Book of the Later Han also gives the only extant historical record of Yuezhi or Kushan involvement in the Kashgar oasis:
"During the Yuanchu period (114-120) in the reign of Emperor, the king of Shule (Kashgar), exiled his maternal uncle Chenpan to the Yuezhi (Kushans) for some offence. The king of the Yuezhi became very fond of him. Later, Anguo died without leaving a son. His mother directed the government of the kingdom. She agreed with the people of the country to put Yifu (lit. “posthumous child”), who was the son of a full younger brother of Chenpan on the throne as king of Shule (Kashgar). Chenpan heard of this and appealed to the Yuezhi (Kushan) king, saying:
"Anguo had no son. His relative (Yifu) is weak. If one wants to put on the throne a member of (Anguo’s) mother’s family, I am Yifu’s paternal uncle, it is I who should be king."
The Yuezhi (Kushans) then sent soldiers to escort him back to Shule (Kashgar). The people had previously respected and been fond of Chenpan. Besides, they dreaded the Yuezhi (Kushans). They immediately took the seal and ribbon from Yifu and went to Chenpan, and made him king. Yifu was given the title of Marquis of the town of Pangao [90 li, or 37 km, from Shule].
‹See TfD›
Then Suoju (Yarkand) continued to resist Yutian (Khotan), and put themselves under Shule (Kashgar). Thus Shule (Kashgar), became powerful and a rival to Qiuci (Kucha) and Yutian (Khotan)."
However, it was not very long before the Chinese began to reassert their authority in the region:
“In the second Yongjian year (127), during Emperor Shun’s reign, Chenpan sent an envoy to respectfully present offerings. The Emperor bestowed on Chenpan the title of Great Commandant-in-Chief for the Han. Chenxun, who was the son of his elder brother, was appointed Temporary Major of the Kingdom. ‹See TfD›
In the fifth year (130), Chenpan sent his son to serve the Emperor and, along with envoys from Dayuan (Ferghana) and Suoju (Yarkand), brought tribute and offerings.”
From an earlier part of the same text comes the following addition:
“In the first Yangjia year (132), Xu You sent the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Yutian (Khotan). He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Jumi] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.”[38]
Then the first passage continues:
“In the second Yangjia year (133), Chenpan again made offerings (including) a lion and zebu cattle. ‹See TfD›
Then, during Emperor Ling’s reign, in the first Jianning year, the king of Shule (Kashgar) and Commandant-in-Chief for the Han (i.e. presumably Chenpan), was shot while hunting by the youngest of his paternal uncles, Hede. Hede named himself king.
‹See TfD›
In the third year (170), Meng Tuo, the Inspector of Liangzhou, sent the Provincial Officer Ren She, commanding five hundred soldiers from Dunhuang, with the Wuji Major Cao Kuan, and Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, Zhang Yan, brought troops from Yanqi (Karashahr), Qiuci (Kucha), and the Nearer and Further States of Jushi (Turpan and Jimasa), altogether numbering more than 30,000, to punish Shule (Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong [Arach − near Maralbashi] but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule (Kashgar) killed one another repeatedly while the Imperial Government was unable to prevent it.”
THREE KINGDOMS TO THE SUI
These centuries are marked by a general silence in sources on Kashgar and the Tarim Basin.
The Weilüe, composed in the second third of the 3rd century, mentions a number of states as dependencies of Kashgar: the kingdom of Zhenzhong (Arach?), the kingdom of Suoju (Yarkand), the kingdom of Jieshi, the kingdom of Qusha, the kingdom of Xiye (Khargalik), the kingdom of Yinai (Tashkurghan), the kingdom of Manli (modern Karasul), the kingdom of Yire (Mazar − also known as Tágh Nák and Tokanak), the kingdom of Yuling, the kingdom of Juandu (‘Tax Control’ − near modern Irkeshtam), the kingdom of Xiuxiu (‘Excellent Rest Stop’ − near Karakavak), and the kingdom of Qin.
However, much of the information on the Western Regions contained in the Weilüe seems to have ended roughly about (170), near the end of Han power. So, we can’t be sure that this is a reference to the state of affairs during the Cao Wei (220-265), or whether it refers to the situation before the civil war during the Later Han when China lost touch with most foreign countries and came to be divided into three separate kingdoms.
Chapter 30 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms says that after the beginning of the Wei Dynasty (220) the states of the Western Regions did not arrive as before, except for the larger ones such as Kucha, Khotan, Kangju, Wusun, Kashgar, Yuezhi, Shanshan and Turpan, who are said to have come to present tribute every year, as in Han times.
In 270, four states from the Western Regions were said to have presented tribute: Karashahr, Turpan, Shanshan, and Kucha. Some wooden documents from Niya seem to indicate that contacts were also maintained with Kashgar and Khotan around this time.
In 422, according to the Songshu, ch. 98, the king of Shanshan, Bilong, came to the court and "the thirty-six states in the Western Regions" all swore their allegiance and presented tribute. It must be assumed that these 36 states included Kashgar.
The "Songji" of the Zizhi Tongjian records that in the 5th month of 435, nine states: Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all came to the Wei court.
In 439, according to the Weishu, ch. 4A, Shanshan, Kashgar and Karashahr sent envoys to present tribute.
According to the Weishu, ch. 102, Chapter on the Western Regions, the kingdoms of Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all began sending envoys to present tribute in the Taiyuan reign period (435-440).
In 453 Kashgar sent envoys to present tribute (Weishu, ch. 5), and again in 455.
An embassy sent during the reign of Wencheng Di (452-466) from the king of Kashgar presented a supposed sacred relic of the Buddha; a dress which was incombustible.
In 507 Kashgar, is said to have sent envoys in both the 9th and 10th months (Weishu, ch. 8).
In 512, Kashgar sent envoys in the 1st and 5th months. (Weishu, ch. 8).
Early in the 6th century Kashgar is included among the many territories controlled by the Yeda or Hephthalite Huns, but their empire collapsed at the onslaught of the Western Turks between 563 and 567 who then probably gained control over Kashgar and most of the states in the Tarim Basin.
TANG DYNASTY
The founding of the Tang dynasty in 618 saw the beginning of a prolonged struggle between China and the Western Turks for control of the Tarim Basin. In 635, the Tang Annals reported an emissary from the king of Kashgar to the Tang capital. In 639 there was a second emissary bringing products of Kashgar as a token of submission to the Tang state.
Buddhist scholar Xuanzang passed through Kashgar (which he referred to as Ka-sha) in 644 on his return journey from India to China. The Buddhist religion, then beginning to decay in India, was active in Kashgar. Xuanzang recorded that they flattened their babies heads, tattooed their bodies and had green eyes. He reported that Kashgar had abundant crops, fruits and flowers, wove fine woolen stuffs and rugs. Their writing system had been adapted from Indian script but their language was different from that of other countries. The inhabitants were sincere Buddhist adherents and there were some hundreds of monasteries with more than 10,000 followers, all members of the Sarvastivadin School.
At around the same era, Nestorian Christians were establishing bishoprics at Herat, Merv and Samarkand, whence they subsequently proceeded to Kashgar, and finally to China proper itself.
In 646, the Turkic Kagan asked for the hand of a Tang Chinese princess, and in return the Emperor promised Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Karashahr and Sarikol as a marriage gift, but this did not happen as planned.
In a series of campaigns between 652 and 658, with the help of the Uyghurs, the Chinese finally defeated the Western Turk tribes and took control of all their domains, including the Tarim Basin kingdoms. Karakhoja was annexed in 640, Karashahr during campaigns in 644 and 648, and Kucha fell in 648.
In 662 a rebellion broke out in the Western Regions and a Chinese army sent to control it was defeated by the Tibetans south of Kashgar.
After another defeat of the Tang Chinese forces in 670, the Tibetans gained control of the whole region and completely subjugated Kashgar in 676-8 and retained possession of it until 692, when the Tang dynasty regained control of all their former territories, and retained it for the next fifty years.
In 722 Kashgar sent 4,000 troops to assist the Chinese to force the "Tibetans out of "Little Bolu" or Gilgit.
In 728, the king of Kashgar was awarded a brevet by the Chinese emperor.
In 739, the Tangshu relates that the governor of the Chinese garrison in Kashgar, with the help of Ferghana, was interfering in the affairs of the Turgesh tribes as far as Talas.
In 751 the Chinese were defeated by an Arab army in the Battle of Talas. The An Lushan Rebellion led to the decline of Tang influence in Central Asia due to the fact that the Tang dynasty was forced to withdraw its troops from the region to fight An Lushan. The Tibetans cut all communication between China and the West in 766.
Soon after the Chinese pilgrim monk Wukong passed through Kashgar in 753. He again reached Kashgar on his return trip from India in 786 and mentions a Chinese deputy governor as well as the local king.
BATTLES WITH ARAB CALIPHATE
In 711, the Arabs invaded Kashgar, but did not hold the city for any length of time. Kashgar and Turkestan lent assistance to the reigning queen of Bukhara, to enable her to repel the Arabs. Although the Muslim religion from the very commencement sustained checks, it nevertheless made its weight felt upon the independent states of Turkestan to the north and east, and thus acquired a steadily growing influence. It was not, however, till the 10th century that Islam was established at Kashgar, under the Kara-Khanid Khanate.
THE TURKIC RULE
According to the 10th-century text, Hudud al-'alam, "the chiefs of Kashghar in the days of old were from the Qarluq, or from the Yaghma." The Karluks, Yaghmas and other tribes such as the Chigils formed the Karakhanids. The Karakhanid Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam in the 10th century and captured Kashgar. Kashgar was the capital of the Karakhanid state for a time but later the capital was moved to Balasaghun. During the latter part of the 10th century, the Muslim Karakhanids began a struggle against the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan, and the Khotanese defeated the Karakhanids and captured Kashgar in 970. Chinese sources recorded the king of Khotan offering to send them a dancing elephant captured from Kashgar. Later in 1006, the Karakhanids of Kashgar under Yusuf Kadr Khan conquered Khotan.
The Karakhanid Khanate however was beset with internal strife, and the khanate split into two, the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates, with Kashgar falling within the domain of the Eastern Karakhanid state. In 1089, the Western Karakhanids fell under the control of the Seljuks, but the Eastern Karakhanids was for the most part independent.
Both the Karakhanid states were defeated in the 12th century by the Kara-Khitans who captured Balasaghun, however Karakhanid rule continued in Kashgar under the suzerainty of the Kara-Khitans. The Kara-Khitan rulers followed a policy of religious tolerance, Islamic religious life continued uninterrupted and Kashgar was also a Nestorian metropolitan see. The last Karakhanid of Kashgar was killed in a revolt in 1211 by the city's notables. Kuchlug, a usurper of the throne of the Kara-Khitans, then attacked Kashgar which finally surrendered in 1214.
THE MONGOLS
The Kara-Khitai in their turn were swept away in 1219 by Genghis Khan. After his death, Kashgar came under the rule of the Chagatai Khans. Marco Polo visited the city, which he calls Cascar, about 1273-4 and recorded the presence of numerous Nestorian Christians, who had their own churches. Later In the 14th century, a Chagataid khan Tughluq Timur converted to Islam, and Islamic tradition began to reassert its ascendancy.
In 1389−1390 Tamerlane ravaged Kashgar, Andijan and the intervening country. Kashgar endured a troubled time, and in 1514, on the invasion of the Khan Sultan Said, was destroyed by Mirza Ababakar, who with the aid of ten thousand men built a new fort with massive defences higher up on the banks of the Tuman river. The dynasty of the Chagatai Khans collapsed in 1572 with the division of the country among rival factions; soon after, two powerful Khoja factions, the White and Black Mountaineers (Ak Taghliq or Afaqi, and Kara Taghliq or Ishaqi), arose whose differences and war-making gestures, with the intermittent episode of the Oirats of Dzungaria, make up much of recorded history in Kashgar until 1759. The Dzungar Khanate conquered Kashgar and set up the Khoja as their puppet rulers.
QING CONQUEST
The Qing dynasty defeated the Dzungar Khanate during the Ten Great Campaigns and took control of Kashgar in 1759. The conquerors consolidated their authority by settling other ethnics emigrants in the vicinity of a Manchu garrison.
Rumours flew around Central Asia that the Qing planned to launch expeditions towards Transoxiana and Samarkand, the chiefs of which sought assistance from the Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali. The alleged expedition never happened so Ahmad Shah withdrew his forces from Kokand. He also dispatched an ambassador to Beijing to discuss the situation of the Afaqi Khojas, but the representative was not well received, and Ahmed Shah was too busy fighting off the Sikhs to attempt to enforce his demands through arms.
The Qing continued to hold Kashgar with occasional interruptions during the Afaqi Khoja revolts. One of the most serious of these occurred in 1827, when the city was taken by Jahanghir Khoja; Chang-lung, however, the Qing general of Ili, regained possession of Kashgar and the other rebellious cities in 1828.
The Kokand Khanate raided Kashgar several times. A revolt in 1829 under Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf, brother of Jahanghir resulted in the concession of several important trade privileges to the Muslims of the district of Altishahr (the "six cities"), as it was then called.
The area enjoyed relative calm until 1846 under the rule of Zahir-ud-din, the local Uyghur governor, but in that year a new Khoja revolt under Kath Tora led to his accession as the authoritarian ruler of the city. However, his reign was brief—at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Khokand amid the jeers of the inhabitants. The last of the Khoja revolts (1857) was of about equal duration, and took place under Wali-Khan, who murdered the well-known traveler Adolf Schlagintweit.
1862 CHINESE HUI REVOLT
The great Dungan revolt (1862–1877) involved insurrection among various Muslim ethnic groups. It broke out in 1862 in Gansu then spread rapidly to Dzungaria and through the line of towns in the Tarim Basin.
Dungan troops based in Yarkand rose and in August 1864 massacred some seven thousand Chinese and their Manchu commander. The inhabitants of Kashgar, rising in their turn against their masters, invoked the aid of Sadik Beg, a Kyrgyz chief, who was reinforced by Buzurg Khan, the heir of Jahanghir Khoja, and his general Yakub Beg. The latter men were dispatched at Sadik’s request by the ruler of Khokand to raise what troops they could to aid his Muslim friends in Kashgar.
Sadik Beg soon repented of having asked for a Khoja, and eventually marched against Kashgar, which by this time had succumbed to Buzurg Khan and Yakub Beg, but was defeated and driven back to Khokand. Buzurg Khan delivered himself up to indolence and debauchery, but Yakub Beg, with singular energy and perseverance, made himself master of Yangi Shahr, Yangi-Hissar, Yarkand and other towns, and eventually became sole master of the country, Buzurg Khan proving himself totally unfit for the post of ruler.
With the overthrow of Chinese rule in 1865 by Yakub Beg (1820–1877), the manufacturing industries of Kashgar are supposed to have declined.
Yaqub Beg entered into relations and signed treaties with the Russian Empire and the British Empire, but when he tried to get their support against China, he failed.
Kashgar and the other cities of the Tarim Basin remained under Yakub Beg’s rule until May 1877, when he died at Korla. Thereafter Kashgaria was reconquered by the forces of the Qing general Zuo Zongtang during the Qing reconquest of Xinjiang.
QING RULE
There were eras in Xinjiang's history where intermarriage was common, "laxity" which set upon Uyghur women led them to marry Chinese men and not wear the veil in the period after Yaqub Beg's rule ended, it is also believed by Uyghurs that some Uyghurs have Han Chinese ancestry from historical intermarriage, such as those living in Turpan.
Even though Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims in Islamic law, from 1880-1949 it was frequently violated in Xinjiang since Chinese men married Muslim Turki (Uyghur) women, a reason suggested by foriengers that it was due to the women being poor, while the Turki women who married Chinese were labelled as whores by the Turki community, these marriages were illegitimate according to Islamic law but the women obtained benefits from marrying Chinese men since the Chinese defended them from Islamic authorities so the women were not subjected to the tax on prostitution and were able to save their income for themselves. Chinese men gave their Turki wives privileges which Turki men's wives did not have, since the wives of Chinese did not have to wear a veil and a Chinese man in Kashgar once beat a mullah who tried to force his Turki Kashgari wife to veil. The Turki women also benefited in that they were not subjected to any legal binding to their Chinese husbands so they could make their Chinese husbands provide them with as much their money as she wanted for her relatives and herself since otherwise the women could just leave, and the property of Chinese men was left to their Turki wives after they died. Turki women considered Turki men to be inferior husbands to Chinese and Hindus. Because they were viewed as "impure", Islamic cemeteries banned the Turki wives of Chinese men from being buried within them, the Turki women got around this problem by giving shrines donations and buying a grave in other towns. Besides Chinese men, other men such as Hindus, Armenians, Jews, Russians, and Badakhshanis intermarried with local Turki women. The local society accepted the Turki women and Chinese men's mixed offspring as their own people despite the marriages being in violation of Islamic law. Turki women also conducted temporary marriages with Chinese men such as Chinese soldiers temporarily stationed around them as soldiers for tours of duty, after which the Chinese men returned to their own cities, with the Chinese men selling their mixed daughters with the Turki women to his comrades, taking their sons with them if they could afford it but leaving them if they couldn't, and selling their temporary Turki wife to a comrade or leaving her behind.
An anti-Russian uproar broke out when Russian customs officials, 3 Cossacks and a Russian courier invited local Turki (Uyghur) prostitutes to a party in January 1902 in Kashgar, this caused a massive brawl by the inflamed local Turki Muslim populace against the Russians on the pretense of protecting Muslim women because there was anti-Russian sentiment being built up, even though morality was not strict in Kashgar, the local Turki Muslims violently clashed with the Russians before they were dispersed by guards, the Chinese sought to end to tensions to prevent the Russians from building up a pretext to invade.
After the riot, the Russians sent troops to Sarikol in Tashkurghan and demanded that the Sarikol postal services be placed under Russian supervision, the locals of Sarikol believed that the Russians would seize the entire district from the Chinese and send more soldiers even after the Russians tried to negotiate with the Begs of Sarikol and sway them to their side, they failed since the Sarikoli officials and authorities demanded in a petition to the Amban of Yarkand that they be evacuated to Yarkand to avoid being harassed by the Russians and objected to the Russian presence in Sarikol, the Sarikolis did not believe the Russian claim that they would leave them alone and only involved themselves in the mail service.
Many of the young Kashgari women were most attractive in appearance, and some of the little girls quite lovely, their plaits of long hair falling from under a jaunty little embroidered cap, their big dark eyes, flashing teeth and piquant olive faces reminding me of Italian or Spanish children. One most beautiful boy stands out in my memory. He was clad in a new shirt and trousers of flowered pink, his crimson velvet cap embroidered with gold, and as he smiled and salaamed to us I thought he looked like a fairy prince. The women wear their hair in two or five plaits much thickened and lengthened by the addition of yak's hair, but the children in several tiny plaits.
The peasants are fairly well off, as the soil is rich, the abundant water-supply free, and the taxation comparatively light. It was always interesting to meet them taking their live stock into market. Flocks of sheep with tiny lambs, black and white, pattered along the dusty road; here a goat followed its master like a dog, trotting behind the diminutive ass which the farmer bestrode; or boys, clad in the whity-brown native cloth, shouted incessantly at donkeys almost invisible under enormous loads of forage, or carried fowls and ducks in bunches head downwards, a sight that always made me long to come to the rescue of the luckless birds.
It was pleasant to see the women riding alone on horseback, managing their mounts to perfection. They formed a sharp contrast to their Persian sisters, who either sit behind their husbands or have their steeds led by the bridle; and instead of keeping silence in public, as is the rule for the shrouded women of Iran, these farmers' wives chaffered and haggled with the men in the bazar outside the city, transacting business with their veils thrown back.
Certainly the mullas do their best to keep the fair sex in their place, and are in the habit of beating those who show their faces in the Great Bazar. But I was told that poetic justice had lately been meted out to one of these upholders of the law of Islam, for by mistake he chastised a Kashgari woman married to a Chinaman, whereupon the irate husband set upon him with a big stick and castigated him soundly.
That a Muslim should take in marriage one of alien faith is not objected to; it is rather deemed a meritorious act thus to bring an unbeliever to the true religion. The Muslim woman, on the other hand, must not be given in marriage to a non-Muslim; such a union is regarded as the most heinous of sins. In this matter, however, compromises are sometimes made with heaven: the marriage of a Turki princess with the emperor Ch'ien-lung has already been referred to; and, when the present writer passed through Minjol (a day's journey west of Kashgar) in 1902, a Chinese with a Turki wife (? concubine) was presented to him.
FIRST EAST TURKESTAN REPUBLIC
Kashgar was the scene of continual battles from 1933 to 1934. Ma Shaowu, a Chinese Muslim, was the Tao-yin of Kashgar, and he fought against Uyghur rebels. He was joined by another Chinese Muslim general, Ma Zhancang.
BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1933)
Uighur and Kirghiz forces, led by the Bughra brothers and Tawfiq Bay, attempted to take the New City of Kashgar from Chinese Muslim troops under General Ma Zhancang. They were defeated.
Tawfiq Bey, a Syrian Arab traveler, who held the title Sayyid (descendent of prophet Muhammed) and arrived at Kashgar on August 26, 1933, was shot in the stomach by the Chinese Muslim troops in September. Previously Ma Zhancang arranged to have the Uighur leader Timur Beg killed and beheaded on August 9, 1933, displaying his head outside of Id Kah Mosque.
Han chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into Ma Zhancang's army. A number of Han chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang's unit of the 36th division, presumably they had converted to Islam.
BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1934)
The 36th division General Ma Fuyuan led a Chinese Muslim army to storm Kashgar on February 6, 1934, attacking the Uighur and Kirghiz rebels of the First East Turkestan Republic. He freed another 36th division general, Ma Zhancang, who was trapped with his Chinese Muslim and Han Chinese troops in Kashgar New City by the Uighurs and Kirghiz since May 22, 1933. In January, 1934, Ma Zhancang's Chinese Muslim troops repulsed six Uighur attacks, launched by Khoja Niyaz, who arrived at the city on January 13, 1934, inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces. From 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians in Kashgar Old City were massacred by Tungans in February, 1934, in revenge for the Kizil massacre, after retreating of Uighur forces from the city to Yengi Hisar. The Chinese Muslim and 36th division Chief General Ma Zhongying, who arrived at Kashgar on April 7, 1934, gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in April, reminding the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China government at Nanjing. Several British citizens at the British consulate were killed or wounded by the 36th division on March 16, 1934.
PEOPLE´S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Kashgar was incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, one of the largest statues of Mao in China was built in Kashgar, near People's Square. In 1986, the Chinese government designated Kashgar a "city of historical and cultural significance". Kashgar and surrounding regions have been the site of Uyghur unrest since the 1990s. In 2008, two Uyghur men carried out a vehicular, IED and knife attack against police officers. In 2009, development of Kashgar's old town accelerated after the revelations of the deadly role of faulty architecture during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Many of the old houses in the old town were built without regulation, and as a result, officials found them to be overcrowded and non-compliant with fire and earthquake codes. When the plan started, 42% of the city's residents lived in the old town. With compensation, residents of faulty buildings are being counseled to move to newer, safer buildings that will replace the historic structures in the $448 million plan, including high-rise apartments, plazas, and reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture. The European Parliament issued a resolution in 2011 calling for "culture-sensitive methods of renovation." The International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage (ISCEAH) has expressed concern over the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings. ISCEAH has, additionally, urged the implementation of techniques utilized elsewhere in the world to address earthquake vulnerability.
Following the July 2009 Urumqi riots, the government focused on local economic development in an attempt to ameliorate ethnic tensions in the greater Xinjiang region. Kashgar was made into a Special Economic Zone in 2010, the first such zone in China's far west. In 2011, a spate of violence over two days killed dozens of people. By May 2012 two-thirds of the old city had been demolished, fulfilling "political as well as economic goals." In July 2014 the Imam of the Id Kah Mosque, Juma Tayir, was assassinated in Kashgar.
CLIMATE
Kashgar features a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with hot summers and cold winters, with large temperature differences between those two seasons: The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.3 °C in January to 25.6 °C in July, while the annual mean is 11.84 °C. Spring is long and arrives quickly, while fall is somewhat brief in comparison. Kashgar is one of the driest cities on the planet, averaging only 64 millimetres of precipitation per year. The city’s wettest month, July, only sees on average 9.1 millimetres of rain. Because of the extremely arid conditions, snowfall is rare, despite the cold winters. Records have been as low as −24.4 °C in January and up to 40.1 °C in July. The frost-free period averages 215 days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in March to 70% in September, the city receives 2,726 hours of bright sunshine annually.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Kashgar is predominately peopled by Muslim Uyghurs. Compared to Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital and largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has significantly fewer Han Chinese residents.
ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY
The city has a very important Sunday market. Thousands of farmers from the surrounding fertile lands come into the city to sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Kashgar’s livestock market is also very lively. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewellery boxes.
In order to boost the economy in Kashgar region, the government classified the area as the sixth Special Economic Zone of China in May 2010.
Mahmud al-Kashgari (Turkish: Kâşgarlı Mahmud) (Mahmut from Kashgar) wrote the first Turkic–Arabic Exemplary Dictionary called Divan-ı Lugat-it Türk[citation needed]
The movie The Kite Runner was filmed in Kashgar. Kashgar and the surrounding countryside stood in for Kabul and Afghanistan, since filming in Afghanistan was not possible due to safety and security reasons.
SIGHTS
Kashgar's Old City has been called "the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia". It is estimated to attract more than one million tourists annually.
- Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, is located in the heart of the city.
- People's Park, the main public park in central Kashgar.
- An 18 m high statue of Mao Zedong in Kashgar is one of the few large-scale statues of Mao remaining in China.
- The tomb of Afaq Khoja in Kashgar is considered the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang. Built in the 17th century, the tiled mausoleum 5 km northeast of the city centre also contains the tombs of five generations of his family. Abakh was a powerful ruler, controlling Khotan, Yarkand, Korla, Kucha and Aksu as well as Kashgar. Among some Uyghur Muslims, he was considered a great Saint (Aulia).
- Sunday Market in Kashgar is renowned as the biggest market in central Asia; a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years. The market is open every day but Sunday is the largest.
TRANSPORTATION
AIR
Kashgar Airport serves mainly domestic flights, the majority of them from Urumqi. The only scheduled international flights are passenger and cargo services with Pakistan's capital Islamabad.
RAIL
Kashgar has the westernmost railway station in China. It is connected to the rest of China's rail network via the Southern Xinjiang Railway, which was built in December 1999. Kashgar–Hotan Railway opened for passenger traffic in June 2011, and connected Kashgar with cities in the southern Tarim Basin including Shache (Yarkand), Yecheng (Kargilik) and Hotan. Travel time to Urumqi from Kashgar is approximately 25 hours, while travel time to Hotan is approximately ten hours.
The investigation work of a further extension of the railway line to Pakistan has begun. In November 2009, Pakistan and China agreed to set up a joint venture to do a feasibility study of the proposed rail link via the Khunjerab Pass.
Proposals for a rail connection to Osh in Kyrgyzstan have also been discussed at various levels since at least 1996.
In 2012, a standard gauge railway from Kashgar via Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Iran and beyond has been proposed.
ROAD
The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a multibillion-dollar project was that will upgrade transport links between China and Pakistan, including the upgrades to the Karakorum highway. Bus routes exist for passenger travel south into Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan is also accessible from Kashgar, via the Torugart Pass and Irkeshtam Pass; as of summer 2007, daily bus service connects Kashgar with Bishkek’s Western Bus Terminal. Kashgar is also located on China National Highways G314 (which runs to Khunjerab Pass on the Sino−Pakistani border, and, in the opposite direction, towards Ürümqi), and G315, which runs to Xining, Qinghai from Kashgar.
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