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Detail of the Second World War memorial window in the north choir transept by Christopher Webb, c1950.
Worcester Cathedral is the commanding presence on the skyline of the city, perched on high ground overlooking the River Severn. It is one of England's most rewarding cathedrals, though denied first rank status owing to the heavy handed Victorian restorations it underwent, an unavoidable consequence of being built of soft red sandstone (a problem shared with Chester and Lichfield) and thus a 19th century feel pervades inside and out in it's mostly renewed external stonework and furnishings.
The cathedral impresses with it's scale, one or our longer churches, crowned by a magnificent central tower (originally surmounted by a lead spire, lost sometime after the Reformation; subtle alterations to the tower's design were made when it was refaced in the Victorian restoration) and with a secondary pair of transepts flanking the choir (as at Salisbury, Lincoln, Rochester & Canterbury). Of the former monastic buildings the cloister and Norman chapter house have survived (along with the refectory, now part of neighbouring King's School), making this a more complex and enjoyable building to explore.
The earliest parts are of the Norman period with the superb 12th century crypt under the choir. The west end of the nave is also Norman work, though very late and unusual in design, with transitional pointed arches. However the bulk of the building we see dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, the east end in Early English Gothic style (where most of the windows were restored to stepped lancets by Sir George Gilbert Scott during the Victorian restoration, having been altered over the centuries), whilst the remainder of the nave and tower largely of the Decorated period (the cathedral originally also possessed a detached octagonal bell tower with a lead spire, which stood near the north east corner but was demolished in 1647).
Of the original furnishings little remains beyond the fine set of misericords in the choir stalls. The stained glass too is nearly entirely Victorian (only some meagre, much restored medieval fragments survive in traceries of the south aisle). Much of the Victorian glass is quite impressive, particularly the great east and west windows by Hardman's of Birmingham.
Worcester is however especially rich in tombs and monuments of all periods, with medieval effigies of bishops, knights and ladies, not all in good condition but worth seeking out. There are also several large tombs from the post-Reformation period (especially in the cluttered south aisle) and some fine Baroque work in the north transept.
The most significant of the monuments here are Royal; in the centre of the choir lies the fine 13th century effigy of King John, best remembered for signing the Magna Carta. Nearby is the superb chantry chapel of Prince Arthur, elder brother of Henry VIII, whose premature death aged 15 changed England forever (one of the most pivotal moments in our history, had he survived the Reformation may never have happened). The gorgeous late Perpendicular Gothic chapel stands to the south of the High Altar and is remarkable for it's rich sculpted detail.
This series of 7 photos is the result of an outing through the streets of Lausanne. The adventure began in the Flon district and ended 2 hours later in the Vallon district. These two districts are exciting places to play, because they have an alternative side that arouses my curiosity and inspiration.
The photos I've chosen represent different feelings and themes that I experienced as I explored them. I'll try to share these feelings with you through the titles of the photos. Perhaps you'll also feel them when you look at my photos?
Cette série de 7 photos est le résultat d’une sortie dans les rues de Lausanne. L’aventure a débuté dans le quartier du Flon pour finir 2 heures plus tard dans le quartier du Vallon. Ces deux quartiers sont des espaces de jeux passionnants car ils ont un côté alternatif qui éveillent ma curiosité et mon inspiration.
Les photos que j’ai choisies représentent différents sentiments et différents thèmes que j’ai pu ressentir au fur et à mesure de cette exploration. Ces sentiments je vais essayer de vous les partager au travers des titres des photos. Peut-être les ressentirez-vous aussi en regardant mes clichés ?
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining hillside, the site of memorials. Runnymede Borough is named after the area, Runnymede being at its northernmost point.
Topography
The name Runnymede refers to land in public and National Trust ownership in the Thames flood plain south-west of the river between Old Windsor and Egham. The area includes (to the west of A308 road) the Long Mede and Runnymede, which together with Coopers Hill Slopes is managed by the National Trust. There is also a narrower strip of land, east of the road and west of the river, known as the Yard Mede. Slightly further downstream from the area shown on the map are (inter alia): a recreational area with a car park; a number of private homes; a large distribution centre; and an hotel.
The landscape of Runnymede is characterised as "Thames Basin Lowland", urban fringe. It is a gently undulating vale of small fields interspersed by woods, shaws, ponds, meadows, and heath. The National Trust area is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) which contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Both sites are overseen by Runnymede Borough Council.
The National Trust holding includes:
188 acres (0.76 km2) donated in 1929 set behind a narrow riverside park with occasional benches on the southern river bank, with car and coach parking;
110 acres (0.45 km2) of broadleaved woodland on Coopers Hill Slopes, given in 1963 by the former Egham Urban District Council.
Long Mede is a meadow north of the ancient "mede" (meadow) of Runnymede towards Old Windsor and has been used for centuries to provide good-quality hay from the alluvial pasture. Runnymede itself lies towards Egham. It is likely that Runnymede proper was the site of the sealing of Magna Carta, although the Magna Carta Memorial (see below) stands on Long Mede, and the event is also popularly associated with Magna Carta Island, on the opposite bank of the Thames.
Near the Island, on the north-east flood plain, in parkland on the eastern bank of the river, are Ankerwycke and the ruins of the 12th century Priory of St Mary's. The Thames has changed course here occasionally, and these areas may once have been an integral part of Runnymede. Both were acquired by the National Trust in 1998.
History
Runnymede's historical significance has been heavily influenced by its proximity to the Roman Road river crossing at nearby Staines-upon-Thames.
The name Runnymede may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon runieg (regular meeting) and mede (mead or meadow), describing a place in the meadows used to hold regular meetings. The Witan, Witenagemot or Council of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of the 7th to 11th centuries was held from time to time at Runnymede during the reign of Alfred the Great. The Council met usually in the open air. This political organ was transformed in succeeding years, influencing the creation of England's 13th century parliament.
The water-meadow at Runnymede is the most likely location at which, in 1215, King John sealed Magna Carta. The charter indicates Runnymede by name as "Ronimed. inter Windlesoram et Stanes" (between Windsor and Staines). Magna Carta had an impact on common and constitutional law as well as political representation also affecting the development of parliament.
Runnymede's association with ideals of democracy, limitation of power, equality and freedom under law has attracted placement there of monuments and commemorative symbols.
The last fatal duel in England took place in 1852, on Priest Hill, a continuation of Cooper's Hill by Windsor Great Park.
The National Trust land was donated in 1929 by Cara Rogers Broughton and her two sons. The American-born widow of Urban Hanlon Broughton, she was permitted by letter from George V to join her son's new peerage in tribute to her husband and this gift and be officially styled Lady Fairhaven. The gift was given in memory of Urban Broughton. At the time the New Bedford Standard-Times commented "It must be a source of gratification to all Americans, and especially to us here and in Fairhaven, that the presentation of this historic spot as public ground has been brought about by an American woman, an appropriate enough circumstance considering that the great charter underlies the USA's conception of government and human rights."
Features
Urban H. Broughton Memorials
After the death of Urban Broughton in 1929, Sir Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to design a set of twin memorials consisting of large kiosks and posts or "piers" with stone blocks crowned with laurel wreaths and formalised urns at the Egham end and with lodges and piers at the Windsor end. Lutyens also designed a low wide arch bridge to carry the main road over the Thames to the north, integrating the road layout and bridge design into his plans for the memorials. The southern kiosks were moved to their present location when the M25 motorway was constructed.
There are two octagonal kiosks with piers facing each other across the A308 towards Egham. These piers are a shorter version of those adjacent to the lodges either side of the same road towards Old Windsor in the Long Mede. The lodges show typical Lutyens design features with steeply angled roofs, large false chimneys and no rainwater gutters at the eaves.
The piers carry similar inscriptions. On one face is the inscription:
“ In these Meads on 15th June 1215 King John at the instance of Deputies from the whole community of the Realm granted the Great Charter the earliest of constitutional documents whereunder ancient and cherished customs were confirmed abuses redressed and the administration of justice facilitated new provisions formulated for the preservation of peace and every individual perpetually secured in the free enjoyment of his life and property. ”
and on the other the words:-
“ In perpetual memory of Urban Hanlon Broughton 1857 – 1929 of Park Close Englefield Green in the county of Surrey Sometime Member of Parliament These meadows of historic interest on 18th December 1929 were gladly offered to the Nation by his widow Cara Lady Fairhaven and his sons Huttleston Lord Fairhaven and Henry Broughton ”
The memorials were opened in 1932 by the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) and are Grade II listed buildings.
Langham Pond SSSI
Langham Pond was created when the meandering River Thames formed an oxbow lake. Its status as a wetland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was first notified in 1975 and later reviewed under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 when the protected area was extended to 64 acres (260,000 m2) within Runnymede as managed by the National Trust.
The pond and associated meadow form a habitat considered unique in Southern England and of international importance for nature conservation. The flora and fauna include nationally scarce plants and insects including a species of fly unrecorded elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Air Forces Memorial
The Air Forces Memorial commemorates the men and women of the Allied Air Forces who died during the Second World War and records the names of the 20,456 airmen who have no known grave.
From the top of the tower visitors can see long views over Windsor, the surrounding counties and aircraft taking off and landing at Heathrow. On a good day visitors can see as far as the Wembley Arch and even the Gherkin in the City of London. The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe, architect of Guildford Cathedral.
John F. Kennedy Memorial
The British memorial for U.S. President John F. Kennedy was jointly dedicated in May 1965, by Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy, prior to a reception for the Kennedy family at Windsor Castle. The memorial consists of a garden and Portland stone memorial tablet inscribed with the famous quote from his Inaugural Address:
“ Let every Nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty. ”
Visitors reach the memorial by treading a steep path of irregular granite steps, intended to symbolise a pilgrimage. There are 50 steps in total. Each step is different from all others, with the entire flight made from 60,000 hand-cut granite setts.[10] Landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe designed the garden; sculptor Alan Collins designed and carved the stone inscription. The area of ground on which the memorial is situated was given as a gift to the United States of America by the people of Britain. (Though property ownership was transferred to the federal government of the United States, the area remains under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.) It is maintained by the Kennedy Memorial Trust, which also sponsors educational scholarships for British students to attend university in the United States.
In 1968 the 7-ton stone was damaged by a bomb during a time of anti-Vietnam war demonstrations; it was later repaired by the sculptor.
Magna Carta Memorial
Situated in a grassed enclosure. on the lower slopes of Cooper's Hill, this memorial is of a domed classical style monopteros, containing a pillar of English granite on which is inscribed "To commemorate Magna Carta, symbol of Freedom Under Law". The memorial was created by the American Bar Association (ABA) to a design by Sir Edward Maufe R.A., and was unveiled on 18 July 1957 at a ceremony attended by American and English lawyers.
Since 1957 representatives of the ABA have visited and rededicated the Memorial, renewing pledges to the Great Charter. In 1971 and 1985 commemorative stones were placed on the Memorial plinth. In July 2000 the ABA came:
“ to celebrate Magna Carta, foundation of the rule of law for ages past and for the new millennium. ”
In 2007, on its 50th anniversary, the ABA again visited Runnymede. During its convention it installed as President Charles Rhyne, who devised Law Day, which in the USA represents an annual reaffirmation of faith in the forces of law for peace.
In 2008 floodlights were installed to light the memorial at night.
In 2015, in anticipation of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, the two wooden benches at the memorial were replaced by stone benches. On 15 June, the anniversary day, the ABA, accompanied by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, rededicated the memorial in a ceremony led by HRH The Princess Royal in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal family.
The Magna Carta Memorial is administered by the Magna Carta Trust, which is chaired by the Master of the Rolls.
Ceremonial Tree Plantings
The Duke of Kent together with David K. Diebold, a Minister-Counselor at the US Embassy in London, planted an oak tree adjacent to the Magna Carta Memorial in 1987, as did P. V. Narismha Rao, Prime Minister of the Republic of India. The Prime Minister left a plaque reading:
“ As a tribute to the historic Magna Carta, a source of inspiration throughout the world, and as an affirmation of the values of Freedom, Democracy and the Rule of Law which the People of India cherish and have enshrined in their Constitution. March 16, 1994 ”
In 1987 two further oak trees were planted near the Memorial. One, planted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, marked National Tree Week. Another, planted by John O. Marsh, Secretary of the Army of the USA, has a plaque which reads:
“ This oak tree, planted with soil from Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, commemorates the bicentenary of the Constitution of the United States of America. It stands in acknowledgement that the ideals of liberty and justice embodied in the Constitution trace their lineage through institutions of English law to the Magna Carta, sealed at Runnymede on June 15th, 1215. ”
The Jurors
The Jurors artwork was commissioned by Surrey County Council and the National Trust to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The sculptor Hew Locke created 12 bronze chairs each of which is decorated with symbols of past and present struggles for freedom, equality and the rule of law. The artist / sculptor invites participants to sit, reflect upon and discuss the themes represented. In the image the back of the chair nearest the viewer is a representation of Nelson Mandela's prison cell on Robben Island, South Africa. The portrait seen of the further chair is of Lillie Lenton wearing insignia related to the imprisonment and activism of suffragettes.
The installation was inaugurated at Runnymede by Prince William during the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary celebrations.
Cooper's Hill House
A large house on Cooper's Hill, overlooking Runnymede and the River Thames, has played a number of roles – as the Royal Indian Engineering College; wartime Post Office headquarters; storage for the Statue of Eros during World War II; an emergency teacher training college; Shoreditch College – a centre for craft and handiwork education – and most recently, Brunel University's design school (has removed to Uxbridge Main Campus).
Ankerwycke Yew
The revered +1,400 year old Ankerwycke Yew, on the left bank of the river, is also a possible site where Magna Carta may have been sealed. The sacred tree could have been the location of the Witan council and influenced the founding of St Mary's Priory there. This religious site may well have been the preferred neutral meeting place of King John and the barons.
Land development proposals threatening the yew led to action resulting in the tree and surrounding estate passing into the protection of the National Trust in 1998.
Henry VIII is said to have met Anne Boleyn under the tree in the 1530s.
In 1992, botanist and environmental campaigner David Bellamy led a dedication at the yew, stating:
“ We the free people of the islands of Great Britain on the 777th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta do:
Look back and give thanks for the benefits that the signings, sealing and swearing of oaths on that document handed down to us. Look forward to a new age of freedom through sustainability by granting the following rights to all the sons of plants and animals with which we share our islands and our planet.
”
There followed ten pledges to sustain all life forms.
Location and access
Runnymede is 20 miles (32 km) west by southwest of the centre of London. It is owned by the National Trust and is open 24 hours, seven days a week, at no charge.
Runnymede is accessed via the road or river towpath on foot or by bicycle, or by motor vehicle via the A308 road near Egham about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Windsor. Two car parks (on the A308) adjoin the Windsor entrance (these may be closed in winter due to flooding etc.). Runnymede is also along the Thames Path National Trail. The nearest railway station is Egham. One of the Lutyens lodges at the Windsor entrance to the meadow houses a popular tea room.
The Anckerwycke area on the other bank of the river is accessible from the B376 between Wraysbury and Staines (nearest station Wraysbury).
Biennalist :
Biennalist is an Art Format commenting on active biennials and managed cultural events through artworks.Biennalist takes the thematics of the biennales and similar events like festivals and conferences seriously, questioning the established structures of the staged art events in order to contribute to the debate, which they wish to generate.
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links about Biennalist :
Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Geoffroy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Room_(art)
www.emergencyrooms.org/formats.html
—--Biennale from wikipedia —--
The Venice International Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale. The famous Golden Lion is awarded to the best film screening at the competition.
Biennale (Italian: [bi.enˈnaːle]), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularised by Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895. Since the 1990s, the terms "biennale" and "biennial" have been interchangeably used in a more generic way - to signify a large-scale international survey show of contemporary art that recurs at regular intervals but not necessarily biannual (such as triennials, Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster).[1] The phrase has also been used for other artistic events, such as the "Biennale de Paris", "Kochi-Muziris Biennale", Berlinale (for the Berlin International Film Festival) and Viennale (for Vienna's international film festival).
Characteristics[edit]
According to author Federica Martini, what is at stake in contemporary biennales is the diplomatic/international relations potential as well as urban regeneration plans. Besides being mainly focused on the present (the “here and now” where the cultural event takes place and their effect of "spectacularisation of the everyday"), because of their site-specificity cultural events may refer back to,[who?] produce or frame the history of the site and communities' collective memory.[2]
The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space.
A strong and influent symbol of biennales and of large-scale international exhibitions in general is the Crystal Palace, the gigantic and futuristic London architecture that hosted the Great Exhibition in 1851. According to philosopher Peter Sloterdijk,[3][page needed] the Crystal Palace is the first attempt to condense the representation of the world in a unitary exhibition space, where the main exhibit is society itself in an a-historical, spectacular condition. The Crystal Palace main motives were the affirmation of British economic and national leadership and the creation of moments of spectacle. In this respect, 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were, at the same time, forerunners of contemporary theme parks.
The Venice Biennale as an archetype[edit]
The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions.
The Venice Biennale, a periodical large-scale cultural event founded in 1895, served as an archetype of the biennales. Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art, the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861. The Biennale immediately put forth issues of city marketing, cultural tourism and urban regeneration, as it was meant to reposition Venice on the international cultural map after the crisis due to the end of the Grand Tour model and the weakening of the Venetian school of painting. Furthermore, the Gardens where the Biennale takes place were an abandoned city area that needed to be re-functionalised. In cultural terms, the Biennale was meant to provide on a biennial basis a platform for discussing contemporary art practices that were not represented in fine arts museums at the time. The early Biennale model already included some key points that are still constitutive of large-scale international art exhibitions today: a mix of city marketing, internationalism, gentrification issues and destination culture, and the spectacular, large scale of the event.
Biennials after the 1990s[edit]
The situation of biennials has changed in the contemporary context: while at its origin in 1895 Venice was a unique cultural event, but since the 1990s hundreds of biennials have been organized across the globe. Given the ephemeral and irregular nature of some biennials, there is little consensus on the exact number of biennials in existence at any given time.[citation needed] Furthermore, while Venice was a unique agent in the presentation of contemporary art, since the 1960s several museums devoted to contemporary art are exhibiting the contemporary scene on a regular basis. Another point of difference concerns 19th century internationalism in the arts, that was brought into question by post-colonial debates and criticism of the contemporary art “ethnic marketing”, and also challenged the Venetian and World Fair’s national representation system. As a consequence of this, Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space, which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale, is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal. The birth of the Havana Biennial in 1984 is widely considered an important counterpoint to the Venetian model for its prioritization of artists working in the Global South and curatorial rejection of the national pavilion model.
International biennales[edit]
In the term's most commonly used context of major recurrent art exhibitions:
Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, South Australia
Asian Art Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)
Athens Biennale, in Athens, Greece
Bienal de Arte Paiz, in Guatemala City, Guatemala[4]
Arts in Marrakech (AiM) International Biennale (Arts in Marrakech Festival)
Bamako Encounters, a biennale of photography in Mali
Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism
Beijing Biennale
Berlin Biennale (contemporary art biennale, to be distinguished from Berlinale, which is a film festival)
Bergen Assembly (triennial for contemporary art in Bergen, Norway)www.bergenassembly.no
Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China
Bienal de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Biënnale van België, Biennial of Belgium, Belgium
BiennaleOnline Online biennial exhibition of contemporary art from the most promising emerging artists.
Biennial of Hawaii Artists
Biennale de la Biche, the smallest biennale in the world held at deserted island near Guadeloupe, French overseas region[5][6]
Biwako Biennale [ja], in Shiga, Japan
La Biennale de Montreal
Biennale of Luanda : Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace,[7] Angola
Boom Festival, international music and culture festival in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal
Bucharest Biennale in Bucharest, Romania
Bushwick Biennial, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York
Canakkale Biennial, in Canakkale, Turkey
Cerveira International Art Biennial, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal [8]
Changwon Sculpture Biennale in Changwon, South Korea
Dakar Biennale, also called Dak'Art, biennale in Dakar, Senegal
Documenta, contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany
Estuaire (biennale), biennale in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, France
EVA International, biennial in Limerick, Republic of Ireland
Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, in Gothenburg, Sweden[9]
Greater Taipei Contemporary Art Biennial, in Taipei, Taiwan
Gwangju Biennale, Asia's first and most prestigious contemporary art biennale
Havana biennial, in Havana, Cuba
Helsinki Biennial, in Helsinki, Finland
Herzliya Biennial For Contemporary Art, in Herzliya, Israel
Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, in Incheon, South Korea
Iowa Biennial, in Iowa, USA
Istanbul Biennial, in Istanbul, Turkey
International Roaming Biennial of Tehran, in Tehran and Istanbul
Jakarta Biennale, in Jakarta, Indonesia
Jerusalem Biennale, in Jerusalem, Israel
Jogja Biennale, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Karachi Biennale, in Karachi, Pakistan
Keelung Harbor Biennale, in Keelung, Taiwan
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, largest art exhibition in India, in Kochi, Kerala, India
Kortrijk Design Biennale Interieur, in Kortrijk, Belgium
Kobe Biennale, in Japan
Kuandu Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan
Lagos Biennial, in Lagos, Nigeria[10]
Light Art Biennale Austria, in Austria
Liverpool Biennial, in Liverpool, UK
Lofoten International Art Festival [no] (LIAF), on the Lofoten archipelago, Norway[11]
Manifesta, European Biennale of contemporary art in different European cities
Mediations Biennale, in Poznań, Poland
Melbourne International Biennial 1999
Mediterranean Biennale in Sakhnin 2013
MOMENTA Biennale de l'image [fr] (formerly known as Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal), in Montreal, Canada
MOMENTUM [no], in Moss, Norway[12]
Moscow Biennale, in Moscow, Russia
Munich Biennale, new opera and music-theatre in even-numbered years
Mykonos Biennale
Nakanojo Biennale[13]
NGV Triennial, contemporary art exhibition held every three years at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
October Salon – Belgrade Biennale [sr], organised by the Cultural Center of Belgrade [sr], in Belgrade, Serbia[14]
OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje, North Macedonia[15]
Biennale de Paris
Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA), in Riga, Latvia[16]
São Paulo Art Biennial, in São Paulo, Brazil
SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial in Christchurch, New Zealand[17]
Prospect New Orleans
Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism
Sequences, in Reykjavík, Iceland[18]
Shanghai Biennale
Sharjah Biennale, in Sharjah, UAE
Singapore Biennale, held in various locations across the city-state island of Singapore
Screen City Biennial, in Stavanger, Norway
Biennale of Sydney
Taipei Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan Arts Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)
Taiwan Film Biennale, in Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art [el], in Thessaloniki, Greece[19]
Dream city, produced by ART Rue Association in Tunisia
Vancouver Biennale
Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) in the Philippines [20]
Venice Biennale, in Venice, Italy, which includes:
Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art
Venice Biennale of Architecture
Venice Film Festival
Vladivostok biennale of Visual Arts, in Vladivostok, Russia
Whitney Biennial, hosted by the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, NY, USA
Web Biennial, produced with teams from Athens, Berlin and Istanbul.
West Africa Architecture Biennale,[21] Virtual in Lagos, Nigeria.
WRO Biennale, in Wrocław, Poland[22]
Music Biennale Zagreb
[SHIFT:ibpcpa] The International Biennale of Performance, Collaborative and Participatory Arts, Nomadic, International, Scotland, UK.
—---Venice Biennale from wikipedia —
The Venice Biennale (/ˌbiːɛˈnɑːleɪ, -li/; Italian: La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation.[2][3][4] The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of its kind. The main exhibition held in Castello, in the halls of the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens, alternates between art and architecture (hence the name biennale; biennial).[5][6][7] The other events hosted by the Foundation—spanning theatre, music, and dance—are held annually in various parts of Venice, whereas the Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido.[8]
Organization[edit]
Art Biennale
Art Biennale
International Art Exhibition
1895
Even-numbered years (since 2022)
Venice Biennale of Architecture
International Architecture Exhibition
1980
Odd-numbered years (since 2021)
Biennale Musica
International Festival of Contemporary Music
1930
Annually (Sep/Oct)
Biennale Teatro
International Theatre Festival
1934
Annually (Jul/Aug)
Venice Film Festival
Venice International Film Festival
1932
Annually (Aug/Sep)
Venice Dance Biennale
International Festival of Contemporary Dance
1999
Annually (June; biennially 2010–16)
International Kids' Carnival
2009
Annually (during Carnevale)
History
1895–1947
On April 19, 1893, the Venetian City Council passed a resolution to set up an biennial exhibition of Italian Art ("Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale") to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy.[11]
A year later, the council decreed "to adopt a 'by invitation' system; to reserve a section of the Exhibition for foreign artists too; to admit works by uninvited Italian artists, as selected by a jury."[12]
The first Biennale, "I Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della Città di Venezia (1st International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice)" (although originally scheduled for April 22, 1894) was opened on April 30, 1895, by the Italian King and Queen, Umberto I and Margherita di Savoia. The first exhibition was seen by 224,000 visitors.
The event became increasingly international in the first decades of the 20th century: from 1907 on, several countries installed national pavilions at the exhibition, with the first being from Belgium. In 1910 the first internationally well-known artists were displayed: a room dedicated to Gustav Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, a retrospective of Courbet. A work by Picasso "Family of Saltimbanques" was removed from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo because it was feared that its novelty might shock the public. By 1914 seven pavilions had been established: Belgium (1907), Hungary (1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914).
During World War I, the 1916 and 1918 events were cancelled.[13] In 1920 the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale was split. The new secretary general, Vittorio Pica brought about the first presence of avant-garde art, notably Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.
1922 saw an exhibition of sculpture by African artists. Between the two World Wars, many important modern artists had their work exhibited there. In 1928 the Istituto Storico d'Arte Contemporanea (Historical Institute of Contemporary Art) opened, which was the first nucleus of archival collections of the Biennale. In 1930 its name was changed into Historical Archive of Contemporary Art.
In 1930, the Biennale was transformed into an Ente Autonomo (Autonomous Board) by Royal Decree with law no. 33 of 13-1-1930. Subsequently, the control of the Biennale passed from the Venice city council to the national Fascist government under Benito Mussolini. This brought on a restructuring, an associated financial boost, as well as a new president, Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata. Three entirely new events were established, including the Biennale Musica in 1930, also referred to as International Festival of Contemporary Music; the Venice Film Festival in 1932, which they claim as the first film festival in history,[14] also referred to as Venice International Film Festival; and the Biennale Theatro in 1934, also referred to as International Theatre Festival.
In 1933 the Biennale organized an exhibition of Italian art abroad. From 1938, Grand Prizes were awarded in the art exhibition section.
During World War II, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted: 1942 saw the last edition of the events. The Film Festival restarted in 1946, the Music and Theatre festivals were resumed in 1947, and the Art Exhibition in 1948.[15]
1948–1973[edit]
The Art Biennale was resumed in 1948 with a major exhibition of a recapitulatory nature. The Secretary General, art historian Rodolfo Pallucchini, started with the Impressionists and many protagonists of contemporary art including Chagall, Klee, Braque, Delvaux, Ensor, and Magritte, as well as a retrospective of Picasso's work. Peggy Guggenheim was invited to exhibit her collection, later to be permanently housed at Ca' Venier dei Leoni.
1949 saw the beginning of renewed attention to avant-garde movements in European—and later worldwide—movements in contemporary art. Abstract expressionism was introduced in the 1950s, and the Biennale is credited with importing Pop Art into the canon of art history by awarding the top prize to Robert Rauschenberg in 1964.[16] From 1948 to 1972, Italian architect Carlo Scarpa did a series of remarkable interventions in the Biennale's exhibition spaces.
In 1954 the island San Giorgio Maggiore provided the venue for the first Japanese Noh theatre shows in Europe. 1956 saw the selection of films following an artistic selection and no longer based upon the designation of the participating country. The 1957 Golden Lion went to Satyajit Ray's Aparajito which introduced Indian cinema to the West.
1962 included Arte Informale at the Art Exhibition with Jean Fautrier, Hans Hartung, Emilio Vedova, and Pietro Consagra. The 1964 Art Exhibition introduced continental Europe to Pop Art (The Independent Group had been founded in Britain in 1952). The American Robert Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the Gran Premio, and the youngest to date.
The student protests of 1968 also marked a crisis for the Biennale. Student protests hindered the opening of the Biennale. A resulting period of institutional changes opened and ending with a new Statute in 1973. In 1969, following the protests, the Grand Prizes were abandoned. These resumed in 1980 for the Mostra del Cinema and in 1986 for the Art Exhibition.[17]
In 1972, for the first time, a theme was adopted by the Biennale, called "Opera o comportamento" ("Work or Behaviour").
Starting from 1973 the Music Festival was no longer held annually. During the year in which the Mostra del Cinema was not held, there was a series of "Giornate del cinema italiano" (Days of Italian Cinema) promoted by sectorial bodies in campo Santa Margherita, in Venice.[18]
1974–1998[edit]
1974 saw the start of the four-year presidency of Carlo Ripa di Meana. The International Art Exhibition was not held (until it was resumed in 1976). Theatre and cinema events were held in October 1974 and 1975 under the title Libertà per il Cile (Freedom for Chile)—a major cultural protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
On 15 November 1977, the so-called Dissident Biennale (in reference to the dissident movement in the USSR) opened. Because of the ensuing controversies within the Italian left wing parties, president Ripa di Meana resigned at the end of the year.[19]
In 1979 the new presidency of Giuseppe Galasso (1979-1982) began. The principle was laid down whereby each of the artistic sectors was to have a permanent director to organise its activity.
In 1980, the Architecture section of the Biennale was set up. The director, Paolo Portoghesi, opened the Corderie dell'Arsenale to the public for the first time. At the Mostra del Cinema, the awards were brought back into being (between 1969 and 1979, the editions were non-competitive). In 1980, Achille Bonito Oliva and Harald Szeemann introduced "Aperto", a section of the exhibition designed to explore emerging art. Italian art historian Giovanni Carandente directed the 1988 and 1990 editions. A three-year gap was left afterwards to make sure that the 1995 edition would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Biennale.[13]
The 1993 edition was directed by Achille Bonito Oliva. In 1995, Jean Clair was appointed to be the Biennale's first non-Italian director of visual arts[20] while Germano Celant served as director in 1997.
For the Centenary in 1995, the Biennale promoted events in every sector of its activity: the 34th Festival del Teatro, the 46th art exhibition, the 46th Festival di Musica, the 52nd Mostra del Cinema.[21]
1999–present[edit]
In 1999 and 2001, Harald Szeemann directed two editions in a row (48th & 49th) bringing in a larger representation of artists from Asia and Eastern Europe and more young artists than usual and expanded the show into several newly restored spaces of the Arsenale.
In 1999 a new sector was created for live shows: DMT (Dance Music Theatre).
The 50th edition, 2003, directed by Francesco Bonami, had a record number of seven co-curators involved, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Catherine David, Igor Zabel, Hou Hanru and Massimiliano Gioni.
The 51st edition of the Biennale opened in June 2005, curated, for the first time by two women, Maria de Corral and Rosa Martinez. De Corral organized "The Experience of Art" which included 41 artists, from past masters to younger figures. Rosa Martinez took over the Arsenale with "Always a Little Further." Drawing on "the myth of the romantic traveler" her exhibition involved 49 artists, ranging from the elegant to the profane.
In 2007, Robert Storr became the first director from the United States to curate the Biennale (the 52nd), with a show entitled Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense.
Swedish curator Daniel Birnbaum was artistic director of the 2009 edition entitled "Fare Mondi // Making Worlds".
The 2011 edition was curated by Swiss curator Bice Curiger entitled "ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations".
The Biennale in 2013 was curated by the Italian Massimiliano Gioni. His title and theme, Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace, was adopted from an architectural model by the self-taught Italian-American artist Marino Auriti. Auriti's work, The Encyclopedic Palace of the World was lent by the American Folk Art Museum and exhibited in the first room of the Arsenale for the duration of the biennale. For Gioni, Auriti's work, "meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries of the human race, from the wheel to the satellite," provided an analogous figure for the "biennale model itself...based on the impossible desire to concentrate the infinite worlds of contemporary art in a single place: a task that now seems as dizzyingly absurd as Auriti's dream."[22]
Curator Okwui Enwezor was responsible for the 2015 edition.[23] He was the first African-born curator of the biennial. As a catalyst for imagining different ways of imagining multiple desires and futures Enwezor commissioned special projects and programs throughout the Biennale in the Giardini. This included a Creative Time Summit, e-flux journal's SUPERCOMMUNITY, Gulf Labor Coalition, The Invisible Borders Trans-African Project and Abounaddara.[24][25]
The 2017 Biennale, titled Viva Arte Viva, was directed by French curator Christine Macel who called it an "exhibition inspired by humanism".[26] German artist Franz Erhard Walter won the Golden Lion for best artist, while Carolee Schneemann was awarded a posthumous Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.[27]
The 2019 Biennale, titled May You Live In Interesting Times, was directed by American-born curator Ralph Rugoff.[28]
The 2022 edition was curated by Italian curator Cecilia Alemani entitled "The Milk of Dreams" after a book by British-born Mexican surrealist painter Leonora Carrington.[29]
The Biennale has an attendance today of over 500,000 visitors.[30][31][32]
Role in the art market[edit]
When the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895, one of its main goals was to establish a new market for contemporary art. Between 1942 and 1968 a sales office assisted artists in finding clients and selling their work,[33] a service for which it charged 10% commission. Sales remained an intrinsic part of the biennale until 1968, when a sales ban was enacted. An important practical reason why the focus on non-commodities has failed to decouple Venice from the market is that the biennale itself lacks the funds to produce, ship and install these large-scale works. Therefore, the financial involvement of dealers is widely regarded as indispensable;[16] as they regularly front the funding for production of ambitious projects.[34] Furthermore, every other year the Venice Biennale coincides with nearby Art Basel, the world's prime commercial fair for modern and contemporary art. Numerous galleries with artists on show in Venice usually bring work by the same artists to Basel.[35]
Central Pavilion and Arsenale[edit]
The formal Biennale is based at a park, the Giardini. The Giardini includes a large exhibition hall that houses a themed exhibition curated by the Biennale's director.
Initiated in 1980, the Aperto began as a fringe event for younger artists and artists of a national origin not represented by the permanent national pavilions. This is usually staged in the Arsenale and has become part of the formal biennale programme. In 1995 there was no Aperto so a number of participating countries hired venues to show exhibitions of emerging artists. From 1999, both the international exhibition and the Aperto were held as one exhibition, held both at the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale. Also in 1999, a $1 million renovation transformed the Arsenale area into a cluster of renovated shipyards, sheds and warehouses, more than doubling the Arsenale's exhibition space of previous years.[36]
A special edition of the 54th Biennale was held at Padiglione Italia of Torino Esposizioni – Sala Nervi (December 2011 – February 2012) for the 150th Anniversary of Italian Unification. The event was directed by Vittorio Sgarbi.[37]
National pavilions[edit]
Main article: National pavilions at the Venice Biennale
The Giardini houses 30 permanent national pavilions.[13] Alongside the Central Pavilion, built in 1894 and later restructured and extended several times, the Giardini are occupied by a further 29 pavilions built at different periods by the various countries participating in the Biennale. The first nation to build a pavilion was Belgium in 1907, followed by Germany, Britain and Hungary in 1909.[13] The pavilions are the property of the individual countries and are managed by their ministries of culture.[38]
Countries not owning a pavilion in the Giardini are exhibited in other venues across Venice. The number of countries represented is still growing. In 2005, China was showing for the first time, followed by the African Pavilion and Mexico (2007), the United Arab Emirates (2009), and India (2011).[39]
The assignment of the permanent pavilions was largely dictated by the international politics of the 1930s and the Cold War. There is no single format to how each country manages their pavilion, established and emerging countries represented at the biennial maintain and fund their pavilions in different ways.[38] While pavilions are usually government-funded, private money plays an increasingly large role; in 2015, the pavilions of Iraq, Ukraine and Syria were completely privately funded.[40] The pavilion for Great Britain is always managed by the British Council[41] while the United States assigns the responsibility to a public gallery chosen by the Department of State which, since 1985, has been the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.[42] The countries at the Arsenale that request a temporary exhibition space pay a hire fee per square meter.[38]
In 2011, the countries were Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia and Slovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Wales and Zimbabwe. In addition to this there are two collective pavilions: Central Asia Pavilion and Istituto Italo-Latino Americano. In 2013, eleven new participant countries developed national pavilions for the Biennale: Angola, Bosnia and Herzegowina, the Bahamas, Bahrain, the Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kuwait, the Maldives, Paraguay, Tuvalu, and the Holy See. In 2015, five new participant countries developed pavilions for the Biennale: Grenada,[43] Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Seychelles, Mauritius and Mongolia. In 2017, three countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Antigua & Barbuda, Kiribati, and Nigeria.[44] In 2019, four countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Pakistan.[45]
As well as the national pavilions there are countless "unofficial pavilions"[46] that spring up every year. In 2009 there were pavilions such as the Gabon Pavilion and a Peckham pavilion. In 2017 The Diaspora Pavilion bought together 19 artists from complex, multinational backgrounds to challenge the prevalence of the nation state at the Biennale.[47]
The Internet Pavilion (Italian: Padiglione Internet) was founded in 2009 as a platform for activists and artists working in new media.[48][49][50] Subsequent editions were held since,[51] 2013,[51] in conjunction with the biennale.[52]
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وینسVenetsiya
art umjetnost umění kunst taideτέχνη művészetList ealaínarte māksla menasartiKunst sztuka artăumenie umetnost konstcelfקונסטարվեստincəsənətশিল্প艺术(yìshù)藝術 (yìshù)ხელოვნებაकलाkos duabアートಕಲೆសិល្បៈ미(misul)ສິນລະປະകലकलाအတတ်ပညာकलाකලාවகலைఆర్ట్ศิลปะ آرٹsan'atnghệ thuậtفن (fan)אומנותهنرsanat artist
venice biennale Venezia Venedig biennalen Bienal_de_Venecia Venise Venecia Bienalo Bienal Biënnale Venetië Veneza Μπιενάλε της Βενετίας ヴェネツィ ア・ビエンナーレ 威尼斯双年展 Venedik Bienali Venetsian biennaali Wenecji biennial #venicebiennale #venicebiennial biennalism
Veneziako Venecija Venècia Venetië Veneetsia Venetsia VenedigΒ ενετία Velence Feneyjar Venice Venēcija Venezja Venezia Wenecja VenezaVeneția Venetsiya Benátky Benetke Fenisוועניס Վենետիկ ভেনি স威尼斯 威尼斯 ვენეციისવે નિસवेनिसヴ ェネツィアವೆನಿಸ್베니스வெனிஸ்వెనిస్เวนิซوینس Venetsiya Italy italia
--------key words
headband protest fashion protestfashion artistic intervention performance artformat action installation critical critic critique institutional critic choregraphy scenography
#venicebiennale #biennalist #artformat #biennale #artbiennale #biennial
#BiennaleArte2024 #artformat
A consequence of using my truck on a daily basis means it gets subjected to all the rigours of day to day driving.
Including this!
For my troubles I also gained two fractured ribs in the ensuing chaos! Ouch!
NOTE: flickr, I haven't been posting reviews as consequently here as I have on my blog. I'd like to have the full set of reviews on flickr too, because I started it here. I'll start adding some older reviews to flickr in the days to come.
Also, one more and then we have 100!
To celebrate Reading & Reviewing's upcoming 100th review, I'm challenging myself by posting a new review daily for a week! Here's review 099, posted on day 2.
Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead
First published in: 2007
This edition: Ace, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-441-01581-8
Pages: 323
Genre: fantasy, series, vampires
Cover art by Lisa Desimini; cover design by Judith Lagerman
The photo was inspired by a character from the TV show derived from the Sookie novels, True Blood: Jessica, our baby vamp, redheaded, clumsy (accidentally killing and all that) and cries a lot of blood tears.
It has been a while since I've last reviewed a Sookie Stackhouse novel, but as I've read them all now (up to book 10), I can review them again in between other reviews.
All Together Dead (book 7) has our heroine a little bit pissed off with her ex, vampire Bill Compton, after learning a fact which left Sookie feeling manipulated and betrayed by him. She's pretty much done with vampires. For real this ti...
...Aw, who is she kidding? We know it's just never going to happen. Vampires will always have an interest in Sookie, and vampires tend to get what they want. Especially if they happen to be the vampire queen of Louisiana.
Queen Sophie-Anne is in a buttload of trouble, being put to blame for the definite death (by murder) of her husband, the King of Arkansas. She didn't do it, but no one really cares. Sophie-Anne has plenty of enemies who'd simply love to see her fry in shiny rays of the sun. A vampire summit has been organized in Illinois, and the trial is to take place there. Being on trial and left poor and broke after hurricane Katrina, the queen is in a vulnerable place; a coup could happen any second now, but the summit seems to be the perfect place to bring her down. Sophie-Anne needs Sookie at the summit, to assist in weeding out who's with the queen, and who's against her?
Meanwhile, the Fellowship of the Sun continues to express their dislike (to put it lightly) of vampires. They are far from done with their condemnation of the undead...
Book 7 deals with vampire politics (as established by Charlaine Harris) a little more, and I have to say I find this a very interesting aspect of Harris's general story of "vampires are out in the world". Her explanations of certain rituals (such as the summit, the trial) are truly her own creations, her own rules, and it's details of rituals such as these that make Harris stand out as a writer of vampire fiction. She just has her own thing, and it works for her. She doesn't need to make her vamps sparkle in order to achieve uniqueness in the genre.
This is her vampire world, and she owns it time and time again. I can't wait to see how she continues to develop it in the novels to come (I hear there will be three more, after book 10 - exciiiiiiting!!).
Harris tries to keep things fresh; our heroine Sookie Stackhouse meets new people on a regular basis, making room for new storylines and character dynamics.
One of the newer people is weretiger Quinn, a bald, muscular purple-eyed God of a man who says "babe" a lot, who was introduced at the end of book 5.
During this instalment of the series, Sookie has more interactions with this man. Despite getting to know Quinn better, my opinion of him (formed after reading book 6) is basically unaltered. He seems a bit too slick to my taste, too perfect. The whole purple eyes thing, "babe babe babe", wut. At some point there was a description of his shirtless self: "like a genie". That turned me right off. Like a broken lightbulb. Oh snap.
There isn't a lot of chemistry between Sookie and Quinn in my opinion. I'm getting ready for him to exit the series about as quickly as he entered it. Actually, the more I read about Quinn, the more I realized he functioned more as a plot device to get Sookie and Eric closer.
Eric and Sookie's chemistry is pretty much undeniable; it returns in book 7 and remains throughout. Charlaine does a fantastic job at convincing her readers of how Eric and Sookie have this thing between them.
Eric's jealousy about Sookie & Quinn certainly made things a little more firey between our Nordic blond vampire and our telepathic cocktail waitress. Eric, oh, he definitely does it for me, whereas Quinn simply does not.
I haven't even mentioned Bill yet. Imagine a vampire ex-boyfriend, a weretiger current fling and a vampire ex-but-he-forgot and put them at one measily little summit together.
Sparks fly. There's jealousy and possessiveness. It's fantastic stuff. It really is. My heart sang at the whole love... quadrangle thing. Bill's pretty much in the background these days though, and that relieves me for one. I never liked Bill. /understatement
And forget about not mentioning Bill yet. I hadn't even BEGUN to discuss the plotline of this book. It was seriously good, very entertaining throughout even without the whole love stuff. I'm talking about the action, about what takes place at the summit, about the climax of the story. When I started this one, I really hoped that it would go somewhere and Harris absolutely delivered.
Even though something bothered me about the general plotline - something so obvious is overlooked by everyone, and I mean everyone, and it has some nasty consequences. The reader smells it from miles away though.
But oh, it made for those nasty consequences and those nasty concequences made me want to read book 8 immediately.
All Together Dead is thrilling, definitely one of the more exciting books in the series. There's plenty of action, there's original backstory and lots of guy trouble (the kind to avoid and the kind ya kinda want in on) for Sookie. And one hell of an ending, which only leaves you wanting more, then some more and so much more after that.
Keep 'em coming, Charlaine Harris. Keep 'em coming.
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Original R&R series © Karin E. Lips 2008-2010 (and beyond)
One of Sierra County government Thirteenth generation (2015–present) Ford F 150 pickup in the county seat of Truth or Consequences ( T or C ) NM .
'Shoes' by Antonio Carty (8th April 2017)
(105cm square - Pencil, acrylics & inks on paper)
Shoes.
Here to accompany my words, being an artist, is a picture I just made about the great encounter between europe & refugee people that is occurring, as a consequence of the industry and interests of war.
The refugee people I have portrayed in this moment are Syrian's, who having crossed the Mediterranean sea in their tiny rubber dingy and are just about to land their hopes and set foot on the shores of Europe. I created the picture from an actual photos sacred trace caught in time.
I title this picture 'Shoes' www.flickr.com/photos/antoniocarty/33692526774/in/datepos...
Why shoes? Because we all need them and we understand each other when we try to walk in each others! The picture portrays great multitudes of individual people all gathered together in a moment of expectant spectation, the stadium becomes a vast beach shore where every grain of sand is counted. Making this effort thru' art to render every individual in the vast crowd together all at once, I hope to awaken and fulfill a respect, for the simultaneous magnitude of all the lives and stories that makes a society. By looking at the real mystery of our gathered multitude as individuals, this social art hopefully asks us to see ourselves and helps us to believe in the true responsibility of how we each treat the other. Are we just spectators or the actors in our lives, is it to be, or not to be!
As Pope Francis in a gathering of European children along with children who had survived the desperate and brave Mediterranean crossing, all sang together in a common sense chorus, about the crisis of the Refugee, "They are not a danger, they are in danger, They are not a danger, they are in danger!!"
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This picture's description is part of a longer social essay I have written called 'Civilization and the River' where my picture here 'Shoes' was the main featured illustration. It is available to read as a 24 page pamphlet and as a blog. If you like to read the full blog it is here in this first link below.
zcomm.org/zblogs/civilization-and-the-river/
zcomm.org/zblogs/brexit-charade-and-the-madness-of-a-prac...
zcomm.org/zcommentary/myths-of-globalization/
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Latest News on 'Shoes'
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This picture was exhibited as part of Kilmainham & Inchicore's August 2017 Festival's Group Art Show in Dublin. The show of 10 artists organized by my fellow artists Sean O'Neill & Catherine Ryan was called 'An Ideal World' & my series of large drawing paintings as part of it, I called 'In Your Shoes'
In Your Shoes.
'My social art believes there is sacred truth and creativity to be realised in every moment we encounter. I like to journey into moments caught in time, to try unravel and truly see them in art. Looking in the mirror of an other's shoes, we can find ourselves, alive thru' them!'
-Antonio Carty
(August 25th 2017)
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Civilization and the River
-Reversing Social Austerity and Validating a Popular Progressive Society
by Antonio Carty - 27th May 2017
Why?
Why the Collapse?
Social Austerity and our loss of democratic control to debtors has crippled society, rightly enraged us and out of necessity is politically awakening the global constitution of 'We the People' of our world.
This great strain on societies resources, this great gap, is been blamed on different scapegoats, the wealthy usually like to blame it back on society, implying life's population is the burden, that our societies expectations are to great, wages are unsustainable, people want to much, our multitude health needs are an unending waste, a weakness that the sensible mature wealth of this world just cant in good conscience afford! Look at the barbarity of the 'health' bill that just passed in USA Congress, it will cause at least 24 million more people to lose health protection, but it gets celebrated by the wealthy in power as a 'victory for freedom'… freedom from responsibility.
The majority of people polled everywhere naturally disagree, people think and feel this social austerity is not a fair reward for our work, that society is underfunded and we should expect and have more to fulfill all our lives and societies potential. We protest, because there is a lack of money in wages, taxes and spending, yet at the same time we see there is greater profits being made and boasted in our world, than ever before.
Why is our world set this way? Because it is natural and was always meant to be?.. No, the world changes and leans to different directions according to action and influence.
One great influence is Democracy, which translates as the Rule of People. But the influence of people's voice and vote has been usurped by private and corporate wealth. Gigantic never before existing corporate powers have now grown and manifested to influence our world. This is a key fact. Social Austerity which has rightly angered and makes desperate the lives and pride of our majority, is caused by the great wealth not paying its fair share, why don't they?
Because they do not have to! Corporations are courted by nations. Its we nations who follow and compete to please and favour their interests, why?
Because they can simply Hop. If they don't like their deal, if wages and taxes are not low enough, if environmental regulations are not compliant to their interests, they Hop!
The Hop.
Is this hopping just a law of nature?
No, they hop because it is an advantageous dynamic for them to exploit, to get our nations to compete against each other and we do, we compete in a race to the bottom of our own societies wealth, health and future. We compete to increase our austerity and environmental loss, to help them continue to profit and become ever more influential and powerful, over our lives.
This 'race to the bottom', this contraction of social austerity and suicidal environmental collapse is getting worse and worse. Causing anger, doubt and fear in people. Even making some of us so desperate as to lose confidence in our character's fair reason, in our dignity and the grace of compassion, letting ourselves instead become hopeless, divided and conquered cowards, putting our fear and blame more easily onto the consequences, the victims of the economy, on the local poor and jobless, on enviously reversing the hard one equality of proud minorities, or blaming migrants of economic poverty and refugees, victims who must exodus the murdering global consequences of our cruelest industry, War.
But how do we change this desperate economic dynamic, this doomed global race to the bottom, so big businesses wont hop and might chose to stay and pay their fair share, to follow our democratic common sense agreements for mutual survival?
We turn from the established leaderships, because we've seen that their pro corporate low tax and wage Centre, is not offering a choice to vote for real effective change, from this doomed dynamic, no plan of change to achieve a better funded fairer world that is not this way. But how could it be different, this is the Market we must follow, this is how its meant to be, many repeat and echo this, making it seem absolute and true.
It is not.
We Are The River.
Yes we can influence, we can guide the market for better, like our great ancient civilizations who's necessity, with confidence, learnt and acted to guide the rivers on which they lived and depended so as they could better grow and prosper! But how do we today fix the river/market in our social interests with out corruption, bias and causing it to dry up and collapse?
I believe the answer is possible once you have questioned the problem and decided to act. We must unite the world's nations in an agreement to benefit all our economies. An agreement in regard and to the purpose of ending, the necessity of our nation's competing with each other into lower and lower wages and corporate taxes, in what is such a mutually doomed race to the bottom. An agreement that instead, sets to guiding the global river of all our honest work and efforts to more fairly irrigate and suit our human civilization.
But what kind of agreement, can achieve that?
We set healthy world wide Universal Minimum Wage and Tax Thresholds that all business over a certain size must pay and that cant be lowered and undermined by one nation against another. So, no more special package holiday deals for big corporates, that also unfairly disadvantage local and smaller business.
Now Hopping has less incentive and business has to settle and get on with creating a profit with the way the river is. And it will. Don't worry and listen to the shouting and bluster of the old gods, business will get on with it because it will be its reality and only way to make profit. But now the wages and the taxes they pay as they go will be fair and flow in to fund all our societies and nations around the world. People can prosper and live where they wish and not where they must. Democracy will not be twisted to the river, the river that We work, will rightly provide for and serve Our democracy as it flows!
So, as the great civilizations of the world before us once awoke and united to fix the river to benefit their lives and environment, now we must unite, to agree a range of global thresholds in wages and taxes.
To help ensure that business will be attracted to invest in nations with less developed infrastructure, markets and expertise. According to GDP development perhaps, 3 Tiers of Universal thresholds could be set. Developing nations could offer a lower minimum tier in tax and wages but still a decent one. The other 2 Tiers would be set gradually higher for more developed nations with their better infrastructures and education and training to offer potential business as incentive to settle there. But all the tiers of universal minimums in wages and taxes would be set at a good, fair and decent minimum that cant be undercut. So now as the river of the market flows, people of all nations are properly rewarded for their work, real spending and its economy will also rise everywhere with this new wider distribution of income buoyancy! Our societies' facilities will have the corporate tax previously not paid, to fulfill their best potentials not the lowest cut. Our Democracy will mature to have real and effective meaning beyond the values of economic desperation. Our public forum's fair and willful consensus of decisions, creating powerful new referendums and agreements, as we invest in our constitutions and direct our futures thru' the debates of our concerns, values and ideas.
We are the river! Our pride and dignity can have a better world wide civilization and sustainable healthy environment if we agree to guide and command our river's to fairly irrigate the land.
Now, this clear and practical idea of setting the river's flow to ensure society's prosperity, will have opposition!..
Wholesale Corpratism.
The economic chaos exploiting retreaters like trump, brexit and le pen and all the rest who offer an autocratic brute and shallow civil war inducing realization of national ego, encouraging their supporters to revel in their suppressed fears, envy and hate and misplace their blame against blind caricatures of each other.
In the USA this new great so called 'Economic Nationalism' has instead, shown itself to be a brazen advancement into Wholesale Corpratism. After waiting 100 days trump reveals the real deal is for huge corporate tax cuts. To go along with his dismantling of the rest of the people's society. Maybe this might attract a few corporate pharaohs to return to USA and have cheap pyramids built in their honour for low wages. Thats 'Jobs' get ready for a 'great nation' of worthless corporate slaves, waving empty flags, made to feel satisfied and empowered instead by a colosseum of cruelties to weaker minorities living among them.
A nation is all its people. Their is nothing nationalist about trump, the corporations he is appointing to run the nation will not be obliged, or even be asked to give a better deal in wages, and obviously not in tax. Their new deal is a sellout future, of humiliations not national pride and dignity, a betrayal of what the true wealth of a nation, its people, could have and deserve by their honest work and life.
The same is true for brexit, le pen and the rest who offer the hype of solution by this glorious retreat from the world community of possibility, thru' a xenophobic nationalist charade. It is only by the regaining of corporate tax and fair wages thru' international agreements of universal tax and wage minimums that our social austerity and the race to the bottom can be reversed. Only by international unity not retreat that 'a good deal' can be realized and a future thats 'great' can be founded.
But this wholesale corpratism that calls itself nationalist, wont be the only obstacle against a practical solution to our austerity. An international agreement for Universal Minimums in fair and decent Wages, Taxes and Environmental protection will also be fiercely condemned, ridiculed and scorned as a most unrealistic impertinence by the establishments of so called Centrists who have led us to this underfunded low corporate tax and wage social austerity crunch.
Centrists
They call themselves Centrists as if their way is not an ideology, not a left or a right or even an opinion but simply our now and forever truth! They believe most righteously their market worshiping ideologies rise to power was 'the end of history'.
They 'Follow the Market' and so like the days when a pro aristocracy Catholic Church would not allow peasants to change their fates and given stations in life as it was God's will, the pro corporate market Centrists wont allow us to fix how our wage and tax river's work as it is the Market's will! As if we are all apart from our world, consumers, passengers, grazers to be harvested, dumb spectators not actors in our own lives, for as they say Our history has ended!
We have been, sleepwalking on this ideology, worshipping only the will and values of business profit, our art and soul's voice is seen as redundant and unemployed to this rat race. All the unique consciousness of our individual multitudes and whatever the willful votes of our democracies, are but useless arguments to this generalized and disinterested dark age. We fear the occult of ratings agencies, whose mysteriously augured predictions can devalue a nation's earned savings and perceived wealth overnight. The stock exchange doesn't invest in new business, it disinvests and plunders the works of our real economy. Its a fantasyland through which 'financial wizards' can cast spells to profit off our real world lives.
The established centrists have enabled the rise to power of these unelected corporate kings and their insidious access all areas corporate lobbyists. We experience the low tax low wage social desertification of austerity, because their great wealth is not been obliged to pay its fair share. But now inevitably from these repeating economic crashes there is, a growing inescapable conscious resolve in people, people know it and want to vote for a real change from it, where corporate wealth is made pay its fair due share back in like everyone else.
The End of trump?
Medieval serfdom, like the early American colonists wished to leave behind them in Europe, is trump's new budget 'for american greatness' a plan for 'unleashing peoples dreams' by taking all the money still left in their society and squandering it to an even greater murdering waste of war industry, xenophobia blood sports and more cherries to the cakes of his rich corporate barons, Excelsior! Born in money and contempt with his characteristic golden head top, trump has been richly empowered all his life, he has no experience of how ordinary people live in the society he is gutting. When people are at their worst fates, sick or dying it is money and the burden of cost to loved ones they must worry about first not their health and life. His huge health cuts on the poor and middle incomes are a war against our humanity, trump accelerates us into a growing world of insincere tokenistic capitalist rations, of a nation with semi or no state responsibility for its people, instead of a great society that takes care of its human values whatever they cost.
He appoints wholesale corporate wealth to control every state department, its full speed ahead for global environmental collapse, he's at war with the courts and rightly they're stoping him, he now talks of whistle blowers and freedom of speech on our internet as 'deeply troubling', he visits cruel dictatorships to congratulate them, he launches elective missile strikes against undeclared enemies while having 'really delicious chocolate cake', he boasts with pride of deporting and crushing good peoples lives he brands criminal, he green lights police to murder who they like he's got their back, he snorts inhumanities like cocaine, wanting more and more. This ugly showman's brand, is committed to the constant inflation of an ever expanding balloon, a wind bag of outrageous shock and awe reversals of our human rights, hopefully if he doesn't kill us all first, trump and all who sail in him are going to finally explode that balloon with 'the Biggest Ego Meltdown in the World's History of Losers' as he himself might tweet and twitter it!
The scary Spectre and in deed the true danger of the trump, may be enough of a nightmare to drive and deliver the mass protests of people's popular progressive anger and hopes, which where originally against social austerity, back again with relief into the arms of the failed Centrists. Even though they remain un changed in their, pro corporate low wage and tax ideology, that bankrupts society and led to the austerity that led to trump. But doctor's logic says no, we need a practical and real change to refund society, not just another pro elite Centrist to save us from terrible trump, who will promise, and get corporations to agree, to smile more again!
A Return to Extreme Centrist Failure?
So we need a real change of the fundamental problem, not just enough to seem progressive and decent. We must change the international race to the bottom or we have changed nothing. Most centrist politicians may now be clever enough to show they 'feel the pain' but put forward no real idea for change. They will likely not prefer to reflect, grasp, and believe in popular progressive demands to come together and agree, to shape a better economic river. They will say, that if we dare change the river, that it will dry up and all hell will collapse upon us. They heckle us to fear our common sense, because to their extreme market ideology all change is infantile. They believe private profits growth must come before people, because 'it raises all boats with it'. But instead we have crash after crash with rich bailouts and social austerity and repeat. Now, like the fantastic propaganda of a dying regime the unchanging Centrists incredibly proclaim we are growing prosperous again, we hear this as most experience a continued race to the bottom. If we cant effectively oblige corporations to pay back good tax and wages, then no matter their growing prosperity of record profits, it does not matter and count as our prosperity!
Desperate to hold to power and relevance Centrists wish to fight back, so conveniently they equate and deride all ideas and voices for change, as the same mad threat to peoples 'stability and future'. They attack the humanitarian popularity of the socially progressive Left, and like to merge the Left with the real threat of the Far Right, when they slyly try declare them both to be the 'Extremes' of this new and 'Dangerous Populism'. I can understand what is been meant by 'Populism', but it is an often and easily misused term to slander all change to the established status quo and it is misleading term to diagnose the irrational and divisive envy, fear and hate the Far Right wishes to trigger and unleash in people to gain their support. Why not call out xenophobia and other dangers by their name and not call them a term that presumes them naturally popular? The Centrists never want to debate their hollow hype, they just repeatedly sum it up for people like we're children in what are certainly populist mantras of 'Stability, Security' ect. By branding the danger 'populism' they imply our democratic popular vote itself is a danger, a danger that might let us finally not vote for them!
Democracy is the awoken popular will of people, that each time takes a chance that hopes to change our society, for the better or what may be worse depending on what choice the money in politics and news media allows us to chose from. It is Centrist's stagnant denial in the face of their chronic failure, that is neither a stability or responsibility. What we do or allow is what we will become. By being pro corporate profits for so long, it is the Centrists who have created this dangerously low corporate tax and wage social austerity, and our inevitable race to the bottom, competing in all our indignity of nations, for ever smaller, shaved scraps.
A Race to the Top?
The river is made of our lives and labour, we will not dry up as long as we live, this great living river on which we all trade lives thru' we the people! So if we set its tax and wage minimums to healthy water levels world wide, corporations will have to just, get on with it.
But these world wide minimums are really a good progressive and stable idea for everyone, because it means corporate and all other business will no longer need to hop nations to compete against others who do. They will in fact more likely now need to compete by offering better more useful products to the market.
Also thru' this changed dynamic business will have to offer higher wages to attract their workers from other businesses. A calmer competition can begin, a race to the top instead, for the work of people and society! If we are confident and hopeful and remember the river and the market is us, we can reverse the destructively competitive dynamic that has reduced us all. Why not, we have democracy and the numbers, we also have a growing international consciousness, thru' which we find and echo our common causes, cheap travel and migrants and refugees bring fresh perspectives and experiences, a new wider unity, also made more easily possible thru' our cheap open internet, we must keep it open!
Lets follow nature's eternal optimism through which we where born, when we seek to regenerate our economic priority a have a happy re birth of our societies central value. We can have a new Renaissance!
Cuchulainn Is Not Dead! - www.flickr.com/photos/antoniocarty/30939692460/in/datepos...
Competition and Evolution.
There is positive competition that drives business to make better products people want. Competition to test and decipher objective truth is what progresses science. In arts there is a subjective competition within each heart and mind to better echo and enlighten our existence. In every person's life, there is competition against the time we get to live, that drives us to better realize ourselves and be true to our communication of that with those we must oppose and those we love. Our societies hope to win an empathetic competition against injustice, that seeks better more equal laws ect. Much competition is a good positive drive for a better quality to our evolution.
But a harmful competition, that reduces our societies' welfare, environment and growth, a competition that pits us all against each other in a race to the bottom, is an evolutionary death.
International corporate business is locked in a ruthless competition to maximize profit that has no boundaries. Environment, social funding and wages are dissolving to increase their competing race for profits. We must regain control now, using our available national democracies and getting them to unite internationally to mutually agree on more healthy global corporate tax and wage minimums, to end the extreme 'race to the bottom' destabilization caused by corporations cut and running from dependent nations, so as to better compete against each other and keep more and more profit. But if business has to pay the same where ever it goes then it and we are free of this unlimited competing for private accumulation, a calmer competition can be worked, bounded by equal global healthy minimums of wages and taxes, a non destructive competition who's profits are more fairly shared back to serve society, workers and our environment's survival.
Money Usurps Democracy.
Legally allowing large money donations to politicians, clearly ends an open participation in democracy, for anyone but the rich. We can end donations and instead use the new fairer taxes, to also fund political participants according to their current level of votes. New candidates can get a quota of signatures of citizen support to secure their initial funding before first election. Bring politics back to the people's table!
St Peter and St Paul, Salle, Norfolk
During their awesome reign over the other great teams of Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, Liverpool football club placed a huge sign in the changing room corridor, so that it was the last thing visiting teams saw before they walked out on to the pitch: This is ANFIELD, it warned. The name alone was enough. Similarly, the cover of the guidebook here proclaims, in a single word, SALLE. Again, it suffices; the word, pronounced to rhyme with call, stands for the building. Perhaps only the name Blythburgh has the same power in all East Anglia.
The greatest East Anglian churches were built in the 15th century. It is often observed that there can never have been enough people to fill them, but this is to miss the point. They were never intended for the forms of worship to which they now play host.
The shape of a late medieval church is not an accident. East Anglian parish churches of the 15th century had many common features; wide aisles to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a large nave for social activities, large windows to fill the building with light, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a pulpit for the preaching of orthodox doctrine, benches to enable the people to hear the preaching, and carvings, stained glass and wall paintings of the sacraments, Gospels and rosary mysteries, of the catechism and teaching of the Catholic Church.
As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a late medieval East Anglian church was a machine for making Catholicism happen.
No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new Church inherited buildings that were often unsuitable for congregational protestant liturgy - a problem that the Church of England has never satisfactorily solved.
Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.
With the rise of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This Victorian conception of the medieval suited itself to congregational worship, and responded in a satisfactory way to the structure of the building. But still, of course, they weren't full.
This 19th century re-imagining is the condition in which we find most of them today, and Anglican theologians everywhere are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?
It requires a shift in the mind to recall that these were not originally Anglican buildings, but it is a shift we need to make. The idea of a previously unchanging Church now confronting the demands of the modern age is wholly incorrect. These buildings have faced a variety of challenges over the centuries; they have only ever been truly suitable for the use for which they were originally built six hundred years ago.
Two of the largest late medieval churches in East Anglia are just three miles apart, at Cawston and Salle in the middle of Norfolk. These clusters are not uncommon; think of Blythburgh, Southwold and Walberswick in Suffolk, for example, or Lavenham and Long Melford in the same county. But Cawston and Salle are really close - you can see the tower of one from the other. St Peter and St Paul is a complete example of a 15th century rebuilding; St Agnes at Cawston retains its elegant earlier chancel.
If not merely for congregational worship, why were these churches built so big? Impressive as they seem now, they must have been awesome at the time they were built, since they were the only substantial buildings outside of the towns, and would have dwarfed the houses of the parish. Some were in villages; but many were not. Salle church has always been out in the fields. Why are earlier East Anglian churches not so massive? Certainly, East Anglia has its cathedrals; Norwich and Ely pre-date the great churches by several centuries, and Bury Abbey was bigger than either before its destruction. The great majority of East Anglia's churches are piecemeal affairs; typically, a 13th century chancel, which must have been the most substantial part of the building when it was first erected, an early 14th century nave and tower, and perhaps later elaborations of the piece with aisles and a clerestory. Salle and Cawston churches are both rebuildings of earlier structures, but a surprising number of East Anglian churches were not rebuilt, until perhaps the Victorians saw the need for a new chancel, or new aisles. Often, these smaller churches are exquisitely beautiful, as if beauty rather than grandeur was the imperative.
And then, towards the end of the 1340s, a great pestilence swept across Europe; in East Anglia, outside of Norwich which got off lightly, it killed perhaps a half of the population. In emptying the countryside, it completely altered the economic balance; a shortage of labour gave new power to the survivors, perhaps setting in place the preconditions for the capitalism that we can recognise by the 16th century. And, in extinguishing the flower of Decorated architecture, it also gave birth to the great love affair between the late medieval mind and death.
In Catholic theology there is no great divide between the dead and the living. For the medieval Christian, communion was something that existed between all members of the parish, whether alive or dead. Thus, prayers were said for the souls of the dead (who, it was presumed, were saying prayers for the souls of the living).
To ensure that prayers were said for them after their death, the very richest people endowed chantries. These were foundations, by which priests could be employed to say masses for their souls in perpetuity. A priest in such a capacity was called a chantry priest. The masses would be said at a chantry altar, probably in the nave; if the person was rich enough, this might be enclosed in a specially constructed chantry chapel. Many churches had them. After the Reformation, many were pressed into service as family mausoleums or pews.
For the poorest people, there was the opportunity to join a guild, where, for a penny or so a week, they could ensure that the guild chantry priest would say masses for their soul after their death (along with those of the other dead members of the guild). Many of these guilds were organised around particular occupations or devotions, and became a focus of social activity. The investment that produced the income to pay the chantry priests was most commonly in land. The church or guild oversaw the management of the land, which is one of the reasons we have an image of a wealthy pre-Reformation church. Land bought to produce income in this way was known as chantry land, a name surviving in many places today. Those who invested in chantries (and few and far between must have been those who didn't) presumed that they were ensuring prayers and masses in perpetuity; but, of course, this was not to be.
Bequests and chantries seem to have reached their peak in the 15th century. Perhaps the Black Death reinforced the urgency of the task. People did not merely want to be remembered; they wanted to be prayed for. And so, those who could afford it ensured that this was not forgotten by leaving their wealth in the very place that was at the centre of communion: the parish church. The richest paid for the additions of aisles and chapels, or for a new font or rood screen. This was not just a naked desire for the recognition of their family status. There was an underlying insecurity to the new landed classes. They wanted to control their destiny beyond their deaths. And so, their gift would be recorded in the form of a dedicatory inscription. One of these survives on the screen at Cawston, and another on the base of the font at Salle. Orate pro anima, they begin, "Pray for the soul of...", an injunction urgently emphasised by the pre-Reformation liturgy, only to be cursed and defaced by the later Anglicans and puritans. Stained glass was another common gift, as well as images, candlesticks, furnishings. Thus were many churches developed piecemeal.
But sometimes, where a parish could rely on a steady supply of substantial bequests, they might be channelled into a complete rebuilding, as at Salle, a summa cum laude apothesosis, where the new church of the late 15th century survives in pretty much its original form. Sometimes, a single wealthy family would shape and direct the rebuilding of a church. One of the richest families in East Anglia in the 14th and 15th centuries was the de la Poles, the Earls of Suffolk. Their mark can be found throughout East Anglia, but most famously and substantially at Wingfield in Suffolk, and at Cawston in Norfolk. Theirs was a long term project; at Cawston, the tower predates the furnishings of the nave and chancel by almost a century.
So why so vast? Certainly, it was ad maiorem deo gloria, to the Greater Glory of God; but it was also to the greater glory of the de la Poles and their contemporaries. The great landed families of England came into the late middle ages full of confidence, and they were determined to demonstrate it. They had survived the Black Death. They had grown richer on its consequences. They had assumed a political power unthinkable a few centuries before. They controlled not just the wealth but the imagination of their parishes. They asserted orthodox Catholic dogma in the face of rural superstitions and abuses. They imposed a homogenised Catholicism on late medieval England. And, as they increased their secular power and influence, a time would come when they would embrace the Great Idea already beginning to take shape on the continent - protestantism. But that was still in the future.
And so, to Salle. St Peter and St Paul is big. This is accentuated by the way in which it stands almost alone in the barley fields, with only a couple of Victorian buildings and a cricket pitch for company. What an idyllic spot! And yet there is an urban quality to the building, as if this was some great city church in the middle of Norwich or Bristol. It went up in the course of the 15th century, a replacement for an earlier building on the same site, broadly contemporary with neighbouring Cawston. While Cawston was largely the work of a single family, here the building benefited from an accident of history; several very wealthy families owned manors and halls in the parish at the same time, and it so happened that the time was the greatest era of rural church building.
Among them were the Boleyns, the Brewes, the Mautebys, the Briggs, the Morleys, the Luces and the Kerdistons, and some of their shields appear above the great west door, along with two mighty censing angels, characteristic of late medieval piety. A steady stream of hefty bequests meant that no expense needed to be spared, and the mighty tower with its vast bell openings was topped with battlements and pinnacles on the very eve of the Reformation.
As at Blythburgh, St Peter and St Paul benefited from the restraint of a late restoration, and the building as we see it now has no external Victorian additions. It is all of a piece. The porches either side are huge affairs, matching the transepts, and give the effect of a vast animal, a dragon perhaps, sprawling with erect head in the Norfolk countryside. Its tail is the chancel, in itself longer and higher than many Norfolk churches. The aisles are tall, austere, parapeted, the Perpendicular windows arcades of glass. In the porches, the vaulted ceilings are studded with bosses; the central one in the north porch depicts Christ in Majesty, sitting on a rainbow in judgement.
You enter the building from the west, an unusual experience in East Anglia, and your first sight is of the seven sacraments font with its tall 15th century canopy, similar to the cover at Cawston. This one is so big it is supported by a crane attached to the ringing gallery under the tower. The font below is interesting because each panel is supported by an angel holding a symbol of the sacrament above - a pot of chrism oil beneath Baptism, for example. The panels themselves are simply done, and are not particularly characterful, apart from the way that Mary turns away and is comforted at the Crucifixion. This panel faces west, and then anticlockwise are the Mass (viewed sideways, as at nearby Great Witchingham), Ordination (the candidate kneeling), Baptism (a server holds the book up for the Priest to read), Confirmation (the candidate obviously a child), Penance (perhaps the most interesting panel - the penitent kneels in a shriving pew), Matrimony (the couples' hands joined by a stole, she in late 15th century dress) and finally Last Rites (the dying man on the floor under blankets also as at Great Witchingham). The font step has a dedicatory inscription to John and Agnes Luce, asking for prayers for their souls. We know that John died in 1489. Perhaps the fabric of the building was complete by this date.
Beyond the font stretches the vastness of the building, the arcades gathering the eyes and leading them forward to the great east window. The chancel arch is barely there at all, just a simple high opening; but as MR James pointed out, it was never intended to be seen.The sheer bulk of the rood screen dado tells us quite how vast the rood apparatus must have been here, and the arch would have been pretty well hidden. Everything is built to scale; although everything has been cut off above the panels, probably in the late 1540s, the panels themselves are enormous, almost six feet high. As at Cawston, St Gregory, St Jerome, St Ambrose and St Augustine, the four Doctors of the Church, are on the doors. Either side are just two surviving paintings; to the north are Thomas and James, to the south are Philip and Bartholomew. The empty panels are a mystery; the screen stood here for a century before its destruction, so it must have been finished; and the dado seems too high to have been hidden by nave altars. And yet, it has all the appearance of never having been painted.
Because the building is so vast, the surviving medieval glass seems scattered, but there is actually a lot of it and some of it is very significant. Some was moved during the restoration of the early 20th century, when the modern glass in the north transept was installed, and the yellow galley lozenges were thankfully replaced with clear glass in the 1970s. The images in the east window are mainly figures; old kings kneel before young princes, there are armoured men and angels, the remains of a scaly dragon. In the centre at the bottom is a perfect Trinity shield, displayed by an angel looking askance.
Some of the panels are now in the south transept. These include fragments of a set of the orders of angels. A kneeling figure is Thomas Brigg, donor of the transept; the scroll behind him begins Benedicat Virgo, 'Blessed Virgin'. The mother of God sits surrounded by red glory, and two women holding croziers, one of them crowned, may be St Etheldreda and St Hilda. Certainly, the crowned figure holding a cross is St Helena.
Despite the wonders of the font, the screen and the glass, the crowning glory of the building is the set of bosses that line the roof of the chancel. They are easily missed, being very high. There are nine altogether, the first and last set against the walls at the ends of the roof ridge, and they form a kind of rosary sequence of joyful and glorious mysteries. They start with the Annunciation in the west (see left) and then continue with the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension into Heaven.
There is a fine set of return stalls in the chancel. Although Salle probably never had a college of Priests, all those Masses for the dead must have provided plenty of employment, because we know that there were seven Priests here at a time when the population of the parish was barely 200. Bench ends include heads, a dragon tied up in a knot, a cock, a restored pelican in her piety, and a monkey. The misericord seats feature faces, including one that is quite extraordinary.
Although the roof isn't up to the glory of neighbouring Cawston, it includes lots of original angels and paintwork, including sacred monograms, and around the wallplate part of the Te Deum Laudamus and Psalm 150. These particular texts seem to have provided the inspiration for many late 15th century interiors; the angels in the roof, the animals on the bench ends, the Saints on the rood screen all in harmony: Let everything that has breath Praise ye the Lord!
The nave benches are mostly renewed now, but the pulpit is an elegant example of the 15th century, from the time when a priority began to be placed on preaching. Curiously, it has been rather awkwardly converted into a three-decker arrangement, probably in the 18th century, with the addition of a platform and desk from a set of box pews. A large sounding board has been placed overhead. The box pews suggest that the medieval furnishings were replaced at an early date, although the replacements too have gone now.
Salle is one of those churches full of intriguing little details that might easily pass you by, so great is the wonder of everything around. Those two little corbel heads above the south door, for instance - what were they for? Perhaps they supported an image that could be seen from the north doorway as people entered, although not a St Christopher as the guidebook suggests, I think. There is a pretty piscina in the unfortunate north transept that has been outlined in wood, a memorial and helm above, a tall image bracket in the corner of the wall of the south transept, a floreated piscina nearby.
There are many brasses and brass inlays in the nave floor; one of the most interesting is a chalice brass (although the chalice is now gone) to Simon Boleyn, a Priest, who died in 1489, and to the east of it a pair of brasses to Geoffrey and Alice Boleyn, great-grandparents to Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Another pair of brasses are to Thomas and Katherine Rose and their eight children. Unlike many churches, Salle actually retains some of the 'missing' brasses, now locked away for safety. It would be nice to think they could eventually be reset in the floor.
One part of the building that many visitors must miss is the chapel above the north porch. There is no sign indicating it; but the doorway, at the west end of the north aisle, is always open. Inside, the vaulted roof is punctuated by spectacularly pretty bosses which you can view at close quarters. The colour is a bit fanciful, but they are fascinating, particularly the central boss of the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven - how on earth did that survive the Reformation?
This is a tremendous building, a box of fascinating delights. What purpose does it serve now? As I said in the introduction, its size was not in response to the needs of a congregation, and as far as worship is concerned it will never be full. It remains constantly in use, however; for regular services in the chancel, sometimes for concerts and recordings, but also of course for the poshest sort of wedding, the kind only the Church of England can provide, and no doubt other elements of the core business of CofE PLC. It is easy to be cynical, but if they ensure the survival of the building, then so be it.
Hanoi; Vietnamese: Hà Nội is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts and 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế, the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945), but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North's victory in the Vietnam War.
The city lies on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km west of Hai Phong city.
October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city. The Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural is a 4 km ceramic mosaic mural created to mark the occasion.
NAMES
Hanoi (河內) has had many names throughout history. During the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình (宋平, "Song Peace") and Long Đỗ (龍肚, "Dragonbelly"). In 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La (大羅, "Big Net"). During the Lê dynasty, Hanoi was known as Đông Kinh (東京, "Eastern Capital"); this gave the name to Tonkin.
HISTORY
Pre-Thăng Long period
Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. The Cổ Loa Citadel in Dong Anh district served as the capital of the Âu Lạc kingdom founded by the Shu emigrant Thục Phán after his 258 BC conquest of the native Văn Lang.
In 197 BC, Âu Lạc Kingdom was annexed by Nanyue, which ushered in more than a millennium of Chinese domination. By the middle of the 5th century, in the center of ancient Hanoi, the Liu Song Dynasty set up a new district (縣) called Songping (Tong Binh), which later became a commandery (郡), including two districts Yihuai (義懷) and Suining (綏寧) in the south of the Red River (now Từ Liêm and Hoài Đức districts) with a metropolis (the domination centre) in the present inner Hanoi. By the year 679, the Tang dynasty changed the region's name into Annan (Pacified South), with Songping as its capital.
In order to defeat the people’s uprisings, in the later half of the 8th century, Zhang Boyi (張伯儀), a Tang dynasty viceroy, built Luocheng (羅城, La Thanh or La citadel, from Thu Le to Quan Ngua in present-day Ba Dinh precinct). In the earlier half of the 9th century, it was further built up and called Jincheng (金城, Kim Thanh or Kim Citadel). In 866, Gao Pian, the Chinese Jiedushi, consolidated and named it Daluocheng (大羅城, Dai La citadel, running from Quan Ngua to Bach Thao), the then-largest citadel of ancient Hanoi.
Thăng Long, Đông Đô, Đông Quan, Đông Kinh
In 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed the site Thăng Long (昇龍, "Soaring Dragon") - a name still used poetically to this day. Thăng Long remained the capital of Đại Việt until 1397, when it was moved to Thanh Hóa, then known as Tây Đô (西都), the "Western Capital". Thăng Long then became Đông Đô (東都), the "Eastern Capital."
In 1408, the Chinese Ming Dynasty attacked and occupied Vietnam, changing Đông Đô's name to Dongguan (Chinese: 東關, Eastern Gateway), or Đông Quan in Sino-Vietnamese. In 1428, the Vietnamese overthrew the Chinese under the leadership of Lê Lợi, who later founded the Lê Dynasty and renamed Đông Quan Đông Kinh (東京, "Eastern Capital") or Tonkin. Right after the end of the Tây Sơn Dynasty, it was named Bắc Thành (北城, "Northern Citadel").
During Nguyễn Dynasty and the French colonial period
In 1802, when the Nguyễn Dynasty was established and moved the capital to Huế, the old name Thăng Long was modified to become Thăng Long (昇龍, "Soaring Dragon"). In 1831, the Nguyễn emperor Minh Mạng renamed it Hà Nội (河内, "Between Rivers" or "River Interior"). Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. As Hanoï, it became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
DURING TWO WARS
The city was occupied by the Japanese in 1940 and liberated in 1945, when it briefly became the seat of the Viet Minh government after Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. However, the French returned and reoccupied the city in 1946. After nine years of fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces, Hanoi became the capital of an independent North Vietnam in 1954.
During the Vietnam War, Hanoi's transportation facilities were disrupted by the bombing of bridges and railways. These were all, however, promptly repaired. Following the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of a reunified Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on July 2, 1976.
MODERN HANOI
On May 29, 2008, it was decided that Hà Tây Province, Vĩnh Phúc Province's Mê Linh District and 4 communes of Lương Sơn District, Hòa Bình Province be merged into the metropolitan area of Hanoi from August 1, 2008. Hanoi's total area then increased to 334,470 hectares in 29 subdivisions with the new population being 6,232,940., effectively tripling its size. The Hanoi Capital Region (Vùng Thủ đô Hà Nội), a metropolitan area covering Hanoi and 6 surrounding provinces under its administration, will have an area of 13,436 square kilometres with 15 million people by 2020
Hanoi has experienced a rapid construction boom recently. Skyscrapers, popping up in new urban areas, have dramatically changed the cityscape and have formed a modern skyline outside the old city. In 2015, Hanoi is ranked # 39 by Emporis in the list of world cities with most skyscrapers over 100 m; its two tallest buildings are Hanoi Landmark 72 Tower (336m, tallest in Vietnam and second tallest in Southeast Asia after Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers) and Hanoi Lotte Center (272m, also second tallest in Vietnam)
GEOGRAPHY
LOCATION - TOPOGRAPHY
Hanoi is located in northern region of Vietnam, situated in the Vietnam’s Red River delta, nearly 90 km away from the coastal area. Hanoi contains three basic kind of terrain, which are the delta area, the midland area and mountainous zone. In general, the terrain is gradually lower from the north to the south and from the west to the east, with the average height ranging from 5 to 20 meters above the sea level. The hills and mountainous zones are located in the northern and western part of the city. The highest peak is at Ba Vi with 1281 m, located in the western part of the region.
CLIMATE
Hanoi features a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with plentiful precipitation. The city experiences the typical climate of northern Vietnam, with 4 distinct seasons. Summer, from May until August, is characterized by hot and humid weather with abundant rainfall. September to October is fall, characterized by a decrease in temperature and precipitation. Winter, from November to January, is dry and cool by national standards. The city is usually cloudy and foggy in winter, averaging only 1.5 hours of sunshine per day in February.
Hanoi averages 1,680 millimetres of rainfall per year, the majority falling from May to September. There are an average of 114 days with rain.
The average annual temperature is 23.6 °C with a mean relative humidity of 79%. The highest recorded temperature was 42.8 °C on May 1926 while the lowest recorded temperature was 2.7 °C on January 1955.
ADMINISTRATIVES DIVISIONS
Hà Nội is divided into 12 urban districts, 1 district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. When Ha Tay was merged into Hanoi in 2008, Hà Đông was transformed into an urban district while Sơn Tây degraded to a district-leveled town. They are further subdivided into 22 commune-level towns (or townlets), 399 communes, and 145 wards.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Hanoi's population is constantly growing (about 3.5% per year), a reflection of the fact that the city is both a major metropolitan area of Northern Vietnam, and also the country's political centre. This population growth also puts a lot of pressure on the infrastructure, some of which is antiquated and dates back to the early 20th century.
The number of Hanoians who have settled down for more than three generations is likely to be very small when compared to the overall population of the city. Even in the Old Quarter, where commerce started hundreds of years ago and consisted mostly of family businesses, many of the street-front stores nowadays are owned by merchants and retailers from other provinces. The original owner family may have either rented out the store and moved into the adjoining house or moved out of the neighbourhood altogether. The pace of change has especially escalated after the abandonment of central-planning economic policies and relaxing of the district-based household registrar system.
Hanoi's telephone numbers have been increased to 8 digits to cope with demand (October 2008). Subscribers' telephone numbers have been changed in a haphazard way; however, mobile phones and SIM cards are readily available in Vietnam, with pre-paid mobile phone credit available in all areas of Hanoi.
ECONOMY
Hanoi has the highest Human Development Index among the cities in Vietnam. According to a recent ranking by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hanoi will be the fastest growing city in the world in terms of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025. In the year 2013, Hanoi contributed 12.6% to GDP, exported 7.5% of total exports, contributed 17% to the national budget and attracted 22% investment capital of Vietnam. The city's nominal GDP at current prices reached 451,213 billion VND (21.48 billion USD) in 2013, which made per capita GDP stand at 63.3 million VND (3,000 USD). Industrial production in the city has experienced a rapid boom since the 1990s, with average annual growth of 19.1 percent from 1991–95, 15.9 percent from 1996–2000, and 20.9 percent during 2001–2003. In addition to eight existing industrial parks, Hanoi is building five new large-scale industrial parks and 16 small- and medium-sized industrial clusters. The non-state economic sector is expanding fast, with more than 48,000 businesses currently operating under the Enterprise Law (as of 3/2007).
Trade is another strong sector of the city. In 2003, Hanoi had 2,000 businesses engaged in foreign trade, having established ties with 161 countries and territories. The city's export value grew by an average 11.6 percent each year from 1996–2000 and 9.1 percent during 2001–2003. The economic structure also underwent important shifts, with tourism, finance, and banking now playing an increasingly important role. Hanoi's business districts are traditionally Hoàn Kiếm and the neighborhood; and a newly developing Cầu Giấy and Từ Liêm in the western part.
Similar to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi enjoys a rapidly developing real estate market. The current most notable new urban areas are central Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh, Mỹ Đình, the luxurious zones of The Manor, Ciputra and Times City.
Agriculture, previously a pillar in Hanoi's economy, has striven to reform itself, introducing new high-yield plant varieties and livestock, and applying modern farming techniques.
Together with economic growth, Hanoi's appearance has also changed significantly, especially in recent years. Infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, with new roads and an improved public transportation system.
LANDMARKS
As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered one of the main cultural centres of Vietnam, where most Vietnamese dynasties have left their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. Even when the nation's capital moved to Huế under the Nguyễn Dynasty in 1802, the city of Hanoi continued to flourish, especially after the French took control in 1888 and modeled the city's architecture to their tastes, lending an important aesthetic to the city's rich stylistic heritage. The city hosts more cultural sites than any other city in Vietnam, and boasts more than 1,000 years of history; that of the past few hundred years has been well preserved.
OLD QUARTER
The Old Quarter, near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specializing in a particular trade, such as silk or jewelry. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. The area is famous for its small artisans and merchants, including many silk shops. Local cuisine specialties as well as several clubs and bars can be found here also. A night market (near Đồng Xuân Market) in the heart of the district opens for business every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening with a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.
Some other prominent places are: The Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu), site of the oldest university in Vietnam 1010; One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột); Flag Tower of Hanoi (Cột cờ Hà Nội). In 2004, a massive part of the 900-year-old Hanoi Citadel was discovered in central Hanoi, near the site of Ba Đình Square.
LAKES
A city between rivers built from low land, Hanoi has many scenic lakes and is sometimes called "city of lakes." Among its lakes, the most famous are Hoàn Kiếm Lake, West Lake, and Bay Mau Lake (inside Thongnhat Park). Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Sword Lake, is the historical and cultural center of Hanoi, and is linked to the legend of the magic sword. West Lake (Hồ Tây) is a popular place for people to spend time. It is the largest lake in Hanoi and there are many temples in the area. The lakeside road in the Nghi Tam - Quang Ba area is perfect for bicycling, jogging and viewing the cityscape or enjoying lotus ponds in the summer. The best way to see the majestic beauty of a Westlake sunset is to view it from one of the many bars around the lake, especially the Sofitel Plaza rooftop bar.
COLONIAL HANOI
Under French rule, as an administrative centre for the French colony of Indochina, the French colonial architecture style became dominant, and many examples remain today: the tree-lined boulevards (e.g. Phan Dinh Phung street) and its many villas and mansions, Grand Opera House, State Bank of Vietnam (formerly The Bank of Indochina), Presidential Palace (formerly the Palace of the Governor-General of French Indochina), St. Joseph's Cathedral, and the historic Hotel Metropole. Many of the colonial structures are an eclectic mixture of French and traditional Vietnamese architectural styles, such as the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts and the old Indochina Medical College. Gouveneur-Général Paul Doumer (1898-1902) played a crucial role in colonial Hanoi's urban planning. Under his tenure there was a major construction boom.
Critical historians of empire have noted that French colonial rule imposed a system of white supremacy on the city. Vietnamese subjects supplied labor and tax revenue, but the privileges and comforts of the city went to the white population. French efforts at rat eradication revealed some of the colonial city's racial double-standards.
MUSEUMS
Hanoi is home to a number of museums:
- National Museum of Vietnamese History
- Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts
- Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
- Vietnam Museum of Revolution
- Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)
- Ho Chi Minh Museum
- Hanoi Contemporary Arts Centre
- Vietnam Military History Museum
- Hanoi Museum
TOURISM
Hanoi is a very picturesque city, the leafy metropolis sometimes dubbed the "Paris of Asia." With its tree-fringed boulevards, more than two dozen lakes and thousands of French colonial-era buildings, Hanoi is a popular tourist attraction and one of only a few Asian capitals to retain its historic charm amid rapid modernization and population growth.
In 2015, Hanoi ranks #4 in TripAdvisor's list of the World's Best Destinations (Travellers' Choice).
And Hanoi is the most affordable international destination in TripAdvisor's annual TripIndex report. Created to help travelers plan and budget their summer holiday, the TripIndex looks at the average cost of a three-night trip in 60 key tourist cities around the world.
ENTERTAINMENT
A variety of options for entertainment in Hanoi can be found throughout the city. Modern and traditional theaters, cinemas, karaoke bars, dance clubs, bowling alleys, and an abundance of opportunities for shopping provide leisure activity for both locals and tourists. Hanoi has been named one of the top 10 cities for shopping in Asia by Water Puppet Tours. The number of art galleries exhibiting Vietnamese art has dramatically increased in recent years, now including galleries such as "Nhat Huy" of Huynh Thong Nhat.
A popular traditional form of entertainment is Water puppetry, which is shown, for example, at the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre."
CUISINE
Hanoi has rich culinary traditions. Many of Vietnam's most famous dishes, such as phở, chả cá, bánh cuốn and cốm are believed to have originated in Hanoi. Perhaps most widely known is Phở - a simple rice noodle soup often eaten as breakfast at home or at street-side cafes, but also served in restaurants as a meal. Two varieties dominate the Hanoi scene: Phở Bò, containing beef, and Phở Gà, containing chicken.
Vietnam's national dish phở has been named as one of the Top 5 streetfoods in the world by globalpost.
Hanoi has a number of restaurants whose menus specifically offer dishes containing dog, snake and various species of insects. Insect-inspired menus can be found at a number of restaurants in Khuong Thuong village, Hanoi. The signature dishes at these restaurant are those containing processed ant-eggs, often in the culinary styles of Thai people or Vietnam's Muong and Tay ethnic people.
EDUCATION
Hanoi, as the capital of French Indochina, was home to the first Western-style universities in Indochina, including: Indochina Medical College (1902) - now Hanoi Medical University, Indochina University (1904) - now Hanoi National University (the largest), and École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (1925) - now Hanoi University of Fine Art.
After the Communist Party took control over Hanoi in 1954 with support from the Soviet Union, many new universities were built, among them, Hanoi University of Technology, still the largest technical university in Vietnam. Recently ULIS (University of Languages and International Studies) was rated as one of the top universities in Southeast Asia for languages and language studies at the undergraduate level. Other universities that are not part of Vietnam National University or Hanoi University include Hanoi School for Public Health and Hanoi School of Agriculture.
Hanoi is the largest centre of education in Vietnam. It is estimated that 62% of the scientists in the whole country are living and working in Hanoi. Admissions to undergraduate study are through entrance examinations, which are conducted annually and open for everyone (who has successfully completed his/her secondary education) in the country. The majority of universities in Hanoi are public, although in recent years a number of private universities have begun operation. Thăng Long University, founded in 1988, by some Vietnamese mathematics professors in Hanoi and France is the first private university in Vietnam. Because many of Vietnam's major universities are located in Hanoi, students from other provinces (especially in the northern part of the country) wishing to enter university often travel to Hanoi for the annual entrance examination. Such events usually take place in June and July, during which a large number of students and their families converge on the city for several weeks around this intense examination period. In recent years, these entrance exams have been centrally coordinated by the Ministry of Education, but passing marks are decided independently by each university.
Although there are state owned kindergartens, there are also many private ventures that serve both local and international needs. Pre-tertiary (elementary and secondary) schools in Hanoi are generally state run, but there are also some independent schools. Education is equivalent to the K–12 system in the US, with elementary school between grades 1 and 5, middle school (or junior high) between grades 6 and 9, and high school from grades 10 to 12.
TRANSPORT
Hanoi is served by Noi Bai International Airport, located in the Soc Son District, approximately 15 km north of Hanoi. The new international terminal (T2), designed and built by Japanese contractors, opened in January 2015 and is a big facelift for Noibai International Airport. In addition, a new highway and the new Nhat Tan cable-stay bridge connecting the airport and the city center opened at the same time, offering much more convenience than the old road (via Thanglong bridge). Taxis are plentiful and usually have trip meters, although it is also common to agree on the trip price before taking a taxi from the airport to the city centre.
Hanoi is also the origin or departure point for many Vietnam Railways train routes in the country. The Reunification Express (tàu Thống Nhất) runs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from Hanoi station (formerly Hang Co station), with stops at cities and provinces along the line. Trains also depart Hanoi frequently for Hai Phong and other northern cities. The Reunification Express line was established during French colonial rule and was completed over a period of nearly forty years, from 1899 to 1936. The Reunification Express between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City covers a distance of 1,726 km and takes approximately 33 hours. As of 2005, there were 278 stations on the Vietnamese railway network, of which 191 were located along the North-South line.
The main means of transport within Hanoi city are motorbikes, buses, taxis, and a rising number of cars. In recent decades, motorbikes have overtaken bicycles as the main form of transportation. The increased number of motorcycles can cause gridlock. To minimize this and the negative consequences for the environment and health, the local government is trying to increase public transportation. Public buses run on many routes and fares can be purchased on the bus, with very cheap prices (30 cents for a journey where a taxi might cost $10).
There are 2 metro lines under construction in Hanoi now. The first one is expected to be operational in 2016, the second in 2018
Persons on their own or traveling in a pair who wish to make a fast trip around Hanoi to avoid traffic jams or to travel at an irregular time or by way of an irregular route often use "xe ôm" (literally, "hug bike"). Motorbikes can also be rented from agents within the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
WIKIPEDIA
I am quite busy these days, which unfortunately prevents me from creating new images as much as I would like to. However, I found a free afternoon in my schedule, and decided to took advantage of it: I was alone at home, but a concept I had in mind for a while sounded doable.
At first, I wanted to show a man walking vertically on the trunk of a tree, as if gravity was not affecting him. So I chose a tree in my garden, and installed my tripod and camera as needed. Then, I put a harness under my clothes, and installed ropes and carabiners on a branch a few meters away from the ground. It was quite hard to fit everything in the frame nicely, and after a few tries, I gave up and decided to adjust the concept a bit, in order to obtain a better composition. I could have searched for a better tree, isolated in the country somewhere, but time was lacking.
This is when I sat on the trunk: it immediately made me think of a cowboy on a strange mount. As a consequence, I went back to my house, changed my clothes to disguise myself the best I could, and climbed back up on the tree. It looked much better, but I still was too close to the ground, so I installed the rope a bit higher, which required a ladder to get up there. You may wonder why the ladder is not visible on the photo? Easy enough, I simply put it away once up there... and of course, the ladder fell too far, and I got stuck, attached to my tree, with no one at home to help :-) Let me tell you I felt quite silly at that very moment. Fortunately, I managed to detach myself and jump, my honor would have been destroyed if my wife had found me like that in the evening!
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Car wreckage and a £50,000 pint come to Manchester
People in Manchester were be exposed to two very different consequences of drink driving by Greater Manchester Police this week. The wreckage of a car whose owner was killed in drink driving crash went on display at the University of Manchester, alongside a pint worth £50,000 – the personal financial cost of a conviction.
The £50,000 pint, displayed behind velvet ropes and housed in a protective glass case, represents the personal financial cost of drink-driving, calculated for the first time by the Institute of Advanced Motorists. The calculation reflects the fines, legal costs, rise in insurance premiums and possible job losses faced by those who are convicted.
The wreckage, known as the Think! Car, was owned by a 21-year-old man who lost control of his car on his way home and hit a tree, sadly killing him.
The activity was part of the University ‘Wellbeing Week’ and involved police conducting on the spot breathalyser tests and handing out free ‘scratchcards’, as well as activity highlighting the dangers posed to cyclists and bikers straying into the blind spots of HGVs and buses.
Inspector Matt Bailey-Smith from Greater Manchester Police said: "Drink driving ruins lives. It can cost motorists their family, job and worse still their life or that of somebody else.
"Many people do not think of the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol until it is too late and police are committed to tackling this issue so that we can make the roads of Greater Manchester a safer place to be.
"If you are planning on driving then the safest choice you can make is to avoid alcohol all together, and if you see somebody else attempting to drink and drive then make sure you stop them. It could be the difference between life and death."
Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said:
“It might only look like a humble pint of beer, but it could end up costing much more than a few quid – in fact it comes with an eye-watering hidden cost if it pushes you over the limit.
“Most people know not to drink and drive but a small number still do, which is why we are highlighting the consequences of a drink drive conviction through our THINK! campaign.
“Anyone thinking of drinking and driving should be without any doubt – if you are caught driving over the limit you will face a heavy court fine and lose your licence – you could even go to prison.”
To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.
You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
Back to St Mary, this having taken the precaution of making sure it would be unlocked. Many thanks to the former vicar and one of the current wardens to take time to reply.
Much more inside than I remember, wooden hatchments and more tablet memorials than you can shake a stick at.
The walls lean, the windows are set in recesses that look off centre.
But it works.
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Nonington is a village of two junctions. The church is on the lesser of the two delightfully framed by a picture postcard cottage and venerable Yew. Opposite the gate is an amazing memorial giving you the two alternative routes through life. You really have to see it. The church is large, open and welcoming....though it's interior does have something of a Victorian feel to it. The chancel arch shows signs of once having an infilled Tympanum as the slots are still visible and there is an entrance to the Rood Loft on the north side. The south wall has a large window in a similar position but its stonework is renewed and its difficult to tell if it was there to give light to the rood, or if it was added later to give light to the pulpit that now stands there. The chancel south wall is full of memorial tablets and four hatchments whilst the north chapel is similarly crammed in with tablets. The altar has a very queer companion which takes the form of tiled Decalogue and Lord's Prayer, whilst the altar itself has a fine inlaid reredos. The fine north chapel has what was once a good tomb recess but at some later stage this was pierced with a window to create a light family pew. At the back of the church the pews are tiered (see also Newnham) and overshadow the fine mid seventeenth century font doubtless purchased to replace one destroyed during the Commonwealth. My favourite things here are the two south chancel windows of St Alban and St George designed just after the First World War by Mary Lowndes who was a significant player in the Arts and Crafts movement.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Nonington
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NONINGTON.
The next parish eastward is Nonington, which lies partly, that is, so much as is within the borough of Kettington, and of Nonington, alias Ratling, in this hundred of Wingham; and the remainder, containing the boroughs of Esole, and Frogham, in the lower half of the hundred of Eastry.
THIS PARISH is, as to soil and situation, much the same as that of Goodnestone last described, being in a fine open champaign country, exceedingly dry and healthy; it is about three miles across each way, the village called Church-street, with the church in it, is nearly in the middle of the parish, in a valley, in which, at no great distance from it, is the seat of St. Alban's, a low situation, looking up to the uninclosed lands. Near it is the hamlet of Esole, usually called Isill-street, and further eastward the estate of Kettington belonging to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. In the bottom, at some distance south-west from the church, among some small inclosures, is the seat of Fredville, a damp and gloomy situation; near it are the small hamlets of Frogham and Holt, now called Old-street, near which is a place called Oxendenden, from whence the family of that name are said to derive their origin. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Acol, which had once owners of that name, who bore for their arms, Quarterly, argent, and azure, over all, a bend componee, or, and gules, as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church. It now belongs to Sir Brook William Bridges, and at the western boundary that of Ratling-street. In this parish is the estate of Curleswood park, now commonly called the Park farm, belonging to the archbishop, the lessee of it being Sir Brook William Bridges. There is a fair held yearly in Church-street, on Ascension day, for pedlary, &c.
The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramountover the greatest part of this parish, and the manor of Eastry over the remainder. Subordinate to the former is
The MANOR OF RETLING, usually called Ratling, in that part of this parish adjoining to Adisham, which was antiently held of the archbishop by a family of the same name, who bore for their arms, Gules, a lion rampant, between an orle of tilting spears heads, or, as they were on the surcoat of Sir John de Ratling, formerly painted in one of the windows of this church, in which it continued down to Sir Richard de Retling, who died possessed of it in the 23d year of king Edward III. leaving a sole daughter and heir Joane, who marrying John Spicer, entitled him to it. After which, by Cicely, a daughter and coheir of this name, it passed in marriage to John Isaac, of Bridge, who died possessed of it anno 22 Henry VI. and his descendant Edward Isaac, esq. in king Henry VIII.'s reign, alienated it to Sir John Fineux, chief justice of the king's bench, whose son William Fineux, esq. of Herne, alienated it to Thomas Engeham, gent. of Goodneston, who by his will in 1558, gave it to his second son Edward, and his son, William Engeham sold it to William Cowper, esq. who afterwards resided here, and was first created a baronet of Nova Scotia, and then, in 1642, a baronet of Great Britain. His great-grandson Sir William Cowper, bart. was by queen Anne, being then lord keeper of the great seal, created lord Cowper, made lord chancellor, and afterwards, anno 4 George I. created earl Cowper, and in his descendants, earls Cowper, this manor has descended down to the right hon. PeterFrancis, earl Cowper, the present owner of this manor. (fn. 1) There has not been any court held for it for many years past.
ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of Wingham college, anno 1286, endowed the first subdiaconal prebend of it, which he distinguished by the name of the prebend of Retling, with the tithes of the demesne lands, which Richard de Retling and Ralph Perot held of him in Nonyngton, between the highway which led from Cruddeswode to the cross of Nonyngtone, and from thence to the estate of the prior, of Addesham. (fn. 2)
OLD-COURT is an estate in this parish, situated about a mile northward from the church, which was antiently the property of the family of Goodneston, who took their name from their possession and residence in that parish, and it continued in an uninterrupted succession in this family, of whom there is frequent mention in private evidences, which, though without date, appear to be made in the reigns of king Henry III. and king Edward I. till at length Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodnestone, carried it in marriage to Vincent Engeham, whose son Thomas Engeham, esq. of Goodneston, by his will in 1558, gave it, together with the lands in Nonington, late Mr. Sidley's and John Bewe's, to his second son Edward, whose son William Engeham, gent. passed it away in queen Elizabeth's reign to Thomas Wilde, esq. descended from an antient family of that name in Chester, and his son Sir John Wilde, of St. Martin's hill, near Canterbury, in the next reign of James I. alienated it to Thomas Marsh, gent. of Brandred, in Acrise, whose descendant John Marsh resided here till the year 1665, when he removed to Nethersole, in Wimlingwold. Since which it has continued, in like manner as that seat, down to his descendant John Marsh, esq. now of Chichester, in Sussex, the present owner of it.
ST. ALBANS COURT, antiently called, at first Eswalt, and afterwards Esole, is a manor situated in the valley, north-eastward from the church, in the borough of its own name, which with another estate near it, called Bedesham, (all that remains of the name of which is a grove behind St. Albans house, called Beauchamp wood, in which are many foundations of buildings, being now esteemed as part of the manor of St.Albans court) was in the time of the Conqueror, part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, and they are accordingly both thus entered in the record of Domesday:
Adelold holds of the bishop Eswalt. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is . . . . In demesne there is one carucate, and six villeins, with two borderers having three carucates. There are two servants, and a small wood for fencing. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth nine pounds, now fifteen. Alnod Cilt held it of king Edward.
And Somewhat further below:
Osbert, the son of Letard, holds of the bishop, Bedesham. It was taxed at one yoke and an half. The arable. land is . . . . In demesne there is one carucate, with one villein and four borderers. In the time of king EdEdward the Confessor it was worth sixty shillings, and afterwards thirty shillings, now fifty shillings. Godisa held it of king Edward. In the same manor ten thanes held of Osbern himself one suling and half a yoke, and there they themselves have four carucates and an half. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth one hundred shillings, and afterwards thirty shillings, now sixty shillings.
On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, in the year 1084, it came, with the rest of his estates, into the hands of the crown, whence the manor of Esole, alias St. Albans, seems to have been granted to William de Albineto, or Albini, surnamed Pincerna, who had followed the Conqueror from Normandy hither, whose son, of the same name, earl of Albermarle, gave it, by the name of the manor of Eswelle, to the abbot of St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire; which gift was afterwards confirmed by king Stephen; (fn. 3) and from thence it gained the name of St. Albans. And anno 7 king Edward I. the abbot of St. Albans claimed and was allowed, before the justices itinerant, free-warren and other liberties within this manor. After which it continued in the possession of the abbey till the 30th year of king Henry VIII. when the abbot and convent, with the king's consent, sold it, with its lands, appurtenances, and tithes belonging to it, as well of corn, grain, hay, and otherwise, then in the occupation of John Hammond, to Sir Christopher Hales, master of the rolls. Which alienation having been made in consequence of the licence by the king's word only, was confirmed by act the next year, specially for that purpose. On whose death in the 33d year of that reign, (fn. 4) his three daughters became his coheirs, of whom Elizabeth, then married to John Stocker, and Margaret, then unmarried, joined in the sale of their shares in it, to Alexander Culpeper, who had married Mary, the other daughter, and he quickly afterwards alienated the whole of it to his eldest brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Bedgbury, who in the 2d and 3d of Philip and Mary, sold it to Thomas Hammond, gent. who at that time resided here, being the direct descendant of John Hamon, or Hammond, who was resident here in king Henry the VIIIth.'s time, as tenant to the abbot and convent of St. Alban's, who died in 1525, and was buried in this church, as were his several descendants afterwards, in whom it continued down to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, who married Charlotte, eldest daughter of Dr. Wil liam Egerton, prebendary of Canterbury, by whom he left William, of whom hereafter; Anthony, rector of Ivychurch, and vicar of Limne, and three daughters, Anna-Maria; Charlotte, married to Thomas Watkinson Payler, esq. of lleden, and Catherine. William Hammond, esq. the eldest son, married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Osmund Beauvoir, D.D. by whom he has issue two sons and five daughters, viz. William-Osmond, Maximilian-Dudley-Diggs; Elizabeth-Mary, Mary-Elizabeth, Charlotte, Julia-Jemima, and Jemima-Julia. He bears for his arms, Argent, on a chevron, sable, between three ogresses, each charged with a martlet of the field, three escallop-shells, or, all within a bordure engrailed, vert; which arms were granted by Barker, garter, to Thomas Hamon, gent. of Nonington, anno 1548, and confirmed by Cooke, clarencieux, and they were certified to the college of arms by William Hammond, esq. last-mentioned, his descendant, in 1779, (fn. 5) and he is the present owner of this manor and seat, at which he resides.
A court baron is held for this manor, which extends over some part of the borough of Wingmere, in Eleham, and over a few acres of land in Barham.
SOLES is a manor at the boundary of this parish, next to Barfreston, which at the taking the survey of Domesday, in 1080, was part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in that record:
Ansfrid holds of the bishop Soles. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is . . . In demesne there are two carucates, and eight viheins with half a carucate. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth one hundred shillings, and afterwards twenty shillings, now six pounds. Elmer held it of king Edward.
Four years after which, on the bishop's disgrace, the king seized on this estate among the rest of his possessions. After which it was granted to the family of Crevequer, and made a part of that barony, being held of it by the tenure of performing ward to Dover castle. Of Hamo de Crevequer it was held by knight's service in king Edward I.'s reign, by Richard de Rokesle, and of him again by Hamo and John de Soles, who certainly took their name from it, but this name was extinct here in the beginning of king Henry IV.'s reign, for in the 4th year of it Thomas Newbregge, of Fordwich, was become possessed of it, whose descendant sold it to Rutter, from which name it passed; about the beginning of king Edward IV. to Litchsield, whose descendant Gregory Litchfield alienated it in king Henry VIII.'s reign to John Boys, esq. of Nonington, in whose descendants it continued down to John Boys, esq. of Hode-court, who in Charles I.'s reign alienated it to Sir Anthony Percival, of Dover, comptroller of the customs there; in whose descendants it remained till, not many years since, it was by one of them passed away to Major Richard Harvey, who sold it to Thompson, of Ramsgate, after whose death it came by marriage to Mr. Stephen Read, of Canterbury, who afterwards alienated it to John Plumptree, esq. of Fredville, the present owner of it. A court baron is held for this manor.
FREDVILLE is a manor in this parish, which in antient deeds is sometimes written Froidville, from its cold situation, which is both low and watry. It was held of the castle of Dover, as part of those lands which made up the barony of Maminot, afterwards, from its succeeding owners, called the barony of Saye. In the reign of king Edward I. it was held, in manner as above-mentioned, by John Colkin, in whose posterity it remained till the latter end of king Richard II.'s reign, when it was conveyed by sale to Thomas Charleton, and he, by sine levied anno 2 Henry IV. passed it away to John Quadring, whose descendant Thomas Quadring leaving an only daughter and heir Joane, she carried it in marriage to Richard Dryland, and he, about the latter end of king Edward IV. alienated it to John Nethersole, who by fine levied in the 2d year of king Richard III. conveyed it to William Boys, esq. of Bonnington, (fn. 6) and he died possessed of it in 1507, and by his will gave this manor to his eldest son John Boys, esq. of Fredville. His descendant Major Boys, of Fredville, being a firm loyalist, suffered much by sequestration of his estates. He had seven sons and a daughter, who all died s.p. Two of his elder sons, John and Nicholas, finding that there was no further abode at Fredville, to which they had become entitled, departed each from thence, with a favourite hawk in hand, and became pensioners at the Charter-house, in London. (fn. 7) Before which they had, in 1673, sold it to Denzill, lord Holles, from whose descendant it afterwards came to Thomas Holles, duke of Newcastle, who in 1745 sold it to Margaret, sister of Sir Brook Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, and she in 1750, marrying John Plumptree, esq. of Nottinghamshire, he became in her right possessed of it. He was descended from a family who had been long settled in that county, who bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, between two mullets in chief, and an annulet in base, sable. (fn. 8) He served in parliament for Penryn, in Cornwall, and afterwards for Nottingham. By his first wife above-mentioned, he had no issue; but by his second, daughter of Philips Glover, esq. of Lincolnshire, he had one son John Plumptree, esq. married to Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Pemberton, of Cambridgeshire; and a daughter, married to R. Carr Glynn, esq. He rebuilt this seat, in which he afterwards resided, and dying in 1791, was succeeded by his only son John Plumptree, esq. beforementioned, who now resides in it.
At a small distance from the front of Fredvillehouse, stands the remarkable large oak tree, usually known by the name of the Fredville oak. It measures twenty-seven feet round in girt, and is about thirty feet in height; and though it must have existed for many centuries, yet it looks healthy and thriving, and has a most majestic and venerable appearance.
Charities.
EDWARD BOYS, son of William Boys, esq. of Nonington, gave by his will in 1596, and annnity of 40s. out of lands which he had purchased in Nonington and Barfreston, containing 15 acres, to be yearly paid among the poorest of this parish.
ROBERT BATGHAR, yeoman, of Bridge, by will in 1600, gave to the parson and churchwardens of Nonington, the rents and profits of his house there, for the relief of the poor.
SIR EDWARD BOYS, of Nonington, by will in 1634, gave to the poor of Nonington, 6l. to be employed for a stock to set the poor at work, and not otherwise to be employed, so as the overseers or any sufficient man of the parish be bound yearly to the heirs of Fredville, whereby the stock be not lost.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave to two poor housekeepers of this parish, two houses and an acre and an half of land, in it, at Frogham, to each, with a sack of wheat to each housekeeper every Christmas; now vested in the Reverend James Morrice, owner of Betshanger manor, and of the annual produce of 5l. 10s.
The poor constantly relieved are about thirty, casually forty.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a tower steeple at the north corner at the west end, in which are three bells. In the south isle are the figures of a man between his two wives, traced on the stone, and inscription for John Hamon and Margaret and Mary his wives, obt. 1526. A memorial for Wm. Hammond, obt. 1717. In the south or high chancel, against the wall, a brass plate for Alicia, daughter and heir of William Sympson, esq. once marshal of Calais, and Catherine Gemecot, wife to Francis Wilford, obt. 1581. A stone, and inscription in brass, for John Cooke, vicar, obt. March 7, 1528. Several memorials for the Hammonds. In the north chancel, now made use of as a school, a memorial for Edward Boys, esq. obt. 1597. A monument for Mary, daughter of Edward Boys, and wife of J. Hole, obt.— Several memorials for Trotter and Wood. A monument for Sir John Mennes. In the windows of this church were formerly several shields of arms, long since destroyed; and the figure of a knight, kneeling on his surcoat, the arms of Boys, of Bonnington, and opposite to him the figure of a woman kneeling, and on her coat the arms of Roper. Another like figure of a knight, and on his surcoat the arms of Ratling, being Gules, a lion rampant or, an orle of Spears heads argent.
The church of Nonington was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was on the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 9) and then given to the college, and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where it did not remain long, for in the year 1558, queen Mary granted it, among others, to the archbishop, but the rectory or parsonage appropriate, with the chapel of Wimlingswold appendant, continued in the crown till queen Elizabeth, in her 3d year, granted it in exchange, to the archbishop, when it was valued at thirty-three pounds, reprises to the curate 13l. 6s. 8d. At which rent it has continued to be leased out ever since, and it now, with the patronage of the curacy, remains parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury. William Hammond, esq. is the present lessee of the parsonage.
At the time this church was appropriated to the college of Wingham, a vicarage was endowed in it, which, after the suppression of the college, came to be esteemed as a perpetual curacy. It is not valued in the king's books. The antient stipend paid to the curate as above, was, in 1660, augmented by archbishop Juxon with the addition of twenty pounds, but by the addition of Mr. Boys's legacy of the small tithes in this parish and Wimlingswold, mentioned below, it is now, with that chapel, of the yearly certified value of 71l. 6s. 8d. In 1588 here were two hundred and thirty-five communicants.
¶Edward Boys, esq. of Nonington, by his will in 1596, gave towards the maintenance of a minister, being licenced and preaching every other Sunday at farthest at Nonington, yearly, for ever, all the profits of the small-tithes of Nonington and Wemingewell, (excepting those of the lands in his occupation, and the oblations and obventions due out of them, and the tithes of wood of all the lands and farms he had, or his heirs should have, within the parish) the said minister paying to him and his heirs the yearly sum of 40s.
www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp251-262
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St. Mary’s Church appears to have been built on or near a farm or settlement on the Manor of Oesewalum (also Oeswalum & Oesuualun) which had belonged to the Abbesses of Minster Abbey, on the Isle of Thanet, and Southminster Abbey, at Lyminge, in the late 8th and early 9th centuries before eventually passing into the possession of Christchurch Priory of Canterbury. The abbess’s ownership of Oesewalum most likely give rise to the name Nunningitun, the nuns farm or manor, which in turn became Nonington. The manor of Oesewalum would have been administered on behalf of the abbess by a manorial steward and his house would have been the focal point of the settlement and possibly eventually became the site of the chapel that became St. Mary’s Church.
The manor of Oesewalum came into the personal possession of Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 824 and he willed it to Werhard, his kinsman, on the proviso that Werhard would in turn will it to Christ Church Priory. In his will drawn up in the 830’s Werhard made the following provisions:
“ To five paupers at Harrow (Middlesex), five at Otford (Kent), two at Graveney (Kent), seven at Oesuualun ( in Nonington, Kent) and six in the city of Canterbury (Kent) let enough to eat be given each day as is convenient and over the year let each pauper be given twenty-six pence for clothing”
(The original Latin text was “Apud Hergan .v. pauperes; apud Otteford .v.; apud Cliue .ii.; apud Grauenea .ii.; apud Oesuualun .vii.; in ciuitate Dorobernia .vi. Unicuique detur cotidie ad manducandum quod conuenienter sit satis et per annum cuique pauperi ad uestitum .xxvi. denarii.”).
In order to distribute “enough to eat be given each day as is convenient” to the seven paupers at Oesewalum /Oesuualun the food must have either been brought in from Christchurch Priory or one of its other estates on a regular basis, although not necessarily daily, or there must have been a local source of supply.
Werhard’s will records Oesewalum /Oesuualun as extending to 10 hides and the revenue Werhard derived from the holding would therefore have been more than able to adequately provide the specified bounty. A hide was the nominal amount of land required to keep a family for a year and was used for taxation. In East Kent a hide would probably have measured some thirty to fifty modern acres, depending on the quality of the land. The daily ration would have to be distributed and the most logical place to distribute this would be the manorial steward’s house, either by the steward or another servant of Christchurch. As it was an ecclesiastical manor this may then have led to a small chapel being established which by the 1070’s had become the origin of the present St. Mary’s Church.
However, there is some evidence to show that the chapel itself may actually pre-date possession by Christchurch and may have been founded or existed during the ownership of Oesewalum by the Benedictine Abbeys of Minster on the Isle of Thanet and Southminster at Lyminge as both abbey churches were named after St. Mary the Virgin, the same saint as the present Nonington church. Nonington church is next to an ancient road which linked the abbey on the Isle of Thanet with the abbey at Lyminge.
The first Minster Abbey was built on the site of St. Mary’s church, and opposite to the minster across the now silted up Wantsum Channel was St. Mary the Virgin on Strand Street in Sandwich’s, the town’s oldest church and the site of a lost convent. From Sandwich the road went on through Eastry, Nonington, Elham, and Lyminge, settlements whose churches are all dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. Lyminge church was jointly dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelburgha, founder of the abbey there.
Christ Church Priory seem to have lost Oesewalum /Oesuualun at some time in the late 9th century and it came into the possession of the King. Parts of the manor, including the area around the present church, came back into the possession the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of the Manor of Wingham and remained in the See’s possession until Archbishop Cranmer exchanged the Manor of Wingham for other properties with Henry VIII in 1538.
This is what happens when you set up your camera on a tripod and you don't have a mobile signal to check what is going on. You get a going away shot of the train running on time rather than a shot of the oncoming train running 103 minutes late! The tail end of 6S36, a Dalston Oil Terminal to Grangemouth Ineos working is seen here passing Whitespots on the Glasgow & South Western route on 12th January 2016. It was being hauled by Colas Class 60 No. 60002.
One of the consequences of the route 453 conversion to Boris Bus has been the cascade of a batch of WVLs from Q to MB, where they're slowly entering service, replacing horrid Scania Omindeckers for movement to Hedingham Omnibus (lucky them!)
Anyway this is WVL217 at the Ramsden Estate terminus in Rye Crescent. I had many delightful layovers here with kids kicking footballs against my bus, amongst other things! 17/12/14.
(Taken @ Liverpool's famous Black-E. ; formerly The Blackie)
Shoot one, get one free? One posed and one candid -- both in one frame'
Maybe the model on the right (who simply strolled straight into shot) knew I loved candids, eh?
[At the time, I was angry. However, having cropped the unintended consequence, I'm now more than happy. ]
British Bus took over Stevensons around this time. One of the consequences of this was the transfer of operations at Macclesfield from fellow British Bus operator, Midland Red North to the new arrival. 39 displays an "on hire to Midland Red North" notice to comply with the legal niceties of the services still at that time being registered to MRN.
Manchester, Mosley Street, 28/12/1994.
Loving you was dumb, dark and cheap
Loving you still takes shots at me
Loving you was sunshine, but then it poured
And I lost so much more than my senses
'Cause loving you had consequences ♫
A federal law pending in Congress since 2009 is the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act. The person convicted would be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
Statistic taken from:http://www.justaskgemalto.com/us/surfing/tips/what-consequences-do-cyber-bullies-face
Photo taken from:http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/juvenile_life_in_prison_without_parole.html
A personal consequence of BREXIT?
Haus Lange in Krefeld is an address of pilgrimage for architectural studies and those people interested in Ludwig Mies von der Rohe’s style setting early work. Splendid and ageless architecture and garden environment.
Most recently this building became a new home for BREXIT refugee family that felt no longer welcome in England. Has it really become ‘a home’? If you watch the series of photos I took you might feel shocked as I was when I first lingered thru the stylish rooms. The car was still packed. The door was open… I entered as invited, saw valuable furniture, most goods still in boxes, piles of books. The pantechnicon obviously just left. Also very obvious: The landlady, mother and wife also left and will stay absent: ‘You will never see me again’ written on the mirror. That wasn’t a good sign. I felt sorry.
Then to my utmost horror I found the host floating dead in the pool… A husband, a father: dead! And nobody seems to care!
Even more desperate the boy hiding in the dining room – his distressed body language seems to ask: Can this my home? Where is my mother? Who is my mother? Where are my roots?
You may form your own opinion on this photo story – but being uprooted is the worst prerequisite for a new and positive start. Reasons are manifold. But if it comes to politics as a cause: Think before you vote, choose well whom you elect. It might affect your families’ life, too.
The artists Michael Elgreen and Ingar Dragset make us think with their fictive story and installation of an unhappy start in Haus Lange, Krefeld.
I as a photographer tried to transfer this mood and the atmosphre into 17 picture series ‘Die Zugezogenen’.
Krefeld, February 2017
Thomas Kopf
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the end of the Second World War, Poland was politically dominated by the neighboring Soviet Union; as a consequence, the Polish aviation industry underwent vast changes at the behest of the Soviets. While the nation's design offices had been liquidated, some former members had joined Poland's Aviation Institute (IL) and performed some limited work on various original projects, even though such efforts were initially officially discouraged. As such, it was at IL that the effort to design would become the first jet aircraft to be developed in Poland originated; however, during the late 1950s, responsibility for the design work on the program was transferred to aircraft manufacturer PZL-Mielec at an early stage in order that IL could resume its primary mission of scientific and technological research. Much of the design work on the program was produced in response to the specified needs of a requirement issued by the Polish Air Force for a capable jet-propelled trainer aircraft, which was seeking a replacement for the piston-engine PZL TS-8 Bies at the time.
Polish government officials came to openly regard the project as being of considerable importance to the nation's aviation industry, thus vigorous efforts were made to support the development of the TS-11. The main designer was Polish aeronautical engineer Tadeusz Sołtyk; his initials was the source for part of the type's official designation TS-11. Early on, it was decided to adopt a foreign-sourced turbojet engine to power the aircraft. Quickly, the British Armstrong Siddeley Viper had emerged as the company's favored option; however, reportedly, negotiations for its acquisition eventually broken down; accordingly, work on the project was delayed until a suitable domestically-built powerplant had reached an advanced stage of development.
On 5 February 1960, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by an imported Viper 8 engine, capable of producing up to 7.80 kN (1,750 lbf) of thrust. On 11 September 1960, the aircraft's existence was publicly revealed during an aerial display held over Lodz. The next pair of prototypes, which performed their first flights during March and July 1961 respectively, were instead powered by a Polish copy of the Viper engine, designated as the WSK HO-10. The flight test program that the three prototypes were subjected to had both demonstrated the capabilities of the new aircraft and its suitability for satisfying the Polish Air Force's stated requirements for a trainer jet; as such, it was soon accepted by the Polish Air Force.
During 1963, the first production model of the type, designated as the TS-11 Iskra (Spark) bis A, commenced delivery to the service. From about 1966, new-build aircraft were furnished with a newer Polish-designed turbojet engine, designated as the WSK SO-1, which was capable of producing up to 9.80 kN (2,200 lbf) of thrust and reportedly gave the TS-11 a top speed of 497 mph. From 1969 onwards, the improved WSK SO-3 engine became available, offering considerably longer times between overhauls; this engine was later improved into the WSK SO-3W, which was able to generate 10.80 kN (2,425 lbf) of thrust.
During the 1960s, the Iskra competed to be selected as the standard jet trainer for the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union had given Poland a promise to support its aviation industry and to favor the procurement of suitable aircraft for this purpose from Polish manufacturers. However, the Iskra was not selected for this role, it had lost out to the Czechoslovak Aero L-29 “Delfín”, another newly-designed jet-propelled trainer aircraft. Largely as a result of this decision, Poland became the only Warsaw Pact member to adopt the Iskra while most others adopting the rival Delfin instead, and foreign sales to other countries were highly limited.
During 1975, an initial batch of 50 Iskra bis D trainer aircraft were exported to India, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited acquired license production rights for the aircraft, which became domestically known as the HAL HJT-18 "Dawon". Beyond the basic trainer variant Dawon T.1, India also adapted projected versions of the TS-11 that had never gone into production in Poland, e. g. the Iskra BR 200, locally known as the Dawon GR.2.
This variant was a single-seated light attack and reconnaissance aircraft, which used the two-seater airframe but had the rear cockpit faired over. In order to expand the type's performance and ordnance, HAL improved the original design and mounted a more powerful Rolls Royce Viper turbojet with an increased airflow. Wingtip tanks were added, improving range and loiter time, and the cockpit received kevlar armor against small caliber arms for low altitude operations. Instead of the trainer version's optional single 23mm cannon in the nose section the additional space through the empty instructor's seat was used for a pair of 30mm Aden cannon in the lower fuselage flanks and its ammunition, as well as for additional navigation and communication avionics.
The Indian Air Force procured 64 of these light aircraft from 1978 onwards, which partly replaced the outdated HAL HF-24 "Marut" fleet. These machines even saw hot combat action in 1984, when India launched Operation Meghdoot to capture the Siachen Glacier in the contested Kashmir region.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 11.15 m (36 ft 7 in)
Wingspan (incl. tip tanks): 11.01 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.50 m (11 ft 5½ in)
Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,760 kg (6,080 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,234 kg (9,325 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,540 kg (10,000 lb)
Powerplant:
1 × Rolls-Royce Viper turbojet, rated at 12.2 kN (2,700 lbf)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 760 km/h (419 knots, 472 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
Cruise speed: 600 km/h (324 knots, 373 mph)
Stall speed: 140 km/h (92 knots, 106 mph) (power off, flaps down)
Range: 1,500 km (828 nmi, 931 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,300 ft)
Rate of climb: 16.8 m/s (3,300 ft/min)
Armament:
2x 30 mm Aden cannon with 120 RPG in the lower nose
4 underwing pylons, up to 1.200 kg (2.640 lb) of bombs, unguided rocket pods or gun packs
The kit and its assembly:
I have already butchered several of these former Intech kits from Poland, but never built one as an Iskra. Since the kit comes with optional parts to build the planned Iskra 200 BR single-seater, I gave the kit a try - and had the idea to create an "Indian Tiger" of it, as a part of a bigger plan for a future build project (see below).
Building the Mistercraft TS-11 is not a pleasant experience, though. The kit comes cheap, and that's what you get. While it comes with some nice features like an engine dummy, two optional canopies and ordnance loads, the whole thing tends to be crude. There's flash, gaps, a surface finish that partly looks as if the molds had been sand-blasted, mediocre if not poor fit, and the clear parts do not deserve this description – they are utterly streaky. You can certainly make something out of it with lots of effort, but it's IMHO not a good basis for an ambitious build.
The biggest issue I had were the parts for the single seat cockpit. There are no locator pins, and when you manage to put the canopy onto the fuselage there remains a considerable hole in the spine where the two-seater canopy would be attached. As a result, lots of PSR was necessary around the optional parts. I also scratched a rear bulkhead for the cockpit (which normally would remain empty and “open”) and added some equipment/boxes behind the pilot's seat. Messy affair.
Even though I’d have loved to replace the main wheels (the OOB parts had sinkholes and poorly molded details) I stuck with them because of the complicated cover arrangement, trying to cover the worst flaws under other parts. The jet exhaust was replaced, too, since I saved the engine dummy for the spares box.
On the wing tips, the tips were slightly trimmed and I added tanks from an 1:144 Tornado (Dragon) - a small detail that lets the Iskra appear a bit beafier than it actually is. For the same reason I omitted the single cannon in the nose with its characteristic bump, and replaced it with two guns: leftover parts from KP MiG-19 kits, plus a pair of differently shaped, smaller fairings alongside the lower flanks.
The ordnance comes from the scrap box, since I wanted a little more muscle than the OOB options. I went for a pair of unguided missile launchers (from a Kangnam Yak-38) and a pair of Soviet iron bombs (KP Su-25).
Painting and markings:
Well, the real motivation behind this build is that I used this kit as a proof-of-concept test for a planned build of the Indian Air Force's famous MiG-21 "C 992" of No. 1 Squadron that bore a striking tiger stripe scheme – but, unfortunately, there's no conclusive color picture of the aircraft, and painting suggestions remain contradictive, if not speculative. Some profiles show the aircraft with a grey of silver fuselage underside, while some have the tiger stripes wrapped around the fuselage, or not. Some have the upper camouflage wrapped around the whole fuselage, so that only the wings’ undersides remain in a light color. Some sources also claim that no darker, basic tone had been applied at all to the upper sides, and that the stripes had been directly painted on the bare aluminum surface of the Fishbed.
The worst, color-wise thing I found for this specific aircraft were in the painting instructions of the Fujimi kit: opaque FS 34227 as basic color seems to be totally off to me... But you also find suggestions of a yellowish sand tone, mid-stone, even some greenish slate grey, whatever. Fascinating subject!
From what I learned about the aircraft from various sources, the scheme looks like a kind of translucent/thin layer of olive drab/greenish earth or khaki tone over bare metal on all upper surfaces and wrapped around the fuselage – very light, if there was any paint at all. Alternatively, the bare metal must have been very weathered and dull, since pictures of C992 reveal no metallic shine at all.
On top of that, the tiger stripes (most probably in black, but there are suggestions of dark brown or green, too…) were applied manually, apparently by at least three painters who were probably working at the same time on different sections of the Indian Fishbed. Since I have the build of this aircraft on my agenda, some day, and a plan to re-create the special paint finish, this Iskra single seater was used as a test bed.
External painting started with an overall coat of acrylic aluminum (Revell 99), with some panels on the wings in grey (a protective lacquer, frequently applied on real-life Iskras). Then came a coat of highly thinned FS 34087 (Olive Drab) from Modelmaster, mixed with a little of Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) and applied with a soft, flat brush, leaving out areas where later the decals would be placed.
Once dry, the camouflaged areas received a wet sanding treatment, so that the edges would become bare metal again, and, here and there, the impression of flaked/worn paint was created.
Next came the tiger stripes. I somewhat wanted to create the three-different-painters look of C992, and so I not only used three different brushes for this task, I also used three different shades of black (acrylic “Flat Black”, "Tar Black" and “Anthracite” from Revell). Again, once dry, light sanding created a flaked/worn look.
The wings' undersides were left in aluminum, as well as the fuselage. This differs from the C992 benchmark, but I found the Iskra’s low stance to be more conclusive with an all NMF underside.
Cockpit and landing gear interior became medium grey (FS 36231). In a wake of Soviet-ism I painted the wheel discs in bright green, as a small color contrast to the otherwise rather murky aircraft.
The markings are a mix of IAF roundels for an early MiG-21 from a Begemot sheet, while the tactical code was taken from the Mistercraft OOB sheet. The yellow 10 Squadron badge was created with PC software and printed on white decal sheet – another, nice color highlight.
It looks harmless, but building the Mistercraft Iskra was a real PITA - now I know why I formerly only butchered this kit for donor parts... However, with the little modifications I made and some different ordnance the light aircraft sells its "attack/recce" role well, and the tiger livery looks pretty unique and ...Indian. And, once more, the beauty pics reveal that this paint scheme, while looking primarily decorative, is actually quite effective over typical northern Indian landscapes. C 992 can come! :D
The statue of Lord Palmerston is an outdoor bronze sculpture depicting Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, located at Parliament Square in London, United Kingdom. The statue, sculpted by Thomas Woolner and unveiled in 1876, stands on a granite pedestal. It is Grade II listed.
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC, FRS (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period 1830 to 1865, when Britain stood at the height of its imperial power. He held office almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865. He began his parliamentary career as a Tory, defected to the Whigs in 1830, and became the first prime minister from the newly formed Liberal Party in 1859. He was highly popular with the British public. David Brown argues that "an important part of Palmerston's appeal lay in his dynamism and vigour".
Henry Temple succeeded to his father's Irish peerage (which did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords, leaving him eligible to sit in the House of Commons) as the 3rd Viscount Palmerston in 1802. He became a Tory MP in 1807. From 1809 to 1828 he served as Secretary at War, organising the finances of the army. He first attained Cabinet rank in 1827, when George Canning became prime minister, but like other Canningites, he resigned from office one year later. He served as foreign secretary 1830–1834, 1835–1841, and 1846–1851. In this office, Palmerston responded effectively to a series of conflicts in Europe.
In 1852, Aberdeen formed a coalition government. The Peelites insisted that Lord John Russell be foreign secretary, forcing Palmerston to take the office of home secretary. As home secretary Palmerston enacted various social reforms, although he opposed electoral reform. When Aberdeen's coalition fell in 1855 over its handling of the Crimean War, Palmerston was the only man able to sustain a majority in Parliament, and he became prime minister. He had two periods in office, 1855–1858 and 1859–1865, before his death at the age of 80 years, a few months after victory in a general election in which he had obtained an increased majority. He remains the most recent British prime minister to die in office.
Palmerston masterfully controlled public opinion by stimulating British nationalism. Although Queen Victoria and most of the political leadership distrusted him, he received and sustained the favour of the press and the populace, from whom he received the affectionate sobriquet "Pam". Palmerston's alleged weaknesses included mishandling of personal relations, and continual disagreements with the Queen over the royal role in determining foreign policy.
Historians rank Palmerston as one of the greatest foreign secretaries, due to his handling of great crises, his commitment to the balance of power (which provided Britain with decisive agency in many conflicts), and his commitment to British interests. His policies in relation to India, China, Italy, Belgium, and Spain had extensive long-lasting beneficial consequences for Britain. This does not mean that Palmerston is completely without controversy. Palmerston's leadership during the Opium Wars was questioned and denounced by other prominent statesmen such as William Ewart Gladstone. The consequences of the conquest of India may have, at first, seemed to benefit both Britain (in the sense of access to goods and gold) and India (by adding infrastructure and a stable justice system), but this view has been challenged by more recent scholarship. The burdens placed on India in being ruled by a distant nation, and on the British government in dealing with the anxiety of generations of officials on how to properly govern, produced a chaotic administration with minimal coherence. The consequences of his policies toward France, the Ottoman Empire, and the United States proved more ephemeral.
Early life: 1784–1806
Henry John Temple was born in his family's Westminster house to the Irish branch of the Temple family on 20 October 1784. His family derived their title from the Peerage of Ireland, although he rarely visited Ireland. His father was The 2nd Viscount Palmerston (1739–1802), an Anglo-Irish peer, and his mother was Mary (1752–1805), a daughter of Benjamin Mee, a London merchant. From 1792 to 1794, he accompanied his family on a long Continental tour. While in Italy, Palmerston acquired an Italian tutor, who taught him to speak and write fluent Italian. The family owned a huge country estate in the north of County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland.
He was educated at Harrow School (1795–1800). Admiral Sir Augustus Clifford, 1st Bt., was a fag to Palmerston, Viscount Althorp and Viscount Duncannon and later remembered Palmerston as by far the most merciful of the three. Temple was often engaged in school fights and fellow Old Harrovians remembered Temple as someone who stood up to bullies twice his size. Henry Temple's father took him to the House of Commons in 1799, where the young Palmerston shook hands with the prime minister, William Pitt.
Temple was then at the University of Edinburgh (1800–1803), where he learnt political economy from Dugald Stewart, a friend of the Scottish philosophers Adam Ferguson and Adam Smith. Temple later described his time at Edinburgh as producing "whatever useful knowledge and habits of mind I possess". Lord Minto wrote to the young Palmerston's parents that Henry Temple was well-mannered and charming. Stewart wrote to a friend, saying of Temple: "In point of temper and conduct he is everything his friends could wish. Indeed, I cannot say that I have ever seen a more faultless character at this time of life, or one possessed of more amiable dispositions."
Henry Temple succeeded his father to the title of Viscount Palmerston on 17 April 1802, before he had turned 18. He also inherited a vast country estate in the north of County Sligo in the west of Ireland. He later built Classiebawn Castle on this estate. Palmerston went to St John's College, Cambridge (1803–1806). As a nobleman, he was entitled to take his MA without examinations, but Palmerston wished to obtain his degree through examinations. This was declined, although he was allowed to take the separate college examinations, where he obtained first-class honours.
After war was declared on France in 1803, Palmerston joined the Volunteers mustered to oppose a French invasion, being one of the three officers in the unit for St John's College. He was also appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commander of the Romsey Volunteers.
Early political career: 1806–1809
In February 1806, Palmerston was defeated in the election for the University of Cambridge constituency. In November he was elected for Horsham but was unseated in January 1807, when the Whig majority in the Commons voted for a petition to unseat him.
Due to the patronage of Lord Chichester and Lord Malmesbury, Palmerston was given the post of Junior Lord of the Admiralty in the ministry of the Duke of Portland. He stood again for the Cambridge seat in May, but lost by three votes after he advised his supporters to vote for the other Tory candidate in the two-member constituency so as to ensure a Tory was elected.
Palmerston entered Parliament as Tory MP for the pocket borough of Newport on the Isle of Wight in June 1807.
On 3 February 1808, he spoke in support of confidentiality in the working of diplomacy, and of the bombardment of Copenhagen and the capture and destruction of the Danish Navy by the Royal Navy in the Battle of Copenhagen. Denmark was neutral but Napoleon had recently agreed with the Russians in the Treaty of Tilsit to build a naval alliance against Britain, including using the Danish navy for invading Britain. Pre-empting this, the British offered Denmark the choice of temporarily handing over its navy until the war's end or the destruction of their navy. The Danes refused to comply and so Copenhagen was bombarded. Palmerston justified the attack by peroration with reference to the ambitions of Napoleon to take control of the Danish fleet:
it is defensible on the ground that the enormous power of France enables her to coerce the weaker state to become an enemy of England... It is the law of self-preservation that England appeals for the justification of her proceedings. It is admitted by the honourable gentleman and his supporters, that if Denmark had evidenced any hostility towards this country, then we should have been justified in measures of retaliation... Denmark coerced into hostility stands in the same position as Denmark voluntarily hostile, when the law of self-preservation comes into play...Does anyone believe that Buonaparte will be restrained by any considerations of justice from acting towards Denmark as he has done towards other countries? ... England, according to that law of self-preservation which is a fundamental principle of the law of nations, is justified in securing, and therefore enforcing, from Denmark a neutrality which France would by compulsion have converted into an active hostility.
In a letter to a friend on 24 December 1807, he described the late Whig MP Edmund Burke as possessing "the palm of political prophecy". This would become a metaphor for his own career in divining the course of imperial foreign policy.
Secretary at War: 1809–1828
Palmerston's speech was so successful that Spencer Perceval, who formed his government in 1809, asked him to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, then a less important office than it was to become later. But Palmerston preferred the non-cabinet office of Secretary at War, charged exclusively with the financial business of the army. He served in that post for almost 20 years.
On 1 April 1818, a retired officer on half-pay, Lieutenant David Davies, who had a grievance about his application from the War Office for a pension and was also mentally ill, shot Palmerston as he walked up the stairs of the War Office. The bullet only grazed his back and the wound was slight. After learning of Davies' illness, Palmerston paid for his legal defence at the trial, and Davies was sent to Bedlam.
After the suicide of Lord Castlereagh in 1822, Lord Liverpool, who was Prime Minister had to hold together the Tory Cabinet which began to split along political lines. The more liberal wing of the Tory government made some ground, with George Canning becoming Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons, William Huskisson advocating and applying the doctrines of free trade, and Catholic emancipation emerging as an open question. Although Palmerston was not in the Cabinet, he cordially supported the measures of Canning and his friends.
Upon the retirement of Lord Liverpool in April 1827, Canning was called to be prime minister. The more conservative Tories, including Sir Robert Peel, withdrew their support, and an alliance was formed between the liberal members of the late ministry and the Whigs. The post of Chancellor of the Exchequer was offered to Palmerston, who accepted it, but this appointment was frustrated by some intrigue between King George IV and John Charles Herries. Lord Palmerston remained Secretary at War, though he gained a seat in the cabinet for the first time. The Canning administration ended after only four months on the death of the Prime Minister, and was followed by the ministry of Lord Goderich, which barely survived the year.
The Canningites remained influential, and the Duke of Wellington hastened to include Palmerston, Huskisson, Charles Grant, William Lamb, and the Earl of Dudley in the government he subsequently formed. However, a dispute between Wellington and Huskisson over the issue of parliamentary representation for Manchester and Birmingham led to the resignation of Huskisson and his allies, including Palmerston. In the spring of 1828, after more than twenty years continuously in office, Palmerston found himself in opposition.
On 26 February 1828, Palmerston delivered a speech in favour of Catholic emancipation. He felt that it was unseemly to relieve the "imaginary grievances" of the Dissenters from the established church while at the same time "real afflictions pressed upon the Catholics" of Great Britain. Palmerston also supported parliamentary reform. One of his biographers has stated that: "Like many Pittites, now labelled tories, he was a good whig at heart." The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 finally passed Parliament in 1829 when Palmerston was in the opposition. The Great Reform Act passed Parliament in 1832.
Opposition: 1828–1830
Following his move to opposition Palmerston appears to have focused closely on foreign policy. He had already urged Wellington into active interference in the Greek War of Independence, and he had made several visits to Paris, where he foresaw with great accuracy the impending overthrow of the Bourbons. On 1 June 1829 he made his first great speech on foreign affairs.
Lord Palmerston was no orator; his language was unstudied, and his delivery somewhat embarrassed; but generally he found the words to say the right thing at the right time, and to address the House of Commons in the language best adapted to the capacity and the temper of his audience.
— "Lord Palmerston", Encyclopaedia Britannica 13th Edition
in September 1830, Wellington tried to induce Palmerston to re-enter the cabinet, but he refused to do so without Lord Lansdowne and Lord Grey, two notable Whigs. This can be said to be the point in 1830, when his party allegiance changed.
Foreign Secretary: 1830–1841
Palmerston entered the office of Foreign Secretary with great energy and continued to exert his influence there for twenty years; he held it from 1830 to 1834 (his apprentice years), 1835 to 1841, and 1846 to 1851. Basically, Palmerston was responsible for the whole of British foreign policy from the time of the French and Belgian Revolutions of 1830 until December 1851. His abrasive style would earn him the nickname "Lord Pumice Stone", and his manner of dealing with foreign governments who crossed him, especially in his later years, was the original "gunboat diplomacy".
Crises of 1830
The Revolutions of 1830 gave a jolt to the settled European system that had been created in 1814–1815. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was rent in half by the Belgian Revolution, the Kingdom of Portugal was the scene of civil war, and the Spanish were about to place an infant princess on the throne. Poland was in arms against the Russian Empire, while the northern powers (Russia, Prussia, and Austria) formed a closer alliance that seemed to threaten the peace and liberties of Europe.[28] Polish exiles called on Britain to intervene against Russia during the November Uprising of 1830.
Palmerston's overall policy was to safeguard British interests, maintain peace, keep the balance of power, and retain the status quo in Europe. He had no grievance against Russia and while he privately sympathised with the Polish cause, in his role as foreign minister he rejected Polish demands. With serious trouble simultaneously taking place in Belgium and Italy, and lesser issues in Greece and Portugal, he sought to de-escalate European tensions rather than aggravate them, favouring a policy of universal non-interventionism. He therefore focused chiefly on achieving a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Belgium.
Belgium
William I of the Netherlands appealed to the great powers that had placed him on the throne after the Napoleonic Wars to maintain his rights. The London Conference of 1830 was called to address this question. The British solution involved the independence of Belgium, which Palmerston believed would greatly contribute to the security of Britain, but any solution was not straightforward. On the one hand, the northern powers were anxious to defend William I; on the other, many Belgian revolutionaries, like Charles de Brouckère and Charles Rogier, supported the reunion of the Belgian provinces to France, whereas Britain favoured Dutch, not French influence, on an independent state.
The British policy which emerged was a close alliance with France, but one subject to the balance of power on the Continent, and in particular the preservation of Belgian independence. If the northern powers supported William I by force, they would encounter the resistance of France and Britain united in arms. If France sought to annex Belgium, it would forfeit the British alliance and find herself opposed by the whole of Europe. In the end the British policy prevailed. Although the continent had been close to war, peace was maintained on London's terms and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the widower of a British princess, was placed upon the throne of Belgium. Fishman says that the London Conference was "an extraordinarily successful conference" because it "provided the institutional framework through which the leading powers of the time safeguarded the peace of Europe."
Thereafter, despite a Dutch invasion and French counter-invasion in 1831, France and Britain framed and signed a treaty settlement between Belgium and Holland, inducing the three Northern powers to accede to it as well; while in Palmerston's second period of office, as his authority grew, he was able to finally settle relations between Belgium and Holland with a treaty in 1838-9 - now asserting his (and British) independence by leaning rather more towards Holland and the Northern Powers, and against the Belgium/French axis.
France, Spain, and Portugal, 1830s
In 1833 and 1834, the youthful Queens Isabella II of Spain and Maria II of Portugal were the representatives and the hope of the constitutional parties of their countries. Their positions were under some pressure from their absolutist kinsmen, Dom Miguel of Portugal and Don Carlos of Spain, who were the closest males in the lines of succession. Palmerston conceived and executed the plan of a quadruple alliance of the constitutional states of the West to serve as a counterpoise to the northern alliance. A treaty for the pacification of the Peninsula was signed in London on 22 April 1834 and, although the struggle was somewhat prolonged in Spain, it accomplished its objective.
France had been a reluctant party to the treaty, and never executed its role in it with much zeal. Louis Philippe was accused of secretly favouring the Carlists – the supporters of Don Carlos – and he rejected direct interference in Spain. It is probable that the hesitation of the French court on this question was one of the causes of the enduring personal hostility Palmerston showed towards the French King thereafter, though that sentiment may well have arisen earlier. Although Palmerston wrote in June 1834 that Paris was "the pivot of my foreign policy", the differences between the two countries grew into a constant but sterile rivalry that brought benefit to neither.
Balkans and Near East: defending Turkey, 1830s
Palmerston was greatly interested by the diplomatic questions of Eastern Europe. During the Greek War of Independence he had energetically supported the Greek cause and backed the Treaty of Constantinople that gave Greece its independence. However, from 1830 the defence of the Ottoman Empire became one of the cardinal objects of his policy. He believed in the regeneration of Turkey, as he wrote to Bulwer (Lord Dalling): "All that we hear about the decay of the Turkish Empire, and its being a dead body or a sapless trunk, and so forth, is pure unadulterated nonsense."
His two great aims were to prevent Russia establishing itself on the Bosporus and to prevent France doing likewise on the Nile. He regarded the maintenance of the authority of the Sublime Porte as the chief barrier against both these developments.
Palmerston had long maintained a suspicious and hostile attitude towards Russia, whose autocratic government offended his liberal principles and whose ever-growing size challenged the strength of the British Empire. He was angered by the 1833 Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, a mutual assistance pact between Russia and the Ottomans, but was annoyed and hostile towards David Urquhart, the creator of the Vixen affair, running the Russian blockade of Circassia in the mid-1830s.
For his part, David Urquhart considered Palmerston a "mercenary of Russia" and founded the "Free Press" magazine in London, where he constantly promoted these views. The permanent author of this magazine was Karl Marx, who stated "from the time of Peter the Great until the Crimean war, there was a secret agreement between the London and St. Petersburg offices, and that Palmerston was a corrupt tool the Tsar policy"
Despite his popular reputation he was hesitant in 1831 about aiding the Sultan of Turkey, who was under threat from Muhammad Ali, the pasha of Egypt. Later, after Russian successes, in 1833 and 1835 he made proposals to afford material aid, which were overruled by the cabinet. Palmerston held that "if we can procure for it ten years of peace under the joint protection of the five Powers, and if those years are profitably employed in reorganizing the internal system of the empire, there is no reason whatever why it should not become again a respectable Power" and challenged the metaphor that an old country, such as Turkey should be in such disrepair as would be warranted by the comparison: "Half the wrong conclusions at which mankind arrive are reached by the abuse of metaphors, and by mistaking general resemblance or imaginary similarity for real identity." However, when the power of Muhammad Ali appeared to threaten the existence of the Ottoman dynasty, particularly given the death of Sultan Mahmud II on 1 July 1839, he succeeded in bringing the great powers together to sign a collective note on 27 July pledging them to maintain the independence and integrity of the Turkish Empire in order to preserve the security and peace of Europe. However, by 1840 Muhammad Ali had occupied Syria and won the Battle of Nezib against the Turkish forces. Lord Ponsonby, the British ambassador at Constantinople, vehemently urged the British government to intervene. Privately, Palmerston explained his views on Muhammad Ali to Lord Granville thus: "Coercion of Mehemet Ali by England if war broke out might appear partial and unjust; but we are partial; and the great interests of Europe require that we should be so....No ideas therefore of fairness towards Mehemet ought to stand in the way of such great and paramount interests." Having closer ties to the pasha than most, France refused to be a party to coercive measures against him despite having signed the note in the previous year.
Palmerston, irritated at France's Egyptian policy, signed the London Convention of 15 July 1840 in London with Austria, Russia, and Prussia – without the knowledge of the French government. This measure was taken with great hesitation, and strong opposition on the part of several members of the cabinet. Palmerston forced the measure through in part by declaring in a letter to the prime minister, Lord Melbourne, that he would resign from the ministry if his policy were not adopted. The London Convention granted Muhammad Ali hereditary rule in Egypt in return for withdrawal from Syria and Lebanon, but was rejected by the pasha. The European powers intervened with force, and the bombardment of Beirut, the fall of Acre, and the total collapse of Muhammad Ali's power followed in rapid succession. Palmerston's policy was triumphant, and the author of it had won a reputation as one of the most powerful statesmen of the age.
In September 1838, Palmerston appointed a British consul in Jerusalem, without the conventional consultation of the Board of Trade, and gave instruction to assist with the construction of an Anglican church in the city, under the prompting influences of Lord Shaftesbury, a prominent Christian Zionist.
China: First Opium War
China restricted outside trade under the Canton System to only one port and refused all official diplomatic relations except to tributary countries. In 1833–1835, as London ended the East India Company's monopoly on trade with China, both Tory and Whig governments sought to maintain peace and good trade relations. However Lord Napier wanted to provoke a revolution in China that would open trade. The Foreign Office, led by Palmerston, stood opposed and sought peace. The Chinese government refused to change, and interdicted the British smugglers bringing in opium from India, which was banned in China. Britain responded with military force in the First Opium War, 1839–1842, which ended in a decisive British victory. Under the Treaty of Nanjing, China paid an indemnity and opened five treaty ports to world trade. In those ports there would be extraterritorial rights for British citizens. Palmerston thus achieved his main goals of diplomatic equality and opening China to trade. However his angry critics focused on the immorality of the opium trade.
Palmerston's biographer, Jasper Ridley, outlines the government's position:
Conflict between China and Britain was inevitable. On the one side was a corrupt, decadent and caste-ridden despotism, with no desire or ability to wage war, which relied on custom much more than force for the enforcement of extreme privilege and discrimination, and which was blinded by a deep-rooted superiority complex into believing that they could assert their supremacy over Europeans without possessing military power. On the other side was the most economically advanced nation in the world, a nation of pushing, bustling traders, of self-help, free trade, and the pugnacious qualities of John Bull.
An entirely opposite British viewpoint was promoted by humanitarians and reformers such as the Chartists and religious nonconformists led by young William Ewart Gladstone. They argued that Palmerston was only interested in the huge profits it would bring Britain, and was totally oblivious to the horrible moral evils of opium which the Chinese government was valiantly trying to stamp out.
Meanwhile, he manipulated information and public opinion to enhance his control of his department, including controlling communications within the office and to other officials. He leaked secrets to the press, published selected documents, and released letters to give himself more control and more publicity, all the while stirring up British nationalism. He feuded with The Times, edited by Thomas Barnes, which did not play along with his propaganda ploys.
Marriage
In 1839, Palmerston married his mistress of many years, the noted Whig hostess Emily Lamb, widow of Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper (1778–1837) and sister of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, prime minister (1834 and 1835–1841). They had no legitimate children, although at least one of Lord Cowper's putative children, Lady Emily Cowper, the wife of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, was widely believed to have been fathered by Palmerston. Palmerston resided at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, his wife's inheritance. His London townhouse was Cambridge House on Piccadilly in Mayfair. He also owned Broadlands at Romsey in Hampshire.
Emily's son-in-law, Lord Shaftesbury wrote: "His attentions to Lady Palmerston, when they both of them were well stricken in years, were those of a perpetual courtship. The sentiment was reciprocal; and I have frequently seen them go out on a morning to plant some trees, almost believing that they would live to eat the fruit, or sit together under the shade.
Young Queen Victoria found it unseemly that people in their 50s could marry, but the Cowper-Palmerston marriage according to biographer Gillian Gill:
was an inspired political alliance as well as a stab at personal happiness. Harry and Emily were supremely well-matched. As the husband of a beautiful, charming, intelligent, rich woman whose friends were the best people in society, Palmerston at last had the money, the social setting, and the personal security he needed to get to the very top of British politics. Lady Palmerston made her husband happy, as he did her, and she was a political power in her own right. In the last and most successful decades of Palmerston's life, she was his best advisor and most trusted amanuensis. Theirs was one of the great marriages of the century.
Opposition: 1841–1846
Within a few months Melbourne's administration came to an end (1841) and Palmerston remained out of office for five years. The crisis was past, but the change which took place by the substitution of François Guizot for Adolphe Thiers in France, and of Lord Aberdeen for Palmerston in Britain kept the peace. Palmerston believed that peace with France was not to be relied on, and indeed that war between the two countries was sooner or later inevitable. Aberdeen and Guizot inaugurated a different policy: by mutual confidence and friendly offices, they entirely succeeded in restoring the most cordial understanding between the two governments, and the irritation which Palmerston had inflamed gradually subsided. During the administration of Sir Robert Peel, Palmerston led a retired life, but he attacked with characteristic bitterness the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 with the United States.[49] It resolved several Canadian boundary disputes with the United States, particularly the border between New Brunswick and the State of Maine and between Canada and the State of Minnesota from Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods. Much as he criticised it, the treaty successfully closed the border questions with which Palmerston had long been concerned.
Palmerston's reputation as an interventionist and his unpopularity with the Queen were such that Lord John Russell's attempt in December 1845 to form a ministry failed because Lord Grey refused to join a government in which Palmerston would direct foreign affairs. A few months later, however, the Whigs came to power and returned Palmerston to the Foreign Office (July 1846). Russell replied to critics that Palmerston's policies had "a tendency to produce war" but that he had advanced British interests without a major conflict, if not entirely peaceably.
Foreign Secretary: 1846–1851
Palmerston's years as foreign secretary, 1846–1851, involve dealing with violent upheavals all over Europe – he has been dubbed "the gunpowder minister" by biographer David Brown.
France and Spain, 1845
The French government regarded the appointment of Palmerston as a certain sign of renewed hostilities. They availed themselves of a dispatch in which he had put forward the name of a Coburg prince as a candidate for the hand of the young queen of Spain as a justification for a departure from the engagements entered into between Guizot and Lord Aberdeen. However little the conduct of the French government in this transaction of the Spanish marriages can be vindicated, it is certain that it originated in the belief that in Palmerston France had a restless and subtle enemy. The efforts of the British minister to defeat the French marriages of the Spanish princesses, by an appeal to the Treaty of Utrecht and the other powers of Europe, were wholly unsuccessful; France won the game, though with no small loss of honourable reputation.
Historian David Brown rejects the traditional interpretation to the effect that Aberdeen had forged an entente cordiale with France in the early 1840s whereupon the belligerent Palmerston after 1846 destroyed that friendly relationship. Brown argues that as foreign secretary from 1846 to 1851 and subsequently as prime minister, Palmerston sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe, sometimes even aligning with France to do so.
Irish Famine
As an Anglo-Irish absentee landlord, Palmerston evicted 2,000 of his Irish tenants for non-payment of rent during the Great Irish Famine that ravaged Ireland in the late 1840s. He financed the emigration of starving Irish tenants across the Atlantic to North America as did Petty-Fitzmaurice (Lord Lansdowne) to equal notoriety. Palmerston asserted that "... any great improvement in the social system of Ireland must be founded upon an extensive change in the present state of agrarian occupation [through] a long continued and systematic ejectment of Small holders and of Squatting Cottiers."
Support for revolutions abroad
The Revolutions of 1848 spread like a conflagration through Europe, and shook every throne on the Continent except those of Russian empire, Ottoman empire, Spain, and Belgium. Palmerston sympathised openly with the revolutionary party abroad.[49] In particular, he was a strong advocate of national self-determination, and stood firmly on the side of constitutional liberties on the Continent. Despite this, he was bitterly opposed to Irish independence, and deeply hostile to the Young Ireland movement.
Italian independence
No state was regarded by him with more aversion than Austria. Yet, his opposition to Austria was chiefly based upon its occupation of northeastern Italy and its Italian policy. Palmerston maintained that the existence of Austria as a great power north of the Alps was an essential element in the system of Europe. Antipathies and sympathies had a large share in the political views of Palmerston, and his sympathies had ever been passionately awakened by the cause of Italian independence. He supported the Sicilians against the King of Naples, and even allowed arms to be sent them from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Although he had endeavoured to restrain the King of Sardinia from his rash attack on the superior forces of Austria, he obtained for him a reduction of the penalty of defeat. Austria, weakened by the revolution, sent an envoy to London to request the mediation of Britain, based on a large cession of Italian territory. Palmerston rejected the terms he might have obtained for Piedmont. After a couple of years this wave of revolution was replaced by a wave of reaction.
Hungarian independence
In Hungary, the 1848 war for independence from the Austrian Empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, was defeated by the joint army of Austrian and Russian forces. Prince Schwarzenberg assumed the government of the empire with dictatorial power. In spite of what Palmerston termed his judicious bottle-holding, the movement he had encouraged and applauded, but to which he could give no material aid, was everywhere subdued. The British government, or at least Palmerston as its representative, was regarded with suspicion and resentment by every power in Europe, except the French republic. Even that was shortly afterwards to be alienated by Palmerston's attack on Greece. When Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian democrat and leader of its constitutionalists, landed in England in 1851 to wide applause, Palmerston proposed to receive him at Broadlands, a design which was only prevented by a peremptory vote of the cabinet.
Royal and parliamentary reaction to 1848
This state of things was regarded with the utmost annoyance by the British court and by most of the British ministers. On many occasions, Palmerston had taken important steps without their knowledge, which they disapproved. Over the Foreign Office he asserted and exercised an arbitrary dominion, which the feeble efforts of the premier could not control. The Queen and the Prince Consort did not conceal their indignation at the fact that they were held responsible for Palmerston's actions by the other Courts of Europe.
When Benjamin Disraeli attacked Palmerston's foreign policy, the foreign minister responded to a five-hour speech by Anstey with a five-hour speech of his own, the first of two great speeches in which he laid out a comprehensive defence of his foreign policy and of liberal interventionism more generally. Arguing for domestic political effect, Palmerston declaimed:
I hold that the real policy of England... is to be the champion of justice and right, pursuing that course with moderation and prudence, not becoming the Quixote of the world, but giving the weight of her moral sanction and support wherever she thinks that justice is, and whenever she thinks that wrong has been done.
Therefore I say that it is a narrow policy to suppose that this country or that is to be marked out as the eternal ally or the perpetual enemy of England. We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.
Russell and the Queen both hoped that the other would take the initiative and dismiss Palmerston; the Queen was dissuaded by her husband Prince Albert, who took the limits of constitutional power very seriously, and Russell by Palmerston's prestige with the people and his competence in an otherwise remarkably inept Cabinet.
Don Pacifico affair
In 1847, the home of Don Pacifico, a Gibraltarian merchant living in Athens, Greece, was attacked by an antisemitic mob, which included the sons of a Greek government minister. The Greek police did not intervene in the attack, despite being present. Because Don Pacifico was a British subject, the British government expressed concern. In January 1850, Palmerston took advantage of Don Pacifico's claims on the Greek government, and blockaded the port of Piraeus in the kingdom of Greece. As Greece was under the joint protection of three powers, Russia and France protested against its coercion by the British fleet.
After a memorable debate on 17 June, Palmerston's policy was condemned by a vote of the House of Lords. The House of Commons was moved by Roebuck to reverse the rebuke, which it did on 29 June by a majority of 46, after having heard from Palmerston on 25 June. This was the most eloquent and powerful speech he ever delivered, wherein he sought to vindicate not only his claims on the Greek government for Don Pacifico, but his entire administration of foreign affairs.
It was in this speech, which lasted for five hours, that Palmerston made the well known declaration that a British subject ought everywhere to be protected by the strong arm of the British government against injustice and wrong; comparing the reach of the British Empire to that of the Roman Empire, in which a Roman citizen could walk the earth unmolested by any foreign power. This was the famous civis romanus sum ("I am a citizen of Rome") speech. After this speech, Palmerston's popularity had never been greater.
Crossing the Queen and resigning, 1851
Notwithstanding his parliamentary triumph in the Don Pacifico affair, many of his own colleagues and supporters criticised the spirit in which the foreign relations of the Crown were carried on. The Queen addressed a minute to the Prime Minister in which she recorded her dissatisfaction at the manner in which Palmerston evaded the obligation to submit his measures for the royal sanction as failing in sincerity to the Crown. This minute was communicated to Palmerston, who accepted its criticisms.
On 2 December 1851, Louis Napoleon – who had been elected President of France in 1848 – carried out a coup d'état by dissolving the National Assembly and arresting the leading Republicans. Palmerston privately congratulated Napoleon on his triumph, noting that Britain's constitution was rooted in history but that France had had five revolutions since 1789, with the French Constitution of 1848 being a "day-before-yesterday tomfoolery which the scatterbrain heads of Marrast and Tocqueville invented for the torment and perplexity of the French nation". However, the Cabinet decided that Britain must be neutral, and so Palmerston requested his officials to be diplomatic. Palmerston's widespread support among the press, educated public opinion, and ordinary Britons caused apprehension and distrust among other politicians and angered the Court. Prince Albert complained Palmerston had sent a dispatch without showing the sovereign. Protesting innocence, Palmerston resigned. Palmerston was weakened because Parliament, where he had great support, was not in session. Palmerston continued to have wide approval among the newspapers, elite opinion, and the middle class voters. His popularity led to distrust among rivals and especially at the Royal Court. His fall demonstrates the lack of power of public opinion in a pre-democratic era. However, Palmerston kept his public support and the growing influence of public opinion steadily increased his political strength in the 1850s and 1860s.
Home Secretary: 1852–1855
After a brief period of Conservative minority government, the Earl of Aberdeen became Prime Minister (in office 19 December 1852 – 30 January 1855) in a coalition government of Whigs and Peelites (with Russell taking the role of Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons). It was regarded as impossible for them to form a government without Palmerston, so he was made Home Secretary (28 December 1852). Many people considered this a curious appointment because Palmerston's expertise was so obviously in foreign affairs. A story recounts that after a great wave of strikes swept Northern England, the Queen summoned Palmerston to discuss the situation. When she enquired after the latest news, Palmerston allegedly replied: "There is no definite news, Madam, but it seems certain that the Turks have crossed the Danube".
Social reform
Palmerston passed the Factory Act 1853, which removed loopholes in previous Factory Acts and outlawed all labour by young persons between 6pm and 6am. He attempted to pass a Bill that confirmed the rights of workers to combine, but the House of Lords rejected it. He introduced the Truck Act which stopped the practice of employers paying workmen in goods instead of money, or forcing them to purchase goods from shops owned by the employers. In August 1853, Palmerston introduced the Smoke Abatement Act in order to combat the increasing smoke from coal fires, a problem greatly aggravated by the Industrial Revolution. He also oversaw the passage of the Vaccination Act 1853 into law, which was introduced as a private member's bill, and which Palmerston persuaded the government to support. The Act made vaccination of children compulsory for the first time. Palmerston outlawed the burying of the dead in churches. The right to bury the dead in churches was held by wealthy families whose ancestors had purchased the right in the past. Palmerston opposed this practice on public-health grounds and ensured that all bodies were buried in a churchyard or public cemetery.
Penal reform
Palmerston reduced the period in which prisoners could be held in solitary confinement from eighteen months to nine months. He also ended transportation to Tasmania for prisoners by passing the Penal Servitude Act 1853, which also reduced the maximum sentences for most offences. Palmerston passed the Reformatory Schools Act 1854 which gave the Home Secretary powers to send juvenile prisoners to a reformatory school instead of to prison. He was forced to accept an amendment which ensured that the prisoner had to have spent at least three months in jail first. When in October 1854 Palmerston visited Parkhurst gaol and conversed with three boy inmates, he was impressed by their behaviour and ordered that they be sent to a reformatory school. He found the ventilation in the cells unsatisfactory and ordered improvement.
Palmerston strongly opposed Lord John Russell's plans for giving the vote to sections of the urban working-classes. When the Cabinet agreed in December 1853 to introduce a bill during the next session of Parliament in the form which Russell wanted, Palmerston resigned. However, Aberdeen told him that no definite decision on reform had been taken and persuaded Palmerston to return to the Cabinet. The electoral Reform Bill did not pass Parliament that year.
Crimean War
Palmerston's exile from his traditional realm of the Foreign Office meant he did not have full control over British policy during the events precipitating the Crimean War of 1853–1856. One of his biographers, Jasper Ridley, argues that had he been in control of foreign policy at this time, war in the Crimea would have been avoided. Palmerston argued in Cabinet, after Russian troops concentrated on the Ottoman border in February 1853, that the Royal Navy should join the French fleet in the Dardanelles as a warning to Russia. He was overruled, however.
In May 1853, the Russians threatened to invade the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia unless the Ottoman Sultan acceded to their demands. Palmerston argued for immediate decisive action - that the Royal Navy should be sent to the Dardanelles to assist the Turkish navy and that Britain should inform Russia of London's intention to go to war if the Imperial Russian Army invaded the principalities. However, Aberdeen objected to all of Palmerston's proposals. After prolonged arguments, a reluctant Aberdeen agreed to send a fleet to the Dardanelles but objected to Palmerston's other proposals. The Russian Emperor, Nicholas I, was annoyed by Britain's actions but they did not deter him. When the British fleet arrived at the Dardanelles the weather was rough, so the fleet took refuge in the outer waters of the straits (June 1853). The Russians saw this as a violation of the Straits Convention of 1841; they invaded the two principalities in July 1853. Palmerston interpreted this as the result of British weakness and thought that if the Russians had been told that if they invaded the principalities the British and French fleets would enter the Bosphorus or the Black Sea, they would have been deterred. In Cabinet, Palmerston argued for a vigorous prosecution of the war against Russia by Britain, but Aberdeen objected, as he wanted peace. British public opinion supported the Turks, and with Aberdeen becoming steadily unpopular, Lord Dudley Stuart in February 1854 noted, "Wherever I go, I have heard but one opinion on the subject, and that one opinion has been pronounced in a single word, or in a single name – Palmerston."
On 28 March 1854, Britain and France declared war on Russia for refusing to withdraw from the principalities. The war progressed slowly, with no Anglo-French gains in the Baltic and slow coalition gains in Crimea at the long Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855). Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war grew amongst the public in Britain and in other countries, aggravated by reports of fiascos and failures, especially the mismanagement of the heroic Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava (25 October 1854). The health and living-conditions of the British soldiers became notorious and the press, with correspondents in the field, made the most of the situation. Tories demanded an accounting of all soldiers, cavalry and sailors sent to the Crimea and accurate figures as to the number of casualties. When Parliament passed a bill to investigate by a vote of 305 to 148, Aberdeen said he had lost a vote of no confidence and resigned as prime minister on 30 January 1855.
Queen Victoria deeply distrusted Palmerston and first asked Lord Derby to accept the premiership. Derby offered Palmerston the office of Secretary of State for War, which he accepted under the condition that Clarendon remain as Foreign Secretary. Clarendon refused, and so Palmerston rejected Derby's offer; Derby subsequently gave up trying to form a government. The Queen sent for Lansdowne but (aged 74) he was too old to accept: so she asked Russell; but none of his former colleagues except Palmerston wanted to serve under him. Having exhausted the possible alternatives, the Queen invited Palmerston to Buckingham Palace on 4 February 1855 to form a government.
Prime Minister: 1855–1858
Aged 70 years, 109 days, Palmerston became the oldest person in British political history to be appointed Prime Minister for the first time. As of 2023 no Prime Minister entering 10 Downing Street for the first time since Palmerston has surpassed his record.
Ending the Crimean War
Palmerston took a hard line on the war; he wanted to expand the fighting, especially in the Baltic where St. Petersburg could be threatened by superior British naval power. His goal was to permanently reduce the Russian threat to Europe. If Sweden and Prussia were willing to join, Russia would stand alone. However, France, which had sent far more soldiers to the war than Britain, and had suffered far more casualties, wanted the war to end, as did Austria. In March 1855 the old Tsar died and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II, who wished to make peace. However, Palmerston found the peace terms too soft on Russia and so persuaded Napoleon III of France to break off the peace negotiations until Sevastopol could be captured, putting the allies in a stronger negotiating position. In September Sevastopol finally surrendered and the allies had full control of the Black Sea theatre. Russia came to terms. On 27 February 1856 an armistice was signed and after a month's negotiations an agreement was signed at the Congress of Paris. Palmerston's demand for a demilitarised Black Sea was secured, although his wish for the Crimea to be returned to the Ottomans was not. The peace treaty was signed on 30 March 1856. In April 1856 Palmerston was appointed to the Order of the Garter by Victoria.
Arrow controversy and the Second Opium War
In October 1856, the Chinese seized the pirate ship Arrow, and in the process, according to the local British official Harry Parkes, insulted the British flag. When the Chinese Commissioner Ye Mingchen refused to apologise, the British shelled his compound. The commissioner retaliated with a proclamation that called on the people of Canton to "unite in exterminating these troublesome English villains" and offered a $100 bounty for the head of any Englishman. The British factories outside the city were also burned to the ground by incensed locals. Palmerston supported Parkes while in Parliament the British policy was strongly attacked on moral grounds by Richard Cobden and William Gladstone. Playing the patriotism card, Palmerston said that Cobden demonstrated "an anti-English feeling, an abnegation of all those ties which bind men to their country and to their fellow countrymen, which I should hardly have expected from the lips of any member of this House. Everything that was English was wrong, and everything that was hostile to England was right." He went on to say that if a motion of censure was carried it would signal that the House had voted to "abandon a large community of British subjects at the extreme end of the globe to a set of barbarians – a set of kidnapping, murdering, poisoning barbarians." The censure motion was carried by a majority of sixteen and the election of 1857 followed. Palmerston's stance proved popular among a large section of the workers, the growing middle classes and the country's commercial and financial interests. With the expanded franchise, his party swept on a wave of popular feeling to a majority of 83, the largest since 1835. Cobden and John Bright lost their seats.
In China, the Second Opium War (1856–1860) was another humiliating defeat for a Qing dynasty, already reeling as a result of the domestic Taiping Rebellion.
Resignation
After the election, Palmerston passed the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, which for the first time made it possible for courts to grant a divorce and removed divorce from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts. The opponents in Parliament, who included Gladstone, were the first in British history to try to kill a bill by filibuster. Nonetheless, Palmerston was determined to get the bill through, which he did. In June news came to Britain of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Palmerston sent Sir Colin Campbell and reinforcements to India. Palmerston also agreed to transfer the authority of the East India Company to the Crown. This was enacted in the Government of India Act 1858. After the Italian republican Felice Orsini tried to assassinate the French emperor with a bomb made in Britain, the French were outraged (see Orsini affair). Palmerston introduced a Conspiracy to Murder bill, which made it a felony to plot in Britain to murder someone abroad. At first reading, the Conservatives voted for it but at second reading they voted against it. Palmerston lost by nineteen votes. Therefore, in February 1858 he was forced to resign.
Opposition: 1858–1859
The Conservatives lacked a majority, and Russell introduced a resolution in March 1859 arguing for widening the franchise, which the Conservatives opposed but which was carried. Parliament was dissolved and a general election ensued, which the Whigs won. Palmerston rejected an offer from Disraeli to become Conservative leader, but he attended the meeting of 6 June 1859 in Willis's Rooms at St James Street, where the Liberal Party was formed. The Queen asked Lord Granville to form a government, but although Palmerston agreed to serve under him, Russell did not. Therefore, on 12 June the Queen asked Palmerston to become prime minister. Russell and Gladstone agreed to serve under him.
Prime Minister: 1859–1865
Further information: Liberal government, 1859–1866
Historians usually regard Palmerston, starting in 1859, as the first Liberal prime minister. In his last premiership Palmerston oversaw the passage of important legislation. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 codified and reformed the law, and was part of a wider process of consolidating criminal law. The Companies Act 1862 was the basis of modern company law.
Foreign policy continued to be his main strength; he thought that he could shape if not control all of European diplomacy, especially by using France as a vital ally and trade partner. However, historians often characterise his method as bluffing more than decisive action.
Some people called Palmerston a womaniser; The Times named him Lord Cupid (on account of his youthful looks), and he was cited, at the age of 79, as co-respondent in an 1863 divorce case, although it emerged that the case was nothing more than an attempted blackmail.
Relationship with Gladstone
Although Palmerston and William Gladstone treated each other respectfully, they disagreed fundamentally over Church appointments, foreign affairs, defence and reform; Palmerston's greatest problem during his last premiership was how to handle his Chancellor of the Exchequer. The MP Sir William Gregory was told by a member of the Cabinet that "at the beginning of each session and after each holiday, Mr Gladstone used to come in charged to the muzzle with all sorts of schemes of all sorts of reforms which were absolutely necessary in his opinion to be immediately undertaken. Palmerston used to look fixedly at the paper before him, saying nothing until there was a lull in Gladstone's outpouring. He then rapped the table and said cheerfully: 'Now, my Lords and gentlemen, let us go to business'." Palmerston told Lord Shaftesbury: "Gladstone will soon have it all his own way and whenever he gets my place we shall have strange doings". He told another friend that he thought Gladstone would wreck the Liberal Party and end up in a madhouse.
When in May 1864 the MP Edward Baines introduced a Reform Bill in the Commons, Palmerston ordered Gladstone to not commit himself and the government to any particular scheme. Instead Gladstone said in his speech in the Commons that he did not see why any man should not have the vote unless he was mentally incapacitated, but added that this would not come about unless the working class showed an interest in reform. Palmerston believed that this was incitement to the working class to begin agitating for reform and told Gladstone: "What every Man and Woman too have a Right to, is to be well governed and under just Laws, and they who propose a change ought to shew that the present organization does not accomplish those objects".
French intervention in Italy had created an invasion scare and Palmerston established a Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom which reported in 1860. It recommended a huge programme of fortifications to protect the Royal Navy Dockyards and ports, which Palmerston vigorously supported. Objecting to the enormous expense, Gladstone repeatedly threatened to resign as Chancellor when the proposals were accepted. Palmerston said that he had received so many resignation letters from Gladstone that he feared that they would set fire to the chimney.
Relationship with Lord Lyons
During the advent and occurrence of the American Civil War, the British Ambassador to the United States was Palmerston's close friend and ally Richard Lyons, 2nd Baron Lyons. Palmerston had first appointed Richard Lyons to the Foreign Service in 1839, and was a close friend of his father, Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons, with whom he had vehemently advocated increased aggression in the Crimean War. Palmerston and Lyons both had similar sociopolitical sympathies: both advocated monarchy and foreign interventionism. Throughout the American Civil War, Palmerston and Richard Lyons maintained an extensive confidential correspondence. Their actions were responsible for the peaceful resolution of the Trent Affair. When Lyons resigned from the position of American Ambassador, Palmerston attempted to persuade him to return, but Lyons declined the offer.
Death
Palmerston enjoyed robust health in old age, living at Romsey in his home Foxhills, built in about 1840. On 12 October 1865, he caught a chill. Instead of retiring immediately to bed, Palmerston spent an hour and a half dawdling. He then had a violent fever but his condition stabilised for the next few days. However, on the night of 17 October, his health worsened, and when his doctor asked him if he believed in regeneration of the world through Jesus Christ, Palmerston replied: "Oh, surely." His last words were, "That's Article 98; now go on to the next." (He was thinking about diplomatic treaties.) An apocryphal version of his last words is: "Die, my dear doctor? That is the last thing I shall do." He died at 10:45 am on Wednesday, 18 October 1865, two days before his eighty-first birthday. Although Palmerston wanted to be buried at Romsey Abbey, the Cabinet insisted that he should have a state funeral and be buried at Westminster Abbey, which he was, on 27 October 1865. He was the fifth person not of royalty to be granted a state funeral (after Robert Blake, Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson, and the Duke of Wellington).
Queen Victoria wrote after his death that though she regretted his passing, she had never liked or respected him: "Strange, and solemn to think of that strong, determined man, with so much worldly ambition – gone! He had often worried and distressed us, though as Pr. Minister he had behaved very well." Florence Nightingale reacted differently upon hearing of his death: "He will be a great loss to us. Tho' he made a joke when asked to do the right thing, he always did it. No one else will be able to carry things thro' the Cabinet as he did. I shall lose a powerful protector...He was so much more in earnest than he appeared. He did not do himself justice."
Having no male heir, his Irish viscountcy became extinct upon his death, but his property was inherited by his stepson William Cowper-Temple (later created the 1st Baron Mount Temple), whose inheritance included a 10,000-acre (4,000-hectare) estate in the north of County Sligo in the west of Ireland, on which his stepfather had commissioned the building of the incomplete Classiebawn Castle.
The quadruplet 'Sisters of Destruction' are immortal nymphs who fed on human flesh, namely young men. They would seduce, kill and then consume weary travelers. For their acts they were in time punished by the powers that be and sentenced to control each of the four seasons for eternity. Their anger towards their punishers and their sentence explains the sometimes unpredictable weather patterns and natural disasters we see today.
Core characters based off the same girl. Full design is a repeating pattern but not currently for sale on any products. These will also be part of a promotional wallpack for my new website, coming soon!
One consequence of ever tighter operating margins in the coaching sector is that many coaches can spend most, if not all, of their operating life in (dealer) white with fleet names and graphics etc., if applied, added by way of vinyls.
Here are four such examples basking in the late Autumn sunshine at Jodrell bank Visitor Centre. Left to Right.
A8 BXN - An Irizar i6 with B & N of Burnley
YR15 OTC - another Irizar, this time with Swan; Chadderton .
P17 POS - Durber (Pauls); Harriseahead.
FY52 LEU - a Mercedes 1018/Ferqui with Wild (Let's Travel); Bootle.
St Mary's
As a consequence of the large increase in population in the area of Nunthorpe Station from about 1900, the accommodation at the old Church in the village became inadequate and active steps were taken to provide a new Church. Tenders to a design by Mr. Temple Moore were on the point of being accepted in 1914 but the outbreak of the war put an end to all proposals of building. By 1924 the need for the new Church had become urgent following the erection of further residential property and new tenders were obtained to the same design and specification but owing to the increased cost of labour and materials the lowest tender received was about two-and-a-half times that received from the same firm in 1914.
The contract was let to Messrs. John Thompson and Sons Ltd. Of Peterborough and the foundation stone was laid on the 6th November, 1924, by Sir Arthur Dorman who had given the land for the site.
Hitherto, Nunthorpe had been ecclesiastically administered as part of Great Ayton Parish but it was considered desirable that a separate and larger Parish be constituted and this was done by adding to it parts of the Parishes of Marton, Ormesby and Great Ayton.
Building proceeded throughout 1925 and the consecration by the Archbishop of York took place on the 20th July, 1926.
The Church, which is technically in the Early English period of Architecture, is built in regular coursed ashlar of locally quarried sandstone, with a lightly tooled surface and has brown hand-made tiles on the steeply pitched roofs.
The layout is conventional cruciform plan with a western porch which has above its entrance, set in a niche, a statue in white stone of the Virgin and Child. Tall lancet windows are seen in the body of the Church, with its chamfered plinth and stepped buttresses and this adjoins the dominant parapeted square tower at the crossing. Paired louvered windows open from the bell chamber and there is a simple spout on each of the four faces to drain the flat roof of the tower.
The roof of the Chancel at the eastern end is higher than that of the nave due to the introduction of twin clerestory windows. Shallow transepts with gabled roofs run from the tower, that on the south being carried down to cover a recessed doorway. Under the clerestory windows tiled lean-to roofs complete the plan form by forming a side chapel to the south side and a sacristry and vestry on the north side.
Inside the Church there is a central stone paved aisle in the nave and massive oak pews run on either side to the oak panelling which covers the walls to the bottom of the windows. The roof of the nave is of timber in the shape of a barrel vault with one tie beam on stone corbels.
The crossing under the tower has a flat timber roof and the chamfered and moulded arches form a particularly strong feature. At the east side they spring from a pair of intersecting attached round columns and at the west are supported from one similar half column and a cluster of tapered pilasters. One step leads up to the Chancel and the simple carved pulpit on a round stone plinth on the left which contrasts with the decoratively carved lectern at the right hand side.
The font in the south-eastern corner of the south Transept was originally situated in the traditional position, inside the door, at the western end of the Church but it was moved to its present position so that the congregation could participate more easily in the Christening ceremonies.
The priest’s stall and the panelled choir seating were added in 1932 – a gift from Lady Dorman in memory of her late husband.
The sanctuary is closed with a low timber communion rail with central gates of a similar design and is dominated by the large east window which comprises a group of three central lancets under one mould hood with a single light on either side.
The arch at the north is stone filled with a door to the vestry and the south wall has a shelved recess and piscina, and three sedilia built into the wall thickness. Like the font, the Altar has been moved from its original position against the east wall to allow the celebrant to face the congregation.
There are two memorial inscriptions carved in stone – that over the south door being to the memory of Charles Dorman, who was one of the first two churchwardens and the other over the belfry door recording that the eight bells in the tower were erected to the memory of the Dorman family who had contributed so much for the Church.
The bells are in the upper stage of the belfry and are fixed in a metal frame and the clappers strike the bells, being operated by wires and spring loaded handles from the ringing chamber immediately below.
The stained glass window in the east side of the chapel to the memory of Andrew Hutton is by Hugh Eason.
Many of the furnishings have been donated as memorials and a number of these are the work of the “mouseman”, Robert Thompson of Kilburn.
At the south eastern end of the nave there is an inscription in the wood panelling recording the names of the Vicars of Nunthorpe.
The Lych Gate at the entrance to the Churchyard was built as a memorial to all the men who fell in the Second World War and it was designed in the same style as the Church by the present firm succeeding Temple Moor. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Whitby on 6th July, 1947. The stone for the gate was obtained from Gunnergate Hall, Marton, which had recently been demolished and the oak work is also by Robert Thompson.
Eric Bailey, June 1976
("i won't take my coat off," part ii) if you want a capture of a chickadee on a shovel handle, it helps to have that shovel in close proximity to a bird feeder. however, squirrels like bird seed too!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Fokker D.XX fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker as a conservative export alternative to the D.XXI monoplane. The latter had been developed in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL), but Fokker saw a good deal of market potential for the aircraft in Europe, too, but was afraid that many smaller European air forces still preferred conservative biplane designs.
As a consequence, the D.XX was developed in parallel to the D.XXI and both aircraft shared many components, primarily the fuselage and the tail section. Like its D.XXI stablemate the D.XX biplane was designed as an inexpensive, rugged, and compact fighter aircraft that would possess respectable performance for its era.
Following standard Fokker design practice of the period, the D.XX featured a welded steel tube fuselage that was largely covered by fabric, including the flight control surfaces, but elements forward of the trailing edges of the wings were covered by detachable aluminum panels instead. The wings were of a wooden construction, being composed of two box spars attached to ribs made of plywood, and covered by fabric, too. The aircraft was outfitted with a fixed, spatted undercarriage with cantilever legs, and braking was provided by independently-operated pedals using compressed air.
The cockpit of the D.XXI was fully enclosed by a plexiglas hood featuring large sliding sections. The canopy was entirely jettisonable in an emergency situation to enable pilots to bail out. Pilots were protected against turnover injuries by means of a pylon built into the structure of the aircraft set behind the seat. Fuel was housed in a 77-gallon tank located aft of the engine, and an auxiliary fuel tank could also be installed behind the pilot seat.
Main armament consisted of two pairs of 7.92mm M36 FN-Browning machine guns, two being housed within the forward fuselage above the engine, requiring the latter to be synchronized in order to shoot through the propeller blades, and another pair was carried in fairings under the lower wings, outside of the propeller arc.
Initially, the Fokker D.XX was powered by the 830 h.p. Bristol Mercury VII or VIII engines, but for export customers a number of alternative engines were considered, too. These included such power plants as the 650 h.p. Rolls-Royce Kestrel V and the 750 h.p. Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp Junior. There were even plans to mount the 1,050 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin and the 1,090 h.p. Daimler-Benz DB 600H, both coupled with a radiator installation under the fuselage.
However, interest in the Fokker D.XX was low, since the monoplane promised much superior performance and future development potential. Compared with the Fokker D.XXI, the D.XX lacked top speed and acceleration, but it had, thanks to its much bigger wing area, a better rate of climb and was the superior dogfight aircraft.
Anyway, with the D.XXI as direct in-house competitor and very similar aircraft like the Gloster Gladiator on the market, Fokker's last biplane aircraft was not a success. A major contract with Sweden for an initial batch of 30 aircraft and rights for further license production did not materialize. Other prospects, e. g. Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Egypt and Yugoslavia, settled upon aircraft of British production, and in the end only Norway and Denmark bought the biplane fighter.
Total production, including two prototypes and three pre-production aircraft, only reached a mere 46 machines, and none of them survived the first months of the 2nd World War.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 10.6 m (34 ft 8 ½ in)
Height: 2.92 m (9 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 28m² (300 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,594 kg (3,514 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg)
Powerplant:
1 × Bristol Mercury VIII 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 620 kW (830 hp)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 253 mph (220 knots, 407 km/h) at 14,500 ft (4,400 m)
Cruise speed: 338 km/h (210 mph; 186 kn)
Stall speed: 85 km/h (53 mph; 46 knots)
Range: 930 km (578 mi; 502 nmi)
Endurance: 2 hours
Service ceiling: 11,350 m (37,240 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.7 m/s (2,300 ft/min)
Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min
Power/mass: 0.309 kW/kg (0.188 hp/lb)
Armament:
4× 8 mm (0.315 in) machine guns with 500 RPG in the fuselage and 300 RPG under the lower wings
The kit and its assembly:
I had found the spare wings from a Gloster Gladiator in my donor bank, and wondered what I could do with them - and eventually stunbled upon a PM Model Fokker D.XXI. Why not retrograde this early monoplane fighter into a biplane, with relatively modern features?
Said and done, and the respective conversion/kitbashing was a rather straightforward affair, even though not without some challenges.
The biggest issue became the lower wings: the Gladiator wings are much thinner and have less depth than the original Fokker wings, so that much of the wing roots on the fuselage had to be sanded away. This resulted in gaping openings, which had to be filled, including a resculpted trailing edge intersection. Not a complicated feat, but messy.
Another issue arose through the fact that the D.XXI's fuselage is wider than the Gloster Gladiator's - resulting in a wider span of the lower wings than the upper! In order to correct this, the lower wings' tips were clipped and I used the occasion to re-sculpt all wing tips, trying to get away from the Gladiator's characteristic round shape.
Once the lower wings were mated with the fuselage, the upper wings were added with the help of the outer support struts only. Once dry, the additional struts between the upper wing and the fuselage were added - the latter were scratched with styrene strips. Thin styrene was also used to add some diagonal bracing struts, once more in an attempt to change the wings' look away from its Gladiator origins.
The spatted wheels were taken from the PM Model kit, but shortened by 2mm - OOB they are IMHO much too long, and the result would be a very stalky stance. The tail wheel was also taken OOB, but moved aft and shortened, too.
Inside, a different seat was used; a box was placed behind it, filling the gap, and a dashboard was added under the windshield. The canopy (very thick material!) was cut into three pieces, for a potential open presentation.
Engine and cowling were taken OOB, but the propeller was replaced with a better-looking scrap box find, which also received a longer axis for better balance and free spinning.
The rigging was done with material derived from heated, black IP sprues, which I like because it bonds well with the kit's plastic and can be attached with standard glue. Additionally, the wire's strength can the individually tailored.
Painting and markings:
I used this occasion to apply the somewhat obscure camouflage of the Royal Danish Air Force from the late Thirties. While the scheme itself is rather simple, the colors remain obscure. In profiles and painting instructions you can find a wide range of recommendations - ranging from sand or a greenish yellow and olive drab to dark green and dark earth! The undersides were supposed to be "bluish grey".
I eventually settled upon a relatively simple choice, with Humbrol 83 (Ochre) and Revell 46 (NATO Olive Drab, RAL 7013 a.k.a. Gelboliv), which looks almost like a dark brown together with the greenish sand tone. IMHO they make a good combo for the Danish scheme. For the undersides, I went for Humbrol 128 (FS 36320). Interior surfaces were painted in a dark slate grey tone, the propeller received an aluminum front and flat black back surfaces.
The kit received a light black ink wash and a post-shading treatment with various shades of the basic tones, including ModelMaster RAL 7028 (German WWII Dunkelgelb) as well as Humbrol 155, 163 and 247. Finally, the fabric structure on the wings was slightly emphasized with dry-brushed light grey, and exhaust soot under the fuselage was added with grinded graphite.
The markings come from various sources: roundels from a D.XXI sheet from PrintScale, the flags on the fin belong to a Danish F-100 (XtraDecal) and the tactical code was puzzled together. The nose art, the charging knight on the cowling, which I added because I found the overall aircraft to look pretty bleak, comes from a ModelCollect tank model sheet.
Finally, the whole kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Not a spectacular whif, and this one does not really stand out between similar builds (e.g. the Macchi Brezza or the Gloster Glaive) I did before, but I find it interesting how good and plausible the retrograded Fokker D.XXI looks. The new/old wings blend in nicely, and the Danish scheme looks good on this biplane, too, even though I wonder why these colors were chosen? It looks rather like a desert paint scheme than something for Northern Europe, with lots of water and mostly green, flat landscape?
DISCLAIMER
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
The Chinese J-7FS was a direct descendant of the J-7E. The Chengdu J-7 itself has a long heritage of development, even though it is originally a Soviet design, a license-built MiG-21F, which has its roots in the mid 50ies.
It took China long way to develop and produce a true supersonic fighter aircraft: in March, 1964, Shenyang Aircraft Factory began the first domestic production of the J-7 jet fighter. However, the mass production of the aircraft, which had been developed through Soviet help, license production and reverse-engineering, was severely hindered by an unexpected problem—the Cultural Revolution. This incident and its consequences resulted in poor initial quality and slow progress.
This, in turn, resulted in full scale production only coming about in the 1980s, by which time the J-7 design was showing its age. However, through the years the J-7 saw constant development and refinement in China, and the J-7FS was one of the many directions the simple, basic design went in order to imporve performance and to keep it up to date.
The J-7FS was designed in the late 90ies as a dedicated interceptor, and as a lighter option than the twin-engined J-8 fighter of indigenous design. Main task was to incorporate a true air-to-air radar with surveillance capabilities, since the J-7 only featured a rader-based range finder in the central shock cone of the air intake.
Fitting a more capable radar required a larger radome, which meant either a bigger central shock cone (as in the 2nd generation MiG-21 fighters) or a totally new nose and air intake arrangement. The accordingly modified J-7FS saw first daylight as a technology demonstration aircraft built by CAC. Its most prominent feature was a redesigned under-chin inlet, reminiscent of the F-8 or A-7 nose, which provided air for a WP-13IIS engine. Above the air intake, a fixed conical radome offered space for a bigger radar dish. “139 Red”, how the first aircraft was coded, first flew in June 1998, starting a 22-month test program. Two prototypes were built, but only the first aircraft was to fly – the second machine was only used for static tests.
"139 Red" soon saw major progress in design and equipment: it received a new double-delta wing which nearly doubled internal fuel capacity and improved performance, a modified fin, a more potent WP-13F turbojet engine, and a new 600 mm slot antenna planar array radar using coherent technology to achieve scan, look-down and shoot-down capabilities.
The revamped aircraft also received a sand/green camouflage paint scheme, less flashy than the original white/red livery. The new wing, which was also introduced on the J-7E, made the aircraft 45% more maneuverable than the MiG-21F-like J/F-7M, while the take-off and landing distance is reduced to 600 meters, in comparison to the 1.000 meter take-off distance and 900 meter landing distance of earlier versions of the J-7.
The production J-7FS which was ready for service in summer 2000 featured even more changes and novelties: the J-7FS incorporated HOTAS, which has since become standard on other late J-7 versions, too. This version is also the first of J-7 series to be later upgraded with helmet mounted sights (HMS). However, it is reported that the helmet mounted sight is not compatible with radars, and air-to-air missiles must be independently controlled by either HMS or radar, but not both.
The serial production radome now had an ogival shape with an even larger base diameter, and for additional avionics such as weapon management, global positioning and flight data recording systems, the production J-7FS featured a bulged spine, reminiscent of the 3rd generation MiG-21 (or the respective Chengdu J-7C, a reverse-engineered MiG-21MF). The aircraft was even able to carry medium range AAMs, e .g. the Chinese PL-11 missile, a license-built Selenia Aspide AAM from Italia, itself a modernized descendant of the venerable AIM-7 Sparrow. Another feature which set the FS version apart was the ventral, twin-barreled Type 23-III gun instead of the single-barelled 30mm cannon at the flank.
The role of the J-7FS in the People's Liberation Army was to provide local air defense and tactical air superiority, even though it certainly was only a stop-gap until the introduction of the much more potent Chengdu J-10, which started to enter PLAAF service in 2005 after a long development time. With its more powerful radar the J-7FS was supposed to act as a kind of mini AWACS platform, guiding groups of less potent J-7Es to potential targets. It is known that the J-7FS’s new radar had a range greater than 50 km and could track up to eight targets simultaneously. The aircraft's overall performance is expected to be similar to early F-16 variants.
The number of built specimen is uncertain, but it is supposed to be less than 100, probably even less than 50. It is rumored that the type had also been offered to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka around 2001, but was not bought.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 14.885 m (Overall) (48 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 8.32 m (27 ft 3½ in)
Height: 4.11 m (13 ft 5½ in)
Wing area: 24.88 m² (267.8 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 2.8:1
Empty weight: 5,292 kg (11.667 lb)
Loaded weight: 7,540 kg (16.620 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 9.100 kg (20.062 lb)
Powerplant:
1 × Guizhou Liyang WP-13F(C) afterburning turbojet with 44.1 kN (9.914 lb) dry thrust and 66.7 kN (14.650 lb) with afterburner:
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.0, 2,200 km/h (1.189 knots, 1.375 mph)
Stall speed: 210 km/h (114 knots, 131 mph) IAS
Combat radius: 850 km (459 nmi, 528 mi) (air superiority, two AAMs and three drop tanks)
Ferry range: 2,200 km (1.187 nmi, 1.367 mi)
Service ceiling: 17,500 m (57.420 ft)
Rate of climb: 195 m/s (38.386 ft/min)
Armament:
1× twin-barreled Type 23-III 23mm (0.9") cannon with 250 rounds under the fuselage;
5× hardpoints (4× under-wing, 1× centerline under-fuselage) with a capacity of 2,000 kg maximum (up to 500 kg each); Ordnance primarily comprises air-to-air missiles, including PL-2, PL-5, PL-7, PL-8, PL-9 and PL-11 AAMs, but in a secondary CAS role various rocket pods an unguided bombs of up to 500kg caliber could be carried
The kit and its assembly:
This whif is based on the real world J-7FS, which actually flew but never made it beyond the technical demonstrator stage. However, I found the air intake design with its raked shape and the pointed radome interesting, and since I had a crappy Matchbox MiG-21MF with misprinted decals in store I decided to use that kit for a whif conversion. There’s even a resin kit of the first J-7FS (still with the standard delta wing, though, and horribly expensive) available, but I wanted to create a more advanced what-if model, if the type had somehow entered service.
The kit saw major modification all around the fuselage: the wing tips were clipped and scratch-built ends for the J-7E double delta wing shape attached. The shape is certainly not correct, but it's IMHO the impression that counts. The MiG-21MF's deep fin was replaced by a donation part from an F-16 – the 2nd J-7FS already featured a distinctive kink at the fin’s top which made it already look rather F-16ish, and the taller and more slender fin suits the MiG-21 well.
A brake parachute housing with a disctinctive, blunt end was added just above the jet exhaust, and some antennae and pitots were added in order to enhance the bleak Matchbox kit a little. The Type 23-III cannon was sculpted from a piece of sprue, just like the brake parachute housing.
The nose section/radome is the front half of an F-18 drop tank. An oval, tapered piece of styrene was implanted as the raked intake lip, trying to copy the look of the real thing according to the few pictures I had at hand. I also added a central splitter in the air intake, which houses the front wheel bay.
Some putty work was necessary to blend the new nose into the front fuselage, as well as the dorsal spine into the new fin, but that turned out to be easier than expected.
The jet exhaust originally is just a vertical "plate" in the MiG-21's tail. I opened it and implanted a new cover inside of the fuselage, in a deeper position. For some more detail I also added a (simple) jet nozzle, IIRC it is a leftover part from a Matchbox Jaguar kit, probably 30 years old... Not much, but it defininitively enhances the rear view of the machine.
The original cockpit only consists of a bulky seat and the pilot figure, and the clear canopy is clear but horribly thick. Hence, I decided to keep the cockpit closed, but nevertheless I added a floor and some side panels, and used an Airfix pilot figure.
The missile ordnance comes from the scrap box, reflecting “modern” Chinese air-to-air weaponry: two PL-7 (Matra Magic AAMs from an Italeri NATO weapons kit) on the outer and two PL-11 (two Aspide missiles from the same set ) on the inner wing hardpoints. All wing hardpoints come from MiG-21F kits, one pair is from the Academy kit, the other from the vintage Hasegawa kit, both have the launch rails molded into the weapon pylon. The drop tank is a typical Chinese item - it resembles the Russian/soviet PTB-490 drop tank, but has a more blunt nose and smaller fins - it comes from a FC-1 kit from Trumpeter.
Paintings and markings:
Since it is an air superiority aircraft, I wanted an appropriate livery, but not the dull overall grey of contemporary PLAAF fighters. But I found some weird real life paint schemes which inspired the final camouflage.
Since the plane was not supposed to look too American through FS tones I rather used 'other' colors for a wraparound scheme. The basic tone is Testors 2123 (Russian Underside Blue), and from above a darker contrast color was added, Humbrol 230 (PRU Blue). Both tones have a greenish/teal hue, which complements each other well. Together they create a pretty distinctive look, though, esp. with the red and yellow insignia and codes. IMHO these colors suit the fighter well.
The kit received a light black ink wash and some dry painting with lighter blue-grey shades (Humbrol 87 and 128), but no weathering, since modern Chinese aircraft tend to look pretty clean and pristine.
The decals were puzzled together from the scrap box, IIRC the insignia originally they belong to a Il-28 Trumpeter kit. The 5 digit code comes from a Revell MiG-29 and the number itself is based on the information published in the 2010 book “Chinese Air Power” by Yefim Gordon und Dmitriy Komissarov, where the Chinese code system is explained – I hope that it is more or less authentic ;)
So, all in all a rather simple kit conversion, and certainly not a creative masterpiece. To be honest, the similarity with the real thing is just at first glance - but since it is whif world, I am fine with the outcome. ^^
And welcome to our annual trip round the churches of Kent during the Heritage Open Weekend as organised by English Heritage.
On a wet and cool morning, our first stop was just outside Dartford at Sutton-at-Hone, where we hoped it would be open. As it was, the door was unlocked and two volunteers met us and offered us tea and biscuits as well as our own tour round the church. A fine welcome.
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A fascinating church showing good quality medieval work and contrasting nineteenth-century rebuilding. The main chancel and nave date from the fourteenth century - a period of much rebuilding in this part of Kent - while the south aisle is separated from the nave by an unequivocally Victorian arcade. In April 1615 the church was accidentally burnt down by a man shooting pigeons (see also Charing) and all the furnishings date from after this period. Especially fine is the early seventeenth-century pulpit. The monument in the south aisle to Sir Thomas Smythe (d. 1625), an early official of the East India Company, is a good example of alabaster craftsmanship.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Sutton+at+Hone
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SUTTON-AT-HONE
LIES the next parish south-eastward from Wilmington, and was once so considerable, as to give name to the whole lath. It was called in Latin, Suthtuna, from its situation south of the town of Dartford, and had the addition of At-Hone, from its lying low in the valley.
THIS PARISH contains about 3100 acres of land, of which 250 are wood. It is pleasantly situated as to the eastern part of it in the vale, through which a branch of the river Darent runs at the eastern boundary of it, near which the turnpike road from Dartford to Farningham, and so on to Sevenoke, leads through it, passing through Hawley and the village of Sutton; near it are most of the gentlemen's seats in it mentioned below, the parsonage, and vicarage. Hence the ground rises westward to the hill, having the church standing at one field's distance from the above road, still higher to Gilton-hill and Swanley, at the western boundary as the parish, at Birchwood corner, adjoining to the high road from Foot's Cray to Farningham. The soil of this parish is in general light, stony, and much inclined to gravel, though there is a good deal of chalk in several different parts of it; and there is some fertile lands in the southern part, adjoining to Horton; the western part, adjoining to the Farningham road, is very poor indeed, and such of it as is not coppice wood is mostly covered with heath and furze, especially about that part called the Warren.
Our HERBALISTS have taken notice of the following SCARCE HERBS and PLANTS in this parish, viz.
Ocymum sylvestre, or wild basil, found in plenty near St. John's. (fn. 1)
Millesolium flare rubro, red flowered yarrow, in the Hollydeans.
Ebulus, five sambucus humilis, dane wort, or dwarf elder, in the grounds near St. John's, and in the Netherway there.
Tapsus barbatus, mullein, or bigtaper, grows likewise iu plenty uear St. John's.
That curious naturalist, Abraham Hill, esq. lord of the manor of St. John's, about the year 1670, planted in an orchard, adjoining to his mansion here, the most curious fruits from Devonshire and Herefordshire, both apples and pears, used in those counties for making cyder and perry, with the intent of introducing them among the orchards of this county, many of which are still remaining here; among which are many trees of that scarce fruit, called the Kentish pippin.
In the book of Domesday, Levenot de Sudtone is said to have had the privileges of sac and soc within the lath of Sutton.
Robert Basing, in the reign of king John, gave to the Knights Hospitallers the MANORS of SUTTON-AT-HONE and of HALGELL, now HAWLEY, in this parish.
Elen de Saukevile, daughter of Ralph de Dene, gave all her land of Lageham, in Penshurst, to the manor of Sutton. Ralph de Penshurst gave more lands and rents there to this manor. Nicholas, son of Nicholas de Twytham, gave rents, with their appurtenances, in the parish of Sutton; and Gilbert, son of William Helles, gave more lands and rents to it. In the first year of king Edward, the prior of St. John had a confirmation of his liberties for his lands in Sutton-at-Hone, (fn. 2) &c. This manor seems, by the antient rentals of it, to have been formerly accounted but as an appendage to that possessed by the knights in Dartford, which was constantly stiled, Manerium de Derteford cum Sutton-at-Hone; which, besides the parishes of Dartford and Sutton, extended into those of Ash, Penshurst, Edenbridge, Chelsfield, and Nockholt, and into Limpsfield, in Surry.
The manor of Sutton continued part of the possessions of the Knights Hospitallers, who had a commandery established here. This was a convenient mansion, of which they had several on their different estates, in which there was a society of these knights placed, who were to take care of their rents and lands in the neighbourhood of it. They were allowed proper maintenance out of the revenues under their care, and the remainder was accounted for to the grand prior at London; (fn. 3) in which state it remained till their dissolution, in the 32d year of king Henry VIII. when by an act, passed specially for that purpose, all their lands and possessions were given to the king; who, that year, granted the office of receiver-general of the revenues of the late dissolved hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, in England, to Sir Maurice Denys, descended of a good family in Gloucestershire, who bore for his arms, Gules, three leopards heads, or, jessant fleurs de lis azure, over all a bend engrailed of the third; and he, from this grant, and having the grant of several of these possessions afterwards, acquired the addition of St. John's to his name. In like manner all other great estates and possessions, as well of the late monasteries as of attainted persons, were sought after by the courtiers and great men, who first begged the offices of bailiffs and receivers of them, to be more certainly acquainted with their value, and then got the grants of them in fee; after which, in his 35th year, he granted to Sir Maurice Denys St. John's, among other premises, this manor of Sutton-at-Hone, alias St. John's, the chapel of Sutton, and other lands and premises belonging to it, to hold in capite, by knights service.
Anno 4 queen Elizabeth, Sir Maurice Denys levied a fine of this manor, and two years after died possessed of it, as appears by the inquisition taken after his death. Lady Elizabeth Denys, his widow, who had been first the wife of Nicholas Stathan, mercer, of London, by whom she had no issue, then became possessed of it, and died in the 19th year of it; and by her will gave this manor to her only daughter, Elizabeth, the widow of Vincent Randyll, esq. and their two daughters, Catherine and Martha, who, on their mother's death, became possessed of it in undivided moieties. Martha Randyll carried her moiety in marriage to Thomas Cranfield, esq. of London, who bore for his arms, Or, on a pale azure, three fleurs de lis of the first; on whose death it came to their son, Sir Randyll Cranfield, who, in the 7th year of king Charles I. executed a writ of partition of this manor with Sarah countess of Leicester, and her son Sir John Smith, owners of the other moiety of it; and each of them possessing part of the demesnes, as well as part of the services, each moiety became a separate manor.
That which was allotted to Cranfield retained the name of St. John's, alias SUTTON MANOR, and included the antient mansion and chapel of the knightshere; and to this manor was allotted the court leet, usually held for it. Sir Randyll Cranfield, by his will, in 1635, gave this manor of St. John's, alias Sutton, to his son, Vincent Cranfield. esq. who, by deed and fine, laid in 1649, conveyed it to Mr. Thomas Hollis, merchant, of London; and he, with Elizabeth his wife, in 1660, passed it away, by deed and fine levied, to Abraham Hill, esq. merchant of London, who did not get possession of it till the year 1667. He afterwards resided at St. John's, where he died in 1721, and was buried in Sutton church. He was descended of a good family, who had been for some generations seated at Shilston, in Devonshire; one of whom, Robert Hill, esq. was sheriff of that county in the 7th year of king Henry VI. and representative in parliament for it in the 26th of that reign, and bore for his arms, Argent, a chevron between three water bougets, sable. One of his descendants, and fifth son of Robert Hill, esq. of Shilston, seated himself at Truro, in Cornwall, whose son Richard was an alderman of the city of London. He died in 1659, and was bu ried with much pomp in the church of St. Dionis Backchurch, London, leaving by Agnes his wife, a son, Abraham Hill, esq. before mentioned, who was a most ingenious and learned man, one of the first encouragers, and a fellow of the Royal Society, at the first institution of it. By his first wife Anne, daughter of Sir Bulstrode Whitlock, he left a son, Richard, and a daughter, Frances.
Richard Hill, esq. survived his father but a few weeks, and dying without issue, this manor devolved to his sister, Mrs. Frances Hill, who resided here, and died possessed of it, in 1736, unmarried, and lies buried in the south isle of Sutton church, with the rest of her family, having a most remarkable and singular epitaph on her monument and grave stone; she by her will gave it, as well as her other Kentish estates, near Tunbridge, to her kinsman, William Hill, esq. of Carwythinick, in Cornwall, who in the latter end of 1780, sold it to Mr. John Mumford, of Sutton place, who died in 1787, and by his will devised this manor to his eldest son, William Mumford, esq. of this parish, the present owner of it; and the mansion of it to his youngest son John Mumford, esq. who was sheriff in 1796, and now resides in it. Of the mansion the north side only remains, which was formerly the chapel belonging to it: this has long since been converted into the dwelling-house, and was almost rebuilt in the year 1755.
The OTHER MOIETY of the manor of St. John's, alias Sutton-at-Hone, since known by the name of SUTTON MANOR, was carried in marriage, by Catherine, the other daughter of Vincent Randyll, to Robert Wrote, esq. whose son, Francis Wrote, esq. of Gunton, in Suffolk, in the 10th year of king James, conveyed it to Sir William Swan, of Southfleet; and he, in the 14th year of the same reign, passed it away to George Cole, esq. of the Inner Temple, London, who, two years after, sold this moiety, together with the moiety of the chapel of the late priory of St. John's, with all tithes, oblations, &c. belonging to it, and other lands in Sutton and Wilmington, to Sir Thomas Smith, second son of Customer Smith, of Westenhanger, who was a great navigator, and entrusted in many weighty matters relating to the trade of this kingdom. He had been ambassador to the emperor of Russia, and afterwards resided at Brookeplace in this parish, where he died in 1625, as is conjectured, of the plague, which raged greatly here at that time. He bore for his arms, Azure, a chevron engrailed, or, between three lions passant guardant of the second; which he quartered with those of Judde, Chiche, Criol, Creveceur, Averenches, Chichele, and Stafford; having by will left many charitable benefactions to several parishes in this county, and entrusted them to the care of the Skinner's company, who pay them yearly. He lies buried in this church, under a most costly monument, having his effigies at full length recumbent on it. He left by his third wife, Sarah, daughter and heir of William Blount, esq. who was the next year married to Robert Sidney earl of Leicester; a son, John, afterwards knighted, who, together with his mother, Sarah, countess of Leicester, owners of one moiety of the manor of St. John's, executed their writ of partition of it with Sir Randyll Cranfield, owner of the other moiety, in the 7th year of Charles I. as has been already mentioned.
THAT PART, allotted to the countess of Leicester and her son, thus becoming a separate manor, with a court baron appendant to it, acquired the name of the manor of Sutton, and after the countess of Leicester's death, came, with Brook-place, into Sir John Smith's possession. He died possessed of Sutton manor and Brook-place, with much other land in this county, leaving by the lady Isabella, daughter of the earl of Warwick, one son, Robert, and a daughter, Isabella, married to John lord Robartes, of Truro.
¶Robert Smythe, esq. was of Bounds, in Bidborough, and of Sutton, and married the lady Dorothy Sidney, relict of Henry earl of Sunderland, by whom he had one son, Robert Smythe, esq. of Sutton-atHone, who was governor of Dover castle, and died in 1695, possessed of this manor and Brook-place, leaving Catherine his wife, daughter of William Stafford, of Blatherwick, in Northamptonshire, surviving, and two sons, Henry and William, (fn. 4) to whom this manor and seat descended, as heirs in gavelkind.
In the 10th year of king William, she, as guardian to her two insant sons, obtained an act of parliament for vesting this manor and seat, among others, in this county, in trustees to sell the same, who accordingly, in 1699, conveyed them to Sir John Le Thieullier, of London.
Charities.
FOUR ACRES of land were given for the repair of the church.
THOMAS TERREY, yeoman, of Shoreham, in 1628 gave by will, a house and land at Dean in Horton, to the poor, now of the annual produce of 3l. 5s.
Mrs. KATHERINE WROTE built, and gave to the use of this parish, an alms-house, containing 4 rooms on a floor, with separate gardens. On the front of these houses is this inscription: These alms houses were erected by Kath. Wrote, widow, late wife of Robt. Wrote, esq. A. D. 1597. And these two coats of arms: Three piles azure, on a chief of the 2d, a griffin passant; and, on a saltier azure, 5 swans impaling on a bend 3 birds. And she left by will a house, barn and garden, adjoining the north end of the above houses, for the repair of them, now of the annual produce of 3l. 10s.
SIR THOMAS SMITH gave by will in 1625, the yearly sum of 5l. 10s. for six loaves of good bread, of 4d. each, to be given every Sunday to fix of the poorest and most honest inhabiting householders of this parish, to be paid by the Skinners Company.
Mrs. CATHERINE BAMME, of Gillingham, gave by her deed in 1572, 20s. per annum for the use of the poor, to be paid out of a farm, called Darlands, in Gillingham, vested in lord Vere.
The tenant of the parsonage is bound, by his lease from the dean and chapter, to give 20 bushels of peas, and two bushels of wheat yearly to the poor.
ABRAHAM HILL, esq. and his heirs, as lords of the manor of St. John's, on the ground of which the alms-houses before-mentioned were built, have the right of nominating a poor person to the southernmost of them; he having, in 1720, built two more houses on the garden-ground of that house. His daughter, Mrs. Frances Hill, allotted a small field adjoining, for gardens and other uses of those houses.
THOMAS HARRIS, esq. in 1769, by will gave 5l. per annum to the poor, to buy linen cloth for the term of 50 years, vested in the heirs of John Mumford, esq. and now of that annual produce.
SUTTON-AT-HONE is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the deanry of Dartford, and diocese of Rochester. The church is a handsome building, consisting of two isles and a chancel, with a towersteeple at the west end, containing three bells. It is dedicated to St. John Baptist.
It was, on April 27, 1615, burnt down, by a person's firing off a gun in the church at a bird, that had taken shelter in it. From which time till April 21, 1617, all baptisms were solemnized at Darent.
Among other monuments and memorials in this church are the following:—In the chancel, a memorial for Thomas Gifford, M. D. obt. 1669, arms, a lion passant guardant on a chief, three stirrups; under the raised part of it, on which the altar stands, is a vault, in which several of the vicars and their families are buried. At the west end of the south isle, near the door, are memorials for the Staceys of Deptford, buried in a vault underneath, arms, on a fess 3 fleurs de lis between 3 birds. Against the south wall, a monument, with the figure of a woman in white marble, half length, in alto relievo, for Mrs. Frances Hill, daughter of Abraham Hill, esq. great grand daughter of William, lord Willoughby, of Parham, obt. unmarried 1736, æt. 78; arms, Hill. In the small south chancel, at the east end, a mural monument for Abraham Hill, esq. of St. John's, in this parish, the son of Richard Hill, esq. descended out of Devonshire; he was twice married, 1st, to Anne, daughter of Sir Bulstrode Whitlock, by Frances, daughter of William, lord Willoughby, of Parham; 2dly, to Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Pratt, esq. by the former he left Frances and Richard. He died 1721, æt. 88; arms, Hill, impaling azure a chevron ingrailed, between 3 falcons, or, and again impaling Pratt. Another monument for Richard Hill, esq. be fore-mentioned. He married Frances Eyres, and died in 1722, s. p. and she re-married in 1723, Francis Bathurst, esq. of Franks, in Horton. On the south side is a most stately monument, on which, under an arch richly ornamented, lies the figure of a man at full length in his robes, his head resting on a cushion, the whole finely executed, and over him an inscription for Sir Thomas Smith, of Sutton-place, in this parish, governor of the EastIndia and other trading companies, treasurer of the Virginian plantation, prime undertaker in 1612, of the discovery of the north-west passage, and some time ambassador to the emperor and great duke of Russia and Muscovy, &c. &c. obt. 1625; at the top, on each side, a celestial and terrestrial globe, and between them a large shield of arms, being Smith, azure a chevron ingrailed between 3 lions passant, guardant, or, quartering 8 other coats. A memorial for Henry Smith, esq. son and heir of Robert Smith, esq. great grandson of Sir Thomas Smith beforementioned. The said Henry left by Elizabeth, only daughter of Dr. John Lloyd, prebendary of Windsor, an only child, Sydney Stafford Smith. He died in 1706, æt. 29, leaving his widow surviving. Above, the arms of Smith impaling Lloyd, at the entrance to this chancel are 2 small antient folding doors of oak carved with gothic work, on the upper part of which are scrolls, and on each door a full face, carved with a tongue, through a buckle hanging out of the mouth, being an allusion to an antient family in this parish of the name of Puckletongue; under the pew in the north isle, belonging to Hawley-house, is a vault, in which lie several of the owners of that seat, especially of the family of Leigh, to the present time. In the church yard is a vault and monument for John Lethieullier, esq. of Sutton-place, and his two wives; he died s. p. in 1760; and on the north side a tomb, and under it a vault for the Percivals, of Hawley, in this parish; and on the south side are vaults for the Saundersons, of Gillingham, and the Searles, of Hackstable. (fn. 20)
King Henry I. granted the church of Sutton, with the chapels of Kingsdown and Wilmington, with the tythes of them in corn, cattle, pannage, mills, and all other things, to the priory of St. Andrew, in Rochester. (fn. 21)
Gundulph, bishop of Rochester, who was elected to this see in the time of the Conqueror, having divided the revenues of his church between himself and his convent, allotted this church, with the chapels belonging to it, to the share of the monks, which was confirmed by king Henry II. and afterwards by Henry, bishop of Rochester. (fn. 22)
Bishop Gilbert de Glanvill, in the reign of king Richard I. on the compromise of the great dispute, which he had with the priory, concerning the gifts which bishop Gundulph, his predecessor, had made to it, granted this church, with the chapel of Wilmington, to the priory, towards the support of their almonry; and ordained, that Gilbert, then rector, should be perpetual vicar of it, paying to the monks, as for the tithes of corn, four marcs yearly; and that, after his decease, or resignation, the perpetual vicar of Sutton should have cure of souls, and in the name of his vicarage, take for his maintenance, all the altarage, as well in small tythes as in oblations, and all obventions belonging to it, except the tythe of corn; and further, that he should possess the alms-land then belonging to it, or which any one might in future give to it, excepting the court-lodge, with the buildings and the meadow belonging to the monks there. And he further ordained, that the cellarer of the priory should sustain all the burthens of it, as well in respect to the bishop as the archdeacon, except synodals, which the vicar himself should pay. It appears by the decrees of archbishop Hubert and Richard, that this appropriation was merely conditional; and it seems never to have taken place; (fn. 23) for in the year 1253, Laurence, bishop of Rochester, appropriated and confirmed to the priory this church, with the chapels of Kingsdown and Wilmington, towards the support of the almonry, in recompence for their giving up their right in the churches of Frindsbury and Dartford, which he got appropriated to his own fee, (fn. 24) provided that the cure of souls in the said church and chapel should be served, and in no wife neglected, by a proper vicar, who should be from time to time provided by the bishop, and his successors, in the church of Sutton; and to proper vicars in the said chapels, to be presented to him and his successors, by the prior and convent. This appropriation was confirmed by John, bishop of Rochester, in 1478. (fn. 25)
In consequence of the above appropriation, the paparishes of Sutton and Wilmington continued one parsonage, with two distinct vicarages; which were, at the general dissolution, surrendered, together with the other possessions of the priory of Rochester, into the hands of the crown, and were two years afterwards, anno 33 king Henry VIII. settled, by that king on the new-erected dean and chapter of Rochester, part of whose possessions they still remain.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. the church of Sutton was valued at thirty-five marcs, and the vicarage at one hundred shillings. (fn. 26)
Walter, prior, and the convent of Rochester, in the 29th year of king Henry VIII. demised for the term of eighty-five years, to Nicholas Statham, gent. this parsonage, with the presentation to the vicarage, at the yearly rent of 13l. 6s. 8d. and three bushels of wheat, at Ladytide, to the poor of Sutton and Wilmington; the said Nicholas to repair the premises, and to find straw for thatching the churches of Sutton and Wilmington.
¶By the survey taken by order of the state in December 1649, of the manor and rectory of Sutton, parcel of the then late dean and chapter of Rochester, it appears, that it then consisted of the scite, containing two large barns, a small granary, and barn-yard of two roods of land; all which were estimated at two pounds per annum, and the tythes belonging to it at seventyeight pounds per annum. All which were let, by the dean and chapter, anno 14 king Charles I. to the trustees of Ambrose Beale, for twenty-one years, at 13l. 11s. 8d. The lessee was bound to repair the chancel, and to make the usual payment to the vicar of Sutton, of twenty bushels of peas annually, and two bushels of wheat; to the vicar of Wilmington, of wheat, rye, barley, peas, one quarter each, and twenty shillings and eight-pence in money; the vicarages of the churches being excepted out of the lease.
By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of church livings, in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned, that Sutton at-Hone was a vicarage, worth sixty pounds per annum; master Robert Hazelwood then enjoying it. (fn. 27)
This vicarage was augmented by the dean and chapter, soon after the restoration, with the annual sum of ten pounds, besides which the vicar receives an old pension of four nobles, and four quarters of grain, viz. of wheat, rye, barley, and peas, one quarter of each, out of the parsonage; and two shillings annually from Sir Thomas Smith's charity.
The demesne lands belonging to the manor of St. John's, claim an exemption from tythes when in the owner's occupation, as having part of the revenues of the knights hospitallers, concerning which exemption a decree was made confirming it, anno 10 Elizabeth. (fn. 28)
There are twenty-four acres and a half of glebe land, widely dispersed in small pieces, belonging to this vicarage. It is valued in the king's books at ten pounds, and the yearly tenths at one pound. (fn. 29) The present value of the parsonage is near four hundred pounds per annum, and the yearly out goings about fifty pounds. Thomas Harris, lessee of this parsonage, who died in 1769, built near the yard, on part of the glebe, a small but neat parsonage house, in which Mr. William Mumford, the present lessee of it, till lately resided.
The court antiently held for the manor of this rectory, has been disused for a number of years.
There was an agreement concerning tythes entered into between the monks of Rochester, and the brotherhood of the knights of St. John's, in 1217; after much altercation, and an appeal to the pope, by which it was settled, that the monks should take the tythes of sheaves in the demesne lands, which the brotherhood possessed in Sutton, who were allowed a right to take all other tythes whatsoever arising therefrom. (fn. 30)
Berlin boasts two zoological gardens, a consequence of decades of political and administrative division of the city. The older one, called Zoo Berlin, founded in 1844, is situated in what is now called the "City West". It is the most species-rich zoo worldwide. The other one, called Tierpark Berlin ("Animal Park"), was established on the long abandoned premises of Friedrichsfelde Manor Park in the eastern borough of Lichtenberg, in 1954. Covering 160 ha, it is the largest landcape zoo in Europe.
Auf einer Fläche von 60.000 m² hat nun die einzigartige Tierwelt des Himalaya Einzug gehalten. Dabei begegnen den Bergsteiger*innen nicht nur bekannte Gebirgsbewohner wie Rote Pandas, Schneeleoparden und Bartgeier, sondern auch weniger bekannte Arten wie Goldtakin, Goral, Manul und Satyrtragopan. Nach einer Bauzeit von gut einem Jahr verwandelte sich der 60 Meter hohe Trümmerberg in eine asiatische Gebirgslandschaft mit zahlreichen neuen Aussichtpunkten. Rund 100 Individuen aus 22 verschiedenen – größtenteils in der Natur bedrohten - Tierarten haben in Berlins Hochgebirge ihr neues Zuhause gefunden. (Tierpark Berlin)
Auf einer Fläche von 60.000 m² hat nun die einzigartige Tierwelt des Himalaya Einzug gehalten. Dabei begegnen den Bergsteiger*innen nicht nur bekannte Gebirgsbewohner wie Rote Pandas, Schneeleoparden und Bartgeier, sondern auch weniger bekannte Arten wie Goldtakin, Goral, Manul und Satyrtragopan. Nach einer Bauzeit von gut einem Jahr verwandelte sich der 60 Meter hohe Trümmerberg in eine asiatische Gebirgslandschaft mit zahlreichen neuen Aussichtpunkten. Rund 100 Individuen aus 22 verschiedenen – größtenteils in der Natur bedrohten - Tierarten haben in Berlins Hochgebirge ihr neues Zuhause gefunden. (Quelle: Tierpark Berlin)
The unique animal world of the Himalayas has now found its way into an area of 60,000 m². Climbers will not only encounter well-known mountain dwellers such as red pandas, snow leopards and bearded vultures, but also lesser-known species such as takin, goral, Pallas'scat and satyr tragopan. After a construction period of just over a year, the 60-metre-high mountain of rubble was transformed into an Asian mountain landscape with numerous new vantage points. Around 100 individuals from 22 different animal species - most of them endangered in the wild - have found their new home in Berlin's high mountains. (Source: Tierpark Berlin)
A coolie (alternatively spelled cooli, cooly, quli, koelie, and other such variations), during the 19th and early 20th century, was a term for a locally sourced unskilled labourer hired by a company, mainly from the Indian subcontinent or Southern China.
Today, it is used varyingly as a legal inoffensive word (for example, in India for helpers carrying luggage in railway stations) and also used as a racial slur in Africa for certain people from Asia, particularly in South Africa
ETYMOLOGY
The origins of the word are uncertain but it is thought to have originated from the name of a Gujarati sect (the Kolī, who worked as day labourers) or perhaps from the Tamil word for a payment for work, kuli (கூலி). An alternative etymological explanation is that the word came from the Urdu qulī (क़ुली, قلی), which itself could be from the Turkish word for slave, qul. The word was used in this sense for labourers from India. In 1727, Dr. Engelbert Kämpfer described "coolies" as dock labourers who would unload Dutch merchant ships at Nagasaki in Japan.
The Chinese word 苦力 (pinyin: kǔlì) literally means "bitterly hard (use of) strength", in the Mandarin pronunciation.
HISTORY OF THE COOLIE TRADE
An early trade in Asian labourers is believed to have begun sometime in or around the 16th century. Social and political pressure led to the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire in 1807, with other European nations following suit. Labour-intensive industries, such as cotton and sugar plantations, mines and railway construction, in the colonies were left without a cheap source of manpower. As a consequence, a large scale slavery-like trade in Asian (primarily Indian and Chinese) indentured labourers began in the 1820s to fill this vacuum. Some of these labourers signed contracts based on misleading promises, some were kidnapped and sold into the trade, some were victims of clan violence whose captors sold them to coolie brokers, while others sold themselves to pay off gambling debts. British companies were the first to experiment with this potential new form of cheap labour in 1807, when they imported 200 Chinese men to work in Trinidad.
The coolie trade was often compared to the earlier slave trade and they accomplished very similar things.
Although there are reports of ships for Asian coolies carrying women and children, the great majority of them were men. Finally, regulations were put in place, as early as 1837 by the British authorities in India to safeguard these principles of voluntary, contractual work and safe and sanitary transportation although in practice this rarely occurred especially during examples such as the Pacific Passage or the Guano Pits of Peru. The Chinese government also made efforts to secure the well-being of their nation's workers, with representations being made to relevant governments around the world.
CHINESE COOLIES
Workers from China were mainly transported to work in Peru and Cuba, but they also worked in British colonies such as Jamaica, British Guiana (now Guyana), British Malaya, Trinidad and Tobago, British Honduras (now Belize) and in the Dutch colonies Dutch East Indies and Suriname. The first shipment of Chinese labourers was to the British colony of Trinidad in 1806.
In 1847 two ships from Cuba transported workers to Havana to work in the sugar cane fields from the port of Xiamen, one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened to the British by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The trade soon spread to other ports in Guangdong province and demand became particularly strong in Peru for workers in the silver mines and the guano collecting industry. Australia began importing workers in 1848 and the United States began using them in 1865 on the First Transcontinental Railroad construction. These workers were deceived about their terms of employment to a much greater extent than their Indian counterparts, and consequently, there was a much higher level of Chinese emigration during this period.
The trade flourished from 1847 to 1854 without incident, until reports began to surface of the mistreatment of the workers in Cuba and Peru. As the British government had political and legal responsibility for many of the ports involved, including Amoy, the trade was shut down at these places. However, the trade simply shifted to the more accommodating port in the Portuguese enclave of Macau.
Many coolies were first deceived or kidnapped and then kept in barracoons (detention centres) or loading vessels in the ports of departure, as were African slaves. In 1875, British commissioners estimated that approximately eighty percent of the workers had been abducted. Their voyages, which are sometimes called the Pacific Passage, were as inhumane and dangerous as the notorious Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade. Mortality was very high. For example, it is estimated that from 1847 to 1859, the average mortality for coolies aboard ships to Cuba was 15.2 percent, and losses among those aboard ships to Peru were 40 percent in the 1850s and 30.44 percent from 1860 to 1863.
They were sold and were taken to work in plantations or mines with very bad living and working conditions. The duration of a contract was typically five to eight years, but many coolies did not live out their term of service because of the hard labour and mistreatment. Those who did live were often forced to remain in servitude beyond the contracted period. The coolies who worked on the sugar plantations in Cuba and in the guano beds of the Chincha Islands (the islands of Hell) of Peru were treated brutally. Seventy-five percent of the Chinese coolies in Cuba died before fulfilling their contracts. More than two-thirds of the Chinese coolies who arrived in Peru between 1849 and 1874 died within the contract period. In 1860 it was calculated that of the 4000 coolies brought to the Chinchas since the trade began, not one had survived.
Because of these unbearable conditions, Chinese coolies often revolted against their Ko-Hung bosses and foreign company bosses at ports of departure, on ships, and in foreign lands. The coolies were put in the same neighbourhoods as Africans and, since most were unable to return to their homeland or have their wives come to the New World, many married African women. The coolies' interracial relationships and marriages with Africans, Europeans and Indigenous peoples, formed some of the modern world's Afro-Asian and Asian Latin American populations.
Chinese immigration to the United States was almost entirely voluntary, but working and social conditions were still harsh. In 1868, the Burlingame Treaty allowed unrestricted Chinese immigration into the country. Within a decade significant levels of anti-Chinese sentiment had built up, stoked by populists such as Denis Kearney with racist slogans - "To an American, death is preferable to life on a par with the Chinese."
Although Chinese workers contributed to the building of the first Transcontinental Railroad in the United States and of the Canadian Pacific Railway in western Canada, Chinese settlement was discouraged after completion of the construction. California's Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 and the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 contributed to the curtailment of Chinese immigration to the United States.
Notwithstanding such attempts to restrict the influx of cheap labour from China, beginning in the 1870s Chinese workers helped construct a vast network of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. These levees made thousands of acres of fertile marshlands available for agricultural production.
The 1879 Constitution of the State of California declared that "Asiatic coolieism is a form of human slavery, and is forever prohibited in this State, and all contracts for coolie labour shall be void."
Colonos asiáticos is a Spanish term for coolies. The Spanish colony of Cuba feared slavery uprisings such as those that took place in Haiti and used coolies as a transition between slaves and free labor. They were neither free nor slaves. Indentured Chinese servants also labored in the sugarcane fields of Cuba well after the 1884 abolition of slavery in that country. Two scholars of Chinese labor in Cuba, Juan Pastrana and Juan Perez de la Riva, substantiated horrific conditions of Chinese coolies in Cuba and stated that coolies were slaves in all but name. Denise Helly is one researcher who believes that despite their slave-like treatment, the free and legal status of the Asian laborers in Cuba separated them from slaves. The coolies could challenge their superiors, run away, petition government officials, and rebel according to Rodriguez Pastor and Trazegnies Granda. Once they had fulfilled their contracts the colonos asiáticos integrated into the countries of Peru, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba. They adopted cultural traditions from the natives and also welcomed in non-Chinese to experience and participate into their own traditions. Before the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Havana had Latin America's largest Chinatown.
In South America, Chinese indentured labourers worked in Peru's silver mines and coastal industries (i.e., guano, sugar, and cotton) from the early 1850s to the mid-1870s; about 100,000 people immigrated as indentured workers. They participated in the War of the Pacific, looting and burning down the haciendas where they worked, after the capture of Lima by the invading Chilean army in January 1880. Some 2000 coolies even joined the Chilean Army in Peru, taking care of the wounded and burying the dead. Others were sent by Chileans to work in the newly conquered nitrate fields.
The Chinese Engineering and Mining Corporation, of which later U.S. president Herbert Hoover was a director, was instrumental in supplying Chinese coolie labour to South African mines from c.1902 to c.1910 at the request of mine owners, who considered such labour cheaper than native African and white labour. The horrendous conditions suffered by the coolie labourers led to questions in the British parliament as recorded in Hansard.
In 1866, the British, French and Chinese governments agreed to mitigate the abuse by requiring all traders to pay for the return of all workers after their contract ended. The employers in the British West Indies declined these conditions, bringing the trade there to an end. Until the trade was finally abolished in 1875, over 150,000 coolies had been sold to Cuba alone, the majority having been shipped from Macau. These labourers endured conditions far worse than those experienced by their Indian counterparts. Even after the 1866 reforms, the scale of abuse and conditions of near slavery did not get any better - if anything they deteriorated. In the early 1870s increased media exposure of the trade led to a public outcry, and the British, as well as the Qing government, put pressure on the Portuguese authorities to bring the trade at Macau to an end; this was ultimately achieved in 1874. By that time, a total of up to half a million Chinese workers had been exported.
The term coolie was also applied to Chinese workers recruited for contracts on cacao plantations in German Samoa. German planters went to great lengths to secure access to their "coolie" labour supply from China. In 1908 a Chinese commissioner, Lin Shu Fen, reported on the cruel treatment of coolie workers on German plantations in the western Samoan Islands. The trade began largely after the establishment of colonial German Samoa in 1900 and lasted until the arrival of New Zealand forces in 1914. More than 2000 Chinese "coolies" were present in the islands in 1914 and most were eventually repatriated by the New Zealand administration.
INDIAN COOLIES
By the 1820s, many Indians were voluntarily enlisting to go abroad for work, in the hopes of a better life. European merchants and businessmen quickly took advantage of this and began recruiting them for work as a cheap source of labour. The British began shipping Indians to colonies around the world, including Mauritius, Fiji, Natal, British East Africa, and British Malaya. The Dutch also shipped workers to labour on the plantations on Suriname and the Dutch East Indies. A system of agents was used to infiltrate the rural villages of India and recruit labourers. They would often deceive the credulous workers about the great opportunities that awaited them for their own material betterment abroad. The Indians primarily came from the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but also from Tamil Nadu and other areas to the south of the country.
Without permission from the British authorities, the French attempted to illegally transport Indian workers to their sugar producing colony, the Reunion Island, from as early as 1826. By 1830, over 3000 labourers had been transported. After this trade was discovered, the French successfully negotiated with the British in 1860 for permission to transport over 6,000 workers annually, on condition that the trade would be suspended if abuses were discovered to be taking place.
The British began to transport Indians to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, starting in 1829. Slavery had been abolished with the planters receiving two million pounds sterling in compensation for the loss of their slaves. The planters turned to bringing in a large number of indentured labourers from India to work in the sugar cane fields. Between 1834 and 1921, around half a million indentured labourers were present on the island. They worked on sugar estates, factories, in transport and on construction sites.
In 1837, the Raj issued a set of regulations for the trade. The rules provided for each labourer to be personally authorised for transportation by an officer designated by the Government, it limited the length of service to five years subject to voluntary renewal, it made the contractor responsible for returning the worker after the contract elapsed and required the vessels to conform to basic health standards
Despite this, conditions on the ships were often extremely crowded, with rampant disease and malnutrition. The workers were paid a pittance for their labour, and were expected to work in often awful and harsh conditions. Although there were no large scale scandals involving coolie abuse in British colonies, workers often ended up being forced to work, and manipulated in such a way that they became dependent on the plantation owners so that in practice they remained there long after their contracts expired; possibly as little as 10% of the coolies actually returned to their original country of origin. Colonial legislation was also passed to severely limit their freedoms; in Mauritius a compulsory pass system was instituted to enable their movements to be easily tracked. Conditions were much worse in the French colonies of Reunion and Guadeloupe and Martinique, where workers were 'systematically overworked' and abnormally high mortality rates were recorded for those working in the mines.
However, there were also attempts by the British authorities to regulate and mitigate the worst abuses. Workers were regularly checked up on by health inspectors, and they were vetted before transportation to ensure that they were suitably healthy and fit to be able to endure the rigours of labour. Children under the age of 15 were not allowed to be transported from their parents under any circumstances.
The first campaign against the 'coolie' trade in England likened the system of indentured labour to the slavery of the past. In response to this pressure, the labour export was temporarily stopped in 1839 by the authorities when the scale of the abuses became known, but it was soon renewed due to its growing economic importance. A more rigorous regulatory framework was put into place and severe penalties were imposed for infractions in 1842. In that year, almost 35,000 people were shipped to Mauritius.
In 1844, the trade was expanded to the colonies in the West Indies, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Demerara, where the Asian population was soon a major component of the island demographic.
Starting in 1879, many Indians were transported to Fiji to work on the sugar cane plantations. Many of them chose to stay after their term of indenture elapsed and today they number about 40% of the total population. Indian workers were also imported into the Dutch colony of Suriname after the Dutch signed a treaty with the United Kingdom on the recruitment of contract workers in 1870. In Mauritius, the Indian population are now demographically dominant, with Indian festivals being celebrated as national holidays.
This system prevailed until the early twentieth century. Increasing focus on the brutalities and abuses of the trade by the sensationalist media of the time, incited public outrage and lead to the official ending of the coolie trade in 1916 by the British government. By that time tens of thousands of Chinese workers were being used along the Western Front by the allied forces (see Chinese Labour Corps).
SEX RATIOS AND INTERMARRIAGE AMONG COOLIES
A major difference between the Chinese coolie trade and the Indian coolie trade was that the Chinese coolies were all male, while East Indian women (from India) were brought alongside men as coolies. This led to a high rate of Chinese men marrying women of other ethnicities like Indian women and mixed race Creole women. Indian women and children were brought alongside Indian men as coolies while Chinese men made up 99% of Chinese colonies. The contrast with the female to male ratio among Indian and Chinese immigrants has been compared by historians. In Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies just 18,731 Chinese women and 92,985 Chinese men served as coolies on plantations. Chinese women migrated less than Javanese and Indian women as indentured coolies. The number of Chinese women as coolies was "very small" while Chinese men were easily taken into the coolie trade. In Cuba men made up the vast majority of Chinese indentured servants on sugar plantations and in Peru non-Chinese women married the mostly male Chinese coolies.
Chinese women were scarce in every place where Chinese indentured laborers were brought, the migration was dominated by Chinese men. Up to the 1940s men made up the vast majority of the Costa Rican Chinese community. Males made up the majority of the original Chinese community in Mexico and they married Mexican women.
In the early 1900s, the Chinese communities in Manila, Singapore, Mauritius, New Zealand, Victoria in Australia, the United States, and Victoria in British Columbia in Canada were all male dominated.
WIKIPEDIA
And it's been awhile
Since I can say that I wasn't addicted
And it's been awhile
Since I can say I love myself as well
And it's been awhile
Since I've gone and fucked things up just like I always do
And it's been awhile
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you
And everything I can't remember
As fucked up as it all may seem
The consequences that I've rendered
I've gone and fucked things up again
Why must I feel this way?
Just make this go away
Just one more peaceful day!
It's Been a While (Staind)
Tuesday 22 November 2016, saw local Greater Manchester Police officers join HMP Manchester Community Team in a visit to St. Edward’s RC Priamry School in Lees, Oldham as part of the ‘Actions Have Consequences’ campaign.
‘Actions Have Consequences’ workshops inform pupils on how their actions can affect them and their local community and the negative outcomes that could occur if they were to stray off the beaten track.
Subjects include nuisance 999 calls, bullying, anti-social behaviour, stranger danger, internet safety as well as others. Although the workshops carry a serious message, they are structured to be fun, informative and engaging.
The HMP Community Team gave the young people an idea of the harsh reality of prison life and the dangers of knife and gang-related crime.
To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.
You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
It took China long way to develop and produce a true supersonic fighter aircraft: in March, 1964, Shenyang Aircraft Factory began the first domestic production of the J-7 jet fighter. However, the mass production of the aircraft, which had been developed through Soviet help, license production and reverse-engineering, was severely hindered by an unexpected problem—the Cultural Revolution. This incident and its consequences resulted in poor initial quality and slow progress.
This, in turn, resulted in full scale production only coming about in the 1980s, by which time the J-7 design was showing its age. However, through the years the J-7 saw constant development and refinement in China.
One of the many directions of the prolific J-7 family was the J-7III series, later re-coded J-7C. This variant was in so far special, as it was not based on the 1st generation MiG-21F. It was rather a reverse-engineered MiG-21MF obtained from Egypt, but just like the Soviet ejection seat, the original Soviet radar failed to impress Chinese, so a domestic Chinese radar was developed for the aircraft called the "JL-7". JL-7 is a 2 cm wavelength mono pulse fire radar weighing 100 kg, with a maximum range of 28 km, and MTBF is 70 hours.
However, due to the limitation of Chinese avionics industry in the 1980s, the performance of the domestic Chinese fire control radars were not satisfactory, because due to their relatively large size, the nosecone had to be enlarged, resulting in decrease in aerodynamic performance of the series. As a result, only very limited numbers of this series were built.
The J-7III prototypes comprised a series of a total of 5 aircraft, equipped with domestically developed HTY-3 ejection seat and KL-11 auto pilot. These machines had to be powered by the domestic WP-7 engine (a copy of the MiG-21F's Tumansky R-11) because the intended WP-13F (a license build of the Tumansky R-13) failed to meet the original schedule. The J-7III was planned to enter service in 1985, but due to the delay of WP-13 development, it was not until 1987 when the design was finally certified.
Production of the true J-7C fighter started in 1989, when the WP-13 became available, but only a total of 17 were built until 1996. It was soon superseded by the J-7IIIA, the prototype of the more sophisticated J-7D. This upgraded all-weather fighter was equipped with KJ-11A auto pilot, JD-3II TACAN, ADS-1 air data computer, Type 563B INS, WL-7A radio compass, Type 256 radar altimeter, TKR-122 radio, 930-4 RWR, 941-4A decoy launcher, and an improved JL-7A radar.
The fighter was to be armed with PL-7 & PL-8 AAMs and carried a twin 23 mm gun (a copy of the MiG-21MF's ventral GSh-23-2 cannon). A HK-13A HUD replaced HK-03D optical sight in earlier models. The upgraded JL-7A fire control radar had look-down/shoot-down capability added.
The production J-7D received an uprated WP-13FI engine, and initial certification was received in November 1994, but it was not until more than a year later in December 1995 when the model was finally fully certified due to the need to certify the WP-13FI on the aircraft. But, again, the results were not satisfactory and only 32 were built until 1999.
Even though the J-7C and D had been developed from a much more modern basis than the earlier MiG-21F derivatives, the "new" type offered - except for the more capable radar and the all-weather capability - no considerable benefit, was even less manoueverable in dogfight situations, more complex and expensive, and also had a very limited range. What was needed was a revolutionary step forward.
Such a proposal came from Chengdu Aircraft Corporation's general designer Mr. Wang Zi-fang (王子方) in 1998, who had already worked on the J-7D. He proposed the addition of fuselage elements that would partly replace the inner wing sections and create lift, but also offer additional room for more and better avionics, allowing the carriage of state-of-the-art weaponry like the PL-11 AAM, together with more internal fuel. Furthermore, the adaptation of the WS-13 turbofan, a new engine for which project work had just started and which would improve both range and performance of the modified aircraft.
In 2000, while an alternative design, the J-7FS, had been under parallel development and cleared for service by then, CAC received green lights for a developmental technology demonstrator under the label J-7DS (S stands for Shi-yan, 试验, meaning "experimental" in Chinese).
While the general third generation MiG-21 outlines were retained, the blended wing/body sections - certainly inspired by US American types like the F-16 and the F-18 - and a new, taller fin changed overall proportions considerably. Esp. from above, the bigger wing planform with extended LERXes (reminiscent of the MiG Analog experimental delta wing aircraft that were used during the Tu-144 development in the Soviet union) created the impression of a much more massive and compact aircraft, even though the dimenions remained unchanged.
Thanks to the additional space in the BWB sections, new and better equipment could be installed, and the aerodynamics were changed, too. For instance, the J-7's air brakes under the forward fuselage were deleted and replaced by a new pair of splayed design, stabilizing the aircraft more effectively in a dive. The single air brake in front of the ventral fin was retained, though, as well as the blown flaps from the MiG-21MF.
The ventral gun pod with a domestic copy of the GSh-23-2 was also deleted; this space, together with the air brake compartment, was now used for a semi-recessed laser range finder, so that guided ammunition could be deployed. But a gun was retained: a new, more effective Type 30-I 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon (a copy of the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1) with 150 rounds was placed into the port LERX, under the cockpit.
Inside of the LERX on the other side, compartments for new avionics (esp. for the once more upgraded JL-7B fire control radar) were added. With this radar and weapons like the PL-11 missile, the aircraft finally achieved the long desired BVR interception capability.
Flanking the new, longer WS-13 engine, the BWBs held extra fuel tanks. For en even more extended range and loiter time, provisions were made for a fixed air-refuelling probe on the starboard side under the cockpit.
Under the inner wings, an additional pair of pylons was added (for a total of seven), and overall ordnance load could be raised to 3.000 kg (6.600 lb).
The first J-7DS first flew in summer 2005, still only powered by an WP-13I engine, for a 22-month test program. Three prototypes were built, but only the first two aircraft were to fly – the third machine was only used for static tests.
The driving force behind this program was actually the PLANAF, the People's Liberation Army, Naval Air Force (中國人民解放軍海軍航空兵). While the Chinese Air Force rather placed its bet on the more modern and sophisticated Chengdu J-10 fighter, the PLANAF was rather looking for a more simple and inexpensive multi-role combat aircraft that could carry out both air defence and strike missions, and replace the ageing (and rather ineffective) J-8 fighters and Q-5 attack aircraft, as well as early J-7II fighters with limited all-weather capability. Consequently, the type was only operated by the PLANAF from 2010 onwards and received the official designation J-7DH ("H" for 海军 [Haijun] = Navy).
Production was still continuing in small numbers in late 2016, but the number of built specimen is uncertain. About 150 J-7DH are supposed to be in active service, mostly with PLANAF Northern and East Fleet units. Unlike many former J-7 variants (including its ancestor, the PLAAF's more or less stillborn C and D variants), the J-7DH was not offered for export.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 14.61 m (47 ft 10½ in)
15.69 m (51 ft 5 in) with pitot
Wingspan: 7,41 m (24 ft 3½ in)
Height: 4.78 m (15 ft 8½ in)
Wing area: 28.88 m² (309.8 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 2.8:1
Empty weight: 5,892 kg (12.977 lb)
Loaded weight: 8,240 kg (18.150 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 9,800 kg (21.585 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Guizhou WS-13 turbofan with a dry thrust of 51.2 kN (11,510 lbf)
and 84.6 kN (19,000 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.0, 2,200 km/h (1.189 knots, 1.375 mph)
Stall speed: 210 km/h (114 knots, 131 mph) IAS
Combat radius: 1.050 km (568 nmi, 652 mi) (air superiority, two AAMs and three drop tanks)
Ferry range: 2,500 km (1.350 nmi, 1.550 mi)
Service ceiling: 17,500 m (57.420 ft)
Rate of climb: 195 m/s (38.386 ft/min)
Armament:
1× Type 30-I 30mm (1.18") cannon with 150 rounds in the port forward fuselage;
7× hardpoints (6× under-wing, 1× centerline under-fuselage) with a capacity of 3,000 kg maximum (up to 500 kg each); Ordnance primarily comprises air-to-air missiles, including PL-2, PL-5, PL-7, PL-8, PL-9 and PL-11 AAMs, but in a secondary CAS role various rocket pods an unguided bombs of up to 500kg caliber can be carried
The kit and its assembly:
Another Chinese whif, and again a MiG-21 derivative - a fruitful source of inspiration. The J-7DH is not based ona real world project, though, but was rather inspired by an article about a Chinese 2020 update for the MiG-21 from Japan, including some drawings and artwork.
The latter depicted a late MiG-21 with some minor mods, but also some characteristic F-16 parts like the chines and the BWB flanks grafted to it - and it looked good!
Since I recently butchered an Intech F-16 for my Academy T-50 conversion (primariliy donation the whole landing gear, including the wells), I had a donor kit at ahnd, and I also found a Mastercraft MiG-21MF in my stash without a true plan. So I combined both for "something Chinese"...
The build was pretty starightforward - except for the fact that the Intech F-16 is a rather clumsy affair (donating the fin and the fuselage flanks) and that no part from the Mastercraft MiG-21 matches with another one! Lots of improvisation and mods were necessary.
On the other side, the F-16 parts were just glued onto the MiG-21 fuselage and blended into one with putty (in several layers, though).
The fin was taken wholesale from the F-16, but clipped by about 5mm at the top. I originally wanted to use F-16 wings with wing tip launch rails and the stabilizers, too, but when I held them to the model it looked wacky - so I reverted to the Fishbed parts. The stabilizers were taken OOB, but the wing span was reduced at the roots, so that the original MiG-21 wing span was retained. Only the landing gear wells had to be adapted accordingly, but that was easier than expected and the result looks very organic.
With more wing area, I added a third pair of hardpoints under the wing roots, and I kept the gun under the cockpit in the LERX. That offered room inside of the fuselage, filled by a laser rangefinder in a canoe fairing where the original gun used to be.
On the tail, a new jet nozzle was mounted, on the fuselage some air scoops and antennae were added an an IR sensor on the nose. A new seat was used in the cockpit instead of the poor L-shaped OOB thing. The PL-2 & -11 ordnance consists of simple AIM-9Bs and slightly modified AIM-120, plus some launch rails from the scrap box.
Paintings and markings:
Modern Chinese military aircraft are hardly benchmarks for creative paint schemes - and the only "realistic" option in this case would have been a uniform grey livery. The original J-7C PLAAF night fighters carried a high contrast sand/dark green/light blue livery, similar to the MiG-21 export scheme (a.k.a. "Pumpkin"), but I found the latter not suitabel for a naval operator.
I eventually found a compromise, using one of the J-7C schemes as pattern but using grey tones instead - still not very colorful, but the "clover" patterns would help disrupt the aircraft's outlines and support the modern look and feel of this whif.
Basic colors are Humbrol 140 (Dark Gull Grey, FS 36231) and 165 (RAF Medium Sea Grey) from above, plus 122 (IAF Pale Blue, FS 35622) on the undersides. With the dark grey pattern placed with no direct connection to the Pale Blue undersides, there's even a blending effect between the tones - not spectacular, but IMHO effective.
The cockpit interior became pale teal (a mix of Soviet Cockpit Blue and white), while the landing gear wells were painted with a mix of Humbrol 56, 119 and 225 - for a yellow-ish, dull metallic brown. The wheel discs became bright green (Humbrol 131), and any di-electric panel and the radome became deep green (Humbrol 2).
The decals come from a Begemot MiG-21 sheet (roundels), while the tactical 5-digit code comes from an Airfix 1:72 B-17 sheet. The yellow code is a bit unusual, as well as its place on the fin, but both occur on Chinese fighters.
The code itself is based on the information published in the 2010 book “Chinese Air Power” by Yefim Gordon und Dmitriy Komissarov, where the Chinese code system is explained – I hope that it is more or less authentic.
The kit received a light black ink wash and some dry painting with lighter blue-grey shades, but no weathering, since modern Chinese aircraft tend to look pretty clean and pristine. Since the kits both did not feature much surface details, and a lot of the few OOB details got lost during the PSR process for the BWB wing sections, I painted some details and panel lines with a soft pencil - a compromise, though. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
The result is a pretty subtle whif, and with the F-16 parts added the result even looks very conclusive! From above, the extra fuselage width makes the Fishbed look very massive, which is underlined by the extended stabilizer span. But I think that retailing the original MiG-21 delta wing was a good decision, because it helps retaining the Fishbed's "fast" look.
I am just not 100% happy with the finish - but for the crappy kits I used as basis it's O.K.
Berlin boasts two zoological gardens, a consequence of decades of political and administrative division of the city. The older one, called Zoo Berlin, founded in 1844, is situated in what is now called "City West". It is the most species-rich zoo worldwide. The other one, called Tierpark Berlin ("Animal Park"), was established on the long abandoned premises of Friedrichsfelde Palace Park in the eastern borough of Lichtenberg, in 1954. Covering 160 ha, it is the largest landcape zoo in Europe, but with less species.
City of Truth or Consequences ( T OR C ) Police dept 2006-10 Dodge Charger in early 2016 to present graphics. Photo take at the only full service car wash in Sierra County NM . T or C is the county seat .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
photo courtesy of Candy H
Major Richard "Dick" D. Winters (January 21, 1918 – January 2, 2011) was a United States Army officer and decorated war veteran. He commanded Company "E", 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II.
Winters parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, and fought across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany. Later in the war, Winters rose to command the 2nd Battalion. Following the end of hostilities Winters was discharged from the army and returned to civilian life, working in New Jersey.
In 1951, during the Korean War, Winters was recalled to the Army from the inactive list and briefly served as a regimental planning and training officer on staff at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Although issued orders for deployment, he was not sent to Korea. After his discharge he worked at a few different jobs before founding his own company and selling farming products.
Winters was featured in a number of books and was portrayed in the 2001 HBO mini-series Band of Brothers by Damian Lewis. He was a regular guest lecturer at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He retired in 1997. He was the last of the Easy Company commanders to die.
Winters enlisted in the army on August 25, 1941, in order to shorten his time in service. In September he underwent basic training at Camp Croft, South Carolina. Afterwards he remained at Camp Croft to help train draftees and other volunteers, while the rest of his battalion was deployed to Panama. In April 1942 he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was there he met his friend Lewis Nixon, with whom he would serve throughout the war in the 101st Airborne Division. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduation from OCS on July 2, 1942.
During the course of his officer training, Winters reached the decision that he wanted to join the parachute infantry. Upon completing training he returned to Camp Croft to train another draft as there were no positions available in the paratroopers at that time. After five weeks he received orders to join the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa (formerly Camp Toombs) in Georgia.
He arrived at Toccoa in mid-August 1942 and was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, serving under First Lieutenant (later Captain) Herbert Sobel. Company E was also known as "Easy Company" per the contemporaneous Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. Initially he served as a platoon leader in charge of 2nd Platoon, but later, in October 1942, he was promoted to first lieutenant and became the acting company executive officer, although this was not made official until May 1943. The 506th PIR was an experimental unit, being the first regiment to undertake airborne training as a formed unit. As many of the men had very little previous military experience the training at Toccoa was necessarily very tough and as a consequence there was a high level of personnel wastage. Indeed, of the 500 officers who had volunteered, only 148 successfully completed the course. The enlisted men had it equally tough, with only 1,800 men being selected out of 5,300 volunteers.
On June 10, 1943, the 506th PIR was officially attached to the 101st Airborne Division. Later in the year they embarked on the Samaria bound forEngland, arriving there on September 15, 1943, and disembarking in Liverpool. They then proceeded to Aldbourne, in Wiltshire where they began an intense training program designed to make the regiment ready for the invasion of Europe that was planned for 1944.
It was while Easy Company was based at Aldbourne that the tension and competition that had been brewing between Winters and Sobel came to a head in November–December 1943. Winters had privately held concerns over Sobel's ability to lead the company in combat for some time before this and many of the enlisted men in the company had come to respect Winters for his competence and had also developed their own concerns about Sobel's leadership. Winters has stated that he never wanted to compete with Sobel for command of Easy Company. However, the situation became out of hand when Sobel attempted to bring Winters up on charges for failure to carry out a lawful order. Feeling that his punishment was unjust, Winters requested that the charge be tried by court martial. When Winters' punishment was set aside by the battalion commander, Sobel proceeded to charge Winters with another, separate charge the following day. While the investigation was being undertaken, Winters was transferred to the headquarters company and appointed as the battalion mess officer.
Following this, though Winters tried to talk them out of it, a number of the company's noncommissioned officers (NCOs) gave the regimental commander, Colonel Robert Sink, an ultimatum: either Sobel be replaced, or they would hand back their stripes. Sink was not impressed and several of the NCOs were subsequently demoted and transferred out of the company. Nevertheless, he realised that something had to be done and decided Sobel had to be replaced. Sobel was transferred and given command of a newly formed parachute training school. Winters' court martial was set aside and he returned to Easy Company as platoon leader of 1st Platoon. Despite their personality clash, Winters later stated he felt that at least part of Easy Company's success had been due to Sobel's strenuous training and high expectations . In February 1944, First Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III was given command of Easy Company.
Meehan remained in command of the company until the Normandy invasion, when at approximately 1:15 a.m. on June 6, 1944, the C-47 Skytrain transport the company headquarters section was in was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire, killing everyone on board. Winters jumped that night and landed safely near Sainte-Mère-Église. After having lost his weapon during the drop, he was able to orient himself, collect several paratroopers, including members of the 82nd Airborne, and proceed toward the unit's assigned objective near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Without knowing the fate of Lieutenant Meehan, Winters became the acting commanding officer of Easy Company for the duration of the Normandy campaign.
Later that day, Winters led an attack that destroyed a battery of German 105 mm howitzers which were firing onto the causeways that served as the principal exits from Utah Beach. The Americans estimated that the guns were defended by approximately one platoon of 50 German troops, while Winters had 13 men. This action south of the village of Le Grand-Chemin has been called the Brécourt Manor Assault. Aspects of the attack have been taught at the military academy at West Point as an example of an assault on a fixed position. In addition to destroying the battery, Winters also obtained a map detailing German gun emplacements in the Utah Beach area.
On July 1, 1944, Winters was told that he had been promoted to captain. The next day he was presented with the Distinguished Service Cross by General Omar N. Bradley, who was then the commanding officer of the First Army. Shortly after the 506th was withdrawn from France and returned to Aldbourne in England for reorganisation.
In September 1944, the 506th PIR took part in Operation Market Garden, an airborne operation in the Netherlands. On October 5, 1944, a German force launched an attack on the 2nd Battalion's flank, and threatened to break through the American lines. At the same time, four men in an Easy Company patrol were wounded. Returning to the headquarters, they reported that they had encountered a large group of Germans at a crossroads about 1,300 yards to the east of the company command post. Realising the seriousness of the situation, Winters took one squad from 1st Platoon, and moved off toward the crossroads, where they observed a German machine gun firing to the south, toward the battalion headquarters. After surveying the position, Winters then led the squad in an assault on the gun crew. Soon after taking the position, the squad took fire from a German position opposite them. Estimating that this position was held by at least a platoon, Winters called for reinforcements from the rest of the 1st Platoon, and led them in an assault. Later it was discovered there were at least 300 Germans.
On October 9, Winters became the battalion executive officer. Although this position was normally held by major, Winters filled it while still a captain.
On December 16, 1944, German forces launched a counter-offensive against the Western Allies in Belgium. After the 101st Airborne was moved by truck to the Bastogne area on December 18. Still serving as executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, Winters took part in the defence of the line northeast of Bastogne near the town of Foy during what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. The entire 101st Airborne and elements of the 10th Armored Division battled about 15 German divisions, supported by heavy artillery and armour, for nearly a week before the U.S. Third Army broke through the German lines surrounding Bastogne.
After being relieved, the 2nd Battalion carried out an attack on Foy on January 9, 1945. On March 8, 1945, following the 2nd Battalion's move to Haguenau, Winters was promoted to major and shortly afterward he was made acting battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, when Lieutenant Colonel Strayer was elevated to the regimental staff. Second Battalion saw little combat after this.
In April the battalion carried out defensive duties along the Rhine, before deploying to Bavaria later in the month. In early May the 101st Airborne Division received orders to capture Berchtesgaden. The 2nd Battalion set out from Thalham, Germany, through streams of surrendering German soldiers, and led the way to the alpine retreat, reaching the town at noon on May 5, 1945. They were still there when the war ended three days later on May 8, 1945.
After the end of hostilities Winters remained in Europe as the process of occupation and demobilisation began. Even though he had enough points to return to the United States, he was told that he was needed in Germany. Later, he was offered a Regular commission, but declined it. He finally embarked from Marseilles aboard the Wooster Victory on November 4, 1945. He was separated from the Army on November 29, 1945 although he was not officially discharged until January 22, 1946 and he remained on terminal leave until then.
Winters was recommended for the Medal of Honour for his leadership at Brécourt Manor, but due to the quota system which limited the distribution of the award to only one per division, and since one Medal of Honour had already been awarded—to Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole—the recommendation was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the U.S. Army's second highest award for combat valour. After the release of the Band of Brothers television miniseries, a letter-writing campaign to have Winters awarded the Medal of Honour began, but so far without success. Currently, Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) introducedHR 3121 (111th) "To authorise and request the President to award the Medal of Honour to Richard D. Winters, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, for acts of valour on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, while an officer in the 101st Airborne Division." The bill has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
He was discharged from the army and became a production supervisor at an adhesive plaster mill in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1951, he and his wife Ethel bought a small farm where later Winters built their farmhouse and together they raised two children. In 1972, he went in to business for himself, starting his own company and selling animal feed products to farmers throughout Pennsylvania. Soon afterward, he moved his family to Hershey, Pennsylvania. He finally retired in 1997.
During the 1990s, Winters was featured in a number of books and television series about his experiences and those of the men in Easy Company. In 1992, Stephen Ambrose wrote the book Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, which was subsequently turned into an HBO mini-series Band of Brothers. Winters was also the subject of the 2005 book Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, written by Larry Alexander. His own memoir, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, co-written by military historian and retired U.S. Army Colonel Cole C. Kingseed, was published in early 2006. He also gave a number of lectures on leadership to cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
On May 16, 2009, Franklin and Marshall College conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters upon Winters.
Despite the many accolades he had received, Winters remained humble about his service. During the interview segment of the miniseries Band of Brothers, Winters quoted a passage from a letter he received from Sergeant Mike Ranney, "I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said 'No… but I served in a company of heroes.'"
Winters, a resident of Hershey, Pennsylvania, died on January 2, 2011, at an assisted living facility in nearby Campbelltown, Pennsylvania. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years. Winters had requested a private, unannounced funeral service, which was held on January 8, 2011.
Winters was buried in the Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, in a private ceremony. He is buried next to his parents in the Winters family plot. His grave is marked Richard D. Winters WW II 101st Airborne.
Military Awards
Distinguished Service Cross
Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart
Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster
American Defence Service Medal
National Defence Service Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 service stars and arrow device
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
Croix de guerre with palm
French Liberation Medal
Oorlogskruis with palm
Belgian WWII Service Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Parachutist Badge with 2 combat stars
Medal of the City of Eindhoven