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January 2023.
Visit to Museum of London Docklands to see the 'Executions' exhibition. The first publicly recorded executions at Tyburn was in 1196; the last public execution in 1868. By the end of the 18th century over 200 crimes were punishable by death.
This was in Block 11 of Auschwitz 1. This wall was where prisoners were stripped naked and forced to stand until they were shot to death. While the brick wall is original, the execution wall was taken down and replaced with a replica.
The Execution of Admiral Byng, 14 March 1757.
"A painting showing the execution of Admiral the Hon. John Byng by firing squad, on the quarterdeck of his former flagship, 'Monarch', at Portsmouth, after he was found guilty by court-martial of failing to do his utmost in preventing the French capture of Minorca in 1756, at the start of the Seven Years War.
Byng had been ordered to sail from England to Gibraltar with ten ships to land reinforcements for the garrison there. He was then to pursue the French fleet, which he learnt had sailed from Toulon under the command of the Duc de Richelieu and had captured Minorca, an important British-held island at the time. The French had taken the whole island with the exception of the fortress and castle of St. Philip where the British commandant, General Blakeney, and a small force were besieged. When Byng informed the Lords of the Admiralty of this he also criticized the wretched condition of the ships under his command, the neglected state of the magazines and storehouses at Gibraltar, and the general lack of facilities to refit the fleet for serious action.
Byng's subsequent engagement with Richelieu was inconclusive, as many such events of the time were for various unexceptional reasons. However, he compounded initial failure by accepting the subsequent opinion of a council of war of his commanders, that nothing further could be attempted given the state of the fleet. This left the French to secure the surrender of Blakeney's force and their hold on the island. The result was Byng's arrest and imprisonment at Greenwich Hospital prior to a month-long trial at Portsmouth in which, in effect, he was made a scapegoat for government failure to send out a force adequate to the task, and under a more experienced fighting commander. Contemporary accounts reveal that he bore the trial and sentence with great fortitude. It took place on board the 'St George' under the presidency of Commodore Thomas Smith (1707-62) who on 27 January 1757, and as required by the Articles of War, pronounced sentence on him after he was he was found guilty of neglect of duty for not doing his utmost to take, sink, burn and destroy the enemy ships. The court none the less made a strong recommendation for clemency on the grounds of Byng's personal courage in the action but George II refused to grant it. On Monday, 14 March 1757, all the men-of-war at Spithead were ordered to send their boats with the captains and all the officers of each ship, accompanied with a party of marines under arms, to attend Byng's execution on the 'Monarch'. As a result there was a prodigious number of other boats round the ship, although the painting gives no indication of this.
The scene is viewed from the break of the quarterdeck, aft to the coach and mizzen mast, but with no sign of the wheel. To the left of the mast the firing party of nine marines is drawn up in three lines. The first is shown on one knee and firing, the second is standing and firing, and the third has muskets grounded. A halberdier stands behind them. Their officer is in the left foreground, his hat under his left arm, with his back to the viewer. To his left is a group of senior officers and officials. In the background, behind the firing party, is a row of what appear to be junior officers.
To the right of the mast Admiral Byng is shown in full-dress uniform, blindfolded and kneeling on a cushion, facing the firing party. He had wanted to have his face uncovered but his friends felt eye contact might intimidate the marines and prevent them from taking aim properly. He allegedly threw his hat on the deck, knelt on a cushion, tied one white handkerchief over his eyes and dropped the other as a signal for his executioners, who fired a volley. In the painting he has just dropped the handkerchief from his right hand as the signal to fire. In the right foreground a man facing away from the viewer holds a scroll that is probably the execution order. On the right two of the admiral's supporters are shown in tears. One is thought to be George Lawrence, Byng's secretary, to whom he had just given his watch.
A contemporary engraving by Bowles shows a similar scene, although Byng is not in uniform. The origin of the painting is unclear and although it is traditionally thought to be the original from which the engraving was taken, it is in fact more likely that the painting was made from the engraving, since contemporary accounts state that Byng wore a light grey coat at his execution. The episode provoked the French writer Voltaire's famous remark, in his novel 'Candide', that in England 'it is thought good to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others'. Scarcely less memorable, if less known, is the bald line in the Master of the 'Monarch's' log recording the execution: 'at 12 Mr Byng was shot dead by 6 Marines and put into his coffin'. To that extent at least the painting seems accurately to reflect the facts. An unnamed seaman, who attended Byng at his execution and testified (as did others) to the bravery with which he met his fate, was still alive as a Greenwich Pensioner as late as 1835."
collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11872.html
"14th March 1757 Admiral Sir John Byng is executed following a court Martial that found him guilty of "Failing to do his upmost"
Byng had been sent to relieve the Island of Minorca in April 1756 which was under attack by the French. He noted to the Admiralty that he had been given neither the time nor money to prepare properly and that his fleet was not in the best of condition and short handed.
He managed to get his ships fully crewed before leaving for Gibraltar. Here the governor refused to reinforce Byngs squadron and he was also forced to land his Marines to take on board the soldiers required to relieve the garrison on Minorca.
He arrived off Minorca on the 19th May and attempted to contact the Garrison. On the 20th he fought and inconclusive action with the French and 4 days later decided after a council of war to return to Gibraltar concluding that the Island was already lost to the French. Whilst at Gibraltar he was summoned back to England where he was placed in custody awaiting Court Martial.
The Garrison on Minorca held out until the 29th June.
The Court Martial commenced on 28th December and concluded 4 weeks later on the 27th January. Whilst cleared of Cowardice Byng was found guilty of failing to do his upmost to relieve the Island of Minorca.
He was convicted under the articles of War (A set of regulations drawn up to govern the conduct of a Britain's military in the wake of the Glorious Revolution) which had been altered 10 years before following the execution of Lieutenant Baker Philips.
Philips had been found guilt following the loss of his ship HMS Anglesea. Though it was clear the the Capt and other senior officers were more culpable they had all been killed at the outset of the battle leaving Philips in Command. The Court Martial whilst finding him guilty asked for clemency due to his age and inexperience. This was not given but the fall out was to effect Byng 10 years later.
It was believed that had Philips been a Capt or more senior officer he would not have been executed. Therefore the Articles of War were amended to become one law for all, the death penalty for any officer of any rank who did not do his utmost against the enemy in battle or pursuit.
Thus on the 27th Jan 1757 once the court determined that Byng had "failed to do his utmost", it had no discretion over punishment under the Articles of War. In accordance with those Articles the court condemned Byng to death, but unanimously recommended that the Lords of the Admiralty ask King George II to exercise his royal prerogative of mercy. This the king refused and also when the 1st Sea Lord approached him he turned down the request for clemency again.
There were several other attempts but these were all turned down so that on the 14th May 1757 aboard HMS Monarch Byng was executed by firing squad on the quarterdeck in the presence of all hands and men from other ships of the fleet in boats surrounding HMS Monarch. The admiral knelt on a cushion and signified his readiness by dropping his handkerchief, whereupon a squad of Royal Marines shot him dead.
The fall out from Byngs execution, with many in Parliament believing the Admiralty where, just as much at fault for the loss at Minorca, due to the poor manning and repair of the fleet, would rumble, on but Byng would remain the only Admiral to be executed.
22 years later the Articles of War were changed again with an alternative to execution being, to allow "such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offence shall be found to deserve"
In 2007, some of Byng's descendants petitioned the government for a posthumous pardon. The Ministry of Defence refused.
Members of his family to this day continue to seek a pardon.
Byng's execution has been called "the worst legalistic crime in the nation's annals". However some believe that it indirectly lead to future Naval Officers being far more tenacious and aggressive and giving the Royal Navy that edge which lead to 200 years of Naval Dominance.
Naval historian N. A. M. Rodger sums up the influence it had on the behaviour of later naval officers stating
"a culture of aggressive determination which set British officers apart from their foreign contemporaries, and which in time gave them a steadily mounting psychological ascendancy. More and more in the course of the century, and for long afterwards, British officers encountered opponents who expected to be attacked, and more than half expected to be beaten, so that the latter went into action with an invisible disadvantage which no amount of personal courage or numerical strength could entirely make up for." Jeff Hancock
On the other hand, "Strafford led to Execution," when Laud stretches his lawn-covered arms out of the small high window of his cell to give him a blessing as he passes along the corridor, is perfect; and the splendid scene of Richelieu in his gorgeous barge, preceding the boat containing Cinq-Mars and De Thou carried to execution by their guards, is perhaps the most dramatic semi-historical work ever done. His 1835 "Assassination of the duc de Guise at Blois" is an exacting historical study was well a dramatic insight into human nature. Other important Delaroche works include "The Princes in the Tower" and the "La Jeune Martyr" (Young female Martyr floating dead on the Tiber).
The judges who had upheld Charles's financial exactions in the Courts were arrested and imprisoned, and so was Archbishop Laud, who was beheaded in 1645. But the principal victim was Strafford. He was charged with having tried to 'subvert the fundamental laws and government of England and Ireland, and instead thereof to introduce an in March arbitrary and tyrannical government against law'. 1641 he was brought to Westminster Hall to be tried for high treason. But his accusers were at once faced with a difficult point. Strafford may have tried to 'subvert the laws'; but treason meant treason to the king, and had Strafford been a traitor to Charles? It was difficult to prove that he had, and as the trial proceeded it became clear that the verdict would be Not Guilty. But the Puritan majority in the House was determined that Strafford should die. Parliament therefore passed a special Bill of Attainder, condemning the minister to death without trial.
The Lords passed the Bill of Attainder, and it remained for the king to give or to withhold his consent. Some may think that it was Charles's duty to risk his life to defend Strafford. But the mob raged round Whitehall, howling for blood. Charles feared for the safety of the queen and his children, and he gave way. ' If my own person only were in danger', he told the Council, with tears in his eyes, 'I would gladly venture it to save Lord Strafford's life.' Three days later the earl was led to his execution in May 1641 in the presence of a crowd of 200000 people who had come to witness the end of 'Black Tom Tyrant'. No man ever died more bravely. 'I thank my God', he said, as he prepared to die, 'I am not afraid of death, but do as cheerfully put off my doublet at this time as ever I did when I went to bed.' The executioner offered to cover his eyes with a handkerchief. 'Thou shall not bind my eyes.' said Strafford, 'for I will see it done.' And so he placed his head upon the block.
My friend executed a perfect jump and another friend captured it at the perfect moment. I love this photo with the perfect pose and background.
A large number of enterprises are adopting automation systems and solutions like warehouse execution software to bring in higher efficiency, productivity, and safety within their distribution centers.
"Execution of Justice" by Emily Mann (U of M Alumna 1976), directed by Dominic Taylor. Performed April 16 - 24, 2010 in Rarig Center's Proscenium Theatre.
Photos by Cody Baldwin
"Execution of Justice" by Emily Mann (U of M Alumna 1976), directed by Dominic Taylor. Performed April 16 - 24, 2010 in Rarig Center's Proscenium Theatre.
Photos by Cody Baldwin
On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 3:04 am, a metropolitan police officer from the Seventh District shot and killed 34 yr old Cleman Richard Swepston Jr. on the 2500 block of Sheridan Road and Stanton Rd., in S.E. Washington, D.C. The details of the interaction between the police officer and Swepston have been disputed. The Police Department has stated that Swepston was intoxicated and brandished a weapon and fired at the officer. “According to his family, Swepston was sitting on the stoop of his mother's apartment building when police came and told him to move along. The family says he got on his bike to leave, and the next thing they heard were gunshots. His mother says police may have mistaken a small radio she gave him for a gun.” The mother has also stated that Swepston had no prior criminal record and did not own a gun.
According to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement’s “Operation Ghetto Storm” report released just last week, every 28 hours someone of African descent is murdered by the State or private security following State protocols, in an extrajudicial execution, and it does not matter if they have a weapon or not. With police containment on every corner in the African community in S.E. D.C., continued harassment, profiling, and raids have become the regular routine of State sponsored terrorism. We know that these are the tactics of colonialism and imperialism no different than what is used on Iraqis, Afghanis, Palestinians and all oppressed people around the world. While the D.C. government has waged war on working class and poor people in regards to housing, schools and cutting other needed services, they have not cut the amount of police in the African community, and it is in fact increasing. These are not policies unique only to D.C. however, so there is little surprise that if you added up the global prison population, 1 out of every 8 prisoners would be a Black male in the United States!
Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent. The first thing passengers on the ships that approach Southampton Waters notice is the tall tower which is the Coastguard Tower which stands proudly next to Calshot Castle. Calshot was first mentioned in history in 495 AD when it was related in the Saxon Chronicles that a Saxon chieftain had landed somewhere between Lepe and present day Calshot with five ships, this was believed to have been Cericesora, the landing place of Cerdic, a name similar to that used in the manorial roll for the site in 980 AD. Henry VIII was famous for his dissolving of the monasteries and being excommunicated by the Pope so he decided that Couldshore would be a perfect place to construct a castle, which would govern the approaches to Southampton, which during the 15th and 16th centuries deemed to be the third largest Port in England, and it was believed that the French and Spanish were ready to invade England and this seemed a likely place, and this castle would link in well with the other castles at Netley and St Andrew's on the common at Hamble.
Calshot Castle was built in a strategic location at Calshot Spit to protect the entry to Southampton Water and the third largest port of the time. Calshot Castle was constructed from Portland Stone and stones quarried from the former Beaulieu Abbey in 1539. It was designed with a three storey keep and a circular structure to counter new and improved cannon fire. During the reign of Elizabeth I, Calshot Castle was damaged in a fire and required some 130 oak trees for its repairs. In 1585 the start of the 80 years war, an artillery garrison comprising seven gunners and one master gunner were stationed at Calshot. Two years later with the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Roman Catholics across the world were outraged. Her claim to the throne was passed to Philip II of Spain who was granted Papal authority to overthrow Elizabeth I. Repairs at Calshot were ended in 1588 in time for the threat of the Spanish Armada. Despite this rebuilding, Calshot Castle survives in much the same state as that in which it was first built.
Calshot is notable for its role in the development of aircraft and flying boats. In 1913 the Royal Flying Corps established Calshot Naval Air Station ( later known as RNAS Calshot and RAF Calshot ) at the end of Calshot Spit. It was also at one point home to Lawrence of Arabia. At the outbreak of WWI, the Schneider Race went on hold. The defence of the English Channel would be headed by Calshot and Dover. Calshot Castle now housed the officers' mess and it was from here that new recruits were trained. Calshot had now become an important base with new buildings of offices, hangars and workshops. In 1927, Flight Lieutenant Webster won the Schneider Cup Competition clocking in a speed of 281.65 mph in a Supermarine S5. The win also granted England the right to hold the next Schneider Competition. The 1929 race took place in the Solent while the teams were based at Calshot. So far, Britain and Italy had taken the title three times, America won twice and France once. This time it would be won by flying officer, H.R.D. Waghorn who flew a Supermarine 6 at a speed of 328 mph.
The original hangar from the World War II flying boats remains as an activity centre for water sports ( including kite-surfing ), climbing, snowboarding and track cycling. There is a small velodrome for the cycling, a small practice slope for practising board tricks, and recently improved facilities for climbing and bouldering. The centre offers residential and visitor courses. Next to the hangar is a dinghy marina. The approach road passes on the landward side of the spit and there are many beach huts. The spit comprises a flint pebble structure more than one km long. Between it and the main shore is a salt marshy area with a wealth of wildlife and birds. The nearby Fawley Power Station discharges cooling water into the shallow waters around Calshot beach and this has led to some reports of warm water species being attracted into the Solent. There are spectacular views at night of the Fawley refinery and Fawley Power Station lit up. On a clear day, the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth can be seen to the east, and the Hamble estuary, to the north. Fawley Power Station is a large oil-fired power station, built on the southwestern shore of Southampton Water in 1964 and 1965.
Here's the thing.
I take part in a music quiz each Friday, and I made friends with Keithy Baby, erstwhile foil of Danny Baker back in his radio days.
Keith helped at a whole food stall on St Albans market, and the plan was to meet up, look at the cathedral, have some beers and have a chat.
But.
Keith's family moved to Bristol, and Keith had been waiting for closure on the sale on his house, which went through a couple of weeks back.
So, no Keith.
But the cathedral was still there.
So, we went anyway.
I called a fellow GWUKer to see if he fancied a trip, and he did.
Waiting at Dover Priory, a heavily graffitied Electrostar came rolling in on the opposite platform.
We caught the ten to eight train to London from Dover, meeting Graham in the undercroft at St Pancras, before going down to the Thameslink platforms to get a train to St Albans, which came after just a minute.
A 15 minute walk from the station, or would have been had we not been jumped by a greasy spoon, so we had a hearty breakfast, before walking through the town centre to the market square, and down through an alleyway to the cathedral.
It is one of the oldest cathedral in Britain, or parts of it are. We saw Roman brick, Tudor brick, knapped flint and puddingstone blocks.
And that was just outside.
Inside there were surviving wall and column paintings, tiles, icons, tombs and windows of wonder.
We spent an hour or so walking round, snapping.
Staff were friendly, welcoming and interested in our story, as well as us interested in theirs.
The tower is the oldest Cathedral tower in England. And here it is, looking up.
We spent an hour inside before having taken nearly 500 shots. I decided that was probably enough. For now.
Hard to say what the highlights were. I suppose the paintings on the columns in the Nave, mostly on the northern pillars and all of the Crucifixion. But the Shrine to St Alban was a surprise, the amber and white stones at the top of arches, reminding us very much of Spain.
We found Jools, then retraced our steps back to the market square, and hence to a pub for some liquid refreshment while sitting out on tables beside the street.
The day had turned very warm and humid, two pints of Abbot Ale went down well.
Graham had to get back to London, as did we as there was to be a family meal later, so we wandered down the long road to the station, then onto platform 3 to wait for the express service to Three Bridges and the first stop being St Pancras.
We had missed the train to Dover by two minutes, meaning we had 58 minutes to wait for the next one, so we found a seat and people watched, as you would expect us to.
As time drew near for the departure, we went onto the platform to wait, and for me to watch trains arriving and departing. A Eurostar left for Paris from the adjoining platform, accelerating quickly out of the station.
Our train arrived, and after those on it, got off, we all piled on so to get a seat, meaning the train was so packed when it left, people were standing down the whole length of the carriage, and folks at Stratford not able to get on.
Wow.
As the train travelled into Kent, stopping at Ebbsfleet and then Ashford, more and more people got off, even then it was pretty busy, but then on the Friday of a Bank Holiday the day before a strike which will mean no rail services in Kent at all. So, we should have expected it, I guess.
We were among the last off at Dover, the ticket barriers up meaning we had a ten minute wait to get out as those with bikes blocked the entrance hall, trying to get through.
We did get through, of course, so walked to the car, then out onto Townwall Street and up Jubilee Way to home. Where there was a feline waiting committee waiting for us, telling us it was dinner time.
Back out at six to pick up a Chinese takeaway before heading to Jen's where she, John, Mike, George and Trinny were waiting to help us eat and to help celebrate my big day.
We eat well and lots, hen Jen only brings out a cake with candles for me to blow out.
No real time for cards, Mike, George and Trinny left as they had an early start as they are driving to Kings Lynn for some banger racing action, and John left saying he wanted to get home before dark. Leaving Jen, Jools and I.
So we left too, Jools drove us back home along the A2, still busy with holiday traffic, and home in time so I could watch the second half of the Chelsea v Luton game.
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St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban[5] but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England.
Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey following its dissolution in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877. Although legally a cathedral church, it differs in certain particulars from most other cathedrals in England, being also used as a parish church, of which the dean is rector with the same powers, responsibilities and duties as that of any other parish.[6] At 85 metres long, it has the longest nave of any cathedral in England.[2]
Probably founded in the 8th century, the present building is Norman or Romanesque architecture of the 11th century, with Gothic and 19th-century additions.
According to Bede, whose account of the saint's life is the most elaborate, Alban lived in Verulamium, some time during the 3rd or 4th centuries. At that time Christians began to suffer "cruel persecution".[7] The legend proceeds with Alban meeting a Christian priest (known as Amphibalus) fleeing from "persecutors", and sheltering him in his house for a number of days. Alban was so impressed with the priest's faith and piety that he soon converted to Christianity. Eventually Roman soldiers came to seize the priest, but Alban put on his cloak and presented himself to the soldiers in place of his guest. Alban was brought before a judge and was sentenced to beheading.[7] As he was led to execution, he came to a fast flowing river, commonly believed to be the River Ver, crossed it and went about 500 paces to a gently sloping hill overlooking a beautiful plain[7] When he reached the summit he began to thirst and prayed that God would give him drink, whereupon water sprang up at his feet. It was at this place that his head was struck off. Immediately after one of the executioners delivered the fatal stroke, his eyes fell out and dropped to the ground alongside Alban's head.[7] Later versions of the tale say that Alban's head rolled downhill and that a well gushed up where it stopped.[8] St Albans Cathedral stands near the supposed site of Alban's martyrdom, and references to the spontaneous well are extant in local place names. The nearby river was called Halywell (Middle English for 'Holy Well') in the medieval era, and the road up to Holmhurst Hill on which the Abbey now stands is now called Holywell Hill but has been called Halliwell Street and other variations at least since the 13th century.[8] The remains of a well structure have been found at the bottom of Holywell Hill. However, this well is thought to date from no earlier than the 19th century.[9]
The date of Alban's execution has never been firmly established. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists the year 283,[10] but Bede places it in 305. Original sources and modern historians such as William Hugh Clifford Frend and Charles Thomas indicate the period of 251–259 (under the persecutors Decius or Valerian) as more likely.
The tomb of St Amphibalus is in the cathedral.
A memoria over the execution point holding the remains of Alban existed at the site from the mid-4th century (possibly earlier); Bede mentions a church and Gildas a shrine. Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visited in 429.[12] The style of this structure is unknown; the 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris (see below) said the Saxons destroyed the building in 586.
Saxon buildings
Offa II of Mercia, is said to have founded a double monastery at St Albans in 793. It followed the Benedictine rule.[13] The Abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the River Ver from the ruins of Verulamium. Again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The Abbey was probably sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Paris's claims, the office of abbot remained empty from around 920 until the 970s when the efforts of Dunstan reached the town.
There was an intention to rebuild the Abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium. With the town resting on clay and chalk, the only tough stone is flint. This was used with a lime mortar and then either plastered over or left bare. With the great quantities of brick, tile and other stone in Verulamium, the Roman site became a prime source of building material for the Abbey and other projects in the area.[14] Sections demanding worked stone used Lincolnshire limestone (Barnack stone) from Verulamium; later worked stones include Totternhoe freestone from Bedfordshire, Purbeck marble, and different limestones (Ancaster, Chilmark, Clipsham, etc.).
Renewed Viking raids from 1016 stalled the Saxon efforts and very little from the Saxon abbey was incorporated in the later forms.
Much of the current layout and proportions of the structure date from the first Norman abbot, Paul of Caen (1077–1093).[16] The 14th abbot, he was appointed by his uncle, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc.
Building work started in the year of Abbot Paul's arrival. The design and construction was overseen by the Norman Robert the Mason. The plan has very limited Anglo-Saxon elements and is clearly influenced by the French work at Cluny, Bernay and Caen, and shares a similar floor plan to Saint-Étienne in Caen and Lanfranc's Canterbury—although the poorer quality building material was a new challenge for Robert and he clearly borrowed some Roman techniques, which were learned while gathering material in the ruins of Verulamium.
To take maximum use of the hilltop the Abbey was oriented to the south-east. The cruciform abbey was the largest built in England at that time, it had a chancel of four bays, a transept containing seven apses, and a nave of ten bays—fifteen bays long overall. Robert gave particular attention to solid foundations, running a continuous wall of layered bricks, flints and mortar below and pushing the foundations down to twelve feet to hit bedrock. Below the crossing tower special large stones were used.
The tower was a particular triumph—it is the only 11th-century great crossing tower still standing in England. Robert began with special thick supporting walls and four massive brick piers. The four-level tower tapers at each stage with clasping buttresses on the three lower levels and circular buttresses on the fourth stage. The entire structure masses 5,000 tons and is 144 feet high. The tower was probably topped with a Norman pyramidal roof; the current roof is flat. The original ringing chamber had five bells—two paid for by the Abbot, two by a wealthy townsman, and one donated by the rector of Hoddesdon. None of these bells has survived.
There was a widespread belief that the Abbey had two additional, smaller towers at the west end. No remains have been found.
The monastic abbey was completed in 1089 but not consecrated until Holy Innocents' Day (28 December), 1115, by the Archbishop of Rouen. King Henry I attended as did many bishops and nobles.
A nunnery (Sopwell Priory) was founded nearby in 1140.
Internally the Abbey church was bare of sculpture, almost stark. The plaster walls were coloured and patterned in parts, with extensive tapestries adding colour. Sculptural decoration was added, mainly ornaments, as it became more fashionable in the 12th century—especially after the Gothic style arrived in England around 1170.
In the current structure the original Norman arches survive principally under the central tower and on the north side of the nave. The arches in the rest of the building are Gothic, following medieval rebuilding and extensions, and Victorian era restoration.
The Abbey was extended in the 1190s by Abbot John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford) (1195–1214); as the number of monks grew from fifty to over a hundred, the Abbey church was extended westwards with three bays added to the nave. The severe Norman west front was also rebuilt by Hugh de Goldclif—although how is uncertain; it was very costly but its 'rapid' weathering and later alterations have erased all but fragments. A more prominent shrine and altar to Saint Amphibalus were also added.[13] The work was very slow under de Cella and was not completed until the time of Abbot William de Trumpington (1214–1235). The low Norman tower roof was demolished and a new, much higher, broached spire was raised, sheathed in lead.
The St Albans Psalter (c. 1130–1145) is the best known of a number of important Romanesque illuminated manuscripts produced in the Abbey scriptorium. Later, Matthew Paris, a monk at St Albans from 1217 until his death in 1259, was important both as a chronicler and an artist. Eighteen of his manuscripts survive and are a rich source of contemporary information for historians.
Nicholas Breakspear was born near St Albans and applied to be admitted to the Abbey as a novice, but he was turned down. He eventually managed to be accepted into an abbey in France. In 1154 he was elected Pope Adrian IV, the only English Pope there has ever been. The head of the Abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England also in 1154.
An earthquake shook the Abbey in 1250 and damaged the eastern end of the church. In 1257 the dangerously cracked sections were knocked down — three apses and two bays. The thick Presbytery wall supporting the tower was left. The rebuilding and updating was completed during the rule of Abbot Roger de Norton (1263–90).
On 10 October 1323 two piers on the south side of the nave collapsed dragging down much of the roof and wrecking five bays. Mason Henry Wy undertook the rebuilding, matching the Early English style of the rest of the bays but adding distinctly 14th-century detailing and ornaments. The shrine to St Amphibalus had also been damaged and it was remade.
Richard of Wallingford, abbot from 1297 to 1336 and a mathematician and astronomer, designed a celebrated astronomical clock, which was completed by William of Walsham after his death, but apparently destroyed during the Reformation.
A new gateway, now called the Abbey Gateway, was built to the Abbey grounds in 1365, which was the only part of the monastery buildings (besides the church) to survive the dissolution, later being used as a prison and now (since 1871) part of St Albans School. The other monastic buildings were located to the south of the gateway and church.
In the 15th century a large west window of nine main lights and a deep traced head was commissioned by John of Wheathampstead. The spire was reduced to a 'Hertfordshire spike', the roof pitch greatly reduced and battlements liberally added. Further new windows, at £50 each, were put in the transepts by Abbot Wallingford (also known as William of Wallingford), who also had a new high altar screen made.
This century was marked with a number of repair schemes. The Abbey received some money from the 1818 "Million Act", and in 1820, £450 was raised to buy an organ—a second-hand example made in 1670.
The major efforts to revive the Abbey Church came under four men—L. N. Cottingham, H. J. B. Nicholson (Rector), and, especially, George Gilbert Scott and Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe.
In February 1832 a portion of the clerestory wall fell through the roof of the south aisle, leaving a hole almost thirty feet long. With the need for serious repair work evident, the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was called in to survey the building. His Survey was presented in 1832 and was worrying reading: everywhere mortar was in a wretched condition and wooden beams were rotting and twisting. Cottingham recommended new beams throughout the roof and a new steeper pitch, removal of the spire and new timbers in the tower, new paving, ironwork to hold the west transept wall up, a new stone south transept window, new buttresses, a new drainage system for the roof, new ironwork on almost all the windows, and on and on. He estimated a cost of £14,000. A public subscription of £4,000 was raised, of which £1,700 vanished in expenses. With the limited funds the clerestory wall was rebuilt, the nave roof re-leaded, the tower spike removed, some forty blocked windows reopened and glazed, and the south window remade in stone.
Henry Nicholson, rector from 1835 to 1866, was also active in repairing the Abbey Church—as far as he could, and in uncovering lost or neglected Gothic features.
In 1856 repair efforts began again; £4,000 was raised and slow moves started to gain the Abbey the status of cathedral. George Gilbert Scott was appointed the project architect and oversaw a number of works from 1860 until his death in 1878.
cott began by having the medieval floor restored, necessitating the removal of tons of earth, and fixing the north aisle roof. From 1872 to 1877 the restored floors were re-tiled in matching stone and copies of old tile designs. A further 2,000 tons of earth were shifted in 1863 during work on the foundation and a new drainage system. In 1870 the tower piers were found to be badly weakened with many cracks and cavities. Huge timbers were inserted and the arches filled with brick as an emergency measure. Repair work took until May 1871 and cost over £2,000. The south wall of the nave was now far from straight; Scott reinforced the north wall and put in scaffolding to take the weight of the roof off the wall, then had it jacked straight in under three hours. The wall was then buttressed with five huge new masses and set right. Scott was lauded as "saviour of the Abbey." From 1870 to 1875 around £20,000 was spent on the Abbey.
In 1845 St Albans was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln to the Diocese of Rochester. Then, in 1875, the Bishopric of St Albans Act was passed and on 30 April 1877 the See of St Albans was created, which comprises about 300 churches in the counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Thomas Legh Claughton, then Bishop of Rochester, elected to take the northern division of his old diocese and on 12 June 1877 was enthroned first Bishop of St Albans, a position he held until 1890. He is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the nave.
George Gilbert Scott was working on the nave roof, vaulting and west bay when he died on 27 March 1878. His plans were partially completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott, but the remaining work fell into the hands of Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, whose efforts have attracted much controversy—Nikolaus Pevsner calling him a "pompous, righteous bully."[citation needed] However, he donated much of the immense sum of £130,000 the work cost.
Whereas Scott's work had clearly been in sympathy with the existing building, Grimthorpe's plans reflected the Victorian ideal. Indeed, he spent considerable time dismissing and criticising the work of Scott and the efforts of his son.
Grimthorpe first reinstated the original pitch of the roof, although the battlements added for the lower roof were retained. Completed in 1879, the roof was leaded, following on Scott's desires.
His second major project was the most controversial. The west front, with the great Wheathampstead window, was cracked and leaning, and Grimthorpe, never more than an amateur architect, designed the new front himself—attacked as dense, misproportioned and unsympathetic: "His impoverishment as a designer ... [is] evident"; "this man, so practical and ingenious, was utterly devoid of taste ... his great qualities were marred by arrogance ... and a lack of historic sense".[citation needed] Counter proposals were deliberately substituted by Grimthorpe for poorly drawn versions and Grimthorpe's design was accepted. During building it was considerably reworked in order to fit the actual frontage and is not improved by the poor quality sculpture. Work began in 1880 and was completed in April 1883, having cost £20,000.
Grimthorpe was noted for his aversion to the Perpendicular—to the extent that he would have sections he disliked demolished as "too rotten" rather than remade. In his reconstruction, especially of windows, he commonly mixed architectural styles carelessly (see the south aisle, the south choir screen and vaulting). He spent £50,000 remaking the nave. Elsewhere he completely rebuilt the south wall cloisters, with new heavy buttresses, and removed the arcading of the east cloisters during rebuilding the south transept walls. In the south transept he completely remade the south face, completed in 1885, including the huge lancet window group—his proudest achievement—and the flanking turrets; a weighty new tiled roof was also made. In the north transept Grimthorpe had the Perpendicular window demolished and his design inserted—a rose window of circles, cusped circles and lozenges arrayed in five rings around the central light, sixty-four lights in total, each circle with a different glazing pattern.
Grimthorpe continued through the Presbytery in his own style, adapting the antechapel for Consistory Courts, and into the Lady Chapel. After a pointed lawsuit with Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, over who should direct the restoration, Grimthorpe had the vault remade and reproportioned in stone, made the floor in black and white marble (1893), and had new Victorian arcading and sculpture put below the canopy work. Externally the buttresses were expanded to support the new roof, and the walls were refaced.
As early as 1897, Grimthorpe was having to return to previously renovated sections to make repairs. His use of over-strong cement led to cracking, while his fondness for ironwork in windows led to corrosion and damage to the surrounding stone.
Grimthorpe died in 1905 and was interred in the churchyard. He left a bequest for continuing work on the buildings.
During this century the name St Albans Abbey was given to one of the town's two railway stations.
Exiting a door of the prison turning right, was the walk through the gateway to the execution yard.
When I took this picture I was upset by the person who walked into view.
Later looking at it, it sent shivers down my spine as it looked to me like a soldier stading guard with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
final shirt will be either grey/white striped men's shirting or palepale blue seersucker or linen. or one of each! also, buttons.
Sept. 22, 2011---The day after the state of Georgia murdered Troy Davis, an innocent man--Boston,Mass. protest against the death penalty.
This is where the prisoners were often executed by gunshot. The wall is right near where the Cyclone B experiments took place.
The demand for robotic automation is high. And, industries are interested in adopting solutions such as autonomous mobile robots in a warehouse and warehouse execution software to drive high productivity, and efficiency across the fulfillment and distribution centers.
If you're not leaving a wake, youre not moving.
A beaver, Castor canadensis, crossing a pond in the early morning. Whitefish, MT
Keyword: Execution, Rodents Glacier0408_002
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