View allAll Photos Tagged housebuilder
You can find Scarlet Creative - Magicae in here.
“Through countless births in the cycle of existence
I have run, not finding
although seeking the builder of this house;
and again and again I faced the suffering of new birth.
Oh housebuilder! Now you are seen.
You shall not build a house again for me.
All your beams are broken,
the ridgepole is shattered.
The mind has become freed from conditioning:
the end of craving has been reached.”
DETAILS:
Check my blog where you can find everything, with picture, information, etc (blogspot).
And check my picture information here too. In my tumblr blog.
Through countless births in the cycle of existence
I have run, not finding
although seeking the builder of this house;
and again and again I faced the suffering of new birth.
Oh housebuilder! Now you are seen.
You shall not build a house again for me.
All your beams are broken,
the ridgepole is shattered.
The mind has become freed from conditioning:
the end of craving has been reached.
Dhammapada 11.153, 11.154
Seen at low tide.
The very first thing I noticed about this house was that it was tilted to one side.
Sometimes known as 'The leaning tower of Rotherhithe', it was formerly a wharf building, but has been in residential use at least since the 1950s.
This is a little bit of the "old" inner London waterfront, that still remains.
The building is brick built, whereas the other wharf buildings surrounding it were either of less robust wooden construction, or were bombed in WW2, or were subsequently demolished as part of a plan to extend Southwark Park to the riverside.
The house was originally part of a row of buildings known as 41 Rotherhithe Street. Its current, revised, address is 1 Fulford Street SE16 4NW.
Another from my local Kingy site, and wood. One pair have been working on their nest a couple of weeks now, while two others have finished, and are moved in. Master housebuilders these, Suffolk.
Dalgety Bay (/dælˈɡɛti ˈbeɪ/, Scots: Dawgety) is a coastal town and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. According to Fife Council, the town is home to 10,030, making this the eighth-largest place in Fife. The civil parish has a population of 10,777 (in 2011). The bay was named after the original village of Dalgety, but the ruins of the 12th century St Bridget's Kirk are all that now mark the site. The new town, which was built in 1962, takes its name from the main bay it adjoins, but the town stretches over many bays and coves including Donibristle Bay and St David's Bay. Dalgety Bay is a dormitory suburb of Edinburgh. While the architecture of the town reflects construction by volume housebuilders, the town is a regular winner of the Best Kept Small Town title. Its rise in population mirrors its rise in popularity as a coastal commuter town. A series of radioactive objects have been found on the shoreline of Dalgety Bay since the 1990s. The objects come from eroded landfill that contains debris from Second World War aircraft that originally had radium dials. In 2013, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that the Ministry of Defence was solely responsible for the contamination. Dalgety Bay contains 9 Listed Buildings or structures.
Dalgety Bay (/dælˈɡɛti ˈbeɪ/, Scots: Dawgety) is a coastal town and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. According to Fife Council, the town is home to 10,030, making this the eighth-largest place in Fife. The civil parish has a population of 10,777 (in 2011). The bay was named after the original village of Dalgety, but the ruins of the 12th century St Bridget's Kirk are all that now mark the site. The new town, which was built in 1962, takes its name from the main bay it adjoins, but the town stretches over many bays and coves including Donibristle Bay and St David's Bay. Dalgety Bay is a dormitory suburb of Edinburgh. While the architecture of the town reflects construction by volume housebuilders, the town is a regular winner of the Best Kept Small Town title. Its rise in population mirrors its rise in popularity as a coastal commuter town. A series of radioactive objects have been found on the shoreline of Dalgety Bay since the 1990s. The objects come from eroded landfill that contains debris from Second World War aircraft that originally had radium dials. In 2013, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that the Ministry of Defence was solely responsible for the contamination. Dalgety Bay contains 9 Listed Buildings or structures.
Dalgety Bay (/dælˈɡɛti ˈbeɪ/, Scots: Dawgety) is a coastal town and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. According to Fife Council, the town is home to 10,030, making this the eighth-largest place in Fife. The civil parish has a population of 10,777 (in 2011). The bay was named after the original village of Dalgety, but the ruins of the 12th century St Bridget's Kirk are all that now mark the site. The new town, which was built in 1962, takes its name from the main bay it adjoins, but the town stretches over many bays and coves including Donibristle Bay and St David's Bay. Dalgety Bay is a dormitory suburb of Edinburgh. While the architecture of the town reflects construction by volume housebuilders, the town is a regular winner of the Best Kept Small Town title. Its rise in population mirrors its rise in popularity as a coastal commuter town. A series of radioactive objects have been found on the shoreline of Dalgety Bay since the 1990s. The objects come from eroded landfill that contains debris from Second World War aircraft that originally had radium dials. In 2013, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that the Ministry of Defence was solely responsible for the contamination. Dalgety Bay contains 9 Listed Buildings or structures.
Photographed at iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Formerly known as the St Lucia Wetland Park, there are eight inter-dependent ecosystems all bursting with life.
The first bus in the new First Aberdeen green livery or the last bus in such colours before a whole new brand is launched?
FirstBus was officially put up for sale yesterday by its parent FirstGroup, a move that is likely to be completed within two years but most likely sooner.
Whilst FirstBus could be sold as a single entity to a private investment firm (with Brexit looming there isn't the same interest from interational bus groups to buy into the UK) FirstBus management seem more convinced the business will broken up into chunks. The Scottish business could be one of the first to go with Go Ahead expected to be installed as the favourite giving the group a presence in Scotland for the first time without bothering the CMA. Of course First Scotland would make a great fit with Xplore Dundee for National Express but the question is whether NatEx have the funds to afford it or the energy to deal with a potential CMA inquiry.
The risk for Aberdeen would be that in the last two years so much backroom functions have been transferred to Larbert and Glasgow that the business would not be able to stand on its own feet anymore unless a new buyer had its own functions available. Indeed if Lothian Buses accelerate their competitive attack on First West Lothian a potential buyer for Scotland may wish to cherry pick Glasgow leaving Scotland East and Aberdeen to slow contract over a two year period in the style of First Northampton leaving Aberdeen services to a gradual take over route by route by Stagecoach. With so many bus drivers in Aberdeen employed by agencies or in their first year of service now, redundancy costs would be the lowest in the group.
Whilst FirstGroup have committed to keeping their HQ in Aberdeen it would seem likely King Street would be sold as the contracted business would not have the sufficient HQ staff to justify such a size of building and would relocate to a smaller premise in Aberdeen. As such the building could be sold for use as a hotel or office or indeed could be demolished for student flats. There will be many a housebuilder eyeing up the site.
The positive to take from the announcement would be that after a decade of being used as a cash cow to pay of group debts, the profits from Aberdeen could potentially at last be used to invest in the network and its fleet but what is certain that the next batch of new buses for Aberdeen won't have First logos on them.
Dalgety Bay (/dælˈɡɛti ˈbeɪ/, Scots: Dawgety) is a coastal town and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. According to Fife Council, the town is home to 10,030, making this the eighth-largest place in Fife. The civil parish has a population of 10,777 (in 2011). The bay was named after the original village of Dalgety, but the ruins of the 12th century St Bridget's Kirk are all that now mark the site. The new town, which was built in 1962, takes its name from the main bay it adjoins, but the town stretches over many bays and coves including Donibristle Bay and St David's Bay. Dalgety Bay is a dormitory suburb of Edinburgh. While the architecture of the town reflects construction by volume housebuilders, the town is a regular winner of the Best Kept Small Town title. Its rise in population mirrors its rise in popularity as a coastal commuter town. A series of radioactive objects have been found on the shoreline of Dalgety Bay since the 1990s. The objects come from eroded landfill that contains debris from Second World War aircraft that originally had radium dials. In 2013, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that the Ministry of Defence was solely responsible for the contamination. Dalgety Bay contains 9 Listed Buildings or structures.
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles (14 kilometres) west of Edinburgh City Centre. It is considered an iconic structure and a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by the English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge to distinguish it from the Forth Road Bridge, though this has never been its official name. Construction of the bridge began in 1882 and it was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The bridge spans the Forth between the villages of South Queensferry and North Queensferry and has a total length of 8,094 feet (2,467 m). When it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world, until 1919 when the Quebec Bridge in Canada was completed. It continues to be the world's second-longest single cantilever span, with a span of 1,709 feet (521 m).
The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland.[2] It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry. Proposals for a second Forth road crossing were first put forward in the 1990s, but it was not until the discovery of structural issues with the Forth Road Bridge in 2005 that plans were moved forward. The decision to proceed with a replacement bridge was taken at the end of 2007; the following year it was announced that the existing bridge would be retained as a public transport link. The Forth Crossing Act received Royal Assent in January 2011, and construction began in September 2011. The Queensferry Crossing is a three-tower cable-stayed bridge, with an overall length of 2.7 kilometres (1.7 miles). Around 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) of new connecting roads were built, including new and upgraded junctions at Ferrytoll in Fife, South Queensferry and Junction 1A on the M9. The bridge was first due to be completed by December 2016, but this deadline was extended to August 2017 after several delays.[5] It is the third bridge across the Forth at Queensferry, alongside the Forth Road Bridge completed in 1964, and the Forth Bridge completed in 1890. Following a public vote, it was formally named on 26 June 2013 and opened to traffic on 30 August 2017. The official opening was carried out on 4 September 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II, fifty-three years to the day after she opened the adjacent Forth Road Bridge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensferry_Crossing
We watched this crow for a while, first selecting the stick, then after several attempts to turn it, pick it up and take off it succeeded, before dropping the stick in mid air, picking it up again and disappearing off over the cliff top. I'm sure it's going to be a sturdy nest!
IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE
Una llinda molt interessant a Alpens, indicant que aquesta era la casa de Francesc Paissa, Mestre de Cases. És a dir, el que avui en dia seria arquitecte, però de manera més gremial, medieval.
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In old Catalan village houses is quite usual to find inscribed lintels showing the year it was built, and the name of the owner, along Christian symbology. In this one in Alpens (central Catalonia) it's even more interesting, as it tells the office of the owner: precisely master house builder.
It says "Es de Francesch Paissa, Mestra de casas, IHS, 1682". In Catalan, this means "It's (owned) by Francesch Paissa, master house builder, IHS (Christus), 1682".
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battersea Power Station
Official nameBattersea A and B power stations
CountryEngland
LocationNine Elms, Battersea, Wandsworth, South West London
Coordinates51°28′54″N 0°8′41″WCoordinates: 51°28′54″N 0°8′41″W
StatusDecommissioned and in redevelopment
Construction began1929 (A station)
1945 (B station)
Commission date1933–35 (A station)
1953–55 (B station)
Decommission date1975 (A station)
1983 (B station)
Construction cost£2,141,550 (A station)
Owner(s)London Power Company
(1939–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1957–1983)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Secondary fuelOil (A station only)
Power generation
Units operationalA station:
Two 69 MW Metropolitan-Vickers (MV) British Thomson-Houston and one 105 MW Metropolitan-Vickers
B station:Two 100 MW and one 72 MW Metropolitan-Vickers
Nameplate capacity1935: 243 MW
1955: 503 MW
1975: 488 MW
1983: 146 MW
External links
Websitebatterseapowerstation.co.uk
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameBattersea Power Station
Designated14 October 1980
Reference no.1357620
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son Engineers. The architects were J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor.
The building comprises two power stations, built in two stages, in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built between 1929 and 1935 and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, between 1937 and 1941, when construction was paused owing to the worsening effects of the Second World War. The building was completed in 1955. "Battersea B" was built to a design nearly identical to that of "Battersea A", creating the iconic four-chimney structure.
"Battersea A" was decommissioned in 1975. In 1980 the whole structure was given Grade II listed status; "Battersea B" shut three years later. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*. The building remained empty until 2014, during which time it fell into near ruin. Various plans were made to make use of the building, but none were successful. In 2012, administrators Ernst & Young entered into an exclusivity agreement with Malaysia's SP Setia and Sime Darby to develop the site to include 253 residential units, bars, restaurants, office space (occupied by Apple and No. 18 business members club), shops and entertainment spaces. The plans were approved and redevelopment commenced a few years later. As of 2021, the building and the overall 42-acre site development is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors.
History
Located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, an inner-city district of South West London, the building comprises two power stations, built in two stages in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built in the 1930s and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, in the 1950s. They were built to a near-identical design, providing the four-chimney structure.
The Power Station was decommissioned between 1975 and 1983 and remained empty until 2014. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1980. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*.[1][2]
The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings[3] and notable for its original, lavish Art Deco interior fittings and decor.[4] The structure remained largely unused for more than 30 years after its closure; in 2008 its condition was described as "very bad" by English Heritage, which included it in its Heritage at Risk Register.[5] The site was also listed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.[6]
Since the station's closure, redevelopment plans have been drawn up by successive site owners. In 2004, when a redevelopment project by Parkview International stalled, the site was sold to the administrators of Irish company Real Estate Opportunities (REO), who bought it for £400 million in November 2006 with plans to refurbish the station for public use and build 3,400 homes on the site.[7][8] This plan fell through due to REO's debt being called in by the state-owned banks of the UK and Ireland. The site was again put up for sale in December 2011 through commercial estate agent Knight Frank.[9][10][11] The combination of an existing debt burden of some £750 million, the need to make a £200 million contribution to an extension to the London Underground, requirements to fund conservation of the derelict power station shell, and the presence of a waste transfer station and cement plant on the river frontage made commercial development of the site a significant challenge.[12][13]
Until the late 1930s, electricity was supplied by municipal undertakings. These were small power companies that built power stations dedicated to a single industry or group of factories, and sold any excess electricity to the public. These companies used widely differing standards of voltage and frequency. In 1925 Parliament decided that the power grid should be a single system with uniform standards and under public ownership. Several of the private power companies reacted to the proposal by forming the London Power Company (LPC). They planned to heed parliament's recommendations and build a small number of very large stations.[14]
The London Power Company's first of these super power stations was planned for the Battersea area, on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The proposal was made in 1927, for a station built in two stages and capable of generating 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity when complete.[14] The site chosen was a 15-acre (61,000 m2) plot of land which had been the site of the reservoirs for the former Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company.[15] The site was chosen for its proximity to the River Thames for cooling water and coal delivery, and because it was in the heart of London, the station's immediate supply area.[16]
The proposal sparked protests from those who felt that the building would be too large and would be an eyesore, as well as worries about the pollution damaging local buildings, parks and even paintings in the nearby Tate Gallery. The company addressed the former concern by hiring Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to design the building's exterior. He was a distinguished architect and industrial designer, famous for his designs for the red telephone box and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. He subsequently designed another London power station, Bankside, which now houses Tate Modern art gallery.[14] The pollution issue was resolved by granting permission for the station on the condition that its emissions were to be treated, to ensure they were "clean and smokeless".[15]
Construction of the first phase (the A Station) began in March 1929. The main building work was carried out by John Mowlem & Co,[17] and the structural steelwork erection carried out by Sir William Arrol & Co. Other contractors were employed for specialist tasks.[16] Most of the electrical equipment, including the steam turbine turbo generators, was produced by Metropolitan-Vickers in Trafford Park, Manchester.[14] The building of the steel frame began in October 1930. Once completed, the construction of the brick cladding began, in March 1931. Until the construction of the B Station, the eastern wall of the boiler house was clad in corrugated metal sheeting as a temporary enclosure.[16] The A Station first generated electricity in 1933, but was not completed until 1935.[16][18] The total cost of its construction was £2,141,550.[16] Between construction beginning in 1929 and 1933, there were six fatal and 121 non-fatal accidents on the site.[19]
After the end of the Second World War, construction began on the second phase, the B Station. The station came into operation gradually between 1953 and 1955.[14] It was nearly identical to the A Station from the outside and was constructed directly to its east as a mirror to it, which gave the power station its now familiar four-chimney layout. The construction of the B Station brought the site's generating capacity up to 509 megawatts (MW), making it the third largest generating site in the UK at the time, providing a fifth of London's electricity needs (with the remainder supplied by 28 smaller stations).[20] It was also the most thermally efficient power station in the world when it opened.[14]
The A Station had been operated by the London Power Company, but by the time the B Station was completed, the UK's electric supply industry had been nationalised, and ownership of the two stations had passed into the hands of the British Electricity Authority in 1948.[14]
On 20 April 1964, the power station was the site of a fire that caused power failures throughout London, including at the BBC Television Centre, which was due to launch BBC Two that night. The launch was delayed until the following day at 11 am.[21]
Design and specification
Battersea power station was designed in the brick cathedral style. It is now one of few existing examples in England of this once common design style.
Both of the stations were designed by a team of architects and engineers. The team was headed by Dr. Leonard Pearce, the chief engineer of the London Power Company, but a number of other notable engineers were also involved, including Henry Newmarch Allott, and T. P. O'Sullivan who was later responsible for the Assembly Hall at Filton. J. Theo Halliday was employed as architect, with Halliday & Agate Co. employed as a sub-consultant. Halliday was responsible for the supervision and execution of the appearance of the exterior and interior of the building. Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was involved in the project much later on, consulted to appease public reaction, and referred to in the press as "architect of the exterior".[16] The station was designed in the brick-cathedral style of power station design, which was popular at the time.[22] Battersea is one of a very small number of examples of this style of power station design still in existence in the UK, others being Uskmouth and Bankside.[23] The station's design proved popular straightaway, and was described as a "temple of power", which ranked equal with St Paul's Cathedral as a London landmark. In a 1939 survey by The Architectural Review a panel of celebrities ranked it as their second favourite modern building.[24]
The A Station's control room was given many Art Deco fittings by architect Halliday. Italian marble was used in the turbine hall, and polished parquet floors and wrought-iron staircases were used throughout.[15] Owing to a lack of available money following the Second World War, the interior of the B Station was not given the same treatment, and instead the fittings were made from stainless steel.[25]
Each of the two connected stations consists of a long boiler house with a chimney at each end and an adjacent turbine hall. This makes a single main building which is of steel frame construction with brick cladding, similar to the skyscrapers built in the United States around the same time. The station is the largest brick structure in Europe.[14] The building's gross dimensions measure 160 metres (520 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft), with the roof of the boiler house standing at over 50 metres (160 ft). Each of the four chimneys is made from concrete and stands 103 metres (338 ft) tall with a base diameter of 8.5 metres (28 ft) tapering to 6.7 metres (22 ft) at the top. The station also had jetty facilities for unloading coal, a coal sorting and storage area, control rooms and an administration block.[16]
The A Station generated electricity using three turbo alternators; two 69 megawatt (MW) Metropolitan-Vickers British Thomson-Houston sets, and one 105 MW Metropolitan-Vickers set, totalling 243 MW. At the time of its commissioning, the 105 MW generating set was the largest in Europe.[26] The B Station also had three turbo alternators, all made by Metropolitan-Vickers. This consisted of two units which used 16 MW high-pressure units exhausting to a 78 MW and associated with a 6 MW house alternator, giving these units a total rating of 100 MW. The third unit consisted of a 66 MW machine associated with a 6 MW house alternator, giving the unit a rating of 72 MW. Combined, these gave the B station a generating capacity of 260 MW, making the site's generating capacity 503 MW. All of the station's boilers were made by Babcock & Wilcox, fuelled by pulverised coal from pulverisers also built by Babcock & Wilcox. There were nine boilers in the A station and six in the B station. The B station's boilers were the largest ever built in the UK at that time. The B station also had the highest thermal efficiency of any power station in the country for the first twelve years of its operation.[27]
Operations
Coal transportation
Coal was usually brought to the station by collier ships, and unloaded by cranes, which are still intact on the station's riverfront.
The power station consumed over 1,000,000 tonnes of coal annually, mostly from pits in South Wales and North East England, delivered by coastal collier ships. They were "flat-irons"[28] with a low-profile superstructure and fold-down funnels and masts to fit under the Thames' bridges above the Pool of London. The LPC and its nationalised successors owned and operated several "flat-irons" for the service.[28]
Coal was usually delivered to the jetty where two cranes, capable of unloading two ships at a time at a rate of 480 tonnes an hour, offloaded coal. Some coal was delivered by rail to the east of the station from the Brighton Main Line which passes nearby. A conveyor belt system moved the coal to a storage area or directly to the station's boiler rooms. The conveyor belt system consisted of a series of bridges connected by towers. The storage area was a large concrete box capable of holding 75,000 tonnes of coal. It had an overhead gantry and a conveyor belt attached to the conveyor belt system for moving coal to the boiler rooms.[15][16]
Water system
Water, essential to a thermal power station, is used to condense steam from the steam turbines before it is returned to the boiler. Water cycled through the power station's systems was taken from the Thames. The station could extract an average of 1.5 gigalitres (340,000,000 imperial gallons) of water from the river each day.[15]
After the end of World War II, the London Power Company used the waste heat to supply the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking.[15]
Scrubbers
The reduction of sulphur emissions was an important factor from when the station was in the design stages, as it was one of the main concerns of the protesters. The London Power Company developed an experimental technique for washing flue gases in 1925. It used water and alkaline sprays over scrubbers of steel and timber in flue ducts. The gases were subject to continuous washing, as to the principal acid pollutant by using catalyst iron oxide, the sulphur dioxide was converted into sulphuric acid. The plant was one of the world's first commercial applications of this technique. This process was stopped in the B Station in the 1960s, when it was discovered that the discharge of these products into the Thames was more harmful than sulphur dioxide would be to the atmosphere.[16]
.
Closure and redevelopment
Closure
The station in November 1986, three years after ceasing to generate electricity
The station's demise was caused by its output falling with age, coupled with increased operating costs, such as flue gas cleaning. On 17 March 1975, the A Station was closed after being in operation for 40 years.[31][32] By this time the A Station was co-firing oil and its generating capacity had declined to 228 MW.[32]
Three years after the closure of the A Station, rumours began to circulate that the B Station would soon follow. A campaign was then launched to try to save the building as part of the national heritage. As a result, the station was declared a heritage site in 1980, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, awarded the building Grade II listed status.[31] (This was upgraded to Grade II* listed in 2007.)[33] On 31 October 1983 production of electricity at Station B also ended, after nearly 30 years of operation.[32][34] By then the B Station's generating capacity had fallen to 146 MW.[32] The closure of the two stations was put down largely to the generating equipment becoming outdated, and the preferred choice of fuel for electricity generation shifting from coal toward oil, gas and nuclear power.[16]
Theme park proposal
The station's roof was removed in the late 1980s, when there were plans to convert the structure into a theme park.
Following the station's closure, the Central Electricity Generating Board had planned to demolish the station and sell the land for housing, but because of the building's then Grade II listed status, they had to pay the high cost of preserving the building. In 1983 they held a competition for ideas on the redevelopment of the site. It was won by a consortium led by developer David Roche[35] and which included John Broome, owner of Alton Towers Ltd. This consortium proposed an indoor theme park, with shops and restaurants. At an estimated cost of £35 million, the scheme was risky and would require over 2 million visitors a year to make any profit. The scheme received planning approval in May 1986 and the site was purchased by John Broome for £1.5 million in 1987. Work on converting the site began the same year.[34] British Rail planned to procure three electric multiple unit trains, designated "Class 447", to run a shuttle service from London Victoria station to the theme park.[36]
The project was halted in March 1989, for lack of funding, after costs had quickly escalated that January, from £35 million to £230 million. By this point huge sections of the building's roof had been removed, so that machinery could be taken out. Without a roof, the building's steel framework had been left exposed and its foundations were prone to flooding.[34]
In March 1990, the proposal was changed to a mixture of offices, shops and a hotel. This proposal was granted planning permission in August 1990, despite opposition from 14 independent organisations, including English Heritage. Despite permission being granted, no further work took place on the site between 1990 and 1993.[34]
Parkview proposal
In 1993, the site and its outstanding debt of £70 million were bought from the Bank of America by Hong Kong-based development company, Parkview International, for £10 million.[37] Following resolution of creditors' claims, it acquired the freehold title in May 1996. In November 1996 plans for the redevelopment of the site were submitted and outline consent was received in May 1997. Detailed consent for much of the site was granted in August 2000, and the rest in May 2001.[38] The company received full possession of the site in 2003. Having purchased the site, Parkview started work on a £1.1 billion project to restore the building and to redevelop the site into a retail, housing and leisure complex.[39]
During the Parkview era several masterplans for the site were developed by various architects and subsequently discarded.[35] One notable plan, called simply "The Power Station", was masterminded by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. The scheme proposed a shopping mall, with 40 to 50 restaurants, cafés and bars, 180 shops, as well as nightclubs, comedy venues and a cinema. Cosmopolitan shops would have been sited in the A Station's turbine hall, and label name shops in the B Station's turbine hall. The boiler house would have been glazed over and used as a public space for installations and exhibitions. A riverside walkway would also be created, running continuously along the riverside from Vauxhall to Battersea Park.[40]
Parkview claimed that 3,000 jobs would be created during the construction of the project, and 9,000 would be employed once completed, with an emphasis on local recruitment.[40] The Battersea Power Station Community Group campaigned against the Parkview plan and argued for an alternative community-based scheme to be drawn up. The group described the plans as "a deeply unattractive project that has no affordable housing anywhere on the 38-acre (150,000 m2) site, no decent jobs for local people and no credible public transport strategy".[41] They also criticised how appropriate the project was in its location, and proposal of other large buildings on the site. Keith Garner of the group said "I feel that there's a real problem of appropriateness. They need a completely different kind of scheme, not this airport-lounge treatment. What you see now is a majestic building looming up from the river. If you surround it with buildings 15 storeys high, you don’t have a landmark any more."[40]
In 2005 Parkview, English Heritage and the London Borough of Wandsworth claimed that the reinforcement inside the chimneys was corroded and irreparable. Wandsworth Council granted permission for them to be demolished and rebuilt. However, the Twentieth Century Society, the World Monuments Fund and the Battersea Power Station Company Ltd commissioned an alternative engineers' report that claimed that the existing chimneys could be repaired.[42] In response, Parkview claimed to have given a legally binding undertaking to the council to provide certainty that the chimneys will be replaced "like for like", in accordance with the requirements of English Heritage and the planning authorities.[43]
REO proposal
Real Estate Opportunities were granted permission to redevelop the power station in November 2010
On 30 November 2006, it was announced that Real Estate Opportunities, led by Irish businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan of Treasury Holdings, had purchased Battersea Power Station and the surrounding land for €532 million (£400 million).[7][44] REO subsequently announced that the previous plan by Parkview had been dropped and that it had appointed the practice of the Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly of New York as the new master planner for the site.[5] The centrepiece of this masterplan was a 980-foot-high "eco tower" that dwarfed the power station and was described by London's then mayor Boris Johnson as an "inverted toilet-roll holder".[35] The tower was quickly dropped from the scheme. Jersey law firms, Ogier, Carey Olsen and Mourant Oxannes helped REO to raise funds for the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment.[45]
London Underground extension
Main article: Northern line extension to Battersea
A proposed part of the regeneration is an extension of the London Underground to serve the area. Although the site is close to Battersea Park and Queenstown Road stations, trains from these stations to Victoria and Waterloo respectively are already heavily loaded. The proposed 2-mile tunnelled extension would branch from the Northern line at Kennington and travel west to Nine Elms and Battersea. The proposed extension would cost at least £500 million in 2008 terms.[46]
Biomass power station
They include reusing part of the station building as a power station, fuelled by biomass and waste. The station's existing chimneys would be utilised for venting steam. The former turbine halls would be converted to shopping spaces, and the roofless boiler house used as a park.[5] An energy museum would also be housed inside the former station building. The restoration of the power station building would cost £150 million.[47]
Eco-dome
A plastic built "eco-dome" was to be built to the east of the power station.[5] This building was originally planned to have a large 300 metres (980 ft) chimney, but this has now been abandoned in favour of a series of smaller towers.[47] The eco-dome would house offices, and aim to reduce energy consumption in the buildings by 67% compared to conventional office buildings, by using the towers to draw cool air through the building. 3,200 new homes would also be built on the site to house 7,000 people.[5]
Consultation process
In June 2008 a consultation process was launched, which revealed that 66% of the general public were in favour of the plans. At an event at the station on 23 March 2009, it was announced that REO were to submit the planning application for their proposal to Wandsworth Council.[47]
Planning consent
The Council gave planning consent on 11 November 2010.[48] REO hoped for construction to begin in 2011, but this has now been cancelled.[49] The station structure itself was expected to be repaired and secure by 2016, with completion of the whole project by 2020.[5][48][47] Plans now include the construction of 3,400 apartments and 3,500,000-square-foot (330,000 m2) of office space.[49] Approximately 28,000 inhabitants and 25,000 workers are expected to occupy the space once complete.[50]
Lenders allow more time
Reuters reported on 1 September 2011 that lenders would allow more time for a new equity partner to be found:[51]
"Lenders to the owner of Battersea Power Station in London waived a debt maturity deadline yesterday while talks with potential new equity partners for its redevelopment continued, a source close to the process told Reuters. AIM-listed Real Estate Opportunities is seeking a partner for the 5.5 billion pound ($9 billion) development, and its senior lenders Lloyds and Ireland's National Asset Management Agency have already extended a deadline once relating to the 400 million pounds REO paid for the site in 2006. 'The banks have nothing to gain by calling the debt in. Talks with new equity partners continue, and an announcement may come in the next few weeks,' the source said".
However, in November 2011, Lloyds and NAMA called in the debt and the REO scheme collapsed into administration.[52]
Farrell and Partners Urban Park proposal
Battersea Power Station from the Chelsea Bridge
In February 2012, Sir Terry Farrell's architectural firm put forward a proposal to convert the power station site into an "urban park" with an option to develop housing at a later date. In this vision, Farrells propose to demolish all but the central boiler hall and chimneys and display the switching equipment from the control rooms in 'pods'. However, this plan was always unlikely to bear fruit due to the Grade II listing status of the building.[53]
Chelsea F.C. Interest
On 9 November 2008, Chelsea F.C. was reported to be considering moving to a new purpose built stadium at Battersea Power Station. The proposed stadium was to hold between 65,000 and 75,000 fans and feature a retractable roof. The proposals were designed by HOK Sport, the same company who designed Wembley Stadium. However, the Chelsea F.C. scheme was seriously in doubt due to concerns for the preservation of the site and the collapse of the REO scheme in late November 2011.[54]
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This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Section is several years out of date. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)
2012 redevelopment plans
See also: Northern line extension to Battersea
The power station's 39-acre site received much interest, with many submitting bids in the 2012 sale.
Potential buyers were required to preserve the station's Grade II* listed four iconic chimneys and lime wash towers.
Following the failure of the REO bid to develop the site, in February 2012, Battersea Power Station was put up for sale on the open market for the first time in its history. The sale was conducted by the commercial estate agent, Knight Frank, on behalf of the site's creditors. In May 2012, several bids were received for the landmark site, which was put on the market after Nama and Lloyds Banking Group called in loans held by Treasury Holdings' Real Estate Opportunities (REO). Bids were received from Chelsea F.C. with other interested parties including a Malaysian interest, SP Setia, London & Regional, a company owned by the London-based Livingstone brothers, and housebuilder Berkeley. The net price was £400 million which would discharge the £325 million to cover the debts held by Nama and Lloyds plus a £100 million contribution to the Northern line extension. If the sale was unsuccessful, the administrator or its agent(s) would have kept the landowner's duty to maintain and preserve the site per its listed status.[55]
On 7 June 2012, Knight Frank announced that administrators Ernst & Young had entered into an exclusive agreement with Malaysian developers SP Setia and Sime Darby, who were given 28 days to conduct due diligence and agree the final terms of the deal. Completion of the sale to the Malaysian consortium took place in September 2012.[56] The redevelopment of the site will use the existing Vinoly master plan which intends to position the Power Station as the central focus of the regenerated 42-acre site, housing a blend of shops, cafes, restaurants, art and leisure facilities, office space and residential accommodation. The plan includes the restoration of the historic Power Station itself, the creation of a new riverside park to the north of the Power Station and the creation of a new High Street which is designed to link the future entrance to Battersea Power Station tube station with the Power Station. The redevelopment is hoped to bring about the extension of the existing riverside walk and facilitate access directly from the Power Station to Battersea Park and Chelsea Bridge.[57] The full redevelopment consists of eight main phases, some of which are planned to run concurrently. The plan includes over 800 homes of varying sizes.[58]
Construction work on Phase 1, called Circus West Village, designed by architects SimpsonHaugh and dRMM, is being undertaken by Carillion and commenced in 2013 alongside work on the Power Station.[59] Phase 1 was completed in 2017, with the Northern line extension and its new Battersea Power Station terminus anticipated to be completed in 2021.[60] Circus West Village now has over 1500 residents and over 23 restaurants, cafes and retailers now open.[61][62]
WilkinsonEyre was appointed in 2013 to carry out the restoration of the Grade II* listed Power Station.[63] Work commenced in 2013 and plans included the restoration of the art deco structure internally and externally, reconstruction of the chimneys, and refurbishment of the historic cranes and jetty as a new river taxi stop.[64] Restoration work on the power station's chimneys was completed in 2017.[65] In 2019, the jetty in front of the power station opened to the public for the first time in its history.[66] Retail brands set to open outlets inside the power station include Hugo Boss, Jo Malone London, Uniqlo, Mac Cosmetics, Space NK, Finlay & Co and Watches of Switzerland.[67][68] In May 2020, the first residents moved into their new homes at the power station.[69] As part of the development, a 200-seat theatre, the Turbine Theatre, was established in railway arches under the Grosvenor Bridge in September 2019.[70]
In October 2013, Frank Gehry was appointed joint architect with Foster + Partners to design "Phase 3" of the scheme, which will provide "the gateway to the entire development and the new Northern line extension".[71]
Apple
In September 2016, Apple announced plans to renovate and eventually house 1,400 employees at the station by 2021, occupying around 500,000 square feet of the space. Apple and other firms will share the site with over 4,000 homes.[72]
In popular culture
The station has become an iconic structure and has been featured in many forms of culture in its more than eighty-year history.
Main article: Battersea Power Station in popular culture
Battersea Power Station has become an iconic structure, being featured in or used as a shooting location for many films, television programmes, music videos and video games. One of the station's earliest appearances on film was in Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 film Sabotage, which shows the station before the construction of the B station.[73] The station makes a brief appearance in The Beatles' second film, Help!, in 1965. It also appears during the first daylight attack on London sequence in the 1969 movie Battle of Britain, in the movie as in real life used as a navigational landmark by the attacking Luftwaffe bombers.
One of the likely reasons for the power station's worldwide recognition is its appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album, Animals, which sold millions of copies worldwide. The cover photograph showed the power station with the group's inflatable pink pig floating above it. The photographs were taken in early December 1976 and the inflatable pig was made by the German company Ballon Fabrik and Australian artist Jeffrey Shaw.[74][75] The inflatable pig was tethered to one of the power station's southern chimneys, but broke loose from its moorings and, to the astonishment of pilots in approaching planes, drifted into the flight path of Heathrow Airport. Police helicopters tracked its course, until it landed in Kent.[76] Video footage of the photoshoot was used in the promotional video for the song "Pigs on the Wing".[77] The album was officially launched at an event at the power station.[76]
The interior of the A station's control room was used for the "Find the Fish" segment of Monty Python's 1983 film, The Meaning of Life.[78]
A close-up of the station can be seen as stand-in for the exterior of a London railway station in Michael Radford's 1984 film, Nineteen Eighty-Four.[79]
The station was used several times by ambient house band The Orb on the covers of their albums - the founder of the band Alex Patterson having being born and raised in Battersea - including The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. The band also parodied Pink Floyd's inflatable pig flying over Battersea Power Station on the cover of their Live 93 album, which featured a floating toy sheep named Flossie hovering above a similar power station.[citation needed]
The station's ruined interior was also used for the climactic battle of the 1995 Richard Loncraine/Ian McKellen film of Shakespeare's Richard III, reimagined in 1930s England.
The station appears in a scene in the 2006 movie Children of Men. A pig balloon also appears in the scene as homage to Pink Floyd's Animals.[80]
In October 2007, the power station was used as a filming location for the Batman movie The Dark Knight. The station's stripped, empty interior was used as a setting for a burnt-out warehouse.[81]
The station has appeared numerous times in the long-running British science fiction TV series Doctor Who. It appeared briefly in the story The Dalek Invasion of Earth in 1964, which saw the station in the 22nd century with two chimneys demolished, and a nearby nuclear reactor dome.[82] Another notable appearance in the show was in the 2006 two-parter "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" in which it served as the factory of Cybus Industries, producing Cybermen, one of the show's most iconic villains.
The opening sequence of the Agatha Christie's Poirot television series, set in 1936 England, features a stylized rendering of the A Station, accentuating its iconic Art Deco architecture.
In recent years, the power station has been used for various sporting, cultural and political events. Since 22 August 2009, the station has been used as a venue on the Red Bull X-Fighters season.[83] On 13 April 2010 the station was used as the venue for the launch of the Conservative Party's 2010 general election manifesto.[84] Between 6 and 7 May 2010, the station site was used by Sky News in their coverage of the election.[85]
Recently, Spanish poet Eduardo Moga has written about the building;[86] and a picture of it by Joel P. has been used as the cover for another Spanish writer's short tale: David Ferrer's La verdad sobre Mr. Henry Baker (cuento de Navidad).[87]
The building appears in the 2020 video game Watch Dogs: Legion. In the game, set in the near future, the power station has been converted into a shopping complex, named The Battersea, similar to the proposals made for the real site.
New developments in Taunton take shape.
Tangier is an area to the south of the town centre skirting the river from the bus station to French Weir Park. This prime location, with many brown-field areas in public ownership is perfect for small scale commercial mixed use development – and a regional housebuilder has already acquired outline consent to build 200 new homes.
A new major road scheme, The Third Way, linking the A38 (Wellington Road) to Bridge Street and two Park & Ride schemes will ease the flow of traffic to this area significantly, making it a very desirable part of town in which to work and live.
KSX699N was a Daimler Fleetline CRG6LXB / ECW H43/32F new as Eastern Scottish DD699 in August 1975. It was sold to Wilson's of Carnwath for spares in September 1992.
It carries a broadside advert for Bellway Homes. This company was founded in 1946 by John Thomas Bell and his sons John and Russell as a housebuilder operating in Newcastle upon Tyne under the name John T. Bell & Sons.
Spotted on a walk about in Cheltenham
Gloucestershire's leading independent builders merchant, with twenty vehicles covering a radius of approximately forty miles from our base in Cheltenham's town centre. The location is easy to call in and collect from and we welcome all customers, trade and retail.
Established in 1854, we maintain traditional high standards of customer service while embracing the latest technology - horses and carts have given way to a fleet that includes modern six-wheel crane lorries as well as specialised vehicles for delivering fragile items like bathroom suites.
We may have deep roots in the past however we continue to move forwards, with our fabulous award-winning showroom Obsidian, which showcases the best in kitchens and bathrooms from the world's top manufacturers and a new head office suite with state-of-the-art technology to further improve our high standards of customer service.
From national housebuilders to DIY, whatever your building requirements are - we can deliver
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Transforming living spaces into award winning designer homes. Yarrum Designer Homes, one of australia’s largest home builders have Display Homes in Newcastle, the Hunter Valley and Lake Macquarie. Call us on (02) 49381345.
What a journey this was - heading East, from Divriği to Kars: 365 miles by rail, on the Ankara–Kars railway - which was built in stages between 1910 and 1939 by two different railway companies, first from the east and then from the west.
$600,000 or thereabouts will put you in one of these beauties.
It was well on its way when we passed it a couple of weeks ago with shingles being conveyered to the roof.
A page of adverts as seen in the seen in the Daily Mail's Souvenir of the 1953/4 Royal Tour. Two are for famous 'brands' that are, in a ways, still with us. The long lived London based food canners and preservers, Crosse & Blackwell, had for many years their base in Soho at the top of Charing Cross Road. In recent years, after many amalgamations and take overs, Crosse & Blackwell is now simply an occasionally seen brand of goods such as canned foods.
Kangol were formed in 1938 and their original factories were in Cumberland, UK. Their famous beret, as well as being a fashion item, was also produced in massive numbers during WW2 for the uniform requirements of the British Armed Forces.
The main advert is for a Surrey based builders, E & L Berg and shows typical suburban homes as being constructed in the English "Home Counties" adjacent to London. Such properties were sought after then and are now in often very sought after locations!
A rather fine folder showing examples and samples of letter headings and headed notepaper issued by The National Association of Engravers & Die-Stampers and showing the craftsmanship of various of their members. Although not dated the back cover is stamped with a receipt stamp of 25 May 1939. The variosu sheets of individual notepaper echo examples often found in contemporary Penrose's Annuals. Although the manufacturers and their details are correct I think that all the 'companies' are ficticious although there was, for example, a well known Edinburgh gardening and florists company called Dobbie's. I'm not sure if that, for example, is 'real' and used with consent or if it is simply a variation on a theme.
The examples however show some great contemporary styles of lettering and typefaces along with the vignettes that accompany the text and headings. This example is by D G Lusty & Son Ltd and is for an apparently fictious builder's and decorators by the name of Smith & Renshaw, based in Carshalton, Surrey. The 'estate' and house shown is typical of the style of inter-war home that was built in the rapidly expanding suburbs of the Home Counties and elsewhere.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
A.B. Reast was building modern homes, of distinctive designs, where work was less and much easier, in the north of Hampstead Garden Suburb where his address was 43 Midholm, N.W.11, telephone SPEedwell 7544.
ECW bodied Bristol VR PUM 149W started life within York West Yorkshire NBC but later became Yorkshire Rider 1746, or more specifically Rider York 1746 as it spent most of its working life in the city - at one point wearing a vivid red and black overall livery for a local housebuilder. In its later days of service life it was used as a school bus, and that's why this photo is getting a caption: as during 1997/8 my own school service from Huntington School to home was served either by sister PWY41W or by this very bus in the photo - on warmer days I always preferred 746 simply due to the opening hopper windows at the front (and as I often seemed to have my last lesson of the day either at the front of the maths/art block meant I could see where my bus was on the grid, so to speak, thereby meaning I almost always bagged the front seat - though sometimes the front hopper windows acted as wasp scoops!). When the VR's were withdrawn from service my school route was then usually run by Olympian A686MWX which ironically is also in preservation (though sadly nowhere nearby as it's in the Morton's heritage fleet). Although this VR has been stored for quite some time, a change of owner then saw restoration continue with the finished article being unveiled early in the 2018 rally season - with a personal bias I myself would have liked to see this in Yorkshire Rider livery (especially as there's a lack of YR vehicles on the rally scene currently), however the immaculate restoration is still a testament to the effort undertaken by its owners.
In the April service changes, off peak, every second Redmoss 18 now extends to Cove similar to the old 21 service but operating via Charleston Road now the route has been extended as a through road all the way to Wellington Road as a result of housebuilding.
67785 is seen here turning off Wellington Road into the new entrance to Charleston Road.
The 18 operates as a loop round Cove with the layover built in to just beyond this point on Charleston Rd roughly where the old terminus would have been.
Note in this shot the bus stops behind the Enviro. They are on both sides of the street despite the bus only travelling one way, they are non standard design of the housebuilder rather than council issue and the bus stop pole has been positioned right next to the raised curve preventing anyone on wheelchair getting off the ramp if the bus pulls correctly into the stop position.
ECW bodied Bristol VR PUM 149W started life within York West Yorkshire NBC but later became Yorkshire Rider 1746, or more specifically Rider York 1746 as it spent most of its working life in the city - at one point wearing a vivid red and black overall livery for a local housebuilder. In its later days of service life it was used as a school bus, and that's why this photo is getting a caption: as during 1997/8 my own school service from Huntington School to home was served either by sister PWY41W or by this very bus in the photo - on warmer days I always preferred 746 simply due to the opening hopper windows at the front (and as I often seemed to have my last lesson of the day either at the front of the maths/art block meant I could see where my bus was on the grid, so to speak, thereby meaning I almost always bagged the front seat - though sometimes the front hopper windows acted as wasp scoops!). When the VR's were withdrawn from service my school route was then usually run by Olympian A686MWX which ironically is also in preservation (though sadly nowhere nearby as it's in the Morton's heritage fleet). Although this VR has been stored for quite some time, a change of owner then saw restoration continue with the finished article being unveiled early in the 2018 rally season - with a personal bias I myself would have liked to see this in Yorkshire Rider livery (especially as there's a lack of YR vehicles on the rally scene currently), however the immaculate restoration is still a testament to the effort undertaken by its owners.
An interesting book produced in 1922 at a time when the post-WW1 slogan "Homes for Heroes" was still valid and many schemes for the more economic construction of houses, either by size, scale or construction methodolgy were being proposed. This was also the time when many municipal authorities were first seriously involved in the provision of social or council housing. This book, with a foreword by Sir Charles Ruthen, Director-General of Housing in the Ministry of Health, has a series of articles both on types and plans of 'modern cottages' but also looks at various contemporary construction methodology including 'modern methods of building' that involved either a decree of prefabrication or the use of 'labour' and cost saving materials such as concrete blocks. and the production of concrete. Many of these methods, similar to those considered in similar post-WW2 years, where not widely adopted and properties using such novel methods often displayed defects. In many ways the 'traditional' construction methods of brick and wet trades won out.
The book also has many pages of adverts for builders and suppliers, many of which allude to the construction methods discussed in the articles. This advert is for the London and Birmingham based builders A & S Wheater who had completed schemes for various municipalities including Brighton (illustrated), Smethwick and Reading.
Over the new footbridge.
The bridge is being paid for by the housing estate developer. The project value is £1.1 million. Who said bridges would be cheap?
"Danaher & Walsh has been appointed by housebuilder Jelson Homes to construct a footbridge over the A6 trunk road in Birstall, Leicestershire.
The single-span 50m x 3.5m footbridge will cross five lanes of traffic using a hybrid steel bowstring arch Vierendeel truss design.
Piling will take place before the construction of reinforced concrete foundations, abutments and wingwalls. After the fitting of the bowstring arch, lighting and crash barriers will be installed to the highway."
My album of this bridge construction and installation: www.flickr.com/photos/stevenbrandist/albums/7215770373535...
ECW bodied Bristol VR PUM 149W started life within York West Yorkshire NBC but later became Yorkshire Rider 1746, or more specifically Rider York 1746 as it spent most of its working life in the city - at one point wearing a vivid red and black overall livery for a local housebuilder. In its later days of service life it was used as a school bus, and that's why this photo is getting a caption: as during 1997/8 my own school service from Huntington School to home was served either by sister PWY41W or by this very bus in the photo - on warmer days I always preferred 746 simply due to the opening hopper windows at the front (and as I often seemed to have my last lesson of the day either at the front of the maths/art block meant I could see where my bus was on the grid, so to speak, thereby meaning I almost always bagged the front seat - though sometimes the front hopper windows acted as wasp scoops!). When the VR's were withdrawn from service my school route was then usually run by Olympian A686MWX which ironically is also in preservation (though sadly nowhere nearby as it's in the Morton's heritage fleet). Although this VR has been stored for quite some time, a change of owner then saw restoration continue with the finished article being unveiled early in the 2018 rally season - with a personal bias I myself would have liked to see this in Yorkshire Rider livery (especially as there's a lack of YR vehicles on the rally scene currently), however the immaculate restoration is still a testament to the effort undertaken by its owners.
via Image copyright Getty Images Image caption British fashion house Burberry is among the winners following the Brexit vote
A hundred days ago the world woke up to the news that Britain had voted to leave the European Union.
The decision sent global financial markets into a spin and saw the pound plunge to its lowest level in more than 30 years, as investors bet that the UK economy would suffer.
The FTSE 100 share index of the UK’s 100 biggest companies has since bounced back.
But the pound is still down at levels last seen in the 1980s, having dropped 12% against the dollar since the referendum on 23 June.
The companies whose shares have fared best since then are those which make most of their money in other currencies and are less exposed to the UK economy.
So who have the markets judged to be the biggest winners and losers so far?
Winner: Burberry
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Burberry’s overseas earnings are worth more after the fall in sterling
In the days after the referendum result, many investors started looking at FTSE 100 companies with large businesses outside the UK.
British fashion designer Burberry, which generates about 85% of its sales abroad, was one.
Even though the company warned staff it would be stronger inside the EU, its share price has shot up 24% since 23 June, adding more than 2bn to its market value and making it one of the biggest winners on the index.
Burberry is in the “sweet spot” for UK companies, says Laith Khalaf, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Because of the pound’s fall, the money Burberry makes abroad in dollars, euros and yen is worth more back in the UK, and the costs in its UK head office are relatively lower, he says.
The iconic trench coat maker could also benefit from more Asian tourists bargain-hunting in the UK after the pound’s fall.
“Chinese tourists are very savvy in their understanding of global foreign exchange rates,” says an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, although he adds that more visitors to Burberry’s UK shops could come at the expense of sales in other regions.
Like all companies on the FTSE 100, Burberry’s shares have also been affected by non-Brexit issues, including a boost from this month’s London Fashion Week and poaching a new chief executive from Chanel.
Winner: HSBC
Image copyright Reuters Image caption HSBC has outperformed its more UK-focused banking rivals
Banking giant HSBC was also critical of the idea of leaving the EU, but since the referendum has seen its shares surge, by around 27%.
The bank – the UK’s second biggest company – earns about three quarters of its profits in Asia, according to Mr Khalaf, which could explain why investors think, as with Burberry, the weaker pound will boost its prospects.
Shares in more UK-focused banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland have dropped 24% and 29% respectively.
The recent shift in UK interest rates will also have played a part. Lower rates make it harder for banks to make a profit but that’s less of a problem for HSBC with its large overseas interests, than it is for the domestic banks.
Ian Gordon, a banking analyst at Investec, says most of HSBC’s business is outside the UK, including the US, where interest rates are forecast to rise.
Royal Bank of Scotland, in comparison, is an “almost pure UK business and ‘lower for longer’ interest rates is a UK phenomenon,” he says.
Also working in HSBC’s favour, Mr Gordon adds, is that the bank is handing back $2.5bn (1.9bn) to shareholders this year after it sold its Brazilian business.
Winner: Miners
Image copyright BHP Billiton Image caption Three mining firms were the biggest winners on the FTSE 100
The biggest winners, though? Mining companies. Something of a surprise for investors after the industry’s volatility in the last 12 months.
Edward Sterck, a metals and mining analyst at BMO Capital Markets, says: “This time last year mining investors were feeling pretty negative, and in January many were feeling very negative indeed.
“Sitting here today they are pretty buoyant.”
Mexican gold and silver miner Fresnillo’s shares have risen 46%, putting it top of the post-Brexit leaderboard. Swiss mining trader Glencore is up 39% and British miner Anglo American has gained 39%.
The companies’ large foreign earnings, as well as rising metal prices, have helped turn around their fortunes.
Gold and silver have increased 6% and 12% respectively since the referendum. Seen as “safe haven” assets, they have been boosted by uncertainty in global financial markets and rock-bottom interest rates, two issues further intensified by the Brexit vote.
Loser: Easyjet
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Easyjet shareholders worry storm clouds are gathering for the airline
At the other end of the scale, the biggest loser on the blue chip index has been budget airline Easyjet.
Its shares are still down more than 34%, leaving the Luton-based firm in danger of being relegated from the FTSE 100.
Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy, says its shares haven’t recovered since warning shortly after the Brexit vote that the weaker pound would put off some UK holidaymakers and would make fuel – which it pays for in dollars – more expensive.
“The share price has taken a hammering and there’s still a lot of uncertainty,” Mr Furlong says.
Analysts at Barclays estimate that factor outside the airline’s control, such as terror attacks, strikes in France and congestion at Gatwick, will cost Easyjet at least 150m this year.
Also towards the bottom of the FTSE performance table is British Airways owner IAG, which has seen its shares fall 23% on similar fears about a drop-off in UK travel abroad.
Loser: Housebuilders
Image copyright PA Image caption Housebuilder shares are still down despite recent positive surveys
Like airlines and UK banks, housebuilders are seen as the most at risk in the FTSE 100 if the UK economy slows down or enters recession.
Shares in construction companies are down significantly since the referendum, despite lower interest rates, an ongoing housing shortage and schemes like Help to Buy bolstering the property market.
Mr Khalaf says: “The big elephant in the room is what effect Brexit will have on the economy and will it take its toll on house prices?”
Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon, three of the UK’s biggest homebuilders, have made back some share price losses, but are still down 20%, 14% and 13% respectively.
More than 100 days on, the market seems settled in its forecasts on construction firms and which other companies will gain and lose in the post-Brexit landscape, says Mr Khalaf.
“It may or may not end up being the right call but for now it looks pretty rational,” he adds.
Read more: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37485412
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Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
The vast majority of suburban homes at this time were of quite traditional architectural design; however there were some homes for the more adventurous. These include the very modern style of houses constructed by R. & E. Davis on the Warren House Estate in Stanmore and seen here. These still stand on the corner of Valencia Road.
"Reginald Wells (1877 - 1951) can lay claim to be the first 'Studio Potter' in that his interests lay exactly in those areas which were to preoccupy studio potters in later decades - English slipware and Chinese stonewares". Oliver Watson
Reginald Fairfax Wells was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of James Wells, an explorer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He studied pottery at Camberwell School of Art after originally training as a sculptor in the Royal College of Art.
He married in 1899 and between 1899 and 1933 he exhibited at the Royal College and had selling exhibitions, where he exhibited both bronze figure sculpture and pottery, at prominent London venues such as the Fine Art Society in New Bond Street, The Beaux Arts Gallery in Bruton Place and The Artificers Guild in Maddox Street.
His first pottery was at Coldrum Farm in Wrotham, Kent where he produced slipware and lead-glazed ware influenced by traditional English techniques. Following this in 1910 he set up a pottery in Chelsea, producing an evenly glazed earthenware of varied colour and shape which he called 'Coldrum ware'.
After the interruption of the First World War and the collapse of his aircraft business, he set up another pottery in King's Road, Chelsea, where he began to experiment with high temperature stoneware imitations of Chinese 'Sung' dynasty pots that were all marked "SOON".
Between 1925-1951 he built houses and worked at his pottery in Storington Sussex. A man of wide ranging interests and skills he was also an architect, housebuilder and designer of early aeroplanes and submarines.
He died in Worthing Hospital in June 1951 aged 73.
ECW bodied Bristol VR PUM 149W started life within York West Yorkshire NBC but later became Yorkshire Rider 1746, or more specifically Rider York 1746 as it spent most of its working life in the city - at one point wearing a vivid red and black overall livery for a local housebuilder. In its later days of service life it was used as a school bus, and that's why this photo is getting a caption: as during 1997/8 my own school service from Huntington School to home was served either by sister PWY41W or by this very bus in the photo - on warmer days I always preferred 746 simply due to the opening hopper windows at the front (and as I often seemed to have my last lesson of the day either at the front of the maths/art block meant I could see where my bus was on the grid, so to speak, thereby meaning I almost always bagged the front seat - though sometimes the front hopper windows acted as wasp scoops!). When the VR's were withdrawn from service my school route was then usually run by Olympian A686MWX which ironically is also in preservation (though sadly nowhere nearby as it's in the Morton's heritage fleet). Although this VR has been stored for quite some time, a change of owner then saw restoration continue with the finished article being unveiled early in the 2018 rally season - with a personal bias I myself would have liked to see this in Yorkshire Rider livery (especially as there's a lack of YR vehicles on the rally scene currently), however the immaculate restoration is still a testament to the effort undertaken by its owners.
Leyland National DOC 33V is in sparkling condition as it waits to leave with a limited stop service to Chelmsley Wood. Pulling out is Daimler Fleetline YOK 120K in Barrett Housebuilder livery, 4120 is off to the Birmingham boundary at Quinton. It must be summer, the temperature is 14C on the Post and Mail building, in Colmore Row the "vertical cigarette" lights are still in place.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
Napier Development Co. Ltd. were based in Pinglestone Close, Harmondsworth, a small estate that is now almost on the boundary of Heathrow Airport. The company were advertising developments in Harmondsworth, in many ways then a remote settlement off the A4, Bath Road, and now bordered by the airport, the M4 and the M25, as well as in West Drayton.
ECW bodied Bristol VR PUM 149W started life within York West Yorkshire NBC but later became Yorkshire Rider 1746, or more specifically Rider York 1746 as it spent most of its working life in the city - at one point wearing a vivid red and black overall livery for a local housebuilder. In its later days of service life it was used as a school bus, and that's why this photo is getting a caption: as during 1997/8 my own school service from Huntington School to home was served either by sister PWY41W or by this very bus in the photo - on warmer days I always preferred 746 simply due to the opening hopper windows at the front (and as I often seemed to have my last lesson of the day either at the front of the maths/art block meant I could see where my bus was on the grid, so to speak, thereby meaning I almost always bagged the front seat - though sometimes the front hopper windows acted as wasp scoops!). When the VR's were withdrawn from service my school route was then usually run by Olympian A686MWX which ironically is also in preservation (though sadly nowhere nearby as it's in the Morton's heritage fleet). Although this VR has been stored for quite some time, a change of owner then saw restoration continue with the finished article being unveiled early in the 2018 rally season - with a personal bias I myself would have liked to see this in Yorkshire Rider livery (especially as there's a lack of YR vehicles on the rally scene currently), however the immaculate restoration is still a testament to the effort undertaken by its owners.
I've been meaning to take an image of this building for some time. This morning having driven down to the East Bank tunnel earlyish it seemed like a good time to stop with the light on the side of this once top of the range hotels in Sheffield now sadly derelict for many years.
The history from Wikipedia:-
Design, construction and opening
Designed by Nelson Foley of the Trust House Architectural Department, construction started in 1963 at a cost of £1 million. The Hallam Tower Hotel, owned by Trust Houses Group Ltd, opened on 24 March 1965[1] and at opening boasted 136 bedrooms over its eleven stories, employed nearly 150 staff members and covered a three and a half acre site.[2] The hotel included facilities such as the Vulcan Room restaurant which featured a colour scheme of "orange, yellow, pale wrapping paper brown and sour green",[1] the Sheffield Plate Grill (a quick service buttery),[3] decorated with "a series of Sheffield trade signs, none of them later than 1910 and most of them mid-19th century" and a colour scheme of pink, red, black and white,[1] and the Downstairs Bar, described in the original press release for the hotel thus; "A dark intimate room with a club-like atmosphere enlivened by turquoise blue upholstery. Dark lincrusta walls. 18th century Hogarth engravings. Silver Trimmings.".
Hotel operations
Being one of the first luxury hotels built in the region since the end of the Second World War,[1] the city and the building's owners were keen to capitalise on the hotel's modern look and it appeared in an advertisement for the Ford Galaxie 500 and in the promotional film; Sheffield… City on the Move.
Several times during the 1960s the hotel restaurant appeared in Egon Ronay's Guide to British Eateries and achieved a four star rating from the AA.
For the 1966 World Cup, Hillsborough Stadium was the 'home' ground of the Swiss team, their over night accommodation was the Hallam Tower Hotel. One incident occurred when the Swiss fielded a team which left out two of their star players, against Germany due to said players arriving back at the hotel an hour after curfew the night before.
With the takeover of Trust Houses Group Ltd by Forte Holdings in 1970 the building came under the ownership of Trust House Forte.[6] In 1978 the hotels management attempted to move away from what it dubbed "the sweatshirt and jeans brigade" by only accepting bookings from rock bands so long as they dressed were appropriately inside the hotel and didn't swear while in the hotel restaurant.
During the miners' strike in the summer of 1984 Daily Mirror proprietor Robert Maxwell had a secret meeting in a room on the top floor with National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill which he had asked Mirror journalist John Pilger to arrange. Up to that point the paper was supportive of the strike and Maxwell put himself forward as a mediator between the National Coal Board and the NUM. According to Pilger, in his book, Hidden Agendas (1998) the meeting went badly and turned the Daily Mirror against the strike.
By 1986 the building was known as the Hallam Tower Post House Hotel and a year later was subject to a £750,000 refurbishment which also saw the opening of the gym, whose members boasted members of the Sheffield Wednesday football team, its then-manager Howard Wilkinson, along with boxer Herol 'Bomber' Graham.
The hotel later became known as the Forte Crest Sheffield[8] and the Posthouse Sheffield. In 2001, the hotel became the Holiday Inn Sheffield West.
Hotel closure
The hotel eventually closed, along with the attached Spirit Health Club, on 18 April 2004, with some staff transferring to the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria in central Sheffield. The building was sold to development company Hallam Grange Ltd. for £6.3 million later in 2004. Hallam Grange Ltd. was a development vehicle owned by the Hague Family of Hague Plant.
After closure as a hotel
Since its closure the building has stood empty, although planning permission was granted in 2009 for a redevelopment of the tower into residential units, as part of a wider redevelopment which would create 132 residential units on the site. Hallam Grange and their architects', Sheffield-based Axis Architecture, had been working on the scheme for three years, with the granted scheme being of smaller bulk and different layout to that originally proposed. The granted scheme would an extra floor added to the rear of the tower, with some being removed from the front portion and the whole building reclad.
The ancillary buildings and low rise elements of the site were demolished during 2013 by Hague Plant, along with clearance of the first three floors of the tower building. Thus just the tower building of the original hotel remained in situ.
In September 2013, Hallam Grange placed the building on the market for sale with the Sheffield residential development office of Knight Frank. A sale of the building was agreed in May 2014, reputed to be with an unspecified national housebuilder, however by July of the same year this deal had fallen through and the property was returned to the market.
In July 2015, local newspaper; The Sheffield Star quoted agent Tearle Phelan of Knight Frank as saying "We are speaking to a very interested party, it’s in legals and we are looking to exchange imminently". The Sheffield Telegraph subsequently reported (October 2015) [18] that a company had purchased the site and that the proposal would include the building being demolished and new luxury apartments and homes built on the land with no mention of social housing.
The tower was damaged in a fire during the evening of 10 January 2016.
In March 2017 the body of a 19 year old man who is believed to have fallen to his death was found in the hotel. Police are treating the death as unexplained
Reginald Wells was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of James Wells, an explorer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He studied pottery at Camberwell School of Art after originally training as a sculptor in the Royal College of Art.
He married in 1899 and between 1899 and 1933 he exhibited at the Royal College and had selling exhibitions, where he exhibited both bronze figure sculpture and pottery, at prominent London venues such as the Fine Art Society in New Bond Street, The Beaux Arts Gallery in Bruton Place and The Artificers Guild in Maddox Street.
His first pottery was at Coldrum Farm in Wrotham, Kent where he produced slipware and lead-glazed ware influenced by traditional English techniques. Following this in 1910 he set up a pottery in Chelsea, producing an evenly glazed earthenware of varied colour and shape which he called 'Coldrum ware'.
After the interruption of the First World War and the collapse of his aircraft business, he set up another pottery in King's Road, Chelsea, where he began to experiment with high temperature stoneware imitations of Chinese 'Sung' dynasty pots that were all marked SOON and are the majority of the pots in this collection.
Between 1925-1951 he built houses and worked at his pottery in Storington Sussex. A man of wide ranging interests and skills he was also an architect, housebuilder and designer of early aeroplanes and submarines.
He died in Worthing Hospital in June 1951 aged 73.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
This advert dives details of an estate in Finchley, around Kingsgate Avenue and Clandon Gardens, with slightly more upmarket homes as even then £3,500 was quite an amount. The two streets, just north of the North Circular Road, now sees homes sell from £1,000,000 to £4,000,000; there are still properties with these features as shown here in-situ but my, the noise from the the NCR would be too much for me!
My first attempt at a 'connected reading list'. I like to read factual books and often find myself jumping from one subject area to the next either through direct quotation, a reference or bibliography entry, a reviewer's comment or simply from a Google search. If you hover your mouse pointer over the photo I've added notes which are links to each title on Amazon.co.uk
Working up the stack we start with
- Joe McNally's The Moment It Clicks; Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters. He takes an interesting approach and it reads somewhere between a heavily illustrated autobiography and a how-to manual and that, somehow, is a perfect combination! (I found this and the next two from Thom Hogan's excellent Nikon centric website)
- Light Science and Magic. So you like taking photographs? This is the book that explains all about why light itself acts the way it does.
- Out of the Blue, So you like taking photographs or you just enjoy being outside! Read this great book to get an understanding on the weather and its visual phenomenon.
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. The title says it all - A huge undertaking that Bryson pulls off with aplomb. Get some sense of scale. This should be required reading for everybody!
- Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative is my favourite book on displaying information by Tufte.
- Universal Principles of Design is a collection of 125 design concepts draw from a wide range of disciplines from graphic design to architecture to user-interface design.
- Security Engineering by Ross Anderson is THE book on the subject. Most engineers in any field spend their time trying to get things to work well, Security Engineers need to spend their time thinking about how to break things. This book looks at everything from Cash Machines to Nuclear Command and Control, Door Locks to Cryptography and reminds you that you are only as secure as the weakest link.
- A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. Despite appearances this actually has more pages than Anderson's Security tome. The title refers to a structured method of describing good design practices within Architecture, however it has been applied to numerous other fields since. If our modern era planning control adopted more of these 'patterns' we would live in far more pleasant built environs.
- Patterns of Home is a distillation of the domestic scale patterns suggested by Alexander et al in Pattern Language by two of the original collaborators, Silverstein and Jacobson, based on their experiences of applying them to houses over years of architectural practice.
- The Housebuilder's Bible by Mark Brinkley is how to Self-Build you own house in the UK.
- Designing a house to build inevitable brings you around to considering energy usage and supply. Sustainable Energy Without The Hot Air looks at this challenge on an individual household, national and global level, considering energy use and how to reduce it and energy supply options.
- A Place of My Own is the story of one man's desire to build his own space, in this case a writing studio. A fascinating narrative.
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad. At first and probably second glance the odd one out in this stack. It is over simplistic, over familiar, over American and a lot of what it details is common sense or should be. However the more financial titles I read the more I find myself coming back to it and re-reading it with modified perspectives.
- The Long and The Short of It: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren't in the Industry is a perfect antidote to the financial services industry and mainstream press personal finance output. The book to read if you don't trust the banking and investment industry and suspect you could probably do a better job yourself. It suggests you probably can and tells you how.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
This advert is by an Essex based builder, Eric Anderson, based in Wanstead and who has given roads on his north west London estate in Stanmore names from adjoining Essex suburbs; Snaresbrook Drive. Stanmore had recently been 'added' to the London tube map (the earlier mainline station not being very convinient) in 1932 and the Spinney Estate was close to the Metropolitan's new station.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
This page has two adverts. The first is for Cosway Estate Offices based in Mill Hill. The company is still in existance having been formed in 1935. The second is for Peter Robin Ltd., builders who were based in central London.
Whereas by the 1930s the idea of official guides and handbooks for individual local authorities, such as urban districts and county boroughs, were well established less common arr County guides; these only really come into prominence in post-WW2 years. However, some do turn up including this c.1936 Handbook for the County of Middlesex, the county to the north and west of London that has now vanished into Greater London. Issued by that doyen of guides and handbooks, E.J. Burrow, it was a consideration of the "industrial, commercial, holiday and sporting aspects of the County". At the time Middlesex, until the early Twentieth Century still a largely rural county, was rapidly vanishing under London's suburban growth. Driven by railway, and later road, expansion this was truly the county of "Metroland", suburban expansion that saw the rapid growth of once small country towns and villages into new suburbs, in this case aided by the Metropolitan Railway that became part of the new London Transport in 1933. In fact, London Transport's predecessors, the old 'Electric Tube' Group had also been busy extending lines into the county both north, to areas such as Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as west towards Uxbridge, Ruislip and Ealing. This can be seen on the small scale map included in the handbook.
The handbook looks at the usual amenities, residential and commercial, that were provided by the various local authorities and the County Council and by whose "approval" the Handbook was issued. It also details industrial development and it is worth recalling that the County was in many ways quite industrialised; not just a dormatory county for London. Many were the new 'light' industries, such as electrical, and that grew rapidly in the '20s onwards in 'newer' areas rather than older industrial areas. The Handbook contains chapters on various topics, on the local towns and authorities. It also has a great many adverts for house builders and estate developers, each arguing the benefits of their construction and locations. Many give prices and are an indication of the wave of construction, suburbanisation and commuting that Middlesex saw at the time.
This advert is for builder and contractor P. J. Preston of Chessington Avenue, Finchley, N3 and a 'typical Preston house' on the Chessington Estate that was a within a 'few minutes of Golder's Green.
Taman Sari Water Castle, also known as Taman Sari (Javanese: ꦠꦩꦤ꧀ ꦱꦫꦶ), is the site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It is located about 2 km south within the grounds of the Kraton, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Built in the mid-18th century, the Taman Sari had multiple functions, such as a resting area, a workshop, a meditation area, a defense area, and a hiding place.
Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement.
Since 1995, the Yogyakarta Palace Complex including Taman Sari has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Taman Sari comes from the Javanese words taman, meaning a "garden" or "park" and sari, which means "beautiful" or "flowers". Hence, the name Taman Sari means an area of a beautiful garden adorned with flowers. An old article described it as a "water castle" (Dutch: waterkasteel); as by shutting the watergates, the complex would be completely immersed in water, leaving tall structures standing out.
HISTORY
The building of Taman Sari commenced during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (1755–1792), the first sultan of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, and was completed by the time of Sultan Hamengkubuwono II. The building site, however, had already been known as a bathing place called Pacethokan Spring since Sunan Amangkurat IV’s reign (1719–1726). According to Kitab Mamana in Yogyakarta Kraton, the project leader for the construction of Taman Sari was Tumenggung Mangundipura. He had travelled twice to Batavia to learn about European architecture, which is the reason why the architecture of Taman Sari has marks of European style. The Regent of Madiun, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika, participated in funding the construction of Taman Sari. Prawirasentika also beseeched the Sultan to be relieved of Madiun's tax obligation. He offered other alternative ways of payment. The Sultan accepted his proposal. In 1758, the Sultan commanded the Regent to supervise the making of bricks and various complements, which would be used to build a beautiful garden. The sultan wanted a place where he could spend some time to relax after many years of wars that he had just experienced. Raden Tumenggung Mangundipura, under supervision of Raden Arya Natakusuma (who later became Sri Pakualam II), was responsible for the construction. The building was started in 1684 Javanese year (1758 AD). After finding out how large the complex was, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika realized that the cost would have been greater than the taxes. He resigned from the project and was replaced by Prince Natakusuma who continued the project to completion.
Taman Sari was built three years after the Giyanti Agreement as a resting place for Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. The complex consists of about 59 buildings including a mosque, meditation chambers, swimming pools, and a series of 18 water gardens and pavilions surrounded by artificial lakes. The complex was effectively used between 1765–1812.
The British invasion of the Yogyakarta Kraton saw considerable parts of the complex destroyed in 1812.
The building of Taman Sari ended upon the completion of the gates and the walls. A sengkalan memet (a Javanese chronogram) on the western gate (Gedhong Gapura Hageng) marks the year with the Javanese words Lajering Kembang Sinesep Peksi, denoting the Javanese year of 1691 or about 1765: lajering, "core" for 1; kembang, "flower" for 9; sinerep, "suck" or "drink" for 6; peksi, "bird" for 1; the sentence can be read as "birds gathering nectar of the flower". The relief around this sengkalan memet shows birds siphoning honey from flowery trees.
The maintenance of Taman Sari was abandoned shortly after Hamengkubuwono I died, partly because the elaborate hydraulic works were so difficult to maintain. The gardens were neglected and the buildings suffered some damage during the Java War of 1825–1830.
The palace complex fell out of use following an earthquake in 1867, which destroyed several buildings and drained the water features. Over time, squatters began to inhabit the site, surrounding the ruins of the deserted pavilions and filling the empty lakebeds.
In early 1970s, effort at restoration was made. Only the bathing complex has been completely restored.
DEMANG TEGIS
The manuscript of Serat Rerenggan mentions the story of Demang Tegis, a Portuguese man said to be one of the architect of Taman Sari. According to the manuscript, a strange man suddenly appeared in Mancingan Village (a locality name on the south coast of Java near Parangtritis). With long nose, white complexion, and a foreign language, the villagers suspected that the person was some kind of spirit or forest fairy. They presented him to the current sultan, Hamengkubuwono II. Apparently the sultan found interest in the person and took the strange man as his servant. Some years had passed and the man had finally learned to talk in Javanese. According to him, he was a Portuguese (or in Javanese, Portegis) who was stranded from a shipwreck. He also claimed to have been a housebuilder, so the sultan ordered him to erect a fortress. Satisfied by the man's work, the sultan gave him the title "demang." From then on that person was known as Demang Portegis or Demang Tegis.
There is a controversy whether Demang Tegis was actually the architect of Taman Sari, as the design resembles a hybrid of Javanese and Dutch styles, rather than Portuguese. P.J. Veth, in Java – Book III, page 631 wrote, "Local research says that [Taman Sari’s architecture] was designed by either a Spanish or Portuguese engineer, who was stranded off his sunken ship at the southern beach. However, [the architecture] that strongly shows Javanese character contradicts this." The evidence about Demang Tegis remains an inconclusive, yet the architecture of Taman Sari moved a number of Portuguese experts on architecture and cultural heritage to examine the Taman Sari in 2001.
The widespread assumption of European influence in the design of Taman Sari has been also challenged by the research of Hélène Njoto-Feillard from the University of Pantheon-Sorbonne, presented in a 2003 conference paper. Analysing the historic context and architectural style of the complex, the conclusion is that the creators are most likely local Javanese. The absence of any mention of European involvement in the construction of Taman Sari in Dutch historic descriptions is presented as further evidence in support of this hypothesis.
BUILDINGS
Taman Sari can be divided into four areas. The first area is the artificial lake Segaran located in the west. The second area is a bathing complex in the south of the Segaran lake, called the Umbul Binangun bathing complex. The third area, now completely gone, is the Pasarean Ledok Sari and Garjitawati Pool, located in the south of the bathing complex. The fourth area is the east side of the first and second area, which extend far to the east and to the southeast complex of Magangan.
THE SEGARAN LAKE AREA
The Segaran lake area was the main complex of the Taman Sari during its era. This complex consisted of a man-made lake called Segaran ("artificial sea") with some buildings located on artificial islands in the middle of a lake. The buildings are connected by an underwater tunnel. It was used as the starting point for the royal family to reach the Taman Sari pools via a vessel. Today, the Segaran lake cannot be seen any longer as the water had been drained and the lake bed is now filled with human settlements. The underwater tunnel, which is now underground after the water had gone, still exist and can be accessed.
In the middle of Segaran was an artificial island known as Kenongo Island (Javanese Pulo Kenongo). It was named after the cananga trees which once covered the island. On this island is a one-storeyed structure called the Kenongo building (Javanese Gedhong Kenongo), now in ruins.
On the south side of Kenongo Island is a row of small buildings called the Tajug. These buildings were originally used as air vents for the tunnel located below the lake. This underground tunnel, constructed in 1761, was an alternative way to reach the Kenongo Island other than by a vessel. Also on the south side of the Kenongo Island is another artificial island called Cemethi Island (Javanese Pulo Cemethi) or Panembung Island (Javanese Pulo Panembung). It is a one-storeyed structure for the Sultan to meditate, or some said, a hiding place for the royal family during an attack. Another name for this island is Sumur Gumantung, because on the south side of this island is a well that hangs above the ground. This place could only be reached via the underwater tunnel. The building of Cemethi Island is now also in ruin. A legend says that there is a secret tunnel that connects the palace with the south sea (Indian Ocean) where Nyai Roro Kidul or the Queen of the South has her palace. The supernatural Queen becomes the spiritual wife of Yogyakarta Sultan for many generations.On the west side of Kenongo Island is another one-storeyed circular structure that forms another artificial island in the past called Gumuling Well (Sumur Gumuling). These one-storeyed building can only be entered via the underwater tunnel. The building was used as a mosque. A niche in the wall of this building was used as a mihrab. The central area of this building is an elevated platform where four staircases meet, and then from the platform, one staircase reach the first floor. On the ground level of this platform is a small pool that was used for Muslim ritual ablution.
THE BATHING COMPLEX
The second area is located on the south of the former artificial lake of Segaran. Even though this area was not the focal point of Taman Sari, it is the best preserved area in the complex and is currently the most popular tourist attraction. The area is accessed via two gates on the east and the west side, each of these gates leads to the center of the complex, first to an inner octagonal-shaped courtyard on the east and the west, and then each of these courtyards leads to a central bathing complex in the center.
THE GATES
There are two gates that lead to the bathing complex, the western one called Gedhong Gapura Hageng and the eastern one called Gedhong Gapura Panggung. Both gates are decorated with ornaments of stylized birds and flowering foliages.
The west entrance, the Gedhong Gapura Hageng was formerly used as the main entrance to the bathing complex. The east facade of the gate is still visible today, but the west facade is blocked by settlements. The construction of this gate was finished in 1691 Javanese Year (about 1765 AD). The east entrance, the Gedhong Gapura Panggung is still functioning as a gate and is now the main entrance for tourists. The east entrance is a building with four staircases, two on the west side and two on the eastside. Four nagas once decorated this gate, now there are only two nagas left. The building was finished in 1684 Javanese calendar (about 1758 AD).
THE OCTAGONAL COURTYARDS
Each of the gates leads to an octagonal-shaped courtyard. The western gate leads to a western octagonal-shaped enclosed courtyard. In the past, a building stood in the center of this courtyard, which was called the Lopak-lopak building (Javanese Gedhong Lopak-lopak).
The eastern gate leads to an octagonal-shaped enclosed courtyard as well. It has a similar layout with the Gedhong Lopak-lopak courtyard, but within it, there are four pavilions known as Gedhong Sekawan. These pavilions were used as the resting place for the royal family.
The eastern and the western octagonal courtyards lead to the central bathing complex.
UMBUL PASIRAMAN BATHING COMPLEX
Umbul Pasiraman, also known as Umbul Binangun or Umbul Winangun, is a bathing complex for the royal family. The bathing complex is an enclosed space surrounded by tall structures. It consists of three pools decorated with mushroom-shaped springs and large flower pots.
There are two buildings in the bathing complex. The northernmost building was used as the resting place and changing room for the daughters and concubines of the sultan. On the south side of this building is a pool known as Umbul Muncar. The pool is divided into two by a central pathway (known as Blumbang Kuras) that runs east-west. The next building on the south is a building with a tower in its center. The right wing of the building was used as the sultan's changing room, the east wing was used as his resting place. The central tower was used by the sultan to observe his daughters and concubines bathing in the pool.
On the south of this building is the third pool that was used only by the sultan and his concubines. During its era, only females and the sultan were allowed to enter this bathing complex.
GEDHONG TEMATEN
On the southeast and northeast of the Gedhong Gapuro Panggung are two buildings known as Gedhong Temanten. The buildings were formerly used by the castle guard. According to archeological study, on the south side of this building was another building and a garden whose remain cannot be seen anymore and is filled with settlements.
THE THIRD AREA
This area that is located south of the bathing complex, but no visible remains are left. According to a reconstruction of the site, this complex consisted of the complex of Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari and the pool complex of Garjitawati with several pavilions and a garden. Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari is the only part of the complex that is still protected. Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari was probably used as a meditation place for the sultan, or some said as the meeting place for the sultan and his concubines. In the middle of the building was also a sleeping room for the sultan with water flowing beneath it. There was also a kitchen, a looming room, a storage, two pools for the servants, and a garden.
THE FOURTH AREA
The fourth complex is the part of the Taman Sari complex that is practically has no visible remains, except for a former hanging bridge and remains of a pier. The description of this area is retrieved from a reconstruction made from the 1812 English army sketch of the Yogyakarta kraton. This area extends about 600 meters to the east of the Segaran lake area. This area consisted of another artificial lake on the southeast of the Magangan complex toward the northeast of Siti Hinggil Kidul complex. In the middle of this artificial lake is another artificial island called Kinupeng Island (Javanese Pulo Kinupeng). A building, known as Gading building (Javanese Gedhong Gading) stood in the middle of the island.
This artificial lake is connected to the east side of the Segaran Lake via a 380 meter long canal that runs east to west. The canal was about 20 meter wide and there are two bottlenecks that are thought to be the place where a hanging bridge once stood. One of the bridge is now located in the street that connects the kraton complex of Magangan with the Kamandhungan Kidul. The layout of the bridge can still be recognized, although the bridge itself has gone. On the west side of the hanging bridge is a pier that was used by the sultan as his starting point for his journey to the Taman Sari pool on his royal vessel.
The canal is bounded on the south and north with a garden, now located on the west side of the kraton complex of Kamanghungan Kidul and Siti Hinggil Kidul. Today, all of these canals, bridges, lakes, and gardens have been filled with local settlements; the garden becomes the Kampung Ngadisuryan, the lake becomes the kampung Segaran.
AROUND TAMAN SARI
Today, the area around the Taman Sari castle complex is occupied by a settlement called Kampung Taman with 2,700 residents. The community is known for their batik and traditional painting craft traditions. Also located in this area is the Ngasem Traditional Market (Pasar Ngasem), which hosted the biggest bird market in Yogyakarta for a long time (until the bird market was relocated to PASTY on Jl. Bantul in 2010), and the Sokotunggal mosque, a unique mosque built in the early 20th century with a single pillar that is different from the usual Javanese traditional architecture.
WIKIPEDIA
Taman Sari Water Castle, also known as Taman Sari (Javanese: ꦠꦩꦤ꧀ ꦱꦫꦶ), is the site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It is located about 2 km south within the grounds of the Kraton, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Built in the mid-18th century, the Taman Sari had multiple functions, such as a resting area, a workshop, a meditation area, a defense area, and a hiding place.
Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement.
Since 1995, the Yogyakarta Palace Complex including Taman Sari has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Taman Sari comes from the Javanese words taman, meaning a "garden" or "park" and sari, which means "beautiful" or "flowers". Hence, the name Taman Sari means an area of a beautiful garden adorned with flowers. An old article described it as a "water castle" (Dutch: waterkasteel); as by shutting the watergates, the complex would be completely immersed in water, leaving tall structures standing out.
HISTORY
The building of Taman Sari commenced during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (1755–1792), the first sultan of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, and was completed by the time of Sultan Hamengkubuwono II. The building site, however, had already been known as a bathing place called Pacethokan Spring since Sunan Amangkurat IV’s reign (1719–1726). According to Kitab Mamana in Yogyakarta Kraton, the project leader for the construction of Taman Sari was Tumenggung Mangundipura. He had travelled twice to Batavia to learn about European architecture, which is the reason why the architecture of Taman Sari has marks of European style. The Regent of Madiun, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika, participated in funding the construction of Taman Sari. Prawirasentika also beseeched the Sultan to be relieved of Madiun's tax obligation. He offered other alternative ways of payment. The Sultan accepted his proposal. In 1758, the Sultan commanded the Regent to supervise the making of bricks and various complements, which would be used to build a beautiful garden. The sultan wanted a place where he could spend some time to relax after many years of wars that he had just experienced. Raden Tumenggung Mangundipura, under supervision of Raden Arya Natakusuma (who later became Sri Pakualam II), was responsible for the construction. The building was started in 1684 Javanese year (1758 AD). After finding out how large the complex was, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika realized that the cost would have been greater than the taxes. He resigned from the project and was replaced by Prince Natakusuma who continued the project to completion.
Taman Sari was built three years after the Giyanti Agreement as a resting place for Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. The complex consists of about 59 buildings including a mosque, meditation chambers, swimming pools, and a series of 18 water gardens and pavilions surrounded by artificial lakes. The complex was effectively used between 1765–1812.
The British invasion of the Yogyakarta Kraton saw considerable parts of the complex destroyed in 1812.
The building of Taman Sari ended upon the completion of the gates and the walls. A sengkalan memet (a Javanese chronogram) on the western gate (Gedhong Gapura Hageng) marks the year with the Javanese words Lajering Kembang Sinesep Peksi, denoting the Javanese year of 1691 or about 1765: lajering, "core" for 1; kembang, "flower" for 9; sinerep, "suck" or "drink" for 6; peksi, "bird" for 1; the sentence can be read as "birds gathering nectar of the flower". The relief around this sengkalan memet shows birds siphoning honey from flowery trees.
The maintenance of Taman Sari was abandoned shortly after Hamengkubuwono I died, partly because the elaborate hydraulic works were so difficult to maintain. The gardens were neglected and the buildings suffered some damage during the Java War of 1825–1830.
The palace complex fell out of use following an earthquake in 1867, which destroyed several buildings and drained the water features. Over time, squatters began to inhabit the site, surrounding the ruins of the deserted pavilions and filling the empty lakebeds.
In early 1970s, effort at restoration was made. Only the bathing complex has been completely restored.
DEMANG TEGIS
The manuscript of Serat Rerenggan mentions the story of Demang Tegis, a Portuguese man said to be one of the architect of Taman Sari. According to the manuscript, a strange man suddenly appeared in Mancingan Village (a locality name on the south coast of Java near Parangtritis). With long nose, white complexion, and a foreign language, the villagers suspected that the person was some kind of spirit or forest fairy. They presented him to the current sultan, Hamengkubuwono II. Apparently the sultan found interest in the person and took the strange man as his servant. Some years had passed and the man had finally learned to talk in Javanese. According to him, he was a Portuguese (or in Javanese, Portegis) who was stranded from a shipwreck. He also claimed to have been a housebuilder, so the sultan ordered him to erect a fortress. Satisfied by the man's work, the sultan gave him the title "demang." From then on that person was known as Demang Portegis or Demang Tegis.
There is a controversy whether Demang Tegis was actually the architect of Taman Sari, as the design resembles a hybrid of Javanese and Dutch styles, rather than Portuguese. P.J. Veth, in Java – Book III, page 631 wrote, "Local research says that [Taman Sari’s architecture] was designed by either a Spanish or Portuguese engineer, who was stranded off his sunken ship at the southern beach. However, [the architecture] that strongly shows Javanese character contradicts this." The evidence about Demang Tegis remains an inconclusive, yet the architecture of Taman Sari moved a number of Portuguese experts on architecture and cultural heritage to examine the Taman Sari in 2001.
The widespread assumption of European influence in the design of Taman Sari has been also challenged by the research of Hélène Njoto-Feillard from the University of Pantheon-Sorbonne, presented in a 2003 conference paper. Analysing the historic context and architectural style of the complex, the conclusion is that the creators are most likely local Javanese. The absence of any mention of European involvement in the construction of Taman Sari in Dutch historic descriptions is presented as further evidence in support of this hypothesis.
BUILDINGS
Taman Sari can be divided into four areas. The first area is the artificial lake Segaran located in the west. The second area is a bathing complex in the south of the Segaran lake, called the Umbul Binangun bathing complex. The third area, now completely gone, is the Pasarean Ledok Sari and Garjitawati Pool, located in the south of the bathing complex. The fourth area is the east side of the first and second area, which extend far to the east and to the southeast complex of Magangan.
THE SEGARAN LAKE AREA
The Segaran lake area was the main complex of the Taman Sari during its era. This complex consisted of a man-made lake called Segaran ("artificial sea") with some buildings located on artificial islands in the middle of a lake. The buildings are connected by an underwater tunnel. It was used as the starting point for the royal family to reach the Taman Sari pools via a vessel. Today, the Segaran lake cannot be seen any longer as the water had been drained and the lake bed is now filled with human settlements. The underwater tunnel, which is now underground after the water had gone, still exist and can be accessed.
In the middle of Segaran was an artificial island known as Kenongo Island (Javanese Pulo Kenongo). It was named after the cananga trees which once covered the island. On this island is a one-storeyed structure called the Kenongo building (Javanese Gedhong Kenongo), now in ruins.
On the south side of Kenongo Island is a row of small buildings called the Tajug. These buildings were originally used as air vents for the tunnel located below the lake. This underground tunnel, constructed in 1761, was an alternative way to reach the Kenongo Island other than by a vessel. Also on the south side of the Kenongo Island is another artificial island called Cemethi Island (Javanese Pulo Cemethi) or Panembung Island (Javanese Pulo Panembung). It is a one-storeyed structure for the Sultan to meditate, or some said, a hiding place for the royal family during an attack. Another name for this island is Sumur Gumantung, because on the south side of this island is a well that hangs above the ground. This place could only be reached via the underwater tunnel. The building of Cemethi Island is now also in ruin. A legend says that there is a secret tunnel that connects the palace with the south sea (Indian Ocean) where Nyai Roro Kidul or the Queen of the South has her palace. The supernatural Queen becomes the spiritual wife of Yogyakarta Sultan for many generations.On the west side of Kenongo Island is another one-storeyed circular structure that forms another artificial island in the past called Gumuling Well (Sumur Gumuling). These one-storeyed building can only be entered via the underwater tunnel. The building was used as a mosque. A niche in the wall of this building was used as a mihrab. The central area of this building is an elevated platform where four staircases meet, and then from the platform, one staircase reach the first floor. On the ground level of this platform is a small pool that was used for Muslim ritual ablution.
THE BATHING COMPLEX
The second area is located on the south of the former artificial lake of Segaran. Even though this area was not the focal point of Taman Sari, it is the best preserved area in the complex and is currently the most popular tourist attraction. The area is accessed via two gates on the east and the west side, each of these gates leads to the center of the complex, first to an inner octagonal-shaped courtyard on the east and the west, and then each of these courtyards leads to a central bathing complex in the center.
THE GATES
There are two gates that lead to the bathing complex, the western one called Gedhong Gapura Hageng and the eastern one called Gedhong Gapura Panggung. Both gates are decorated with ornaments of stylized birds and flowering foliages.
The west entrance, the Gedhong Gapura Hageng was formerly used as the main entrance to the bathing complex. The east facade of the gate is still visible today, but the west facade is blocked by settlements. The construction of this gate was finished in 1691 Javanese Year (about 1765 AD). The east entrance, the Gedhong Gapura Panggung is still functioning as a gate and is now the main entrance for tourists. The east entrance is a building with four staircases, two on the west side and two on the eastside. Four nagas once decorated this gate, now there are only two nagas left. The building was finished in 1684 Javanese calendar (about 1758 AD).
THE OCTAGONAL COURTYARDS
Each of the gates leads to an octagonal-shaped courtyard. The western gate leads to a western octagonal-shaped enclosed courtyard. In the past, a building stood in the center of this courtyard, which was called the Lopak-lopak building (Javanese Gedhong Lopak-lopak).
The eastern gate leads to an octagonal-shaped enclosed courtyard as well. It has a similar layout with the Gedhong Lopak-lopak courtyard, but within it, there are four pavilions known as Gedhong Sekawan. These pavilions were used as the resting place for the royal family.
The eastern and the western octagonal courtyards lead to the central bathing complex.
UMBUL PASIRAMAN BATHING COMPLEX
Umbul Pasiraman, also known as Umbul Binangun or Umbul Winangun, is a bathing complex for the royal family. The bathing complex is an enclosed space surrounded by tall structures. It consists of three pools decorated with mushroom-shaped springs and large flower pots.
There are two buildings in the bathing complex. The northernmost building was used as the resting place and changing room for the daughters and concubines of the sultan. On the south side of this building is a pool known as Umbul Muncar. The pool is divided into two by a central pathway (known as Blumbang Kuras) that runs east-west. The next building on the south is a building with a tower in its center. The right wing of the building was used as the sultan's changing room, the east wing was used as his resting place. The central tower was used by the sultan to observe his daughters and concubines bathing in the pool.
On the south of this building is the third pool that was used only by the sultan and his concubines. During its era, only females and the sultan were allowed to enter this bathing complex.
GEDHONG TEMATEN
On the southeast and northeast of the Gedhong Gapuro Panggung are two buildings known as Gedhong Temanten. The buildings were formerly used by the castle guard. According to archeological study, on the south side of this building was another building and a garden whose remain cannot be seen anymore and is filled with settlements.
THE THIRD AREA
This area that is located south of the bathing complex, but no visible remains are left. According to a reconstruction of the site, this complex consisted of the complex of Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari and the pool complex of Garjitawati with several pavilions and a garden. Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari is the only part of the complex that is still protected. Pasarean Dalem Ledok Sari was probably used as a meditation place for the sultan, or some said as the meeting place for the sultan and his concubines. In the middle of the building was also a sleeping room for the sultan with water flowing beneath it. There was also a kitchen, a looming room, a storage, two pools for the servants, and a garden.
THE FOURTH AREA
The fourth complex is the part of the Taman Sari complex that is practically has no visible remains, except for a former hanging bridge and remains of a pier. The description of this area is retrieved from a reconstruction made from the 1812 English army sketch of the Yogyakarta kraton. This area extends about 600 meters to the east of the Segaran lake area. This area consisted of another artificial lake on the southeast of the Magangan complex toward the northeast of Siti Hinggil Kidul complex. In the middle of this artificial lake is another artificial island called Kinupeng Island (Javanese Pulo Kinupeng). A building, known as Gading building (Javanese Gedhong Gading) stood in the middle of the island.
This artificial lake is connected to the east side of the Segaran Lake via a 380 meter long canal that runs east to west. The canal was about 20 meter wide and there are two bottlenecks that are thought to be the place where a hanging bridge once stood. One of the bridge is now located in the street that connects the kraton complex of Magangan with the Kamandhungan Kidul. The layout of the bridge can still be recognized, although the bridge itself has gone. On the west side of the hanging bridge is a pier that was used by the sultan as his starting point for his journey to the Taman Sari pool on his royal vessel.
The canal is bounded on the south and north with a garden, now located on the west side of the kraton complex of Kamanghungan Kidul and Siti Hinggil Kidul. Today, all of these canals, bridges, lakes, and gardens have been filled with local settlements; the garden becomes the Kampung Ngadisuryan, the lake becomes the kampung Segaran.
AROUND TAMAN SARI
Today, the area around the Taman Sari castle complex is occupied by a settlement called Kampung Taman with 2,700 residents. The community is known for their batik and traditional painting craft traditions. Also located in this area is the Ngasem Traditional Market (Pasar Ngasem), which hosted the biggest bird market in Yogyakarta for a long time (until the bird market was relocated to PASTY on Jl. Bantul in 2010), and the Sokotunggal mosque, a unique mosque built in the early 20th century with a single pillar that is different from the usual Javanese traditional architecture.
WIKIPEDIA