details in the leeds central library...

A beautiful Grade I listed Georgian mansion with a stately avenue of trees, between which there is a breathtaking formal lake. Once inside the house you are surrounded by history, a great deal of the original features have been retained including the decorative handcrafted plasterwork on the 24ft high ceilings, original fireplaces and solid oak panelling.

In 1713, the widow of Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, sold part of her estate to Benjamin Hoare, son of Richard Hoare, the wealthy Fleet Street banker. New Hall continued to be occupied by the widow until her death. So, Benjamin Hoare decided to build Boreham House as his new family home. The main building was begun about 1728 and finished in 1733. He commissioned prominent architects Henry Flitcroft & Sir James Gibbs to design the house and it was embellished with fine marbles and other materials including the staircase bought from New Hall, owned by Henry VIII from 1517 to 1547.

Boreham House stayed in the Hoares family until 1785, when William Walford bought it and rented it to Sir Elija Impey a British judge, until 1792. Around 1792, Sir John Tyrell, 1st Baronet bought the House. He was a local Justice of the Peace. In 1832, his son Sir John Tyrell, 2nd Baronet inherited Boreham House. He sat in Parliament as Conservative member for Essex. He died in 1877 leaving Boreham House in tail to his grandson Lieutenant Colonel Tufnell Tyrell, sheriff of Essex. The House stayed in the Family until

1931 when Henry Ford purchased the estate while returning from Oberammergau to see the Passion Play. He went into the English countryside and noticed the very bad conditions of farms and farm buildings which he passed. When the train was held up briefly at the Generals Lane level crossing and he noticed that Boreham House was for sale. He seized the opportunity to realise one of his dreams and bought Boreham House on 2 May 1931 to show that British agriculture could prosper and make people lives easier.this is where Ford developed this new venture under a new company called Fordson Estate Limited.

 

In 1937, the house, with a parcel of the land was donated to trustees of the Henry Ford Institute of Agricultural Engineering. Boreham House started to be a college in 1952, when it became the main training centre for the Ford Tractor Operation in Europe. The house also served as the temporary home for the National College of Agricultural Engineering in 1962. This moved to Silsoe, Bedfordshire as Silsoe College later joining with Cranfield University.

In 1997, the house had reverted to single family occupation.

In 2008 it was bought by the entrepreneur and business woman Teresa Ward. She decided to use the House as a wedding venue and corporate centre. Nowadays, people can get married in the house and have their wedding breakfast in this historic building.[4]

The house is located just off the Boreham road off the A12 roadway in Essex. The south face of the building fronts the top of Danbury Hill and Little Baddow Common, overlooking the Chelmer river vale.

 

Sometimes you talk to other explorers who give you hints how to ge in somewhere. I thought I had it all figured out when we arrived here. Until I saw where we should go in. I clearly should have mentioned that I am almost 2 meters long and 120 kilograms.... Luckily it all worked out!

 

This castle dates back to the 13th century. It was built on a crossing of two very important trade routes and therefor interesting area for people to settle. It has been owned by various aristocrats during the centuries.

The beautiful plaster on the several ceilings was built in the end of the 17th century already. In one room called the 'Bacchus Room' the ceiling is decorated with angels and wine barrels.

 

Although the decorations inside are some you don't see very often, the rest of the castle is rather empty. They have been working on renovation, but guess this is at a standstill for several years already....

 

Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures and follow me on Facebook on www.facebook.com/Preciousdecay

 

If you like my work and you would like a piece of me on your wall, please contact me for various materials and prices!

Pargeting decoration of the Old Sun Inn, Church Street, Saffron Walden. Until recently occupied by an antiques dealer.

 

Plasterwork wall panel by Giovanni Bagutti from the Great Staircase designed in the 1720s by James Gibbs at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire. This staircase replaced an earlier, seventeenth-century one. Wimpole is largely the creation of Edward Harley, earl of Oxford (1689-1741) who expanded the core of an earlier house. This phase of work was undertaken circa 1719-21 by Gibbs.

The mansion was built in the 1630s for Sir Thos. Holte {1571-1654}. The frieze in the great dining room depicts the Nine Worthies, plus 2 other figures. The IDs in the notes have been provided by a staff member at Aston Hall.

Scanned image from an original print of the 1887 Kansas Atlas showing the larger and fancier Bitting Brothers store at 126 and 128 Douglas Ave in Wichita, KS. This building is confirmed to have been built by William Henry Sternberg (1832 - 1906). The location of this building was the same as the smaller "Keystone Clothing Store" owned by Charles and Alfred Bitting. The caption at the bottom of the image reads, "Bitting Brothers, One Price Clothiers, Hatters and Furnishers. 126 & 128 Douglas Ave. N.W. Corner Market Steet. Wichita, Kansas. Mail Orders Receive Prompt Attention". The interior image (lower portion of picture) shows many tables stacked with clothes and many glass display cases filled with goods. The ceilings and walls are decked out with swags, fancy wallpaper borders and plasterwork. The center support colums are each very stylish electric lights. Along the walls are some very ornate display cases (glass ones on the right and wooden drawers on the left). Not visible in this image is a telephone for public use on the wall. The center island cage says "Cashier" above the middle gentleman. This was the 1st floor main level of the store and a large staircase leads up to floors above.

 

The exterior image (upper portion) shows horse drawn carriages in the dirt street and also a horse drawn trolley being pulled along rails. The advertisement on the roof of this trolley states, "Bitting Brothers One Price Clothiers East Douglas Avenue". These horse drawn trolleys were owned and operated by the Wichita Street Railway. Note the blocks of stone that have been layed next to the street (highlighted with notes in the photo). These were there for people to step out on when a carriage pulled up along side. Otherwise the drop down was fairly far, especially for the ladies. These blocks were chisled with the name, "Bitting Bros" facing out. One wonders sometimes the level of embellishment of these drawings, but all in all they appear to be quite accurate with virtually no embellishment at all. Bitting brothers indeed did advertise frequently on trolley cars and their trolley car advertising appears in other un-related old-time photos. This was not simply done for this Bitting store sketch.

 

Also seen in the print is a fire hydrant, so fire protection had come a long way in just a short period of time vs. pressurized pumps on trucks (in the 1870s). In spite a fire hydrant being right next to this building it sustained a massive fire in the Winter of 1911 and was a complete loss. The idea of installing a water system with fire hydrants throughout the city was being discussed in Wichita as early as 1880. But it wasn't until 1882 that Wichita finally began working on installing an underground water system for fire supression. In this year, Wichita contracted with a St. Louis firm for laying a 14-inch main, six inch supply pipes and a total of 60 hydrants throughout the city. This system was finished and in operation by Spring of 1883. City water pressure in the 1880s was kept at about 40 pounds, but during a fire it was doubled to 80 pounds, but only if the Water Superintendent got notified that there was a fire so he could increase the pressure. More than a few times in the frenzy of a fire, the Water Superintendent was never notified and so water pressure didn't get increased and was inadequate to fight the fire resulting in unnecessary structural loss. The water department was "catching heat" for this lack of adequate pressure, but ultimately the fire department was to blame for failing to notify the water department. However, by the time the Bitting Building burned these issues had been worked out long before and a lack of pressure was not to blame of the complete loss of the Bitting Building. The materials and construction of the building was likely more to blame. Fire stops, which are now required in structures to stop the spread of a fire, were normally not worked into buildings at this time. And fire-proof materials didn't exist, either. Although both manual and automatic fire sprinkler systems did exist at this time (automatic ones since about 1875), they were not required in commercial buildings like are they are today - they were at the discretion of the building owner. If a fire sprinkler system was installed in a commercial building it was usually in a factory (where fires at the turn of the century were often catastrophic in terms of both human and property losses) vs. a retail store. Also a fire supression system is not visible in the image above. So there were several reasons that contributed to this disasterous fire. Fortunately, though, no one was hurt in the Bitting Building fire. No one was in the building. The fire happened in the middle of the night. Wichita residents went to work the next cold winter day surpirsed by the scene of the four exterior walls being covered with huge ice cicles

 

Any thoughts, comments, ideas or additional information is welcomed and appreciated!

 

This image scanned from original 1887 print from the 1887 Kansas Atlas.

Visits to the house at: www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

 

Further information on the former contents of the house at the Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University: images.library.yale.edu/sh2/index.html

Elcho Castle is just outside Perth near the River Tay. It's a C16th tower house like Huntingtower, also near Perth. It belonged to the Wemyss family and was used by them until the mid C18th. In 1929 the 11th Earl gave the building to Historic Environment Scotland. Obviously there is nothing inside except the rooms, fireplaces and a plasterwork frieze.

Listed Grade 1 "TQ 2981 SE CITY OF WESTMINSTER GREEK STREET, W1 58/23 No. 1 (House of St. 24.2.58 Barnabas) - I Corner terrace house with Soho Square. c.1744-46 by Joseph Pearce, the interior fitted out with very fine plasterwork etc. for Richard Beckford, brother of the Alderman in 1754. Stock brick, slate roof. Plain rather old fashioned elevations in keeping with Soho Square. 3 storeys, basement and dormered mansard. 5 windows wide and 4 window return to Soho Square. Entrance in 2nd bay from right has stone architrave with consoles carrying cornice. Recessed glazing bar sashes in stucco reveals under flat gauged arches, blind in chimney breast bay and to left on 2nd floor to Greek Street. Brick plat bands and sill bands, the 1st floor sill band of stone, brick parapet with coping. Wrought iron urn finialed area railings and stone obelisks flanking the steps to doorway. The interior finished in carved wood and moulded plaster is one of the best surviving examples in London of mid C18 Rococo decoration with pedimented ornamental chimneypieces, carved pedimented doorcases, stone staircase with wrought iron openwork balusters and plasterwork panels to 1st floor level of compartment, etc. ceilings, cornices etc. A chapel was added in the former stable yard and to Manette Street for the House of Charity by Joseph Clarke in 1862, stone built in a bold c.1300 Burges related style of Gothic, 2 bays with an east apse and pairs of apsed chapels off each side of the lofty narrow nave; marble facings and mosaic work; large rose window in west wall. Survey of London; Vol. XXXIII. Listing NGR: TQ2976481213" Historic England

From this angle the place would appear virtually intact. The only bit of plasterwork damage i could spot is just about visible at the top of shot, a big chunk has pealed from the wall. Hopefully it gets fixed before it hits the floor!

Levens Hall & Topiary Gardens

  

The core of this delightful Elizabethan manor is a pele tower built in 1350 as a defense against Scottish raiders. The later Elizabethan home was built around the tower by the Bellingham family, who created a comfortable home with paneled rooms decorated with fine plasterwork ceilings. The dining room is worthy of special note; it has unusual embossed leather wall coverings from Cordova.

  

The house was expanded in 1694 by Col. James Grahme, former Privy Purse to James II. Rooms feature the family collections of paintings and memorabilia, including the earliest known example of English patchwork. Among the various items on display are Beau Brummel's snuff box, paintings by Van Dyck, Brueghel the Elder, and Rubens, and items associated with the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Nelson.

   

Levens Hall is home to several resident ghosts; a Grey Lady is known to appear in front of cars on the driveway, a woman in a print dres and cap appears before children, and a small black dog wanders the hall.

   

THE TOPIARY GARDENS

The gardens were laid out in 1694 by Guillaume Beaumont, who trained under Andre Le Notre at Versailles. Beaumont had only recently finished laying out gardens at Hampton Court Palace. Very little has been altered since that time, which is all to the good, as Beaumont created a wonderful experience with his imaginative use of topiary and garden walks. The gardens also feature the earliest known example in England of a "ha-ha", or sunken ditch.

   

The topiary of clipped yew and box hedges is underplanted with bedding plants in spring and summer, making for excellent colour. A rose garden, herbaceous borders, and a nuttery complete a most enjoyable garden. The most recent addition at Levens Hall is a fountain, approached by an avenue of pleached lime planted to celebrate 300 years of the gardens. Best viewed in: summer.

  

www.visitcumbria.com/sl/levens-hall-and-gardens.htm

 

www.levenshall.co.uk/

THE FIRST DWELLING AT LEVENS WAS A MEDIEVAL PELE TOWER, BUILT BY THE DE REDMAN FAMILY OF YEALAND REDMAYNE. THE BELLINGHAM FAMILY, WHO WERE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS, CHOSE LEVENS AS THEIR MAIN RESIDENCE IN THE 1590S AND INCORPORATED THE FORTIFIED TOWER INTO A GENTLEMAN’S RESIDENCE. THEY EMPLOYED LOCAL CRAFTSMEN TO CARVE THE OAK PANELLING, INCORPORATED ELABORATE ITALIAN PLASTERWORK, INCLUDING ELIZABETH THE FIRST’S COAT OF ARMS AND STAINED GLASS - ALL OF WHICH CAN BE SEEN TODAY.

THE HISTORIC HOUSE BECAME THE PROPERTY OF COLONEL JAMES GRAHME IN 1688 AFTER HIS CAREER AT COURT IN THE SERVICE OF KING JAMES II. HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A YOUNG FRENCH GARDENER, GUILLAUME BEAUMONT, A PUPIL OF LE NOTRE AT VERSAILLES, TO PLAN A FASHIONABLE GARDEN AT LEVENS. THIS FAMILY HOME CONTAINS FINE FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES IN EUROPE OF SPANISH LEATHER WALL COVERINGS, THE EARLIEST ENGLISH PATCHWORK, WELLINGTONIANA, CLOCKS AND MINIATURES, AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE FINEST STATELY HOMES IN SOUTH CUMBRIA.

THERE ARE TEN WONDERFUL ACRES OF GARDENS AT LEVENS HALL. THEY INCLUDE THE UNIQUE COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY TOPIARY CHARACTERS SCULPTED FROM BOX AND YEW. THEY RISE UP FROM A SPECTACULAR SEASONAL UNDERPLANTING POPULATED WITH AN EVER-CHANGING RANGE OF OVER THIRTY THOUSAND FLOWERS. FURTHER ON, BEYOND THE ROMANTIC OLD ORCHARD AND SEPARATED BY THE GREAT BEECH HEDGES, LIE THE MAGNIFICENT HERBACEOUS BORDERS. THESE ARE TRADITIONALLY DOUBLE IN FORMAT AND ARE AMONGST THE FINEST TO BE FOUND IN ENGLAND. THERE ARE ALSO WALL BORDERS, VEGETABLE AND HERB GARDENS, A ROSE GARDEN, FOUNTAIN GARDEN, FINE LAWNS, WILDFLOWER MEADOWS & WILLOW LABYRINTH ETC.

GHOSTS AT LEVENS HALL

THE MOST FAMOUS GHOST AT LEVENS HALL IS ABOUT A GYPSY WOMAN WHO IS SAID TO HAVE DIED CURSING THE HOUSE, CLAIMING THAT NO MALE HEIR WOULD INHERIT UNTIL THE RIVER KENT CEASED TO FLOW AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. STRANGELY, THE ESTATE PASSED THROUGH THE FEMALE LINE FOR FOUR GENERATIONS UNTIL THE BIRTH OF ALAN DESMOND BAGOT IN 1896 WHEN THE RIVER DID INDEED FREEZE OVER AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. THE THREE MALE HEIRS SINCE HAVE ALL BEEN BORN ON FREEZING WINTER DAYS.

AN EPISODE FILMED BY THE TELEVISION PROGRAMME ‘MOST HAUNTED’ IN 2002 DISCOVERED SOME LIGHTS, SOUNDS AND DISTURBING ATMOSPHERES NOT PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED BY VISITORS.

 

The Edinburgh Festival Theatre (formerly Empire Palace Theatre) is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups. After its most recent renovation in 1994, it seats 1,915. It is one of the major venues of the annual summer Edinburgh International Festival and is the Edinburgh venue for the Scottish Opera and the Scottish Ballet.

 

The present theatre’s location is Edinburgh’s longest continuous theatre site, for there has been a theatre in that location since 1830. From being Dunedin Hall, the Royal Amphitheatre, Alhambra Music Hall, the Queen’s Theatre, Pablo Fanque's Amphitheatre, and Newsome’s Circus, the site became the Empire Palace Theatre, the first of the famous Moss Empires’ chain, opening on 7 November 1892. Designed by the great British theatre architect, Frank Matcham, (who built the London Coliseum, among others) its décor was lavish, with elephants with Nubian riders, nymphs and cherubs in abundance on the plasterwork, and it seated 3000 people on four levels.

 

For the following twenty years all the top artists of the day played at the Empire Palace until, on 9 May 1911, there was a disastrous fire on stage. While all 3000 theatre goers escaped safely (there were eleven backstage deaths and the death of a lion), the theatre reopened three months later. However, given the long term competition from the growth of film as a popular medium, the theatre was re-equipped to present bigger and more spectacular shows. Reusing some of Matcham’s original design concepts, the theatre reopened on 1 October 1928 with the musical Show Boat.

 

Between 1928 and 1963 the Empire was a variety, musical and opera house, often including ice shows. Big names like Harry Lauder, Charles Laughton, Fats Waller, Joe Loss, and Laurel and Hardy appeared, while English comedians Max Wall, Morecambe and Wise and Harry Worth established themselves at the Empire.

 

In addition to the music hall and popular entertainers who appeared at the Empire, the theatre became a principal venue of the Edinburgh International Festival between 1947 and 1963. It was particularly associated with international ballet and, during the first Festival in 1947, Margot Fonteyn danced in The Sleeping Beauty, while in subsequent years, performances by the Old Vic theatre company, the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera were presented.

 

However, for nearly thirty years after 1963 the theatre became a bingo hall, only temporarily serving as a Festival venue. Finally, after its third major remodeling, the Empire Palace Theatre reopened in June 1994 with a glass-fronted structure for the new entrance (created by Law & Dunbar-Nasmith Architects), as the now-renamed Edinburgh Festival Theatre. In 1997, the distinguished theatre manager and artistic director Stephen Barry was appointed to shape the rejuvenated venue's future. With the restoration of the Empire Theatre’s former 1928 glory, plus a dramatic mix of art nouveau, beaux arts and neo-classicism, and including adequate acoustics, the new theatre serves all the artistic needs of the community.

 

The theatre is said to be haunted by a tall, dark stranger rumoured to be the famous illusionist Sigmund Neuberger, aka The Great Lafayette, who was one of those who burned to death in the fire at the Empire in 1911. [Wikipedia]

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There were a series of circuses and performance halls on this site from the 1820s (Ducrow’s, etc) and a music hall from about 1860 (Alhambra, Queen’s etc). Frank Matcham built the very first Moss Empire (the Empire Palace) here in 1892 and also carried out its reinstatement after a destructive fire in 1910. The 1892 theatre had a circus-theatre interior of almost barbaric magnificence. In 1928 the Matcham house was demolished and a new theatre built by W & T R Milburn, who were amongst the most competent theatre designers of their time (see e.g. London Dominion, Liverpool Empire and Southampton Mayflower). The Edinburgh auditorium is arguably their best surviving work. The subsequent transformation of the Empire into the Edinburgh Festival Theatre by Law & Dunbar-Nasmith (Colin Ross) completed in 1994 was (until the Royal Opera House reopening) perhaps the most radical make-over of an old theatre undertaken in Britain in modern times. Edinburgh’s long drawn-out quest for an opera house, which spawned a number of abortive new-build projects over the years, had become a standing joke by the 1980s. Theatre Projects Consultants with Law & Dunbar-Nasmith identified the Empire as a prime candidate for conversion for this purpose as early as 1975, but it was to be nearly twenty years before their sensible idea was followed up. When it was eventually done, there was no penny-pinching. The undistinguished façe and front of house were demolished and, with the acquisition of additional space, rebuilt on spacious modern lines, with a curved, transparent façe, visible distantly as a glowing landmark in Nicolson Street. The back of house, too, was totally demolished and a new stage house built, together with dressing rooms and a generous staircase, described as a ‘vertical green room’. The stage itself is immense at 25m x 18m (82ft x 59ft), plus huge wing space on stage left and a rear scene dock which can be opened up for deep vistas. The retained Milburn auditorium has become the splendid filling in a modern sandwich. Like most of the Milburns’ designs, it owes more to contemporary North American models than to the Matcham school. Two balconies with slips meeting a deep-splayed ante-proscenium with pairs of boxes stepping down on either side. Rectangular enriched proscenium frame with a flaming urn at the centre. Ceiling divided into panels with a central dome. Three forestage lifts. Sighting throughout is excellent. The stalls (altered for bingo) have been re-raked to work with the now flattened stage which has thereby been raised at the front edge and thus improved sightlines from the unaltered circles. Necessary changes of this kind have been easily absorbed. The architects did not lose their nerve (as so often happens with so-called restorations) over matters of detail. The seats, for example, are either 1928 originals or careful reproductions. The decorations are not an exact recreation of the Milburn scheme, which was rather skimped, but a convincing essay in the manner of the period with sensitively applied patina glazes to avoid an over-bright appearance. [Theatres Trust ]

 

The hall was completed in the 1630s ; the strapwork ceiling has grotesque masks after engravings by Hans Leifrink {1555-7}

A visit to the National Trust property that is Penrhyn Castle

 

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

 

The present building was created between about 1822 and 1837 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the building beyond recognition. However a spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from slavery in Jamaica and local slate quarries. The eldest of George's two daughters, Juliana, married Grenadier Guard, Edward Gordon Douglas, who, on inheriting the estate on George's death in 1845, adopted the hyphenated surname of Douglas-Pennant. The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately, as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It cost the Pennant family an estimated £150,000. This is the current equivalent to about £49,500,000.

 

Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.

 

It is built in a sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman-style furniture, including a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.

 

Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Lord Penrhyn, died in 1949, and the castle and estate passed to his niece, Lady Janet Pelham, who, on inheritance, adopted the surname of Douglas-Pennant. In 1951, the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the treasury in lieu of death duties from Lady Janet. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The site received 109,395 visitors in 2017.

  

Grade I Listed Building

 

Penrhyn Castle

  

History

 

The present house, built in the form of a vast Norman castle, was constructed to the design of Thomas Hopper for George Hay Dawkins-Pennant between 1820 and 1837. It has been very little altered since.

 

The original house on the site was a medieval manor house of C14 origin, for which a licence to crenellate was given at an unknown date between 1410 and 1431. This house survived until c1782 when it was remodelled in castellated Gothick style, replete with yellow mathematical tiles, by Samuel Wyatt for Richard Pennant. This house, the great hall of which is incorporated in the present drawing room, was remodelled in c1800, but the vast profits from the Penrhyn slate quarries enabled all the rest to be completely swept away by Hopper's vast neo-Norman fantasy, sited and built so that it could be seen not only from the quarries, but most parts of the surrounding estate, thereby emphasizing the local dominance of the Dawkins-Pennant family. The total cost is unknown but it cannot have been less than the £123,000 claimed by Catherine Sinclair in 1839.

 

Since 1951 the house has belonged to the National Trust, together with over 40,000 acres of the family estates around Ysbyty Ifan and the Ogwen valley.

 

Exterior

 

Country house built in the style of a vast Norman castle with other later medieval influences, so huge (its 70 roofs cover an area of over an acre (0.4ha)) that it almost defies meaningful description. The main components of the house, which is built on a north-south axis with the main elevations to east and west, are the 124ft (37.8m) high keep, based on Castle Hedingham (Essex) containing the family quarters on the south, the central range, protected by a 'barbican' terrace on the east, housing the state apartments, and the rectangular-shaped staff/service buildings and stables to the north. The whole is constructed of local rubblestone with internal brick lining, but all elevations are faced in tooled Anglesey limestone ashlar of the finest quality jointing; flat lead roofs concealed by castellated parapets. Close to, the extreme length of the building (it is about 200 yards (182.88m) long) and the fact that the ground slopes away on all sides mean that almost no complete elevation can be seen. That the most frequent views of the exterior are oblique also offered Hopper the opportunity to deploy his towers for picturesque effect, the relationship between the keep and the other towers and turrets frequently obscuring the distances between them. Another significant external feature of the castle is that it actually looks defensible making it secure at least from Pugin's famous slur of 1841 on contemporary "castles" - "Who would hammer against nailed portals, when he could kick his way through the greenhouse?" Certainly, this could never be achieved at Penrhyn and it looks every inch the impregnable fortress both architect and patron intended it to be.

 

East elevation: to the left is the loosely attached 4-storey keep on battered plinth with 4 tiers of deeply splayed Norman windows, 2 to each face, with chevron decoration and nook-shafts, topped by 4 square corner turrets. The dining room (distinguished by the intersecting tracery above the windows) and breakfast room to the right of the entrance gallery are protected by the long sweep of the machicolated 'barbican' terrace (carriage forecourt), curved in front of the 2 rooms and then running northwards before returning at right-angles to the west to include the gatehouse, which formed the original main entrance to the castle, and ending in a tall rectangular tower with machicolated parapet. To the right of the gatehouse are the recessed buildings of the kitchen court and to the right again the long, largely unbroken outer wall of the stable court, terminated by the square footmen's tower to the left and the rather more exuberant projecting circular dung tower with its spectacularly cantilevered bartizan on the right. From here the wall runs at right-angles to the west incorporating the impressive gatehouse to the stable court.

 

West elevation: beginning at the left is the hexagonal smithy tower, followed by the long run of the stable court, well provided with windows on this side as the stables lie directly behind. At the end of this the wall turns at right-angles to the west, incorporating the narrow circular-turreted gatehouse to the outer court and terminating in the machicolated circular ice tower. From here the wall runs again at a lower height enclosing the remainder of the outer court. It is, of course, the state apartments which make up the chief architectural display on the central part of this elevation, beginning with a strongly articulated but essentially rectangular tower to the left, while both the drawing room and the library have Norman windows leading directly onto the lawns, the latter terminating in a slender machicolated circular corner tower. To the right is the keep, considerably set back on this side.

Interior

 

Only those parts of the castle generally accessible to visitors are recorded in this description. Although not described here much of the furniture and many of the paintings (including family portraits) are also original to the house. Similarly, it should be noted that in the interests of brevity and clarity, not all significant architectural features are itemised in the following description.

 

Entrance gallery: one of the last parts of the castle to be built, this narrow cloister-like passage was added to the main block to heighten the sensation of entering the vast Grand Hall, which is made only partly visible by the deliberate offsetting of the intervening doorways; bronze lamp standards with wolf-heads on stone bases. Grand Hall: entering the columned aisle of this huge space, the visitor stands at a cross-roads between the 3 principal areas of the castle's plan; to the left the passage leads up to the family's private apartments on the 4 floors of the keep, to the right the door at the end leads to the extensive service quarters while ahead lies the sequence of state rooms used for entertaining guests and displayed to the public ever since the castle was built. The hall itself resembles in form, style and scale the transept of a great Norman cathedral, the great clustered columns extending upwards to a "triforium" formed on 2 sides of extraordinary compound arches; stained glass with signs of the zodiac and months of the year as in a book of hours by Thomas Willement (completed 1835). Library: has very much the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s London club with walls, columned arches and ceilings covered in the most lavish ornamentation; superb architectural bookcases and panelled walls are of oak but the arches are plaster grained to match; ornamental bosses and other devices to the rich plaster ceiling refer to the ancestry of the Dawkins and Pennant families, as do the stained glass lunettes above the windows, possibly by David Evans of Shrewsbury; 4 chimneypieces of polished Anglesey "marble", one with a frieze of fantastical carved mummers in the capitals. Drawing room (great hall of the late C18 house and its medieval predecessor): again in a neo-Norman style but the decoration is lighter and the columns more slender, the spirit of the room reflected in the 2000 delicate Maltese gilt crosses to the vaulted ceiling. Ebony room: so called on account of its furniture and "ebonised" chimneypiece and plasterwork, has at its entrance a spiral staircase from the medieval house. Grand Staircase hall: in many ways the greatest architectural achievement at Penrhyn, taking 10 years to complete, the carving in 2 contrasting stones of the highest quality; repeating abstract decorative motifs contrast with the infinitely inventive figurative carving in the newels and capitals; to the top the intricate plaster panels of the domed lantern are formed in exceptionally high relief and display both Norse and Celtic influences. Next to the grand stair is the secondary stair, itself a magnificent structure in grey sandstone with lantern, built immediately next to the grand stair so that family or guests should not meet staff on the same staircase. Reached from the columned aisle of the grand hall are the 2 remaining principal ground-floor rooms, the dining room and the breakfast room, among the last parts of the castle to be completed and clearly intended to be picture galleries as much as dining areas, the stencilled treatment of the walls in the dining room allowing both the provision of an appropriately elaborate "Norman" scheme and a large flat surface for the hanging of paintings; black marble fireplace carved by Richard Westmacott and extremely ornate ceiling with leaf bosses encircled by bands of figurative mouldings derived from the Romanesque church of Kilpeck, Herefordshire. Breakfast room has cambered beam ceiling with oak-grained finish.

 

Grand hall gallery: at the top of the grand staircase is vaulted and continues around the grand hall below to link with the passage to the keep, which at this level (as on the other floors) contains a suite of rooms comprising a sitting room, dressing room, bedroom and small ante-chamber, the room containing the famous slate bed also with a red Mona marble chimneypiece, one of the most spectacular in the castle. Returning to the grand hall gallery and continuing straight on rather than returning to the grand staircase the Lower India room is reached to the right: this contains an Anglesey limestone chimneypiece painted to match the ground colour of the room's Chinese wallpaper. Coming out of this room, the chapel corridor leads to the chapel gallery (used by the family) and the chapel proper below (used by staff), the latter with encaustic tiles probably reused from the old medieval chapel; stained and painted glass by David Evans (c1833).

 

The domestic quarters of the castle are reached along the passage from the breakfast room, which turns at right-angles to the right at the foot of the secondary staircase, the most important areas being the butler's pantry, steward's office, servants' hall, housekeeper's room, still room, housekeeper's store and housemaids' tower, while the kitchen (with its cast-iron range flanked by large and hygienic vertical slabs of Penrhyn slate) is housed on the lower ground floor. From this kitchen court, which also includes a coal store, oil vaults, brushing room, lamp room, pastry room, larder, scullery and laundry are reached the outer court with its soup kitchen, brewhouse and 2-storey ice tower and the much larger stables court which, along with the stables themselves containing their extensive slate-partitioned stalls and loose boxes, incorporates the coach house, covered ride, smithy tower, dung tower with gardeners' messroom above and footmen's tower.

 

Reasons for Listing

 

Included at Grade I as one of the most important large country houses in Wales; a superb example of the relatively short-lived Norman Revival of the early C19 and generally regarded as the masterpiece of its architect, Thomas Hopper.

  

A look around the inside of the castle / house.

  

Passage to the Keep

  

fireplace

Robert Wynn's hall.

The upper levels of the Gaumont after the groundfloor had been turned into a nightclub. The magnificent coffered ceiling and rich plasterwork are still very much in evidence.

A visit to the National Trust property that is Penrhyn Castle

 

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

 

The present building was created between about 1822 and 1837 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the building beyond recognition. However a spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from slavery in Jamaica and local slate quarries. The eldest of George's two daughters, Juliana, married Grenadier Guard, Edward Gordon Douglas, who, on inheriting the estate on George's death in 1845, adopted the hyphenated surname of Douglas-Pennant. The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately, as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It cost the Pennant family an estimated £150,000. This is the current equivalent to about £49,500,000.

 

Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.

 

It is built in a sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman-style furniture, including a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.

 

Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Lord Penrhyn, died in 1949, and the castle and estate passed to his niece, Lady Janet Pelham, who, on inheritance, adopted the surname of Douglas-Pennant. In 1951, the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the treasury in lieu of death duties from Lady Janet. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The site received 109,395 visitors in 2017.

  

Grade I Listed Building

 

Penrhyn Castle

  

History

 

The present house, built in the form of a vast Norman castle, was constructed to the design of Thomas Hopper for George Hay Dawkins-Pennant between 1820 and 1837. It has been very little altered since.

 

The original house on the site was a medieval manor house of C14 origin, for which a licence to crenellate was given at an unknown date between 1410 and 1431. This house survived until c1782 when it was remodelled in castellated Gothick style, replete with yellow mathematical tiles, by Samuel Wyatt for Richard Pennant. This house, the great hall of which is incorporated in the present drawing room, was remodelled in c1800, but the vast profits from the Penrhyn slate quarries enabled all the rest to be completely swept away by Hopper's vast neo-Norman fantasy, sited and built so that it could be seen not only from the quarries, but most parts of the surrounding estate, thereby emphasizing the local dominance of the Dawkins-Pennant family. The total cost is unknown but it cannot have been less than the £123,000 claimed by Catherine Sinclair in 1839.

 

Since 1951 the house has belonged to the National Trust, together with over 40,000 acres of the family estates around Ysbyty Ifan and the Ogwen valley.

 

Exterior

 

Country house built in the style of a vast Norman castle with other later medieval influences, so huge (its 70 roofs cover an area of over an acre (0.4ha)) that it almost defies meaningful description. The main components of the house, which is built on a north-south axis with the main elevations to east and west, are the 124ft (37.8m) high keep, based on Castle Hedingham (Essex) containing the family quarters on the south, the central range, protected by a 'barbican' terrace on the east, housing the state apartments, and the rectangular-shaped staff/service buildings and stables to the north. The whole is constructed of local rubblestone with internal brick lining, but all elevations are faced in tooled Anglesey limestone ashlar of the finest quality jointing; flat lead roofs concealed by castellated parapets. Close to, the extreme length of the building (it is about 200 yards (182.88m) long) and the fact that the ground slopes away on all sides mean that almost no complete elevation can be seen. That the most frequent views of the exterior are oblique also offered Hopper the opportunity to deploy his towers for picturesque effect, the relationship between the keep and the other towers and turrets frequently obscuring the distances between them. Another significant external feature of the castle is that it actually looks defensible making it secure at least from Pugin's famous slur of 1841 on contemporary "castles" - "Who would hammer against nailed portals, when he could kick his way through the greenhouse?" Certainly, this could never be achieved at Penrhyn and it looks every inch the impregnable fortress both architect and patron intended it to be.

 

East elevation: to the left is the loosely attached 4-storey keep on battered plinth with 4 tiers of deeply splayed Norman windows, 2 to each face, with chevron decoration and nook-shafts, topped by 4 square corner turrets. The dining room (distinguished by the intersecting tracery above the windows) and breakfast room to the right of the entrance gallery are protected by the long sweep of the machicolated 'barbican' terrace (carriage forecourt), curved in front of the 2 rooms and then running northwards before returning at right-angles to the west to include the gatehouse, which formed the original main entrance to the castle, and ending in a tall rectangular tower with machicolated parapet. To the right of the gatehouse are the recessed buildings of the kitchen court and to the right again the long, largely unbroken outer wall of the stable court, terminated by the square footmen's tower to the left and the rather more exuberant projecting circular dung tower with its spectacularly cantilevered bartizan on the right. From here the wall runs at right-angles to the west incorporating the impressive gatehouse to the stable court.

 

West elevation: beginning at the left is the hexagonal smithy tower, followed by the long run of the stable court, well provided with windows on this side as the stables lie directly behind. At the end of this the wall turns at right-angles to the west, incorporating the narrow circular-turreted gatehouse to the outer court and terminating in the machicolated circular ice tower. From here the wall runs again at a lower height enclosing the remainder of the outer court. It is, of course, the state apartments which make up the chief architectural display on the central part of this elevation, beginning with a strongly articulated but essentially rectangular tower to the left, while both the drawing room and the library have Norman windows leading directly onto the lawns, the latter terminating in a slender machicolated circular corner tower. To the right is the keep, considerably set back on this side.

Interior

 

Only those parts of the castle generally accessible to visitors are recorded in this description. Although not described here much of the furniture and many of the paintings (including family portraits) are also original to the house. Similarly, it should be noted that in the interests of brevity and clarity, not all significant architectural features are itemised in the following description.

 

Entrance gallery: one of the last parts of the castle to be built, this narrow cloister-like passage was added to the main block to heighten the sensation of entering the vast Grand Hall, which is made only partly visible by the deliberate offsetting of the intervening doorways; bronze lamp standards with wolf-heads on stone bases. Grand Hall: entering the columned aisle of this huge space, the visitor stands at a cross-roads between the 3 principal areas of the castle's plan; to the left the passage leads up to the family's private apartments on the 4 floors of the keep, to the right the door at the end leads to the extensive service quarters while ahead lies the sequence of state rooms used for entertaining guests and displayed to the public ever since the castle was built. The hall itself resembles in form, style and scale the transept of a great Norman cathedral, the great clustered columns extending upwards to a "triforium" formed on 2 sides of extraordinary compound arches; stained glass with signs of the zodiac and months of the year as in a book of hours by Thomas Willement (completed 1835). Library: has very much the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s London club with walls, columned arches and ceilings covered in the most lavish ornamentation; superb architectural bookcases and panelled walls are of oak but the arches are plaster grained to match; ornamental bosses and other devices to the rich plaster ceiling refer to the ancestry of the Dawkins and Pennant families, as do the stained glass lunettes above the windows, possibly by David Evans of Shrewsbury; 4 chimneypieces of polished Anglesey "marble", one with a frieze of fantastical carved mummers in the capitals. Drawing room (great hall of the late C18 house and its medieval predecessor): again in a neo-Norman style but the decoration is lighter and the columns more slender, the spirit of the room reflected in the 2000 delicate Maltese gilt crosses to the vaulted ceiling. Ebony room: so called on account of its furniture and "ebonised" chimneypiece and plasterwork, has at its entrance a spiral staircase from the medieval house. Grand Staircase hall: in many ways the greatest architectural achievement at Penrhyn, taking 10 years to complete, the carving in 2 contrasting stones of the highest quality; repeating abstract decorative motifs contrast with the infinitely inventive figurative carving in the newels and capitals; to the top the intricate plaster panels of the domed lantern are formed in exceptionally high relief and display both Norse and Celtic influences. Next to the grand stair is the secondary stair, itself a magnificent structure in grey sandstone with lantern, built immediately next to the grand stair so that family or guests should not meet staff on the same staircase. Reached from the columned aisle of the grand hall are the 2 remaining principal ground-floor rooms, the dining room and the breakfast room, among the last parts of the castle to be completed and clearly intended to be picture galleries as much as dining areas, the stencilled treatment of the walls in the dining room allowing both the provision of an appropriately elaborate "Norman" scheme and a large flat surface for the hanging of paintings; black marble fireplace carved by Richard Westmacott and extremely ornate ceiling with leaf bosses encircled by bands of figurative mouldings derived from the Romanesque church of Kilpeck, Herefordshire. Breakfast room has cambered beam ceiling with oak-grained finish.

 

Grand hall gallery: at the top of the grand staircase is vaulted and continues around the grand hall below to link with the passage to the keep, which at this level (as on the other floors) contains a suite of rooms comprising a sitting room, dressing room, bedroom and small ante-chamber, the room containing the famous slate bed also with a red Mona marble chimneypiece, one of the most spectacular in the castle. Returning to the grand hall gallery and continuing straight on rather than returning to the grand staircase the Lower India room is reached to the right: this contains an Anglesey limestone chimneypiece painted to match the ground colour of the room's Chinese wallpaper. Coming out of this room, the chapel corridor leads to the chapel gallery (used by the family) and the chapel proper below (used by staff), the latter with encaustic tiles probably reused from the old medieval chapel; stained and painted glass by David Evans (c1833).

 

The domestic quarters of the castle are reached along the passage from the breakfast room, which turns at right-angles to the right at the foot of the secondary staircase, the most important areas being the butler's pantry, steward's office, servants' hall, housekeeper's room, still room, housekeeper's store and housemaids' tower, while the kitchen (with its cast-iron range flanked by large and hygienic vertical slabs of Penrhyn slate) is housed on the lower ground floor. From this kitchen court, which also includes a coal store, oil vaults, brushing room, lamp room, pastry room, larder, scullery and laundry are reached the outer court with its soup kitchen, brewhouse and 2-storey ice tower and the much larger stables court which, along with the stables themselves containing their extensive slate-partitioned stalls and loose boxes, incorporates the coach house, covered ride, smithy tower, dung tower with gardeners' messroom above and footmen's tower.

 

Reasons for Listing

 

Included at Grade I as one of the most important large country houses in Wales; a superb example of the relatively short-lived Norman Revival of the early C19 and generally regarded as the masterpiece of its architect, Thomas Hopper.

  

Clocks - went up a tower and they had thousands of clocks all over the place!

  

Harrison's Garden

 

An installation of over 5000 clocks creates an imagined landscape in the derelict 'unloved' rooms of the keep.

  

You needed a token to go up here, and only a certain number of people were allowed up here at each time.

The hall was completed in the 1630s ; the strapwork ceiling has grotesque masks after engravings by Hans Leifrink {1555-7}

THE FIRST DWELLING AT LEVENS WAS A MEDIEVAL PELE TOWER, BUILT BY THE DE REDMAN FAMILY OF YEALAND REDMAYNE. THE BELLINGHAM FAMILY, WHO WERE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS, CHOSE LEVENS AS THEIR MAIN RESIDENCE IN THE 1590S AND INCORPORATED THE FORTIFIED TOWER INTO A GENTLEMAN’S RESIDENCE. THEY EMPLOYED LOCAL CRAFTSMEN TO CARVE THE OAK PANELLING, INCORPORATED ELABORATE ITALIAN PLASTERWORK, INCLUDING ELIZABETH THE FIRST’S COAT OF ARMS AND STAINED GLASS - ALL OF WHICH CAN BE SEEN TODAY.

THE HISTORIC HOUSE BECAME THE PROPERTY OF COLONEL JAMES GRAHME IN 1688 AFTER HIS CAREER AT COURT IN THE SERVICE OF KING JAMES II. HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A YOUNG FRENCH GARDENER, GUILLAUME BEAUMONT, A PUPIL OF LE NOTRE AT VERSAILLES, TO PLAN A FASHIONABLE GARDEN AT LEVENS. THIS FAMILY HOME CONTAINS FINE FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES IN EUROPE OF SPANISH LEATHER WALL COVERINGS, THE EARLIEST ENGLISH PATCHWORK, WELLINGTONIANA, CLOCKS AND MINIATURES, AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE FINEST STATELY HOMES IN SOUTH CUMBRIA.

THERE ARE TEN WONDERFUL ACRES OF GARDENS AT LEVENS HALL. THEY INCLUDE THE UNIQUE COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY TOPIARY CHARACTERS SCULPTED FROM BOX AND YEW. THEY RISE UP FROM A SPECTACULAR SEASONAL UNDERPLANTING POPULATED WITH AN EVER-CHANGING RANGE OF OVER THIRTY THOUSAND FLOWERS. FURTHER ON, BEYOND THE ROMANTIC OLD ORCHARD AND SEPARATED BY THE GREAT BEECH HEDGES, LIE THE MAGNIFICENT HERBACEOUS BORDERS. THESE ARE TRADITIONALLY DOUBLE IN FORMAT AND ARE AMONGST THE FINEST TO BE FOUND IN ENGLAND. THERE ARE ALSO WALL BORDERS, VEGETABLE AND HERB GARDENS, A ROSE GARDEN, FOUNTAIN GARDEN, FINE LAWNS, WILDFLOWER MEADOWS & WILLOW LABYRINTH ETC.

GHOSTS AT LEVENS HALL

THE MOST FAMOUS GHOST AT LEVENS HALL IS ABOUT A GYPSY WOMAN WHO IS SAID TO HAVE DIED CURSING THE HOUSE, CLAIMING THAT NO MALE HEIR WOULD INHERIT UNTIL THE RIVER KENT CEASED TO FLOW AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. STRANGELY, THE ESTATE PASSED THROUGH THE FEMALE LINE FOR FOUR GENERATIONS UNTIL THE BIRTH OF ALAN DESMOND BAGOT IN 1896 WHEN THE RIVER DID INDEED FREEZE OVER AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. THE THREE MALE HEIRS SINCE HAVE ALL BEEN BORN ON FREEZING WINTER DAYS.

AN EPISODE FILMED BY THE TELEVISION PROGRAMME ‘MOST HAUNTED’ IN 2002 DISCOVERED SOME LIGHTS, SOUNDS AND DISTURBING ATMOSPHERES NOT PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED BY VISITORS.

 

A medallion of a Roman philosopher or orator by Giovanni Bagutti from the Great Staircase designed in the 1720s by James Gibbs at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire. This staircase replaced an earlier, seventeenth-century one. Wimpole is largely the creation of Edward Harley, earl of Oxford (1689-1741) who expanded the core of an earlier house. This phase of work was undertaken circa 1719-21 by Gibbs.

The roof, plasterwork ceiling and 28 limestone support columns have been faithfully reproduced using Irish sourced materials and craftsmanship. A new concrete floor was laid and finished with a marble overlay. The nave areas present a bright and open ambiance.

 

St Mel’s of Longford town is the cathedral church for the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Ambitious plans for a fine church building in Longford began to take form after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 and became a reality when sufficient funds had been collected. Construction began in 1840 with the laying of the foundation stone which was taken from the original cathedral of St. Mel at Ardagh, only a few miles from Longford. The main body of the new cathedral was completed in 1856 to a neo-classical design by the architect Joseph Benjamin Keane, work having been delayed during the period of the Great Famine (1846 and recommenced 1853). After Joseph’s death in 1849, work was continued after by his assistant John Bourke (d.1871) who was also responsible for the belfry tower completed in 1860, but with major alterations to its original design. The neo-classical portico was designed by George Coppinger Ashlin (1837-1921) and completed in 1889 with its pediment and sculpted tympanum depicting the enthronement of St. Mel as Bishop of Ardagh along with three statues above the pediment. By this time, the cathedral building has taken on its definitive form with no further major alterations until its refurbishment after the devastating fire of 2009.

 

On 25th December 2009, the entire building was gutted by a fire which accidently started within the boiler chimney flue at the rear and quickly spread. The alarm was raised just after 5am but fire-fighting attempts were hampered by frozen pipes as the country was in the grip of one of its worst and prolonged periods of freezing temperatures for decades. By daylight, the entire building had been reduced to a burnt-out shell with the loss of all its furnishing, fittings and diocesan museum. The museum contained many priceless artefacts that included the Crozier of Saint Mel and the book-shrine of St. Caillin (1536), the latter damaged beyond restoration but it may be possible to conserve some of the remnants. The 28 supporting columns were also damaged beyond repair and had to replaced anew. Very little was recoverable that survived the worst of the 1,000 deg.C fire and even these suffered some degree of fire damage such as The Bell of Fenagh which is undergoing conservation treatment at the National Museum of Ireland and the original baptismal font with its brass fittings and surrounding mosaic floor. But the most puzzling of all and described by many as nothing short of a miracle was the survival of the Holy Family painting in the northern transept and the undamaged Eucharistic Host still inside the fire damaged tabernacle. The Holy Family oil painting on a cotton-based canvas should have readily gone up in flames due to its highly combustible materials but somehow survived relatively unscathed despite the intense fire around it. This painting was of Italian origins by an unknown artist and is now back on display requiring little more than a cleaning!

 

After five years of work by many expert disciplines using traditional methods, the cathedral building has been totally refurbished and which included quarried blue-limestone for 28 columns with hand-carved capitals that support the roof. Both Harry Clarke Studio windows were salvaged from the transepts and restored to their former glory by Abbey Stained Glass Ltd of Dublin, a company with much experience in the restoration of stained glass windows. Other replacements such as the wooden pews, alter, stained glass, Stations of the Cross tablets, pipe-organ, fixtures and fitting were all made in a modern style to the best materials and craftsmanship available. It is also planned to open a diocesan museum in the cathedral’s new crypts. The total cost of refurbishment and fitting out came to around €30 million, funded mostly from the insurance cover and after five years of hard work the cathedral was reopened for services at Christmas 2014.

 

Photos taken Thursday 22nd January 2015.

  

References:

 

www.facebook.com/StMelsRestoration (St Mel’s Cathedral restoration – Facebook page).

 

www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2014/1215/667007-longford... (RTE News article about TV program The Longford Phoenix).

 

www.longfordtourism.ie/event/st-mels-cathedral-rise-from-...

 

irishcatholic.ie/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/... (Sculptor Ken Thompson working on one of his Stations of the Cross panels).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mel%27s_cathedral,_Longford

 

l7.alamy.com/zooms/5e9904767cdb4317b39e15ee189488c3/shrin... (Image of St. Caillin book shrine created in 1536 before it was damaged beyond repair in the 2009 fire at St. Mel’s cathedral).

 

www.alamy.com/stock-photo-st-mels-crozier-longford-cathed... (Image of the 10th century St. Mel’s Crozier and sadly, completely destroyed in the cathedral fire of 2009).

  

Just a small detail from the playful Rococo plasterwork in this amaxing space.

For those unfamiliar with Bristol's Royal Fort House, it contains the finest set of Rococo designed rooms in teh Uk, and was open this Saturday for the Doors Open event

THE FIRST DWELLING AT LEVENS WAS A MEDIEVAL PELE TOWER, BUILT BY THE DE REDMAN FAMILY OF YEALAND REDMAYNE. THE BELLINGHAM FAMILY, WHO WERE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS, CHOSE LEVENS AS THEIR MAIN RESIDENCE IN THE 1590S AND INCORPORATED THE FORTIFIED TOWER INTO A GENTLEMAN’S RESIDENCE. THEY EMPLOYED LOCAL CRAFTSMEN TO CARVE THE OAK PANELLING, INCORPORATED ELABORATE ITALIAN PLASTERWORK, INCLUDING ELIZABETH THE FIRST’S COAT OF ARMS AND STAINED GLASS - ALL OF WHICH CAN BE SEEN TODAY.

THE HISTORIC HOUSE BECAME THE PROPERTY OF COLONEL JAMES GRAHME IN 1688 AFTER HIS CAREER AT COURT IN THE SERVICE OF KING JAMES II. HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A YOUNG FRENCH GARDENER, GUILLAUME BEAUMONT, A PUPIL OF LE NOTRE AT VERSAILLES, TO PLAN A FASHIONABLE GARDEN AT LEVENS. THIS FAMILY HOME CONTAINS FINE FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES IN EUROPE OF SPANISH LEATHER WALL COVERINGS, THE EARLIEST ENGLISH PATCHWORK, WELLINGTONIANA, CLOCKS AND MINIATURES, AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE FINEST STATELY HOMES IN SOUTH CUMBRIA.

THERE ARE TEN WONDERFUL ACRES OF GARDENS AT LEVENS HALL. THEY INCLUDE THE UNIQUE COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY TOPIARY CHARACTERS SCULPTED FROM BOX AND YEW. THEY RISE UP FROM A SPECTACULAR SEASONAL UNDERPLANTING POPULATED WITH AN EVER-CHANGING RANGE OF OVER THIRTY THOUSAND FLOWERS. FURTHER ON, BEYOND THE ROMANTIC OLD ORCHARD AND SEPARATED BY THE GREAT BEECH HEDGES, LIE THE MAGNIFICENT HERBACEOUS BORDERS. THESE ARE TRADITIONALLY DOUBLE IN FORMAT AND ARE AMONGST THE FINEST TO BE FOUND IN ENGLAND. THERE ARE ALSO WALL BORDERS, VEGETABLE AND HERB GARDENS, A ROSE GARDEN, FOUNTAIN GARDEN, FINE LAWNS, WILDFLOWER MEADOWS & WILLOW LABYRINTH ETC.

GHOSTS AT LEVENS HALL

THE MOST FAMOUS GHOST AT LEVENS HALL IS ABOUT A GYPSY WOMAN WHO IS SAID TO HAVE DIED CURSING THE HOUSE, CLAIMING THAT NO MALE HEIR WOULD INHERIT UNTIL THE RIVER KENT CEASED TO FLOW AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. STRANGELY, THE ESTATE PASSED THROUGH THE FEMALE LINE FOR FOUR GENERATIONS UNTIL THE BIRTH OF ALAN DESMOND BAGOT IN 1896 WHEN THE RIVER DID INDEED FREEZE OVER AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. THE THREE MALE HEIRS SINCE HAVE ALL BEEN BORN ON FREEZING WINTER DAYS.

AN EPISODE FILMED BY THE TELEVISION PROGRAMME ‘MOST HAUNTED’ IN 2002 DISCOVERED SOME LIGHTS, SOUNDS AND DISTURBING ATMOSPHERES NOT PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED BY VISITORS.

 

A fine example of pargeting, decorative plasterwork that is widely found in the eastern counties of England.

 

April 1974

Zorki 4 camera

Agfa CT18 film.

Title: Plasterwork; Modeling (Sculpture) Design for Salt Shaker. Sand Casting.

 

Creator: Medellin, Octavio, 1907-1999

 

Date: (Artwork created) 1976

 

Place: Dallas, Texas

 

Series: Salt and Pepper Shakers

 

Group Description: 'River of Fire' in place in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Gaston, Dallas, Tex.

 

Physical Description: 1 slide: color

 

File: medellin_01_27_523_opt.jpg

 

Rights: Please cite Bywaters Special Collections, Southern Methodist University when using this file. For more information contact bywatersspecialcollections@smu.edu.

 

For more information, see: digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/med/id/564

 

View the Octavio Medellin: Works of Art and Artistic Processes: digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/cul/med/

This house, known as Cordwainers, dates from circa 15th century and is located in the High Street. It is a timber frame and plastered building with grade II listed protection. In the past it was the One Bell Inn but is now a private house. Note the different shapes and sizes of the timber beams, the colour of the plasterwork and the blocked up doorway on the right. A magnificent property!

 

———————————————————————————

 

CORDWINDERS, 89, HIGH STREET, LAVENHAM

 

Heritage Category: Listed Building

 

Grade: II

 

List Entry Number: 1180830

 

Date first listed: 23-Jan-1958

 

Statutory Address 1: CORDWINDERS, 89, HIGH STREET

 

National Grid Reference: TL9153149291

  

Details

 

LAVENHAM HIGH STREET 1. 5377 (east side) No 89 (Cordwinders) TL 9149 50/581 23.1.58 II GV 2. A C15 timber-framed and plastered building at one time the One Bell Inn. It stands at the corner of Market Lane and High Street, with the walls leaning outward conspicuously. Roof tiled. Renovated, with most of the timber-framing exposed. Two storeys. Three window range of double-hung sashes with single vertical glazing bars. The ground storey has 2 splayed bays with slate roofs and there is an original blocked window on the upper storey. A central doorway has pilasters and cornice. On the south end there are some restored windows and one double-hung sash with glazing bars (2-light).

 

Listing NGR: TL9153149291

  

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/118083...

 

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LAVENHAM

 

Village in England

 

Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in Suffolk, England. It is noted for its 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walk. In the medieval period it was among the 20 wealthiest settlements in England.

 

Set in the lovely village of Lavenham, the Guildhall of Corpus Christi tells the story of one of the best-preserved and wealthiest towns in Tudor England.

 

When you step inside this fine timber-framed building, you'll feel the centuries melt away. You can discover the stories of the people who have used the Guildhall through its almost-500 years at the heart of its community, and learn about the men and women who have shaped the fortunes of this unique village.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavenham

 

www.travelaboutbritain.com/suffolk/lavenham.php

 

englandspuzzle.com/the-secret-of-the-lavenham-blue/

 

www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/place/146603-lavenham-...

 

www.seeingthepast.com/blog/lavenham

 

www.thetouristtrail.org/guides/suffolk-guides/lavenham/

 

www.visitsuffolk.com/destination/lavenham

 

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/features/expl...

 

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall

 

www.lovelavenham.co.uk/

 

The Vines, 81 Lime Street, Liverpool, 1907.

 

By Walter William Thomas (1849-1912).

 

Walkers Ales of Warrington.

 

Grade ll* listed.

 

See also:-

 

pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs/112

 

breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vines,_Liverpool

 

www.govserv.org/GB/Liverpool/236929139665303/The-Vines-%2...

 

m.facebook.com/The-Vines-the-Big-House-236929139665303/

 

ymliverpool.com/historic-lime-street-pub-vines-plans-attr...

 

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/feb/07/liverpool-pu...

 

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The Vines public house

 

Statutory Address: 79-87 Lime Street, Liverpool, L1 1JQ

 

Grade II* Listed

 

List Entry Number: 1084210

 

National Grid Reference: SJ3505890334

  

Summary

 

Public house, 1907, by Walter Thomas for Robert Cain & Sons. Neo-Baroque style.

 

Reasons for Designation

 

The Vines, constructed in 1907 to the designs of Walter W Thomas for Robert Cain & Sons, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

 

Architectural interest:

 

* it has an impressive neo-Baroque design with flamboyant principal elevations that maximise its prominent corner location;

 

* its imposing composition and highly ornate interior reflect the status, wealth and ambition of Robert Cain who sought to create public houses of great beauty;

 

* the interior decoration is of a superior quality and includes plasterwork by the Bromsgrove Guild and H Gustave Hiller, carved mahogany woodwork throughout, repousse copper panels, and a stained-glass dome in the former billiards room;

 

* the interior retains high-quality original fixtures and fittings, including elaborate fireplaces, carved baffles with Art Nouveau stained glass, ornate wall panelling, arcaded screens, a striking wave-shaped beaten-copper bar counter in the lounge, and Art Nouveau fireplaces in the upper-floor accommodation.

 

Group value:

 

* it has strong group value with its sister building, the nearby Grade I-listed Philharmonic Dining Rooms, which was also designed by Walter W Thomas for Robert Cain & Sons, as well as other listed buildings on Lime Street and Ranelagh Place, including the Grade II-listed Crown Hotel, Adelphi Hotel and former Lewis's department store.

 

History

 

The Vines was constructed in 1907 to the designs of Walter W Thomas for the Liverpool brewery Robert Cain & Sons and replaced an early-C19 pub operated by Albert B Vines from 1867; hence the current pub's name. The interior decoration includes works by the Bromsgrove Guild and H Gustave Hiller.

 

Walter W Thomas (1849-1912) was a Liverpool architect who is best known for his public house designs, but who also produced designs for Owen Owen's department store known as Audley House, and houses around Sefton Park. As well as The Vines, Thomas also designed The Philharmonic Dining Rooms (1898-1900, Grade I) on Hope Street for Robert Cain & Sons, and rebuilt The Crown (1905, Grade II) for Walkers Brewery of Warrington, which is also on Lime Street.

 

Robert Cain (1826-1907) was born in Ireland but grew up in Liverpool. As a teenager he became an apprentice to a cooper on board a ship carrying palm oil from West Africa and after returning to Liverpool in 1844 he established himself first as a cooper, and then subsequently as a brewer in 1848. Cain began brewing at a pub on Limekiln Lane, but soon moved to larger premises on Wilton Street, and finally to the Mersey Brewery on Stanhope Street in 1858, which Cain extended in the late C19 and early C20. As well as brewing Cain also invested in property, built pubs, and ran a hotel adjacent to the Mersey Brewery. As his brewery business grew (known as Robert Cain & Sons from 1896) it bought out smaller brewers and took control of their pubs, evolving into a company that owned over 200 pubs in Liverpool by the late 1880s. In 1921 Robert Cain & Sons merged with Walkers Brewery to become Walker Cains and the Liverpool brewery at Stanhope Street was sold to Higsons in 1923. After a succession of owners from the 1980s onwards the brewery is being converted for mixed use.

 

The Bromsgrove Guild of Fine Arts was established in 1898 by Walter Gilbert as a means of promoting high-qualify craftsmanship in metal casting, woodcarving and embroidery in the style of a medieval guild, and included the creation of apprenticeships. The Guild subsequently expanded into other areas of art and design, including jewellery, enamelling, and decorative plasterwork, and recruited the best craftsmen. In 1900 the Guild was showcased at the British Pavilion at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and in 1908 it received a royal warrant. Famous works included the gates at Buckingham Palace, interior decoration on RMS Lusitania and RMS Queen Mary, and the Liver bird statues on the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. Although the Guild survived the loss of key craftsmen and the Great Depression of the late 1920s it was finally wound up in the 1960s.

 

Henry Gustave Hiller (1864-1946) was a Liverpool-based designer and manufacturer of stained glass who trained at the Manchester School of Art under Walter Crane. He established a studio in Liverpool in around 1904 and retired in 1940. Although primarily known for his stained glass he worked in a wide variety of mediums, including plasterwork.

 

Details

 

Public house, 1907, by Walter W Thomas for Robert Cain & Sons. Neo-Baroque style.

 

MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar with a pink-granite ground floor, slate roof coverings.

 

PLAN: The Vines has a V-shaped plan with a north corner in-filled at ground-floor level by a former billiards room. It occupies a corner plot at the junction of Copperas Hill and Lime Street with principal elevations onto both streets. It is bounded by Copperas Hill to the south-east, Lime Street to the south-west, and adjoining buildings to the north-east and north-west.

 

EXTERIOR: The Vines is of three-storeys plus attic and basement with a nine-bay elevation onto Lime Street, a canted south corner bay, and a six-bay return on Copperas Hill, and entrances on each elevation. The pub has a steep slate roof set behind ornate Dutch gables and a balustraded parapet, and the ground floor has banded rustication to the pink-granite facings. The ground floor is lit by large bow windows containing original patterned brilliant-cut glass and replaced etched glass, whilst the upper-floors have casement windows set within carved surrounds. A cornice projects out from the main face of the building above the ground floor and stood atop it to both the Lime Street and Copperas Hill elevations are later gold letters that read 'WALKERS WARRINGTON ALES', with additional letters to Lime Street that read 'THE VINES'. Above the first floor is a stringcourse interrupted by segmental floating cornices over some of the windows, and in between the windows are floriated drops attached to corbelled pedestals that support Ionic engaged columns between the second-floor windows. The Lime Street elevation has two large Dutch gables with scroll detailing, elaborate finials, paired casement windows with elaborate surrounds, and oculi to the gable apexes, whilst the Copperas Hill elevation has a single gable in the same style. Projecting out from the right gable on Lime Street is a large bracketed clock.

 

SOUTH CORNER The south corner has a tall doorway to the ground floor accessing the public bar with a decorative wrought-iron and gilded-copper gate with a vestibule behind containing a patterned mosaic floor incorporating the lettering 'RCS' (Robert Cain & Sons) and two partly-glazed and panelled doors; that to the right is no longer in use. The entrance doorway itself is flanked by engaged Ionic columns with copper capitals and drops, and above are large triple keystones and a segmental open pediment, all exaggerated in size. Inscribed to the central keystone is 'The Vines' in gilded lettering. To the south corner's first floor is a glazed oculi with a festoon above incorporating a figurative head keystone, whilst the second-floor window mirrors that of the other elevations. Rising from the top of the corner bay behind the parapet and sandwiched by the Dutch gables on Lime Street and Copperas Hill is a tall round tower topped by a dome with a squat obelisk finial.

 

LIME STREET The Lime Street elevation incorporates a further entrance to the centre of the ground floor, which is identically styled to that to the south corner, but the lower section of the original gate has been removed and replaced by late-C20 concertina gates. The vestibule behind is lined with pink granite and has a decorative plasterwork ceiling and a small bow-shaped window (possibly an off-sales opening originally and in 2019 now covered with an advertising sign) directly opposite the doorway with a multipaned segmental overlight above. Partly-glazed panelled doors to each side lead into the lounge and public bar to the left and right respectively; both doors are multipaned to their upper halves with panes of brilliant-cut glass. To the left of the main building on Lime Street is an additional lower, rendered single-bay that comprises 79 Lime Street; part of an earlier (now demolished) building that was partly raised, altered and re-used in the early C20 to house The Vines' main accommodation stair. It has a tall doorway to the ground floor flanked by Corinthian columns with two panelled doors with overlights; that to the left previously served a now-demolished part of the building to the left whilst that to the right accesses the stair for The Vines. Single plate-glass sash windows exist to the right on two floors above; that to the second floor has been altered and made smaller, presumably when the stair was inserted internally. Corresponding windows to the left have been blocked up, but are partly visible internally.

 

COPPERAS HILL The ground floor of the pub's Copperas Hill elevation also has a number of entrances, including one with a doorway incorporating a scrolled floating cornice and prominent keystone that leads into the public bar and originally also a former snug (now altered into a kitchenette). A plainer doorway to the right leads to a stair accessing the upper floors at this end of the building. A single-storey flat-roofed section to the far right of the elevation with a plain recessed doorway is a later addition and provides external access to the former billiards room.

 

REAR ELEVATIONS The rear (north-east and north-west) elevations are plainer and of brick with large casement windows, some of which incorporate Art Nouveau stained glass. The entire rear yard area is occupied by a flat-roofed billiards room with a large lantern roof over a stained-glass dome visible internally. A cast-iron fire escape provides access down onto the roof of the billiards room.

 

INTERIOR: internally the pub has a linear sequence of rooms from south-east to north-west formed by a public bar, lounge and smoke room, with a large former billiards room at the rear. There are high ceilings and carved mahogany woodwork throughout the ground floor, and plasterwork by the Bromsgrove Guild and H Gustave Hiller.

 

PUBLIC BAR The south corner entrance leads into a large public bar with a richly moulded plasterwork ceiling and a panelled mahogany bar counter to the north corner that originally ran down the north-east side of the room, but was shortened in 1989. Rising from the bar counter are short mirror-panelled piers supporting a pot shelf surmounted by three twin-armed brass lamps, and in front of the counter is a brass foot rail. The bar-back behind forms part of a carved, arcaded and panelled screen that runs down the north-east side of the public bar and incorporates stained, leaded, and cut glass, and two openings; the opening to the right has lost its original panelled infill, which would have been in similar style to the bar-back, whilst that to the left is an original open doorway with a broken segmental pediment above containing a clock face that gives the appearance of an outsized grandfather clock with the doorway through the pendulum case. The screen separates the public bar from a rear corridor cum drinking lobby that accesses toilets and leads through to the lounge and smoke room at the opposite end of the pub. Bench seating and a mahogany and tiled fireplace with a carved overmantel exist to the public bar's south-west wall, and a small late-C20 stage has been inserted at the south-east end of the room. At the north-west end of the room adjacent to the Lime Street entrance is a panelled and stained-glass arcaded screen with an integral drinking shelf that conceals the bar service area, possible off-sales and basement access from view. In the eastern corner of the bar adjacent to a lobby off the Copperas Hill entrance is an altered glazed screen covered with modern signage chalkboards that probably originally led through to another small room/snug, which is now a kitchenette.

 

Behind the public bar the corridor/drinking lobby's north-east wall is panelled and incorporates a wide arched opening to the centre with early-C20 signage plaques with incised and gilded lettering and arrows pointing towards the ladies and gents lavatories, which are accessed through an inner screen with Art Nouveau stained glass and a vestibule with panelled doors. Off to the right is a doorway through to the altered snug and access to a stair leading up to the first floor.

 

LOUNGE The lounge is accessed from the Lime Street entrance and shares a bar servery with the public bar, although the bar counter in the lounge is set within a wide arched opening and is more elaborate and wave-shaped with a decorative beaten-copper front. Above the counter are brass lighting rails with paired globe lights. Ornate carved and fluted Corinthian columns stood atop panelled pedestals support the room's ceiling, which continues the same richly decorated plasterwork as the public bar. Similarly detailed pilasters also exist to the walls, which are panelled. To the room's north-west wall is a tall mahogany and marble fireplace with a decorative beaten-copper panel depicting torches and swags, and a beaten-copper Art Nouveau fire hood, and large caryatids to each side supporting an entablature and segmental pediment above. Two doorways either side of the fireplace with their doors removed (one of the doors with an etched-glass upper panel that reads 'SMOKE ROOM' survives on the second floor in the Lime Street range) lead through into the smoke room, which has a back-to-back fireplace with the lounge.

 

SMOKE ROOM The smoke room has booth seating set around three walls separated by baffles with Art Nouveau stained-glass panels and fluted octagonal uprights surmounted by paired lamps. The walls above the seating have highly decorative mahogany panelling with fluted pilasters, carved mouldings, marquetry detailing and built-in bell pushes set within decorative plates. To the top of the walls, and set below a coffered ceiling that incorporates a large plasterwork oval to the centre depicting the signs of the zodiac, is a deep plasterwork frieze depicting putti in various Arcadian scenes. The room's elaborate fireplace is also of mahogany, marble and beaten copper, with a semi-circular panel depicting Viking ships in relief and flanking fluted octagonal columns with Art Nouveau floriate capitals supporting an entablature.

 

FORMER BILLIARDS ROOM At the rear (north-east side) of the ground floor, and accessed from the lounge and rear corridor, is a vast room (probably a billiards room originally and now known as the Heritage Suite) with an exposed floorboard floor, wall panelling incorporating doorcases with shaped heads, giant Corinthian pilasters, carved festoons and cartouches, and a coffered ceiling with a massive, oval, stained-glass domed skylight to the centre with a plasterwork frieze at its base depicting apples, foliage and lion's heads. To the south-west wall is an elaborate carved mahogany and marble fireplace with a large mirror built into the panelling above and surviving to the south-east wall is original built-in bench seating. At the north-west end of the room is a later panelled bar counter with a substantial bar-back behind incorporating Roman Doric columns supporting a deep entablature and flanked by later shelving. A doorway in the east corner leads through to an altered entrance foyer off Copperas Hill.

 

UPPER FLOORS A steep, narrow stair off Copperas Hill leads up to the first floor and rooms in the south corner and south-east end of the building. The stair has modern tread coverings and has lost its balusters, but an original newel post and handrail survive. The main accommodation stair serving the upper floors in the Lime Street range is contained within the neighbouring single-bay property of 79 Lime Street and rises from a ground-floor foyer with later inserted partitioning. The stair is a wide dog-leg stair with substantial carved newel posts and balusters, pendant drops, a closed string, and a glazed-tiled dado.

 

The upper floor rooms at the south-east end of the building have been modernised to accommodate en-suite bathrooms and toilets, but the floor plan largely survives with only minor alteration, including boxing-in on the second-floor landing. The rooms and landings retain plain moulded cornicing and door architraves, and a mixture of original four-panel and modern doors. Chimneybreasts also survive, and most rooms retain Art Nouveau cast-iron and tiled fireplaces. A stair flight up to the second floor survives with closed strings and turned balusters and newel posts. On each of the first and second floor landings is a doorway through to the upper-floor rooms facing onto Lime Street, which are no longer in use. These spaces, except for the main stair at the north-west end, have been altered and modernised, along with the attic rooms.

 

The attic at the south-east end of the building and the basement were not inspected.

 

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

 

Legacy System number: 359023

Legacy System: LBS

 

Sources

 

Books and journals

Brandwood, G, Davison, A, Slaughter, M, Licensed to Sell. The HIstory and Heritage of the Public House, (2004), 77, 78, 115, 147, 150

Brandwood, G, Britain's Best Real Heritage Pubs. Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest, (2013), 118

Pye, K, Liverpool Pubs, (2015), 68-72

Sharples, J, Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, (2004), 184

 

Websites

The Bromsgrove Guild, accessed 7 November 2019 from www.architectural-heritage.co.uk/garden-ornament-history

  

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1084210

HistoryThe site was acquired in the 15th century by the Charnock family from the Knights of St John of Jerusalem.The Charnocks built the original timber-framed house, around a small courtyard, about 1575-1600. In 1665, Margaret Charnocke married Richard Brooke of Mere in Cheshire, and they built the present grand but asymmetrical front range of brick with a pair of vast mullion and transomed bay windows. This front has a doorway with distinctly rustic Ionic columns, remarkable at such a late date.

 

The interior is notable for the staggering mid 17th century plasterwork in the ceilings of the Great Hall and drawing room, which have heavy wreaths and disporting cherubs. The ceilings are barbaric in their excesses, and the figures are relatively poorly modelled, although the undercutting is breathtaking. Not all the moulding is of stucco: there are elements of lead and leather too. The staircase is of the same period with a coarse but vigorously carved acanthus scroll balustrade and square newels with vases of flowers on top. The lower parts of the hall are panelled with inset paintings of a curious selection of modern worthies, including Protestants such as Elizabeth I and William the Silent; Catholics such as Philip II and Ambrogio Spinola; the explorers Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, and Muhammadans such as Bajazet and Mohammed II, Sultans of Turkey; it is thought this scheme might be rather earlier than the other work and date from the time of Thomas Charnock MP, who died in 1648. The whole width of the house on the top floor is occupied by a long gallery which contains the finest shovelboard table in existence, 23½ feet long.

 

The house contains a bird's-eye view by an unknown artist showing the house c. 1710, which depicts small tower-gazebos at the angles of its forecourt. In due course, the Brookes failed in the male line and the house descended to Robert Townley Parker of Cuerden, who added the south wing in 1825 and stuccoed the exterior, probably to the design of Lewis Wyatt, who worked for him at Cuerden Hall. The dining room in the early 19th century wing has inlaid 16th century panelling brought in from elsewhere.

 

In 1864, the will of John Hutchinson (alkali manufacturer) of Widnes named one of his executors as "Thomas Part of Astley Hall in Chorley", although Thomas Part may well not have been the owner at the time.

 

In 1922 the house and its contents were given to Chorley Corporation by Reginald Tatton, as a memorial to the local men killed in World War I. It has since been maintained as a museum. The house contains fine oak furniture, Flemish tapestries and wooden panelling. It is rumoured that Oliver Cromwell stayed at the Hall during the Battle of Preston in the 17th century and reportedly left his boots behind. However, recent research shows that these may not be his own boots, although this does not rule out him visiting the Hall. A wide range of temporary exhibitions are displayed in the art gallery throughout the season and events are organised throughout the year.

 

The plain Classical brick stable block with pedimented centre is of c.1800.

 

The grounds with a small lake were landscaped by John Webb and feature a picturesque meandering stream running through a wooded ravine.

 

The Park, Coach House and Walled Garden have recently been renovated with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Chorley Council. An extensive project has seen the restoration of the 17th century ha-ha, de-silting of the lake, de-felling of trees, moving pets corner and extensive renovation of the coach house and walled garden. The Coach House now houses a new art gallery and conference room on the first floor, with a cafe and education space on the ground floor.

 

CC Wiki

Kingston Lacy, Dorset, National Trust

Craft workers moulding new architrave in plaster - Havana back street

 

IMG_0947-Edit 1400-2

Hardwick Old Hall, Derbyshire, early C16 & 1587-90.

For Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury - Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608).

Grade l listed.

The house had two full scale great chambers and there are substantial remains of decorative plasterwork by Abraham Smith.

 

Mr Reason's & Mr Digby's Chambers.

Two of Bess's gentlemen servants.

A fireplace & overmantle in their bedroom on an upper floor.

 

Hardwick was home to Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608), one of the most formidable women of Elizabethan England. She was the matriarch of the Cavendish family, building Chatsworth with her second husband and returning to build the two great halls at Hardwick after her separation from her fourth husband the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.

   

Levens Hall is a magnificent Elizabethan mansion that was built around 1350 by the Redman family as a pele (or peel) tower and was later expanded and rebuilt towards the end of the 16th Century. It is the family home of the Bagots, and contains a collection of Jacobean furniture, fine paintings, the earliest English patchwork and many other beautiful objects. (No photos from inside the house as photography is not allowed)

The world-famous award winning gardens were laid out in 1694. The topiary beech hedges and colourful seasonal beds create a stunning visual impact. The topiary garden has huge abstract shapes, pyramids and columns reminiscent of monstrous chess men.

These photographs remind me of my many days visiting stately homes during the summer months, hope you enjoy.

Some people just have that aristocratic appearance.

 

This is the Staircase Hall, famous for its superb stuccowork (plasterwork) by the Francini brothers.

 

xxxx

 

Castletown House was built in 1722 - 1729 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish Parliament, and one of the wealthiest Anglo-Irish protestant aristocrats in Ireland at the time.

 

Protestant Ascendancy, roughly between the 1650s and the 1910s, refers to the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland by a minority of great Protestant landowners. Back in 1652, Oliver Cromwell passed the Act of Settlement, seizing a vast majority of arable land in Ireland from the Catholics and distributing it to Protestant soldiers and noblemen. From that point on until the 1880s, the Catholics were to become poor tenant farmers under the control of their aristocratic Protestant landlords.

 

The Protestant Ascendancy was a period of great prosperity for landed gentry, and they built magnificent country houses around Ireland. The Georgian and Palladian stately homes in Ireland are amongst the finest in all of the British Isles. Meanwhile, the Catholics were not even allowed to buy land and were the poorest people in Europe at the time. I've heard a saying that even these days, few Irish Catholics have much interest in visiting these homes, even though they are now mostly under the care of the Irish government.

The Great Oak room, in Red Lodge, Bristol.

 

The oak panelling, the beautiful plasterwork ceiling and the great stone chimneypiece date to the time the house was built (the 1580s). The room has been described as one of the finest Elizabethan rooms in the West Country. Most of the oak furniture dates to the seventeenth-century. The chest depicted to the right of the chimney piece dates to 1645 and belonged to the Holy Trinity Church, Bristol (the name of the church is inscribed upon it). I believe this refers to the Holy Trinity Church in Westbury on Trym.

  

The house dates to the 1580s but was radically remodelled during the next two centuries. The house’s name refers to its use during the Elizabethan period – it was constructed as a lodge for the nearby and much grander Elizabethan house (in which Elizabeth I stayed). Unfortunately this magnificent Tudor mansion is now lost to us, although the lodge survived. The popular entertainment venue, the Colston Hall, is situated on the spot where the former grand house stood.

  

Victoria Palace Theatre refurbishment, May 2017. Detail of plasterwork on dress circle front - test (mock-up) painting done some months ago, I think the shades have been superceded, juding by the scheme being implemented currently on the ceiling. On 9th April 2016 "Billy Elliot" closed at the theatre to allow for a multi-million refurbishment and extension of the grade 2* listed, Frank Matcham designed building. The most significant changes since the variety theatre opened in 1911. It will reopen at the end of this year with the Broadway hit "Hamilton"

 

London, West End, Victoria Palace Theatre building works.

 

May 2017

 

A visit to the National Trust property that is Penrhyn Castle

 

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

 

The present building was created between about 1822 and 1837 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the building beyond recognition. However a spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from slavery in Jamaica and local slate quarries. The eldest of George's two daughters, Juliana, married Grenadier Guard, Edward Gordon Douglas, who, on inheriting the estate on George's death in 1845, adopted the hyphenated surname of Douglas-Pennant. The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately, as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It cost the Pennant family an estimated £150,000. This is the current equivalent to about £49,500,000.

 

Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.

 

It is built in a sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman-style furniture, including a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.

 

Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Lord Penrhyn, died in 1949, and the castle and estate passed to his niece, Lady Janet Pelham, who, on inheritance, adopted the surname of Douglas-Pennant. In 1951, the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the treasury in lieu of death duties from Lady Janet. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The site received 109,395 visitors in 2017.

  

Grade I Listed Building

 

Penrhyn Castle

  

History

 

The present house, built in the form of a vast Norman castle, was constructed to the design of Thomas Hopper for George Hay Dawkins-Pennant between 1820 and 1837. It has been very little altered since.

 

The original house on the site was a medieval manor house of C14 origin, for which a licence to crenellate was given at an unknown date between 1410 and 1431. This house survived until c1782 when it was remodelled in castellated Gothick style, replete with yellow mathematical tiles, by Samuel Wyatt for Richard Pennant. This house, the great hall of which is incorporated in the present drawing room, was remodelled in c1800, but the vast profits from the Penrhyn slate quarries enabled all the rest to be completely swept away by Hopper's vast neo-Norman fantasy, sited and built so that it could be seen not only from the quarries, but most parts of the surrounding estate, thereby emphasizing the local dominance of the Dawkins-Pennant family. The total cost is unknown but it cannot have been less than the £123,000 claimed by Catherine Sinclair in 1839.

 

Since 1951 the house has belonged to the National Trust, together with over 40,000 acres of the family estates around Ysbyty Ifan and the Ogwen valley.

 

Exterior

 

Country house built in the style of a vast Norman castle with other later medieval influences, so huge (its 70 roofs cover an area of over an acre (0.4ha)) that it almost defies meaningful description. The main components of the house, which is built on a north-south axis with the main elevations to east and west, are the 124ft (37.8m) high keep, based on Castle Hedingham (Essex) containing the family quarters on the south, the central range, protected by a 'barbican' terrace on the east, housing the state apartments, and the rectangular-shaped staff/service buildings and stables to the north. The whole is constructed of local rubblestone with internal brick lining, but all elevations are faced in tooled Anglesey limestone ashlar of the finest quality jointing; flat lead roofs concealed by castellated parapets. Close to, the extreme length of the building (it is about 200 yards (182.88m) long) and the fact that the ground slopes away on all sides mean that almost no complete elevation can be seen. That the most frequent views of the exterior are oblique also offered Hopper the opportunity to deploy his towers for picturesque effect, the relationship between the keep and the other towers and turrets frequently obscuring the distances between them. Another significant external feature of the castle is that it actually looks defensible making it secure at least from Pugin's famous slur of 1841 on contemporary "castles" - "Who would hammer against nailed portals, when he could kick his way through the greenhouse?" Certainly, this could never be achieved at Penrhyn and it looks every inch the impregnable fortress both architect and patron intended it to be.

 

East elevation: to the left is the loosely attached 4-storey keep on battered plinth with 4 tiers of deeply splayed Norman windows, 2 to each face, with chevron decoration and nook-shafts, topped by 4 square corner turrets. The dining room (distinguished by the intersecting tracery above the windows) and breakfast room to the right of the entrance gallery are protected by the long sweep of the machicolated 'barbican' terrace (carriage forecourt), curved in front of the 2 rooms and then running northwards before returning at right-angles to the west to include the gatehouse, which formed the original main entrance to the castle, and ending in a tall rectangular tower with machicolated parapet. To the right of the gatehouse are the recessed buildings of the kitchen court and to the right again the long, largely unbroken outer wall of the stable court, terminated by the square footmen's tower to the left and the rather more exuberant projecting circular dung tower with its spectacularly cantilevered bartizan on the right. From here the wall runs at right-angles to the west incorporating the impressive gatehouse to the stable court.

 

West elevation: beginning at the left is the hexagonal smithy tower, followed by the long run of the stable court, well provided with windows on this side as the stables lie directly behind. At the end of this the wall turns at right-angles to the west, incorporating the narrow circular-turreted gatehouse to the outer court and terminating in the machicolated circular ice tower. From here the wall runs again at a lower height enclosing the remainder of the outer court. It is, of course, the state apartments which make up the chief architectural display on the central part of this elevation, beginning with a strongly articulated but essentially rectangular tower to the left, while both the drawing room and the library have Norman windows leading directly onto the lawns, the latter terminating in a slender machicolated circular corner tower. To the right is the keep, considerably set back on this side.

Interior

 

Only those parts of the castle generally accessible to visitors are recorded in this description. Although not described here much of the furniture and many of the paintings (including family portraits) are also original to the house. Similarly, it should be noted that in the interests of brevity and clarity, not all significant architectural features are itemised in the following description.

 

Entrance gallery: one of the last parts of the castle to be built, this narrow cloister-like passage was added to the main block to heighten the sensation of entering the vast Grand Hall, which is made only partly visible by the deliberate offsetting of the intervening doorways; bronze lamp standards with wolf-heads on stone bases. Grand Hall: entering the columned aisle of this huge space, the visitor stands at a cross-roads between the 3 principal areas of the castle's plan; to the left the passage leads up to the family's private apartments on the 4 floors of the keep, to the right the door at the end leads to the extensive service quarters while ahead lies the sequence of state rooms used for entertaining guests and displayed to the public ever since the castle was built. The hall itself resembles in form, style and scale the transept of a great Norman cathedral, the great clustered columns extending upwards to a "triforium" formed on 2 sides of extraordinary compound arches; stained glass with signs of the zodiac and months of the year as in a book of hours by Thomas Willement (completed 1835). Library: has very much the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s London club with walls, columned arches and ceilings covered in the most lavish ornamentation; superb architectural bookcases and panelled walls are of oak but the arches are plaster grained to match; ornamental bosses and other devices to the rich plaster ceiling refer to the ancestry of the Dawkins and Pennant families, as do the stained glass lunettes above the windows, possibly by David Evans of Shrewsbury; 4 chimneypieces of polished Anglesey "marble", one with a frieze of fantastical carved mummers in the capitals. Drawing room (great hall of the late C18 house and its medieval predecessor): again in a neo-Norman style but the decoration is lighter and the columns more slender, the spirit of the room reflected in the 2000 delicate Maltese gilt crosses to the vaulted ceiling. Ebony room: so called on account of its furniture and "ebonised" chimneypiece and plasterwork, has at its entrance a spiral staircase from the medieval house. Grand Staircase hall: in many ways the greatest architectural achievement at Penrhyn, taking 10 years to complete, the carving in 2 contrasting stones of the highest quality; repeating abstract decorative motifs contrast with the infinitely inventive figurative carving in the newels and capitals; to the top the intricate plaster panels of the domed lantern are formed in exceptionally high relief and display both Norse and Celtic influences. Next to the grand stair is the secondary stair, itself a magnificent structure in grey sandstone with lantern, built immediately next to the grand stair so that family or guests should not meet staff on the same staircase. Reached from the columned aisle of the grand hall are the 2 remaining principal ground-floor rooms, the dining room and the breakfast room, among the last parts of the castle to be completed and clearly intended to be picture galleries as much as dining areas, the stencilled treatment of the walls in the dining room allowing both the provision of an appropriately elaborate "Norman" scheme and a large flat surface for the hanging of paintings; black marble fireplace carved by Richard Westmacott and extremely ornate ceiling with leaf bosses encircled by bands of figurative mouldings derived from the Romanesque church of Kilpeck, Herefordshire. Breakfast room has cambered beam ceiling with oak-grained finish.

 

Grand hall gallery: at the top of the grand staircase is vaulted and continues around the grand hall below to link with the passage to the keep, which at this level (as on the other floors) contains a suite of rooms comprising a sitting room, dressing room, bedroom and small ante-chamber, the room containing the famous slate bed also with a red Mona marble chimneypiece, one of the most spectacular in the castle. Returning to the grand hall gallery and continuing straight on rather than returning to the grand staircase the Lower India room is reached to the right: this contains an Anglesey limestone chimneypiece painted to match the ground colour of the room's Chinese wallpaper. Coming out of this room, the chapel corridor leads to the chapel gallery (used by the family) and the chapel proper below (used by staff), the latter with encaustic tiles probably reused from the old medieval chapel; stained and painted glass by David Evans (c1833).

 

The domestic quarters of the castle are reached along the passage from the breakfast room, which turns at right-angles to the right at the foot of the secondary staircase, the most important areas being the butler's pantry, steward's office, servants' hall, housekeeper's room, still room, housekeeper's store and housemaids' tower, while the kitchen (with its cast-iron range flanked by large and hygienic vertical slabs of Penrhyn slate) is housed on the lower ground floor. From this kitchen court, which also includes a coal store, oil vaults, brushing room, lamp room, pastry room, larder, scullery and laundry are reached the outer court with its soup kitchen, brewhouse and 2-storey ice tower and the much larger stables court which, along with the stables themselves containing their extensive slate-partitioned stalls and loose boxes, incorporates the coach house, covered ride, smithy tower, dung tower with gardeners' messroom above and footmen's tower.

 

Reasons for Listing

 

Included at Grade I as one of the most important large country houses in Wales; a superb example of the relatively short-lived Norman Revival of the early C19 and generally regarded as the masterpiece of its architect, Thomas Hopper.

  

Ice Tower - you can go up it to the first floor.

  

sign - Ice Cool

The Whistler Room

Just before war broke out in 1939, Maud Russell transformed the original entrance hall into a large saloon. Rex Whistler was commissioned to create a unique backdrop for Mottisfont’s glamorous guests. The results were his spectacular trompe l’oeil murals, light-heartedly reflecting Mottisfont’s medieval origins.

Despite appearances, there are no columns, ledges or moulded plasterwork in this room, the walls of which are so cunningly painted that they appear to have all these gothic decorations. Take time to look closely at these finely detailed paintings and see what you can spot.

 

This extraordinary room was his last and finest piece before he was killed in active service in France. Tucked high in one wall is a poignant, secret message from the artist, painted just before he left – ask one of our room guides to show you when you visit. National Trust

 

Mottisfont Abbey is a historical priory and country estate in Hampshire, England. Sheltered in the valley of the River Test, the property is now operated by the National Trust. About 350,000 people visit each year. The site includes the historic house museum, regular changing art exhibitions, gardens (including a walled rose garden) and a river walk.

 

Fertile land and a plentiful water supply attracted the first settlers. The site's name comes from a spring ("font") that is still producing water in the grounds. It was the font around which the local community held its moots or meetings. An Augustinian priory was founded here in 1201 by William Briwere, a businessman, administrator and courtier to four Plantagenet kings who chose to make a public demonstration of his wealth and piety. The canons welcomed pilgrims en route to Winchester, who came to worship Mottisfont's relic, said to be the finger of St John the Baptist. (The word "Abbey" was added to the name "Mottisfont" by a future owner, several centuries later, but is a misnomer. The National Trust speculate that the name was considered more romantic than the historically-correct "Priory".)

 

Struck by the Black Death, the initially prosperous priory suffered from the mid-14th century onwards. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, the priory was dissolved and the king gave Mottisfont to a favoured statesman, Sir William Sandys, who turned it into a country home, but rather unusually, chose not to demolish the existing priory. Sandys instead turned the church nave into the main body of the new mansion, building additional wings on either side. Sections of the original medieval church may still be seen, with the later additions built around them. The 13th-century cellarium also remains present today.

 

In the 18th century, the old monastic cloisters and Tudor courtyard were demolished by the Mill family, creating the modern appearance of the estate's facade. It was at this time that the owners added "Abbey" to the name of the house. Then, under Sir John Barker Mill, in the early 19th century, the estate became a centre for hunting, shooting and fishing, and a new stable block was built.

 

The last decades of the 19th century saw Mottisfont let to wealthy banker Daniel Meinertzhagen under eccentric terms that forbade the installation of electric light or central heating. The ten Meinertzhagen children included Daniel and Richard, who built aviaries for their collection of eagles, hawks, owls and ravens. Richard wrote detailed diaries about his childhood and growing interest in the natural world.

 

The arrival of Maud and Gilbert Russell in 1934 made Mottisfont the centre of a fashionable artistic and political circle. Maud was a wealthy patron of the arts, and she created a substantial country house where she entertained artists and writers including Ben Nicholson and Ian Fleming. She commissioned some of her artist and designer friends to embellish Mottisfont, always with an eye on its history, which fascinated her. Rex Whistler created the illusion of Gothic architecture in her salon (now known as the Whistler Room), a piece of trompe-l'œil painting that recalls the medieval architecture of the priory. Boris Anrep contributed mosaics both inside and outside the house, including one of an angel featuring Maud’s face – the couple had a long love affair.

 

Maud Russell gifted the house and grounds to the National Trust in 1957, although continuing to live there until 1972.[2] One of the artists who had visited regularly was Derek Hill, a society portrait painter who had a private passion for landscape painting, and who collected work by his contemporaries. He donated a substantial collection of early 20th-century art to the National Trust to be shown at Mottisfont, in memory of his long friendship with Maud Russell. Today, these works are joined by a changing programme of temporary exhibitions of 20th-century and contemporary art.

wikipedia

A mix up between here and Allhallows meant that shots from here were edited and posted as coming from Allhallows. Those have now been deleted, and will be reposted as being from Snodalnd.

 

I feel better disposed towards Snodland after this visit, as I received a warm welcome on Heritage day, and despite some major renovations going on, the wardens were clearly very proud of their church, and very happy the work to the tower and plasterwork was being carried out. And extolling me to return later in the year when the work is completed.

 

I intend to.

 

------------------------------------------

 

In an awkward position, cut off from its village by the railway and bypass and somewhat compromised by the adjoining paper mill. The present church has been extended from its thirteenth century origins, most noticeably by the addition of a tall tower in the fifteenth century. There is a rood loft staircase in the south wall and on a pillar nearby can still be seen an unusual fourteenth-century Crucifixion painted on the stonework within an incised outline. The church was over-restored by Blomfield in 1870 and suffered damage in the Second World War when the medieval glass was destroyed. Fragments that survived have been assembled where possible. New windows were installed, including the thirty-six symbols of the saints in the east window by Hugh Easton (1953), and the Becket Pilgrim window by Moira Forsyth (1966). A large memorial in the south aisle commemorates Thomas Waghorn (d. 1850), who pioneered the overland route to India.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Snodland

 

NORTHWARD from Ditton, on the western side of the Medway, a small part of Aylesford at New Hyth intervening, is Snodland, called in Domesday, ESNOILAND, and in the Textus Roffensis, SNODDINGLAND and SNODILAND.

 

SNODLAND lies on the western bank of the river, which is its eastern boundary opposite to Burham. The high road from Stroud to Larkfield goes through the village, which is situated about half a mile, and the church about midway from the river. It lies low, and being near the salt marshes, is not either very pleasant or very wholesome. In the southern part of the parish the stream which flows from Birling turns a pa per mill here, and thence flows into the Medway, not far from which is Snodland and New-Hyth common. In the northern part of the parish next to Lower Halling, is the hamlet of Holborough, usually called Hoborow, no doubt for Old Borough, a name implying the antiquity of this place. Many are inclined to believe, that the usual passage across the river in the time of the Romans, was from hence to Scarborough on the opposite shore. However that may be, Holborow was certainly known to them, for in queen Elizabeth's reign, an urn filled with ashes was discovered in digging for chalk on the hill above this place, a sure token of the Romans having frequented it. (fn. 1) In this hamlet Mr. John May resides in a handsome new-built house, near it there rises a small brook, which flows from hence into the Medway, at about half a mile distance. From this low and flat country, on the bank of the river, the ground rises westward up to the range of high chalk hills, where the land becomes poor and much covered with flints. Upon these hills among the woods is an estate, corruptly called Punish, for it takes its name from the family of Pouenesse, or Pevenashe, written by contraction Poneshe, who were possessed of it as high as king Henry the IIId's. reign, in queen Elizabeth's reign it was called Poynyshe, and was then in possession of the name of Brown, who held it of the bishop of Rochester as of his manor of Halling. (fn. 2) About a mile eastward from the above is a farm called Lads, which in king Edward I's. reign, and some generations afterwards, was in the possession of a family of that name, written in deeds of those times, Lad, and Le Lad.

 

This parish ought antiently to have contributed to the repair of the ninth pier of Rochester bridge.

 

Sir John Marsham, bart. and Sir Charles Bickerstaff, had a design of supplying the towns of Stroud, Rochester, and Chatham, with fresh water, by bringing it from the spring rising at the foot of Holborough hill, and others thereabouts, by a cut or channel through Halling and Cuxton thither, four miles of which was through Sir John Marsham's own lands, but after they had proceeded two miles, finding some obstructions, which could not be removed, but by an act, one was procured for the purpose in the 1st year of James II. but nothing further was afterwards done in it, for what reason does not appear.

 

In the year 838, king Egbert, with the consent of his son king Æthelwulf, gave to Beormod, bishop of Rochester, four plough lands at Snoddinglond and Holanbeorge, with the privilege of leaving them to whomever he pleased; and he granted that the lands should be free from all service, to which he added one mill on the stream, named Holanbeorges bourne, and on the hill belonging to the king fifty loads of wood, and likewife four denberies in the Weald. And in the year 841, Ethelwulf, king of the West Saxons, with the advice of his bishops and great men, gave to the bishop two ploughlands at Holanbeorges, in perpetual inheritance, with the like privilege, and that they should be free from all regal service.

 

Whilst Ælfstane was bishop of Rochester, who came to the see in 945, and died in 984, one Birtrick, a rich man, who lived at Meopham, with the consent of Elfswithe, his wife, made his testament, and gave, after their deaths, his lands at Snodland to St. Andrew's church at Rochester. (fn. 3)

 

The bishop of Rochester continued in the possession of this place at the time of taking the general survey of Domesday, about the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, anno 1080, in which record it is thus entered, under the general title of that bishop's lands:

 

The same bishop (of Rochester) holds Esnoiland. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was taxed at six sulings, and now at three. The arable land is six carucates. In demesne there are two carucates and ten villeins, with six borderers, having six carucates. There is a church and five servants, and three mills of forty shillings, and thirty acres of meadow, wood for the pannage of four hogs. In the time of king Edward and afterwards, it was worth six pounds, and now nine pounds.

 

When bishop Gundulph, soon after this, following archbishop Lanfranc's example, separated his revenue from that of his priory, this manor, together with Holborough, continued part of the bishop's possessions, and was confirmed to the church of Rochester by archbishops Anselm and Boniface.

 

On a taxation of the bishop's manors next year, it appeared that Holeberge was a member of the manor of Halling, and had in it one hundred and ninety-seven acres of arable land, valued at four-pence per acre at the most, as there was no marle there. That there were here fourteen acres of meadow, six acres of pasture, which were salt, and three lately made fresh, each acre at eight-pence, and the mill at twenty shillings per annum.

 

Hamo, bishop of Rochester, in the year 1323, new built the mill at Holbergh, with timber from Perstede, at the expence of ten pounds. (fn. 4) At which time the bishop seems to have had a park here.

 

The estate of Snodland with Holborow, still continue part of the possessions of the right reverend the lord bishop of Rochester. William Dalyson, esq. of West Peckham, is the present lessee of the bishop's estate in this parish.

 

THE FAMILY of Palmer, who bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron between three palmers scrips, sable, tasselled and buckled, or resided for some time in this parish, at a seat they possessed in it, called The courtlodge. Several of them lie buried in the church of Snodland, particularly Thomas Palmer, who married the daughter of Fitzsimond, and died anno 1407. Weaver recites his epitaph thus, now obliterated:

Palmers al our faders were

I, a Palmer, livyd here

And travylled till worne wythe age

I endyd this worlds pylgramage

On the blyst Assention day

In the cherful month of May

A thowsand wyth fowre hundryd seven

And took my jorney hense to Heuen

 

From him descended the Palmers, of Tottington, in Aylesford, and of Howlets, in Bekesborne, now extinct.

 

The Palmers were succeeded here by the Leeds's, one of whom, William Leeds, lay interred in this church, whose arms, A fess between three eagles, were engraved in brass on his tomb, but they are now torn away; to whom, in the reign of king Charles I. succeeded the Whitfields, of Canterbury. It afterwards passed into the name of Crow, and from thence to the Mays, and it is now the estate of Mr. John May, of Holborough.

 

VELES, alias SNODLAND, is a manor in this parish, which in the reign of king Edward I. was held as half a knight's fee, of the bishop of Rochester, by John de Pevenashe, John Harange, and Walter Lad, as coparceners, and in the 20th year of king Edward III. Richard Pevenashe, John de Melford, John Lade, and Richard le Veel, paid aid for it.

 

This manor seems afterwards to have been wholly vested in the family of Veel, called in deeds likewise Le Vitele, and in Latin Vitulus. After they were extinct here, it passed into the name of Blunt, and from that to Turvye, of whose heirs it was held in the latter end of the reign of king Henry VIII. by Richard Harvey. (fn. 5) It passed, after some intermediate owners, by sale to Crow, and from thence in like manner to Mr. John May, whose two sons, Mr. John and William May, of this parish, afterwards possessed it. The latter died in 1777, on which the entire fee of it became vested in his brother Mr. John May, of Holborough, the present possessor of it.

 

HOLLOWAY COURT is a seat in this parish, which gave name to a family that resided at it. Henry de Holeweye paid aid for it in the beginning of the reign of king Henry III. (fn. 6) His descendant, William de Holeweye possessed it in the 30th year of king Edward I. from which name it passed into that of Tilghman, who were owners of it in the reign of king Edward III. Many of whom lie buried in this church, bearing for their arms, Per fess sable and argent, a lion rampant regardant, doubled queved counterchanged, crowned, as they were painted in very old glass in the windows of this house. Their pedigree is in Vistn. co. of Kent, anno 1619.

 

Richard Tilghman possessed it in the reign of king Henry IV. and in his descendants it continued down to Edward Tilghman, esq. who was of Snodland, and was twice married; by his first wife he had a son, Francis, and by his second, two sons, the eldest of whom, Whetenhall Tilghman, had part of his father's lands in this parish, which continued in his descendants till about the year 1680, when they were alienated to Sir John Marsham, bart. whose descendant, the right honorable Charles, lord Romney, is the present possessor of them.

 

¶Francis Tilghman, only son of Edward, by his first wife, was of Snodland, and possessed Holoway-court, where he resided in the reign of king James I. but died without surviving issue. He passed away this estate by sale to Clotworthy, descended from those of that name in Devonshire, and he by will gave it to his sister's son, Mr. Thomas Williams, who alienated it to Richard Manley, esq. who resided here, and dying in 1684, was buried in this church, leaving by Martha, daughter of John Baynard, of Shorne, widow of Bonham Faunce, of St. Margaret's, Rochester one son, Charles, and a daughter, Frances, married to Dr. Robert Conny, hereafter-mentioned. He sold Holloway court to Mr. John Conny, of Rochester, surgeon, son of Robert Conny, gent. of Godmanchester, in Huntingdonshire, and bore for his arms, Sable, a fess argent, cotized or, between three conies of the second. On whose decease his eldest son, Robert Conny, of Rochester, M. D. succeeded to it, and he sold it to Thomas Pearce, esq. a commissioner of the navy, whose three sons and coheirs, Thomas, Best, and Vincent Pearce, conveyed it by sale to Mr. John May, and his eldest son, Mr John May, of Holborough, in this parish, now possesses it.

 

The church is dedicated to All Saints. It is a small mean building with a low pointed steeple.

 

The church of Snodland has ever been appendant to the manor. It has never been appropriated, but con tinues a rectory in the patronage of the right reverend the lord bishop of Rochester.

 

¶Much dispute having arisen between the rector of this parish, and the rector of Woldham, on the opposite side of the river Medway, concerning the tithe of fish caught within the bounds of the parish of Woldham by the parishioners of Snodland, the same was settled, with the consent of both parties, by the bishop of Rochester, 1402, as may be seen more at large in the account of the rectory of Woldham. (fn. 7)

 

This rectory is valued in the king's books at twenty pounds, and the yearly tenths at two pounds.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol4/pp463-470

North exterior wall of tower.

 

St Peter's church, Elmsett, Suffolk

The Whistler Room

Just before war broke out in 1939, Maud Russell transformed the original entrance hall into a large saloon. Rex Whistler was commissioned to create a unique backdrop for Mottisfont’s glamorous guests. The results were his spectacular trompe l’oeil murals, light-heartedly reflecting Mottisfont’s medieval origins.

Despite appearances, there are no columns, ledges or moulded plasterwork in this room, the walls of which are so cunningly painted that they appear to have all these gothic decorations. Take time to look closely at these finely detailed paintings and see what you can spot.

 

This extraordinary room was his last and finest piece before he was killed in active service in France. Tucked high in one wall is a poignant, secret message from the artist, painted just before he left – ask one of our room guides to show you when you visit. National Trust

 

Mottisfont Abbey is a historical priory and country estate in Hampshire, England. Sheltered in the valley of the River Test, the property is now operated by the National Trust. About 350,000 people visit each year. The site includes the historic house museum, regular changing art exhibitions, gardens (including a walled rose garden) and a river walk.

 

Fertile land and a plentiful water supply attracted the first settlers. The site's name comes from a spring ("font") that is still producing water in the grounds. It was the font around which the local community held its moots or meetings. An Augustinian priory was founded here in 1201 by William Briwere, a businessman, administrator and courtier to four Plantagenet kings who chose to make a public demonstration of his wealth and piety. The canons welcomed pilgrims en route to Winchester, who came to worship Mottisfont's relic, said to be the finger of St John the Baptist. (The word "Abbey" was added to the name "Mottisfont" by a future owner, several centuries later, but is a misnomer. The National Trust speculate that the name was considered more romantic than the historically-correct "Priory".)

 

Struck by the Black Death, the initially prosperous priory suffered from the mid-14th century onwards. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, the priory was dissolved and the king gave Mottisfont to a favoured statesman, Sir William Sandys, who turned it into a country home, but rather unusually, chose not to demolish the existing priory. Sandys instead turned the church nave into the main body of the new mansion, building additional wings on either side. Sections of the original medieval church may still be seen, with the later additions built around them. The 13th-century cellarium also remains present today.

 

In the 18th century, the old monastic cloisters and Tudor courtyard were demolished by the Mill family, creating the modern appearance of the estate's facade. It was at this time that the owners added "Abbey" to the name of the house. Then, under Sir John Barker Mill, in the early 19th century, the estate became a centre for hunting, shooting and fishing, and a new stable block was built.

 

The last decades of the 19th century saw Mottisfont let to wealthy banker Daniel Meinertzhagen under eccentric terms that forbade the installation of electric light or central heating. The ten Meinertzhagen children included Daniel and Richard, who built aviaries for their collection of eagles, hawks, owls and ravens. Richard wrote detailed diaries about his childhood and growing interest in the natural world.

 

The arrival of Maud and Gilbert Russell in 1934 made Mottisfont the centre of a fashionable artistic and political circle. Maud was a wealthy patron of the arts, and she created a substantial country house where she entertained artists and writers including Ben Nicholson and Ian Fleming. She commissioned some of her artist and designer friends to embellish Mottisfont, always with an eye on its history, which fascinated her. Rex Whistler created the illusion of Gothic architecture in her salon (now known as the Whistler Room), a piece of trompe-l'œil painting that recalls the medieval architecture of the priory. Boris Anrep contributed mosaics both inside and outside the house, including one of an angel featuring Maud’s face – the couple had a long love affair.

 

Maud Russell gifted the house and grounds to the National Trust in 1957, although continuing to live there until 1972.[2] One of the artists who had visited regularly was Derek Hill, a society portrait painter who had a private passion for landscape painting, and who collected work by his contemporaries. He donated a substantial collection of early 20th-century art to the National Trust to be shown at Mottisfont, in memory of his long friendship with Maud Russell. Today, these works are joined by a changing programme of temporary exhibitions of 20th-century and contemporary art.

wikipedia

To celebrate St Philips Cathedral's 300th birthday in 2015, there are some refurbishment works started in 2014.

  

a href="http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-217576-cathedral-church-of-st-philip-" rel="nofollow">Cathedral Church of St Philip, Birmingham

 

ST PHILIP'S CHURCHYARD

1.

5104

City Centre B2

Cathedral Church of

SP 0687 SE 29/40 25.4.52 St Philip

I

2.

Designed 1709 and consecrated in 1715, though the tower not completed until 1725.

Raised to cathedral status in 1905. By Thomas Archer, his first big commission,

and of far more than local importance as a major monument of the English Baroque.

Stone, refaced in 1864-9 by J A Chatwin. Restored after war damage, 1947-8.

Rectangular in plan with slight east and west projections representing chancel

and tower; the aisles extend further than the nave at each end to form vestibules

containing stairs to the galleries either side of the tower and vestries either

side of the chancel. The vestries are part of the alterations made to the east

end in 1883-4 by J A Chatwin who also extended Archer's original shallow apsidal

chancel. Tower and porches either side with Borrominesque detail. Side elevations

with arched windows separated by Doric pilasters carrying an entablature and parapet

with urns on the skyline. Inside, a 5-bay arcade, north and south galleries and

plasterwork by Richard Hass. Principal among the furnishings are the organ-case of

1715 by Thomas Schwarbrick of Warwick, the wrought-iron chancel rails in the style

of Tijou or Bakewell of Derby and the east and west stained glass windows of 1885-97

designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and made by William Morris.

  

Listing NGR: SP0694987028

  

This text is a legacy record and has not been updated since the building was originally listed. Details of the building may have changed in the intervening time. You should not rely on this listing as an accurate description of the building.

 

Source: English Heritage

 

Scissor lift - Wade.

 

The roof, plasterwork ceiling and 28 limestone support columns have been faithfully reproduced using Irish sourced materials and craftsmanship. A new concrete floor was laid and finished with a marble overlay. The nave areas present a bright and open ambiance.

 

All 28 columns were produced from blue-limestone quarried at Old Leighlin in County Carlow and assembled from five drum-sections separated by lead sheeting and topped by an ionic style capital decorated with acanthus rolls. After the capital stone had been rolled into place a fillet-stone of the correct height was inserted upon which rested the timber trusses. The fillet-stones were hidden from view by the plasterwork. During construction, the old damaged column was removed and its replacement assembled in its place one column at a time

 

St Mel’s of Longford town is the cathedral church for the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Ambitious plans for a fine church building in Longford began to take form after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 and became a reality when sufficient funds had been collected. Construction began in 1840 with the laying of the foundation stone which was taken from the original cathedral of St. Mel at Ardagh, only a few miles from Longford. The main body of the new cathedral was completed in 1856 to a neo-classical design by the architect Joseph Benjamin Keane, work having been delayed during the period of the Great Famine (1846 and recommenced 1853). After Joseph’s death in 1849, work was continued after by his assistant John Bourke (d.1871) who was also responsible for the belfry tower completed in 1860, but with major alterations to its original design. The neo-classical portico was designed by George Coppinger Ashlin (1837-1921) and completed in 1889 with its pediment and sculpted tympanum depicting the enthronement of St. Mel as Bishop of Ardagh along with three statues above the pediment. By this time, the cathedral building has taken on its definitive form with no further major alterations until its refurbishment after the devastating fire of 2009.

 

On 25th December 2009, the entire building was gutted by a fire which accidently started within the boiler chimney flue at the rear and quickly spread. The alarm was raised just after 5am but fire-fighting attempts were hampered by frozen pipes as the country was in the grip of one of its worst and prolonged periods of freezing temperatures for decades. By daylight, the entire building had been reduced to a burnt-out shell with the loss of all its furnishing, fittings and diocesan museum. The museum contained many priceless artefacts that included the Crozier of Saint Mel and the book-shrine of St. Caillin (1536), the latter damaged beyond restoration but it may be possible to conserve some of the remnants. The 28 supporting columns were also damaged beyond repair and had to replaced anew. Very little was recoverable that survived the worst of the 1,000 deg.C fire and even these suffered some degree of fire damage such as The Bell of Fenagh which is undergoing conservation treatment at the National Museum of Ireland and the original baptismal font with its brass fittings and surrounding mosaic floor. But the most puzzling of all and described by many as nothing short of a miracle was the survival of the Holy Family painting in the northern transept and the undamaged Eucharistic Host still inside the fire damaged tabernacle. The Holy Family oil painting on a cotton-based canvas should have readily gone up in flames due to its highly combustible materials but somehow survived relatively unscathed despite the intense fire around it. This painting was of Italian origins by an unknown artist and is now back on display requiring little more than a cleaning!

 

After five years of work by many expert disciplines using traditional methods, the cathedral building has been totally refurbished and which included quarried blue-limestone for 28 columns with hand-carved capitals that support the roof. Both Harry Clarke Studio windows were salvaged from the transepts and restored to their former glory by Abbey Stained Glass Ltd of Dublin, a company with much experience in the restoration of stained glass windows. Other replacements such as the wooden pews, alter, stained glass, Stations of the Cross tablets, pipe-organ, fixtures and fitting were all made in a modern style to the best materials and craftsmanship available. It is also planned to open a diocesan museum in the cathedral’s new crypts. The total cost of refurbishment and fitting out came to around €30 million, funded mostly from the insurance cover and after five years of hard work the cathedral was reopened for services at Christmas 2014.

 

Photos taken Thursday 22nd January 2015.

  

References:

 

www.facebook.com/StMelsRestoration (St Mel’s Cathedral restoration – Facebook page).

 

www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2014/1215/667007-longford... (RTE News article about TV program The Longford Phoenix).

 

www.longfordtourism.ie/event/st-mels-cathedral-rise-from-...

 

irishcatholic.ie/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/... (Sculptor Ken Thompson working on one of his Stations of the Cross panels).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mel%27s_cathedral,_Longford

 

l7.alamy.com/zooms/5e9904767cdb4317b39e15ee189488c3/shrin... (Image of St. Caillin book shrine created in 1536 before it was damaged beyond repair in the 2009 fire at St. Mel’s cathedral).

 

www.alamy.com/stock-photo-st-mels-crozier-longford-cathed... (Image of the 10th century St. Mel’s Crozier and sadly, completely destroyed in the cathedral fire of 2009).

  

A visit to the National Trust property that is Penrhyn Castle

 

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

 

The present building was created between about 1822 and 1837 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the building beyond recognition. However a spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from slavery in Jamaica and local slate quarries. The eldest of George's two daughters, Juliana, married Grenadier Guard, Edward Gordon Douglas, who, on inheriting the estate on George's death in 1845, adopted the hyphenated surname of Douglas-Pennant. The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately, as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It cost the Pennant family an estimated £150,000. This is the current equivalent to about £49,500,000.

 

Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.

 

It is built in a sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman-style furniture, including a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.

 

Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Lord Penrhyn, died in 1949, and the castle and estate passed to his niece, Lady Janet Pelham, who, on inheritance, adopted the surname of Douglas-Pennant. In 1951, the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the treasury in lieu of death duties from Lady Janet. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The site received 109,395 visitors in 2017.

  

Grade I Listed Building

 

Penrhyn Castle

  

History

 

The present house, built in the form of a vast Norman castle, was constructed to the design of Thomas Hopper for George Hay Dawkins-Pennant between 1820 and 1837. It has been very little altered since.

 

The original house on the site was a medieval manor house of C14 origin, for which a licence to crenellate was given at an unknown date between 1410 and 1431. This house survived until c1782 when it was remodelled in castellated Gothick style, replete with yellow mathematical tiles, by Samuel Wyatt for Richard Pennant. This house, the great hall of which is incorporated in the present drawing room, was remodelled in c1800, but the vast profits from the Penrhyn slate quarries enabled all the rest to be completely swept away by Hopper's vast neo-Norman fantasy, sited and built so that it could be seen not only from the quarries, but most parts of the surrounding estate, thereby emphasizing the local dominance of the Dawkins-Pennant family. The total cost is unknown but it cannot have been less than the £123,000 claimed by Catherine Sinclair in 1839.

 

Since 1951 the house has belonged to the National Trust, together with over 40,000 acres of the family estates around Ysbyty Ifan and the Ogwen valley.

 

Exterior

 

Country house built in the style of a vast Norman castle with other later medieval influences, so huge (its 70 roofs cover an area of over an acre (0.4ha)) that it almost defies meaningful description. The main components of the house, which is built on a north-south axis with the main elevations to east and west, are the 124ft (37.8m) high keep, based on Castle Hedingham (Essex) containing the family quarters on the south, the central range, protected by a 'barbican' terrace on the east, housing the state apartments, and the rectangular-shaped staff/service buildings and stables to the north. The whole is constructed of local rubblestone with internal brick lining, but all elevations are faced in tooled Anglesey limestone ashlar of the finest quality jointing; flat lead roofs concealed by castellated parapets. Close to, the extreme length of the building (it is about 200 yards (182.88m) long) and the fact that the ground slopes away on all sides mean that almost no complete elevation can be seen. That the most frequent views of the exterior are oblique also offered Hopper the opportunity to deploy his towers for picturesque effect, the relationship between the keep and the other towers and turrets frequently obscuring the distances between them. Another significant external feature of the castle is that it actually looks defensible making it secure at least from Pugin's famous slur of 1841 on contemporary "castles" - "Who would hammer against nailed portals, when he could kick his way through the greenhouse?" Certainly, this could never be achieved at Penrhyn and it looks every inch the impregnable fortress both architect and patron intended it to be.

 

East elevation: to the left is the loosely attached 4-storey keep on battered plinth with 4 tiers of deeply splayed Norman windows, 2 to each face, with chevron decoration and nook-shafts, topped by 4 square corner turrets. The dining room (distinguished by the intersecting tracery above the windows) and breakfast room to the right of the entrance gallery are protected by the long sweep of the machicolated 'barbican' terrace (carriage forecourt), curved in front of the 2 rooms and then running northwards before returning at right-angles to the west to include the gatehouse, which formed the original main entrance to the castle, and ending in a tall rectangular tower with machicolated parapet. To the right of the gatehouse are the recessed buildings of the kitchen court and to the right again the long, largely unbroken outer wall of the stable court, terminated by the square footmen's tower to the left and the rather more exuberant projecting circular dung tower with its spectacularly cantilevered bartizan on the right. From here the wall runs at right-angles to the west incorporating the impressive gatehouse to the stable court.

 

West elevation: beginning at the left is the hexagonal smithy tower, followed by the long run of the stable court, well provided with windows on this side as the stables lie directly behind. At the end of this the wall turns at right-angles to the west, incorporating the narrow circular-turreted gatehouse to the outer court and terminating in the machicolated circular ice tower. From here the wall runs again at a lower height enclosing the remainder of the outer court. It is, of course, the state apartments which make up the chief architectural display on the central part of this elevation, beginning with a strongly articulated but essentially rectangular tower to the left, while both the drawing room and the library have Norman windows leading directly onto the lawns, the latter terminating in a slender machicolated circular corner tower. To the right is the keep, considerably set back on this side.

Interior

 

Only those parts of the castle generally accessible to visitors are recorded in this description. Although not described here much of the furniture and many of the paintings (including family portraits) are also original to the house. Similarly, it should be noted that in the interests of brevity and clarity, not all significant architectural features are itemised in the following description.

 

Entrance gallery: one of the last parts of the castle to be built, this narrow cloister-like passage was added to the main block to heighten the sensation of entering the vast Grand Hall, which is made only partly visible by the deliberate offsetting of the intervening doorways; bronze lamp standards with wolf-heads on stone bases. Grand Hall: entering the columned aisle of this huge space, the visitor stands at a cross-roads between the 3 principal areas of the castle's plan; to the left the passage leads up to the family's private apartments on the 4 floors of the keep, to the right the door at the end leads to the extensive service quarters while ahead lies the sequence of state rooms used for entertaining guests and displayed to the public ever since the castle was built. The hall itself resembles in form, style and scale the transept of a great Norman cathedral, the great clustered columns extending upwards to a "triforium" formed on 2 sides of extraordinary compound arches; stained glass with signs of the zodiac and months of the year as in a book of hours by Thomas Willement (completed 1835). Library: has very much the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s London club with walls, columned arches and ceilings covered in the most lavish ornamentation; superb architectural bookcases and panelled walls are of oak but the arches are plaster grained to match; ornamental bosses and other devices to the rich plaster ceiling refer to the ancestry of the Dawkins and Pennant families, as do the stained glass lunettes above the windows, possibly by David Evans of Shrewsbury; 4 chimneypieces of polished Anglesey "marble", one with a frieze of fantastical carved mummers in the capitals. Drawing room (great hall of the late C18 house and its medieval predecessor): again in a neo-Norman style but the decoration is lighter and the columns more slender, the spirit of the room reflected in the 2000 delicate Maltese gilt crosses to the vaulted ceiling. Ebony room: so called on account of its furniture and "ebonised" chimneypiece and plasterwork, has at its entrance a spiral staircase from the medieval house. Grand Staircase hall: in many ways the greatest architectural achievement at Penrhyn, taking 10 years to complete, the carving in 2 contrasting stones of the highest quality; repeating abstract decorative motifs contrast with the infinitely inventive figurative carving in the newels and capitals; to the top the intricate plaster panels of the domed lantern are formed in exceptionally high relief and display both Norse and Celtic influences. Next to the grand stair is the secondary stair, itself a magnificent structure in grey sandstone with lantern, built immediately next to the grand stair so that family or guests should not meet staff on the same staircase. Reached from the columned aisle of the grand hall are the 2 remaining principal ground-floor rooms, the dining room and the breakfast room, among the last parts of the castle to be completed and clearly intended to be picture galleries as much as dining areas, the stencilled treatment of the walls in the dining room allowing both the provision of an appropriately elaborate "Norman" scheme and a large flat surface for the hanging of paintings; black marble fireplace carved by Richard Westmacott and extremely ornate ceiling with leaf bosses encircled by bands of figurative mouldings derived from the Romanesque church of Kilpeck, Herefordshire. Breakfast room has cambered beam ceiling with oak-grained finish.

 

Grand hall gallery: at the top of the grand staircase is vaulted and continues around the grand hall below to link with the passage to the keep, which at this level (as on the other floors) contains a suite of rooms comprising a sitting room, dressing room, bedroom and small ante-chamber, the room containing the famous slate bed also with a red Mona marble chimneypiece, one of the most spectacular in the castle. Returning to the grand hall gallery and continuing straight on rather than returning to the grand staircase the Lower India room is reached to the right: this contains an Anglesey limestone chimneypiece painted to match the ground colour of the room's Chinese wallpaper. Coming out of this room, the chapel corridor leads to the chapel gallery (used by the family) and the chapel proper below (used by staff), the latter with encaustic tiles probably reused from the old medieval chapel; stained and painted glass by David Evans (c1833).

 

The domestic quarters of the castle are reached along the passage from the breakfast room, which turns at right-angles to the right at the foot of the secondary staircase, the most important areas being the butler's pantry, steward's office, servants' hall, housekeeper's room, still room, housekeeper's store and housemaids' tower, while the kitchen (with its cast-iron range flanked by large and hygienic vertical slabs of Penrhyn slate) is housed on the lower ground floor. From this kitchen court, which also includes a coal store, oil vaults, brushing room, lamp room, pastry room, larder, scullery and laundry are reached the outer court with its soup kitchen, brewhouse and 2-storey ice tower and the much larger stables court which, along with the stables themselves containing their extensive slate-partitioned stalls and loose boxes, incorporates the coach house, covered ride, smithy tower, dung tower with gardeners' messroom above and footmen's tower.

 

Reasons for Listing

 

Included at Grade I as one of the most important large country houses in Wales; a superb example of the relatively short-lived Norman Revival of the early C19 and generally regarded as the masterpiece of its architect, Thomas Hopper.