View allAll Photos Tagged plasterwork
BELLSHILL Police Station:-
and District Court House. 5 Thorn Road, Bellshill, ML4 1PB
The Court House is no longer used as such. This beautiful piece of plasterwork art is the coat of arms of Lanark County Council and adorns the wall above the magistrates seat.
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.
------------
King David
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.
Bradford Live Theatre. A shot illustrating the details of the restored elements - the intricate plasterwork of the restaurant ceiling. Due to updated fire regulations this had to be taken down to allow extra protection to the ballroom above, and then reinstated. Opened as the New Victoria in September 1930, the New Victoria was one of the UK's largest and most luxurious cine-variety theatres, with 3,318 seats on three levels, and an extremely decorative scheme, the architect was local William Illingworth. It became the Gaumont in 1950 with the decor being modernised, but the real damage came in 1968/9 when the interior was largely smashed to create Odeon 1 (400 seats) and Odeon 2 (1,200 seats) using the two balconies, and the Top Rank Bingo Club using the stalls and stage. Odeon 3 was created - with less internal damage (features were boxed-in rather than trashed) - in the Ballroom in 1969. Bingo ceased in 1997, and the three cinemas closed in 2000. The building was then abandoned, nearly demolished on two occasions, before being acquired by the City Council. Even then ruinous schemes were considered until in 2017 it was decided to keep the auditorium for return to live use. It has not been possible to completely restore the theatre to its former heydays, but where possible details remaining (and there are many) have been retained. It will now accommodate over 3,800 and is due to open later in 2025, during Bradford's Year of Culture. Architects for the redesigned Bradford Live were Aedas Arts Team/Tim Ronald Architects.
City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England - Bradford Live, Princes Way / Quebec Street / Thornton Road
February 2025
The four churches of STANTA have had no congregations since 1943, and in the intervening years, have just sat there letting time and the occasional bored squaddie do their worst.
Over the past ten years, work has been undertaken to ensure the churches are dried out, with long an elaborate guttering and down pipes to get rain water away from the foundations of the the buildings.
It was almost too late for All Saints, as the plasterwork added to the church by a Victorian Vicar on the Chancel arch began to sag and break.
The Norfolk Churches Trust paid to have a scaffold frame put in the nave to support the plasterwork, and it has been like that for the best part of the decade.
Most of the nave is fenced off for safety reasons, meaning we all were squeezed into a small part of the west end as we were told the history of the building and plans for the future.
All Saints is the only round-towered church in the STANTA area. Te nave and ailses seem wider than the nave and chancel is long. A striking combination.
-------------------------------------------
Stanford is at the very heart of the training area, and so far from civilisation that the silence in the air is stunning. I had not heard such a silence in England before. The sheep were fearless, inquisitive as we let ourselves into the churchyard; their lambs hid behind, chins tilted upwards as they watched. As at Tottington, the roofs are blast-proof panels rather than tiles, but this is so well done that you wouldn't know unless you looked carefully.
This is the only round-towered church in the training area, although there are several more just outside, including Threxton and Merton. Here, the Norman round part is surmounted by an octagonal belfry stage, as at nearby Breckles. It probably dates from the 15th century.
As I wandered about the graveyard, tiny spring rabbits bolted from beneath my feet. At first, this was startling, and then comical; they had never seen a human before, and so they waited until I was right on top of them before running for the scrub. I became wary lest I step on one, but I don't think they were ever in any real danger.
As at West Tofts, this church underwent a considerable 19th century restoration, but the difference here is that it seems to have been carried out by the Rector. You might even say that it was an amateur restoration. His is the chancel with its pastel murals, his the great rood, his even the painted glass in the north aisle window, which Pevsner thought worthy of mention, but which is mostly now lost. The arcades rest on elegant, fluted columns, and something very odd has happened at the east end of the south aisle, where a fomer archway appears to have been truncated by the eastern wall. Or was it begun and never finished? Curious.
Again, the roof tiles are stored here, but the benches are gone, the bells have gone. And yet this still feels as if it must have been a very warm and welcoming building, busy in the years of its restoration, and still a touchstone for generations.
Outside, Quantrills and Clarks, Rudds and Gathercoles. One Quantrill memorial has a very curious inset relief which must have been the height of fashion in the early 19th century. A badly eroded Gathercole memorial is profoundly evangelical: Weep not for us our children dear, because we die and leave you here. But look to Christ the crucified, that you may feel his blood applied.
Another for a Quantrill wife hopes that God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes. All about, the silence continues.
Simon Knott, May 2004
The plasterwork in the auditorium has seen some water damage but most of the essential parts remain intact
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.
Plasterwork frieze at the Casino at Marino Dublin, Ireland. Nothing to do with gambling, the Casino is a perfect and rare example of a Georgian, Neo-Classical building.
The plasterwork depicts gardeners tools, a skill rarely glorified let alone respected.
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).
Sudbury Hall, was the country home of the Lords Vernon, containing 17th-century craftsmanship, featuring plasterwork, wood carvings and classical story-based murals.
The Museum of Childhood within the Hall is a delight for all ages with something for everyone. Watch your children discovering something new, or relive nostalgic memories by exploring the childhoods of times gone by.
The Parish Church of All Saints,which is adjacent to the house, was restored for the 6th Lord Vernon by George Devey.
It was used by the BBC to film "Pride & Prejudice".
Play area on a World War Two bomb site. The plasterwork on the brick wall indicates where the courtyards and structure of the erstwhile pre-war buildings were.
Throughout the house the mouldings and plasterwork are jaw dropping.
2015 04 03 122830 Derbyshire Kedleston Hall
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.
On the way back from Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, we went in the afternoon on the May Day Bank Holiday Monday to Farnborough Hall in Warwickshire.
It's not open much, just on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons and on Bank Holiday's. Photos inside of the hall was not allowed as it is still a private home. But owned by the National Trust.
Farnborough Hall is a country house just inside the borders of Warwickshire, England near to the town of Banbury, (grid reference SP4349). The property has been owned by the National Trust since 1960 when the Holbech family endowed it to them, and is still run and lived in by Geoffrey Holbech's daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Holbech family acquired the Farnborough estate in 1684 and the honey-coloured two-storey stone house was built soon after.
Major changes to the property occurred between 1745 and 1750 when the entrance front was remodelled and the rococo plasterwork was added to the interior. This work was carried out by William Holbech who wanted a suitable setting for the sculpture and art he had brought back from his Grand Tour. He most likely used designs by his close friend Sanderson Miller, an architect, who lived a few miles away. Long Palladian facades with sash windows, pedimented doorways and a balustraded roofline were added to the earlier classical west front.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, Farnborough Hall and its landscaped gardens have experienced little alteration in the last 200 years and they remain largely as William Holbech left them.
The entrance opens straight into the Italianate hall. The walls are adorned with busts of Roman emperors set into oval niches and the panelled ceiling is stuccoed with rococo motifs. The dining room on the south front was especially designed to display works by Canaletto and Giovanni Paolo Panini. The original works are long gone, being replaced by copies. The drawing room has panels of elaborate stuccowork featuring scrolls, shells, fruit and flowers; these serve as a framework for more Italian works of art. A stucco garland of fruit and flowers encircles the skylight above the staircase hall.
Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/2 Farnborough Hall
07/01/52 (Formerly listed as
Farnborough Hall including
Garden House)
GV I
Country house. Late C17 for William Holbech; remodelled c.1745-1750 for William
Holbech the younger, probably by Sanderson Miller. Plasterwork by William
Perritt. Ironstone ashlar with grey limestone ashlar dressings. Slate mansard
hipped roof.Ashlar ridge stacks. U-plan. Remodelled in Palladian style. 2
storeys and attic; 2-5-2 bays. North and west fronts have splayed plinth, string
course and quoins and modillion cornice. High parapet with balustrading of
c.1750 to each bay throughout. Recessed centre; wings project one bay.
Half-glazed panelled door. Pedimented Roman Doric doorcase of half-columns and
pilasters; metopes have bucrania and rosettes. Chamfered 2-light mullioned
basement windows, mostly blocked. Sashes in moulded architraves with consoles
and cornice. Inner sides of wings have round-headed niches with similar
architraves. Lead rainwater heads. Remaining one-bay section of similar, lower
service wing, set far back on left. West front of c,170i, of 3-1-3 bays. Centre
projects slightly. Sliding sash door. Architrave with segmental pediment. Late
C18 sashes have thin glazing bars. Moulded stone architraves with keystones
throughout. Pedimented dormer above balustrade has shouldered architrave. Fine
late C17/early C18 decorated lead rainwater heads. South front of 1-5-1 bays. No
string course. Centre has sliding sash door in shouldered architrave and
pediment on consoles. Windows have balustrading below. First floor has square
6-pane sashes. Outer bays have 12-pane sashes. Plain stone architraves with
cornices. One bay section of service wing slightly recessed on right.
Half-glazed door. Tripartite sash above. Interior: the very fine Palladian
Entrance Hall of c1750, formed to incorporate William Holbecb's collection of
antique and contemporary classical sculpture, is one of the earliest of these
rare schemes. Marbled stone fireplace with consoles and Rococo frieze.
Overmantel with pilaster strips and copy of a Panini painting. Broken pediment
with head of Roman boy. Large moulded niches to left and right have imposts and
keystones. Oval medallion portraits of a Severan lady above. Mahogany 6-panelled
doors with original fittings in moulded architraves with pulvinated frieze and
cornice. Moulded oval niches housing busts, on elaborate plaster consoles
between doors and as overdoors. Left: C2 head of boy. Left wall: C18 Emperor
Caracalla; C18 warrior; early C3 Roman lady; Goddess. Right: C18 Septimus
Severus. Right wall: Emperor Hadrian; antique head of a Roman; antique Marcus
Aurelius; C3 head of elderly man. Front wall: head of Goddess; C18 medallion
head of Socrates above window; head of Appollo between windows; Marcus Aurelius
as a boy; medallion of bearded man between window and door; C2 head of a Roman
above door. 2 Neoclassical medallions of a female figure and putto. Ceiling of
octagonal and rectangular compartments with Rococo plasterwork and cartouches of
Diana and Bacchus. Fine floor of light and dark flags, echoing ceiling
compartments. Rococo Dining Room of c.1750, designed to incorporate views of
Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini, is one of the earliest of such schemes.
Marble fireplace with decorated pilaster strips and consoles. Overmantel with
large eared picture frame. Broken pediment with black marble bust of
philosopher. Large round-headed niche opposite has moulded cornice and broken
pediment. Moulded 6-panelled mahogany doors in elaborately moulded eared
architraves with vine-ornamented pulvinated frieze and broken pediments. Very
fine plasterwork. 3 pairs of elaborately moulded plaster picture frames of
differing designs. 2 windows in moulded architraves with Vitruvian scroll frieze
and scrolled pediments. Wall panel has oval pier glass in elaborate frame with
urns and large cornucopia. Four wall panels have elaborate trophies, with
musical instruments on the window wall, and guns, bows etc. Library has Rococo
fireplace. Oak open-well staircase and ceiling c.1695; lower flight replaced
1926. Redecorated c.1750. Fluted and turned balusters and moulded handrail,
carved scrolled open string, and dado of bolection-moulded panels. Moulded
doorcases. Fine Rococo plasterwork. Acanthus string course with central ram's
heads. 3 walls have large projecting panels with elaborately moulded eared
architraves and scrolled pediments with central motif. Each panel has a plain
oval niche and moulded console, similar to Entrance Hall, housing a bust. Left
wall has early C3 Roman lady; centre: Emperor Lucius Verus; right: early C2 head
of a lady. Landing has similar panel. Flanking 6-panelled doors in moulded
architraves. Moulded archway with keystone to left. Late C17 moulded 8-panelled
door to right. Oval skylight has very rich high relief wreath. Corner panels
with arms and intials of William and Elizabeth Holbech. Skylight has 4 panels of
Rococo plasterwork and paterae. C19 coloured glass. The Holbech family have
lived at Farnborough Hall since 1692.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook; Buildings of
England: Warwickshire: pp.292-293; Gordon Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life
11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307349413
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
Pig statue in the rear garden.
Saturday 22 February 2014: Marrakech (مراكش)
Despite the relatively late night on Friday, I was awake early which allowed for a very leisurely breakfast with several forays over to the various sections of the Hotel Les Trois Palmiers’s breakfast buffet offering.
As arranged, a little after 10am Mohammed took Liz and I to a local hammam (although strictly speaking I think I’d call the Centre de Beauté Saint Tropez a Beauty Parlour) where we indulged in an hour or so's worth of Hammam - Gommage - Massage, emerging clean, relaxed and a few layers of skin lighter - well worth the 280DH.
At 1.30pm, most of us headed off on the optional afternoon guided tour of the old city, starting with a taxi ride (Tara, Rob and I in one, everyone else - including well-padded Marrakeshi guide Mohammed - sardine-like in another!) to the Palais Bahia. I could have spent a lot longer wandering around the beautifully restored rooms and the quiet courtyard garden.
We followed Mohammed from the street and into the alleyways of the souk to the Musée Dar Si Saïd, which doubles up as the Museum of Moroccan Arts - more beautifully restored rooms housing some lovely arts and crafts (quelle surprise, I liked the embroidery, and the English description of the “Zellige of Wall”, in particular what it takes to get the yellow enamel).
The tour of the souk featured a visit to a cooperative shop, just round the corner from a bakery where traditional loaves were being kneaded and baked in cavernous ovens - at 1DH a piece, hot off the paddles, the loaves were a big hit after the shopping extravaganza.
The food theme continued as Mohammed led us through the carpet souk to the open air slave souk, picking up Marrakeshi macaroons and freshly made savoury pancakes en route, before finishing up amidst the freshly squeezed fruit juice and fruit & nut stalls of the Djemaa el-Fna (ساحة جامع الفناء). Mohammed bade us farewell as the sun slowly sank behind the minaret of the Kouboubia Mosque (جامع الكتبية) .... where, prompted by a couple of local time lapse photographers, pillar jumping ensued.
After photos in the mosque gardens, we made our way to the Hotel Islane’s rooftop terrace restaurant for our final group meal. A smashing starlit location with a beautiful view out over the mosque and the sunset skyline back towards the High Atlas mountains.
Armed up with ice cream / sorbet cones we walked back up Avenue Mohammed V to Guéliz and bed.
Read more on sparklytrainers.com ....
DSC04429_small
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
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
Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.
The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.
Location[edit]
Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]
House[edit]
Croome Court South Portico
History[edit]
The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]
In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]
The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]
A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]
The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]
During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]
In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]
The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]
In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]
From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]
The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]
Exterior[edit]
The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]
Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]
A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]
Interior[edit]
The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]
The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]
The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]
To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]
At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery
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.
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.
Night shots in the grounds of St Philip's Cathedral
New shots of the statue of Charles Gore. This time with the detail of the coat of arms below it.
statue of the first Bishop of Birmingham - Charles Gore
The Cathedral Church of St Philip is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. It was built as a parish church and consecrated in 1715. It became a cathedral in 1905 for the newly formeed Diocese of Birmingham. It was built in the early 18th century in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer and is located on Colmore Row in Birmingham (and Temple Row to the south and west). The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.
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.
Cathedral Church of St Philip - Birmingham - Heritage Gateway
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.
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
Lincoln Savoy / ABC / Cannon Theatre. The cinema in the former balcony area of the ABC retained much of the art deco plasterwork, but the side and proscenium walls were largely curtained in the fashion of the period.
ABC / Cannon Cinema Lincoln
A scanned negative from 1987.
On the way back from Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, we went in the afternoon on the May Day Bank Holiday Monday to Farnborough Hall in Warwickshire.
It's not open much, just on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons and on Bank Holiday's. Photos inside of the hall was not allowed as it is still a private home. But owned by the National Trust.
Farnborough Hall is a country house just inside the borders of Warwickshire, England near to the town of Banbury, (grid reference SP4349). The property has been owned by the National Trust since 1960 when the Holbech family endowed it to them, and is still run and lived in by Geoffrey Holbech's daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Holbech family acquired the Farnborough estate in 1684 and the honey-coloured two-storey stone house was built soon after.
Major changes to the property occurred between 1745 and 1750 when the entrance front was remodelled and the rococo plasterwork was added to the interior. This work was carried out by William Holbech who wanted a suitable setting for the sculpture and art he had brought back from his Grand Tour. He most likely used designs by his close friend Sanderson Miller, an architect, who lived a few miles away. Long Palladian facades with sash windows, pedimented doorways and a balustraded roofline were added to the earlier classical west front.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, Farnborough Hall and its landscaped gardens have experienced little alteration in the last 200 years and they remain largely as William Holbech left them.
The entrance opens straight into the Italianate hall. The walls are adorned with busts of Roman emperors set into oval niches and the panelled ceiling is stuccoed with rococo motifs. The dining room on the south front was especially designed to display works by Canaletto and Giovanni Paolo Panini. The original works are long gone, being replaced by copies. The drawing room has panels of elaborate stuccowork featuring scrolls, shells, fruit and flowers; these serve as a framework for more Italian works of art. A stucco garland of fruit and flowers encircles the skylight above the staircase hall.
Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/2 Farnborough Hall
07/01/52 (Formerly listed as
Farnborough Hall including
Garden House)
GV I
Country house. Late C17 for William Holbech; remodelled c.1745-1750 for William
Holbech the younger, probably by Sanderson Miller. Plasterwork by William
Perritt. Ironstone ashlar with grey limestone ashlar dressings. Slate mansard
hipped roof.Ashlar ridge stacks. U-plan. Remodelled in Palladian style. 2
storeys and attic; 2-5-2 bays. North and west fronts have splayed plinth, string
course and quoins and modillion cornice. High parapet with balustrading of
c.1750 to each bay throughout. Recessed centre; wings project one bay.
Half-glazed panelled door. Pedimented Roman Doric doorcase of half-columns and
pilasters; metopes have bucrania and rosettes. Chamfered 2-light mullioned
basement windows, mostly blocked. Sashes in moulded architraves with consoles
and cornice. Inner sides of wings have round-headed niches with similar
architraves. Lead rainwater heads. Remaining one-bay section of similar, lower
service wing, set far back on left. West front of c,170i, of 3-1-3 bays. Centre
projects slightly. Sliding sash door. Architrave with segmental pediment. Late
C18 sashes have thin glazing bars. Moulded stone architraves with keystones
throughout. Pedimented dormer above balustrade has shouldered architrave. Fine
late C17/early C18 decorated lead rainwater heads. South front of 1-5-1 bays. No
string course. Centre has sliding sash door in shouldered architrave and
pediment on consoles. Windows have balustrading below. First floor has square
6-pane sashes. Outer bays have 12-pane sashes. Plain stone architraves with
cornices. One bay section of service wing slightly recessed on right.
Half-glazed door. Tripartite sash above. Interior: the very fine Palladian
Entrance Hall of c1750, formed to incorporate William Holbecb's collection of
antique and contemporary classical sculpture, is one of the earliest of these
rare schemes. Marbled stone fireplace with consoles and Rococo frieze.
Overmantel with pilaster strips and copy of a Panini painting. Broken pediment
with head of Roman boy. Large moulded niches to left and right have imposts and
keystones. Oval medallion portraits of a Severan lady above. Mahogany 6-panelled
doors with original fittings in moulded architraves with pulvinated frieze and
cornice. Moulded oval niches housing busts, on elaborate plaster consoles
between doors and as overdoors. Left: C2 head of boy. Left wall: C18 Emperor
Caracalla; C18 warrior; early C3 Roman lady; Goddess. Right: C18 Septimus
Severus. Right wall: Emperor Hadrian; antique head of a Roman; antique Marcus
Aurelius; C3 head of elderly man. Front wall: head of Goddess; C18 medallion
head of Socrates above window; head of Appollo between windows; Marcus Aurelius
as a boy; medallion of bearded man between window and door; C2 head of a Roman
above door. 2 Neoclassical medallions of a female figure and putto. Ceiling of
octagonal and rectangular compartments with Rococo plasterwork and cartouches of
Diana and Bacchus. Fine floor of light and dark flags, echoing ceiling
compartments. Rococo Dining Room of c.1750, designed to incorporate views of
Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini, is one of the earliest of such schemes.
Marble fireplace with decorated pilaster strips and consoles. Overmantel with
large eared picture frame. Broken pediment with black marble bust of
philosopher. Large round-headed niche opposite has moulded cornice and broken
pediment. Moulded 6-panelled mahogany doors in elaborately moulded eared
architraves with vine-ornamented pulvinated frieze and broken pediments. Very
fine plasterwork. 3 pairs of elaborately moulded plaster picture frames of
differing designs. 2 windows in moulded architraves with Vitruvian scroll frieze
and scrolled pediments. Wall panel has oval pier glass in elaborate frame with
urns and large cornucopia. Four wall panels have elaborate trophies, with
musical instruments on the window wall, and guns, bows etc. Library has Rococo
fireplace. Oak open-well staircase and ceiling c.1695; lower flight replaced
1926. Redecorated c.1750. Fluted and turned balusters and moulded handrail,
carved scrolled open string, and dado of bolection-moulded panels. Moulded
doorcases. Fine Rococo plasterwork. Acanthus string course with central ram's
heads. 3 walls have large projecting panels with elaborately moulded eared
architraves and scrolled pediments with central motif. Each panel has a plain
oval niche and moulded console, similar to Entrance Hall, housing a bust. Left
wall has early C3 Roman lady; centre: Emperor Lucius Verus; right: early C2 head
of a lady. Landing has similar panel. Flanking 6-panelled doors in moulded
architraves. Moulded archway with keystone to left. Late C17 moulded 8-panelled
door to right. Oval skylight has very rich high relief wreath. Corner panels
with arms and intials of William and Elizabeth Holbech. Skylight has 4 panels of
Rococo plasterwork and paterae. C19 coloured glass. The Holbech family have
lived at Farnborough Hall since 1692.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook; Buildings of
England: Warwickshire: pp.292-293; Gordon Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life
11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307349413
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
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
We're doing quite a lot of squatting at various friends' places during our build, and I have some proper ceiling rose envy here at Castle Scott.
On the way back from Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, we went in the afternoon on the May Day Bank Holiday Monday to Farnborough Hall in Warwickshire.
It's not open much, just on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons and on Bank Holiday's. Photos inside of the hall was not allowed as it is still a private home. But owned by the National Trust.
Farnborough Hall is a country house just inside the borders of Warwickshire, England near to the town of Banbury, (grid reference SP4349). The property has been owned by the National Trust since 1960 when the Holbech family endowed it to them, and is still run and lived in by Geoffrey Holbech's daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Holbech family acquired the Farnborough estate in 1684 and the honey-coloured two-storey stone house was built soon after.
Major changes to the property occurred between 1745 and 1750 when the entrance front was remodelled and the rococo plasterwork was added to the interior. This work was carried out by William Holbech who wanted a suitable setting for the sculpture and art he had brought back from his Grand Tour. He most likely used designs by his close friend Sanderson Miller, an architect, who lived a few miles away. Long Palladian facades with sash windows, pedimented doorways and a balustraded roofline were added to the earlier classical west front.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, Farnborough Hall and its landscaped gardens have experienced little alteration in the last 200 years and they remain largely as William Holbech left them.
The entrance opens straight into the Italianate hall. The walls are adorned with busts of Roman emperors set into oval niches and the panelled ceiling is stuccoed with rococo motifs. The dining room on the south front was especially designed to display works by Canaletto and Giovanni Paolo Panini. The original works are long gone, being replaced by copies. The drawing room has panels of elaborate stuccowork featuring scrolls, shells, fruit and flowers; these serve as a framework for more Italian works of art. A stucco garland of fruit and flowers encircles the skylight above the staircase hall.
Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/2 Farnborough Hall
07/01/52 (Formerly listed as
Farnborough Hall including
Garden House)
GV I
Country house. Late C17 for William Holbech; remodelled c.1745-1750 for William
Holbech the younger, probably by Sanderson Miller. Plasterwork by William
Perritt. Ironstone ashlar with grey limestone ashlar dressings. Slate mansard
hipped roof.Ashlar ridge stacks. U-plan. Remodelled in Palladian style. 2
storeys and attic; 2-5-2 bays. North and west fronts have splayed plinth, string
course and quoins and modillion cornice. High parapet with balustrading of
c.1750 to each bay throughout. Recessed centre; wings project one bay.
Half-glazed panelled door. Pedimented Roman Doric doorcase of half-columns and
pilasters; metopes have bucrania and rosettes. Chamfered 2-light mullioned
basement windows, mostly blocked. Sashes in moulded architraves with consoles
and cornice. Inner sides of wings have round-headed niches with similar
architraves. Lead rainwater heads. Remaining one-bay section of similar, lower
service wing, set far back on left. West front of c,170i, of 3-1-3 bays. Centre
projects slightly. Sliding sash door. Architrave with segmental pediment. Late
C18 sashes have thin glazing bars. Moulded stone architraves with keystones
throughout. Pedimented dormer above balustrade has shouldered architrave. Fine
late C17/early C18 decorated lead rainwater heads. South front of 1-5-1 bays. No
string course. Centre has sliding sash door in shouldered architrave and
pediment on consoles. Windows have balustrading below. First floor has square
6-pane sashes. Outer bays have 12-pane sashes. Plain stone architraves with
cornices. One bay section of service wing slightly recessed on right.
Half-glazed door. Tripartite sash above. Interior: the very fine Palladian
Entrance Hall of c1750, formed to incorporate William Holbecb's collection of
antique and contemporary classical sculpture, is one of the earliest of these
rare schemes. Marbled stone fireplace with consoles and Rococo frieze.
Overmantel with pilaster strips and copy of a Panini painting. Broken pediment
with head of Roman boy. Large moulded niches to left and right have imposts and
keystones. Oval medallion portraits of a Severan lady above. Mahogany 6-panelled
doors with original fittings in moulded architraves with pulvinated frieze and
cornice. Moulded oval niches housing busts, on elaborate plaster consoles
between doors and as overdoors. Left: C2 head of boy. Left wall: C18 Emperor
Caracalla; C18 warrior; early C3 Roman lady; Goddess. Right: C18 Septimus
Severus. Right wall: Emperor Hadrian; antique head of a Roman; antique Marcus
Aurelius; C3 head of elderly man. Front wall: head of Goddess; C18 medallion
head of Socrates above window; head of Appollo between windows; Marcus Aurelius
as a boy; medallion of bearded man between window and door; C2 head of a Roman
above door. 2 Neoclassical medallions of a female figure and putto. Ceiling of
octagonal and rectangular compartments with Rococo plasterwork and cartouches of
Diana and Bacchus. Fine floor of light and dark flags, echoing ceiling
compartments. Rococo Dining Room of c.1750, designed to incorporate views of
Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini, is one of the earliest of such schemes.
Marble fireplace with decorated pilaster strips and consoles. Overmantel with
large eared picture frame. Broken pediment with black marble bust of
philosopher. Large round-headed niche opposite has moulded cornice and broken
pediment. Moulded 6-panelled mahogany doors in elaborately moulded eared
architraves with vine-ornamented pulvinated frieze and broken pediments. Very
fine plasterwork. 3 pairs of elaborately moulded plaster picture frames of
differing designs. 2 windows in moulded architraves with Vitruvian scroll frieze
and scrolled pediments. Wall panel has oval pier glass in elaborate frame with
urns and large cornucopia. Four wall panels have elaborate trophies, with
musical instruments on the window wall, and guns, bows etc. Library has Rococo
fireplace. Oak open-well staircase and ceiling c.1695; lower flight replaced
1926. Redecorated c.1750. Fluted and turned balusters and moulded handrail,
carved scrolled open string, and dado of bolection-moulded panels. Moulded
doorcases. Fine Rococo plasterwork. Acanthus string course with central ram's
heads. 3 walls have large projecting panels with elaborately moulded eared
architraves and scrolled pediments with central motif. Each panel has a plain
oval niche and moulded console, similar to Entrance Hall, housing a bust. Left
wall has early C3 Roman lady; centre: Emperor Lucius Verus; right: early C2 head
of a lady. Landing has similar panel. Flanking 6-panelled doors in moulded
architraves. Moulded archway with keystone to left. Late C17 moulded 8-panelled
door to right. Oval skylight has very rich high relief wreath. Corner panels
with arms and intials of William and Elizabeth Holbech. Skylight has 4 panels of
Rococo plasterwork and paterae. C19 coloured glass. The Holbech family have
lived at Farnborough Hall since 1692.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook; Buildings of
England: Warwickshire: pp.292-293; Gordon Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life
11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307349413
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
Theatre Royal Glasgow, detail of C J Phipps's side box treatment and the delicate Victorian plasterwork. This is the 3rd theatre on this site, the first 1867-79, was designed by George Bell and was destroyed in a fire. The second 1880-95 was by C J Phipps, and suffered the same fate. The current theatre, also by Phipps (a near recreation of the 1880 design), closed in 1957 and became a TV Studio. Scottish Opera bought the building when Scottish Television moved out in 1974, and after restoration it reopened in 1975. Further improvements were carried out in 1997, and a major extension was built 2012-14. Category A listed.
City of Glasgow, Scotland, UK - Theatre Royal, Hope Street / Cowcaddens Road
June 2011, image reworked 2024
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
The magnificent plasterwork in Mompesson House is just lovely. It dates from the 1740s and it still looks amazing.
118 Pictures in 2018 ... #3. Tropical Fruits
Sony α55
Minolta 100mm F2.8 macro lens
On the way back from Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, we went in the afternoon on the May Day Bank Holiday Monday to Farnborough Hall in Warwickshire.
It's not open much, just on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons and on Bank Holiday's. Photos inside of the hall was not allowed as it is still a private home. But owned by the National Trust.
Farnborough Hall is a country house just inside the borders of Warwickshire, England near to the town of Banbury, (grid reference SP4349). The property has been owned by the National Trust since 1960 when the Holbech family endowed it to them, and is still run and lived in by Geoffrey Holbech's daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Holbech family acquired the Farnborough estate in 1684 and the honey-coloured two-storey stone house was built soon after.
Major changes to the property occurred between 1745 and 1750 when the entrance front was remodelled and the rococo plasterwork was added to the interior. This work was carried out by William Holbech who wanted a suitable setting for the sculpture and art he had brought back from his Grand Tour. He most likely used designs by his close friend Sanderson Miller, an architect, who lived a few miles away. Long Palladian facades with sash windows, pedimented doorways and a balustraded roofline were added to the earlier classical west front.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, Farnborough Hall and its landscaped gardens have experienced little alteration in the last 200 years and they remain largely as William Holbech left them.
The entrance opens straight into the Italianate hall. The walls are adorned with busts of Roman emperors set into oval niches and the panelled ceiling is stuccoed with rococo motifs. The dining room on the south front was especially designed to display works by Canaletto and Giovanni Paolo Panini. The original works are long gone, being replaced by copies. The drawing room has panels of elaborate stuccowork featuring scrolls, shells, fruit and flowers; these serve as a framework for more Italian works of art. A stucco garland of fruit and flowers encircles the skylight above the staircase hall.
Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/2 Farnborough Hall
07/01/52 (Formerly listed as
Farnborough Hall including
Garden House)
GV I
Country house. Late C17 for William Holbech; remodelled c.1745-1750 for William
Holbech the younger, probably by Sanderson Miller. Plasterwork by William
Perritt. Ironstone ashlar with grey limestone ashlar dressings. Slate mansard
hipped roof.Ashlar ridge stacks. U-plan. Remodelled in Palladian style. 2
storeys and attic; 2-5-2 bays. North and west fronts have splayed plinth, string
course and quoins and modillion cornice. High parapet with balustrading of
c.1750 to each bay throughout. Recessed centre; wings project one bay.
Half-glazed panelled door. Pedimented Roman Doric doorcase of half-columns and
pilasters; metopes have bucrania and rosettes. Chamfered 2-light mullioned
basement windows, mostly blocked. Sashes in moulded architraves with consoles
and cornice. Inner sides of wings have round-headed niches with similar
architraves. Lead rainwater heads. Remaining one-bay section of similar, lower
service wing, set far back on left. West front of c,170i, of 3-1-3 bays. Centre
projects slightly. Sliding sash door. Architrave with segmental pediment. Late
C18 sashes have thin glazing bars. Moulded stone architraves with keystones
throughout. Pedimented dormer above balustrade has shouldered architrave. Fine
late C17/early C18 decorated lead rainwater heads. South front of 1-5-1 bays. No
string course. Centre has sliding sash door in shouldered architrave and
pediment on consoles. Windows have balustrading below. First floor has square
6-pane sashes. Outer bays have 12-pane sashes. Plain stone architraves with
cornices. One bay section of service wing slightly recessed on right.
Half-glazed door. Tripartite sash above. Interior: the very fine Palladian
Entrance Hall of c1750, formed to incorporate William Holbecb's collection of
antique and contemporary classical sculpture, is one of the earliest of these
rare schemes. Marbled stone fireplace with consoles and Rococo frieze.
Overmantel with pilaster strips and copy of a Panini painting. Broken pediment
with head of Roman boy. Large moulded niches to left and right have imposts and
keystones. Oval medallion portraits of a Severan lady above. Mahogany 6-panelled
doors with original fittings in moulded architraves with pulvinated frieze and
cornice. Moulded oval niches housing busts, on elaborate plaster consoles
between doors and as overdoors. Left: C2 head of boy. Left wall: C18 Emperor
Caracalla; C18 warrior; early C3 Roman lady; Goddess. Right: C18 Septimus
Severus. Right wall: Emperor Hadrian; antique head of a Roman; antique Marcus
Aurelius; C3 head of elderly man. Front wall: head of Goddess; C18 medallion
head of Socrates above window; head of Appollo between windows; Marcus Aurelius
as a boy; medallion of bearded man between window and door; C2 head of a Roman
above door. 2 Neoclassical medallions of a female figure and putto. Ceiling of
octagonal and rectangular compartments with Rococo plasterwork and cartouches of
Diana and Bacchus. Fine floor of light and dark flags, echoing ceiling
compartments. Rococo Dining Room of c.1750, designed to incorporate views of
Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini, is one of the earliest of such schemes.
Marble fireplace with decorated pilaster strips and consoles. Overmantel with
large eared picture frame. Broken pediment with black marble bust of
philosopher. Large round-headed niche opposite has moulded cornice and broken
pediment. Moulded 6-panelled mahogany doors in elaborately moulded eared
architraves with vine-ornamented pulvinated frieze and broken pediments. Very
fine plasterwork. 3 pairs of elaborately moulded plaster picture frames of
differing designs. 2 windows in moulded architraves with Vitruvian scroll frieze
and scrolled pediments. Wall panel has oval pier glass in elaborate frame with
urns and large cornucopia. Four wall panels have elaborate trophies, with
musical instruments on the window wall, and guns, bows etc. Library has Rococo
fireplace. Oak open-well staircase and ceiling c.1695; lower flight replaced
1926. Redecorated c.1750. Fluted and turned balusters and moulded handrail,
carved scrolled open string, and dado of bolection-moulded panels. Moulded
doorcases. Fine Rococo plasterwork. Acanthus string course with central ram's
heads. 3 walls have large projecting panels with elaborately moulded eared
architraves and scrolled pediments with central motif. Each panel has a plain
oval niche and moulded console, similar to Entrance Hall, housing a bust. Left
wall has early C3 Roman lady; centre: Emperor Lucius Verus; right: early C2 head
of a lady. Landing has similar panel. Flanking 6-panelled doors in moulded
architraves. Moulded archway with keystone to left. Late C17 moulded 8-panelled
door to right. Oval skylight has very rich high relief wreath. Corner panels
with arms and intials of William and Elizabeth Holbech. Skylight has 4 panels of
Rococo plasterwork and paterae. C19 coloured glass. The Holbech family have
lived at Farnborough Hall since 1692.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook; Buildings of
England: Warwickshire: pp.292-293; Gordon Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life
11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307349413
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
Rex Cinema, Berkhamsted. The gorgeous plasterwork, concealed lighting and spaciousness have all been restored - it had been sub-divided to form a bingo hall in the stalls and two mini-cinemas in the balcony. Opened in May 1938, the Rex was designed by David Evelyn Nye for the Shipman & King circuit. It seated 1,100 with more seats in the circle than the stalls due to the location of the café on the ground floor. The circle was twinned - badly - in 1976, and the stalls became a bingo hall. It was closed in 1988 and also listed grade 2 the same year. It was left in a vandalised and derelict state, with calls for its demolition. Almost miraculously, it was restored and reopened in 2004, with enormous success - the majority of performances are sold-out. The large foyer is separated as a restaurant, and the former car park used for flats, but the glorious auditorium renovated as a single screen is once more, now seating 350 in luxurious comfort. The day before these images were taken was a celebratory evening marking the 21st anniversary of the reopening.
An album of images of the cinema across the years can be seen here:-
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England - Rex (Studio) Cinema, High Street
December 2025
A severed head, from the arms of Ednyfed Fychan - heraldic plasterwork motifs used around the house.
On the way back from Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, we went in the afternoon on the May Day Bank Holiday Monday to Farnborough Hall in Warwickshire.
It's not open much, just on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons and on Bank Holiday's. Photos inside of the hall was not allowed as it is still a private home. But owned by the National Trust.
Farnborough Hall is a country house just inside the borders of Warwickshire, England near to the town of Banbury, (grid reference SP4349). The property has been owned by the National Trust since 1960 when the Holbech family endowed it to them, and is still run and lived in by Geoffrey Holbech's daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Holbech family acquired the Farnborough estate in 1684 and the honey-coloured two-storey stone house was built soon after.
Major changes to the property occurred between 1745 and 1750 when the entrance front was remodelled and the rococo plasterwork was added to the interior. This work was carried out by William Holbech who wanted a suitable setting for the sculpture and art he had brought back from his Grand Tour. He most likely used designs by his close friend Sanderson Miller, an architect, who lived a few miles away. Long Palladian facades with sash windows, pedimented doorways and a balustraded roofline were added to the earlier classical west front.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, Farnborough Hall and its landscaped gardens have experienced little alteration in the last 200 years and they remain largely as William Holbech left them.
The entrance opens straight into the Italianate hall. The walls are adorned with busts of Roman emperors set into oval niches and the panelled ceiling is stuccoed with rococo motifs. The dining room on the south front was especially designed to display works by Canaletto and Giovanni Paolo Panini. The original works are long gone, being replaced by copies. The drawing room has panels of elaborate stuccowork featuring scrolls, shells, fruit and flowers; these serve as a framework for more Italian works of art. A stucco garland of fruit and flowers encircles the skylight above the staircase hall.
Grade I Listed Building
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/2 Farnborough Hall
07/01/52 (Formerly listed as
Farnborough Hall including
Garden House)
GV I
Country house. Late C17 for William Holbech; remodelled c.1745-1750 for William
Holbech the younger, probably by Sanderson Miller. Plasterwork by William
Perritt. Ironstone ashlar with grey limestone ashlar dressings. Slate mansard
hipped roof.Ashlar ridge stacks. U-plan. Remodelled in Palladian style. 2
storeys and attic; 2-5-2 bays. North and west fronts have splayed plinth, string
course and quoins and modillion cornice. High parapet with balustrading of
c.1750 to each bay throughout. Recessed centre; wings project one bay.
Half-glazed panelled door. Pedimented Roman Doric doorcase of half-columns and
pilasters; metopes have bucrania and rosettes. Chamfered 2-light mullioned
basement windows, mostly blocked. Sashes in moulded architraves with consoles
and cornice. Inner sides of wings have round-headed niches with similar
architraves. Lead rainwater heads. Remaining one-bay section of similar, lower
service wing, set far back on left. West front of c,170i, of 3-1-3 bays. Centre
projects slightly. Sliding sash door. Architrave with segmental pediment. Late
C18 sashes have thin glazing bars. Moulded stone architraves with keystones
throughout. Pedimented dormer above balustrade has shouldered architrave. Fine
late C17/early C18 decorated lead rainwater heads. South front of 1-5-1 bays. No
string course. Centre has sliding sash door in shouldered architrave and
pediment on consoles. Windows have balustrading below. First floor has square
6-pane sashes. Outer bays have 12-pane sashes. Plain stone architraves with
cornices. One bay section of service wing slightly recessed on right.
Half-glazed door. Tripartite sash above. Interior: the very fine Palladian
Entrance Hall of c1750, formed to incorporate William Holbecb's collection of
antique and contemporary classical sculpture, is one of the earliest of these
rare schemes. Marbled stone fireplace with consoles and Rococo frieze.
Overmantel with pilaster strips and copy of a Panini painting. Broken pediment
with head of Roman boy. Large moulded niches to left and right have imposts and
keystones. Oval medallion portraits of a Severan lady above. Mahogany 6-panelled
doors with original fittings in moulded architraves with pulvinated frieze and
cornice. Moulded oval niches housing busts, on elaborate plaster consoles
between doors and as overdoors. Left: C2 head of boy. Left wall: C18 Emperor
Caracalla; C18 warrior; early C3 Roman lady; Goddess. Right: C18 Septimus
Severus. Right wall: Emperor Hadrian; antique head of a Roman; antique Marcus
Aurelius; C3 head of elderly man. Front wall: head of Goddess; C18 medallion
head of Socrates above window; head of Appollo between windows; Marcus Aurelius
as a boy; medallion of bearded man between window and door; C2 head of a Roman
above door. 2 Neoclassical medallions of a female figure and putto. Ceiling of
octagonal and rectangular compartments with Rococo plasterwork and cartouches of
Diana and Bacchus. Fine floor of light and dark flags, echoing ceiling
compartments. Rococo Dining Room of c.1750, designed to incorporate views of
Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini, is one of the earliest of such schemes.
Marble fireplace with decorated pilaster strips and consoles. Overmantel with
large eared picture frame. Broken pediment with black marble bust of
philosopher. Large round-headed niche opposite has moulded cornice and broken
pediment. Moulded 6-panelled mahogany doors in elaborately moulded eared
architraves with vine-ornamented pulvinated frieze and broken pediments. Very
fine plasterwork. 3 pairs of elaborately moulded plaster picture frames of
differing designs. 2 windows in moulded architraves with Vitruvian scroll frieze
and scrolled pediments. Wall panel has oval pier glass in elaborate frame with
urns and large cornucopia. Four wall panels have elaborate trophies, with
musical instruments on the window wall, and guns, bows etc. Library has Rococo
fireplace. Oak open-well staircase and ceiling c.1695; lower flight replaced
1926. Redecorated c.1750. Fluted and turned balusters and moulded handrail,
carved scrolled open string, and dado of bolection-moulded panels. Moulded
doorcases. Fine Rococo plasterwork. Acanthus string course with central ram's
heads. 3 walls have large projecting panels with elaborately moulded eared
architraves and scrolled pediments with central motif. Each panel has a plain
oval niche and moulded console, similar to Entrance Hall, housing a bust. Left
wall has early C3 Roman lady; centre: Emperor Lucius Verus; right: early C2 head
of a lady. Landing has similar panel. Flanking 6-panelled doors in moulded
architraves. Moulded archway with keystone to left. Late C17 moulded 8-panelled
door to right. Oval skylight has very rich high relief wreath. Corner panels
with arms and intials of William and Elizabeth Holbech. Skylight has 4 panels of
Rococo plasterwork and paterae. C19 coloured glass. The Holbech family have
lived at Farnborough Hall since 1692.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook; Buildings of
England: Warwickshire: pp.292-293; Gordon Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life
11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307349413
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
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.
"The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known as Times Square. The Longacre has 1,077 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium's interior are New York City designated landmarks.
The ground-floor facade is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta. The theater's main entrance is shielded by a marquee. The upper stories are divided vertically into five bays, which contain niches on either side of three large windows. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, two balconies, and a coved ceiling. The balcony level contains box seats topped by flat arches, and the proscenium opening is also a flat arch. In addition, the Longacre contains two lounges, and the top story formerly had offices.
Theatrical personality Harry Frazee acquired the site in 1911 and developed the Longacre Theatre to accommodate musicals. The Longacre opened on May 1, 1913, with the play Are You a Crook?, but the theater housed several flops in its early years. Frazee, who co-owned the theater with G. M. Anderson, sold his ownership stake in 1917 to focus on baseball. The Shubert brothers acquired the Longacre in 1924 and operated it for two decades before leasing it as a radio and television studio in 1944. The Shuberts returned the Longacre to legitimate theatrical use in 1953. The theater gained a reputation for hosting few successful productions in the late 20th century and was nearly converted to a court in the early 1990s. The Longacre was renovated in 2008.
New York City's Theater District (sometimes spelled Theatre District, and officially zoned as the "Theater Subdistrict") is an area and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan where most Broadway theaters are located, as well as many other theaters, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, and other places of entertainment. It is bounded by West 40th Street on the south, West 54th Street on the north, Sixth Avenue on the east and Eighth Avenue on the west, and includes Times Square. The Great White Way is the name given to the section of Broadway which runs through the Theater District.
It also contains recording studios, record label offices, theatrical agencies, television studios, restaurants, movie theaters, Duffy Square, Shubert Alley, the Brill Building, and Madame Tussauds New York.
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. The city is within the southern tip of New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area – the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. New York is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world." - info from Wikipedia.
The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.
Now on Instagram.
Situated in North County Dublin, the fine Georgian house is set in a 360 acre demesne, which is one of Fingal's Regional Parks.
Built by Archbishop Cobbe between 1747 and 1752 to the design of the renowned architect, James Gibbs. Newbridge is extremely rare in that it still contains most of it's original furniture thanks to the generosity of the Cobbe family. It offers many surprises. These include the magnificant Red Drawing Room (one of the finest Georgian interiors in Ireland), the Museum of Curiosities (one of the few family museums in Ireland or Britian) and the ornate plasterwork found throughout the house.
Newbridge House is exceptionally unchanged, preserved for future generations thanks to a unique agreement with the Cobbe Family, who have generously provided on loan the original furniture, pictures and other works of art on display in the main rooms open to the public. The Red Drawing Room is one of the finest Irish Georgian interiors and is home to the best documented 18th century private art collection in the country. A private apartment is still maintained for the family continuing a line of occupancy unbroken since the mid 18th century.
The Cobbe family originated in Hampshire and have a traceable ancestry extending back to the 15th Century. One of the family, Charles, 4th Son of the Governor of the Isle of Man, came to Ireland in 1717 as Chaplain to the Duke of Bolton, his cousin, who had been appointed Lord Lieutenant. Born in 1686 he was educated at Winchester and Oxford. He enjoyed Ireland and rapid ecclesiastical promotion- helped no doubt by his Vice-Regal connection. His career reads as follows:
Dean of Ardagh 1718, Bishop of Killala 1720, Bishop of Dromore 1727, Bishop of Kildare 1732, and finally Archbishop of Dublin in 1746 which office he continued to hold until his death in 1765 at the age of 79. He was brought to Donabate Church for burial where a marble tablet was erected to his memory within the church. The Dublin Gazette of the 17th April 1765, records the following: "In the morning the remains of his Grace, the Archbishop of Dublin, was carried from his palace in Cavan Street and interred at Donabate in the County of Dublin."
It is extraordinary that although the Vestry Book, which still survives, was written up regularly at the time, there is no mention of his burial.
On June 19th, 1736, Charles Cobbe, then Bishop of Kildare, paid £5,526.5.6 for the townlands of Donabate, Lainstown, Haggardstown and Newbridge, containing 490 acres. However Bishop Cobbe had a prior interest in these lands, having come to the financial assistance of the Weyms family (port owners) some years earlier. when they had difficulty in repaying a mortgage taken out on the lands. On 21st of July 1742 Bishop Cobbe made his second purchase of lands in the parish. These consisted of the townlands of Kilcreagh, Corballis and Baltra,containing in all 510 acres. Purchase price was £6,425.00. As with the first purchase the Cobbe interest came into being through the owner (Maurice Keating) having difficulty in repaying a martgage. The final purchase of land by the Cobbe family was made in 1811, when Charles purchased the fields north of Newbridge Demesne and bordering on Turvey Avenue.
The Archbishop was succeeded by his son, Thomas, who in 1751 married Lady Elizabeth Beresford, daughter of the Earl of Tyrone. She brought a wealth with her, thus enabling major improvments to be made to the house. In the Red Drawing Room, added by them, they lavishly entertained and hung many of their surperb pictures purchased on their behalf by the incumbent of Donabate Church, the Rev. Matther Pilkington, who was well qualified to buy on their behalf, as it was he who composed the first major English Dictionary of Painters.
Their eldest son Charles died in 1770 and the eldest grandson, also Charles became heir apparent. He joined the army, served in India and returned to Bath in 1805. Four years later he married Frances Conway and immediately went to live at Newbridge where he carried out much refurbishing with the aid of his wife's wealth. It appears that during the family's absence in Bath the Estate had become run down. Charles' considerable energies were used to build it up again. He threw down the "wretched mud cabins" occupied by his tenants and built new houses on his estate which were paid for be the sale of some of the family's most prized paintings, i.e., The Gastor Poussin and a Hobbema. Charles Cobbe died in 1857 and was succeeded by his son, another Charles. He, in turn died in 1886 leaving no male issue - his estate passing to his wife for her lifetime. Prior to her death she had persuaded Thomas Maherby Cobbe, a grandnephew of her late husband, to return to Newbridge from America to take over the estate. He died young in 1914 leaving two infant children, namely Thomas and Francis, the latter dying in 1949. Thomas did not marry and on his death in 1985 was succeeded by Francis' family, Hugh, Alec and Mary. While the property has now been acquired by the County Council, the Cobbe family will continue to reside at Newbridge House from time to time, due to a unique arrangement which had been entered into between the family and the County Council.