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The Great Hall, Montacute House. a plasterwork frieze of a local scene of villagers implementing their own form of justice?. The subject matter deals with a custom that was known by several names such as ‘Skimmity-Ride’, ‘Skimmington Ride’ or ‘Charivari’. In the southwest of England the event was normally called ‘riding skimmington’.
The scene is of two frames depicting the story. In the first scene the wife hits her husband over the head with a clog in her left hand. In her right hand she is holding something. It maybe the handle of a ladle which has broken off? The husband has taken out the plug from one of three barrels (or kegs or tuns) to pour himself some ale into a bowl. He is deftly balancing the swaddled baby in his left arm. A startled neighbour, carrying his gloves, witnesses the scene.
The neighbour is alert to the transgression. The problem is not necessarily the minding of the baby or the drink. The offence is that the husband has allowed himself to be beaten by his wife. The fact that he is minding the baby also brings up questions as to whether men actually did such tasks or was it another indicator that his wife was dominating him?
The neighbour is holding his gloves which may suggest he is on his way to church on Sunday or making a visit. The scene he witnesses is taking place inside a simple, wooden structure with a thatched roof.
The second scene moves the story along. Neighbours have gathered for the ‘skimmity-ride’. The man ‘riding the stang’ (the ‘stang’ being a stout pole) in the image could be the husband, a neighbour imitating him or an effigy. If a substitute rider was used it was customarily ‘the neighbour nearest the church’.
Sitting astride a pole must have been extremely uncomfortable. It does look like the husband. The rider plays a wooden flute and drum which would have provided the ‘rough music’ that usually accompanied such a procession. The leader of the troop may be the neighbour who witnessed the transgression. Equally the witness could be the man at the rear, pointing his finger at the scene. The accompanying neighbours have the role of mocking the man who has allowed his wife to dominate him. The stylised, naive plants and trees suggest the time of year could be late spring or summer. The day of the week is likely to be a Sunday as they head off to the church.
A bird merrily flies overhead. The bird does resemble a cuckoo, with its fan-like tail. The cuckoo is the symbol of a cuckold. In early modern moral values, it was assumed that a man who allowed himself to be beaten by his wife was a cuckold . Direct sexuality immorality was a behaviour forbidden by law and could be dealt with in the church courts. However, a wife beating her husband was not an offence for the courts.
The majority of skimmington rides in early-modern England occurred because a wife had dominated a husband, often by physical assault
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.
Clock Court , also called the Stable Block
Grade II Listed Building
Farnborough Hall Stable Block and Attached Gatepiers
Listing Text
FARNBOROUGH
SP4349
16/14 Farnborough Hall: stable
block and attached gatepiers
GV II
Stable block and attached gatepiers. Early/mid c18; left range and remodelling
1815-1816 by Henry Hakewill for William Holbech. Ironstone ashlar with string
course. Shallow hipped slate roofs with large widely-spaced wood dentils.
L-plan, with wing on right to rear, flanking forecourt of Farnborough Hall
(q.v.). 2 storeys; 7 bays. To yard: right range of 5 bays. Central chamfered
segmental carriage arch. 6-panelled doors to left and right inside 4-panelled
double-leaf doors and overlight above. Cross windows, on ground floor with many
glazing bars, and stone flat arches; first floor has leaded lights and stone
lintels with keystones. Slightly taller left range. Blank ground floor. First
floor has 2 round windows, the left blocked. Left return side to forecourt:
5-window range. String course. Central one-bay, one storey projection with
hipped roof. Diocletian window. Ground floor has stone cross windows. First
floor has 2-light stone mullioned windows. Leaded lights. Painted wood square
cupola with clock has simple pilasters, entablature and cornice. Dome with
weathervane. One-storey, one-window section to left has cross-window and stone
lintel with keystone. To rear: 5-bay loggia with chamfered wood posts and arched
braces between. Interior not inspected. Attached square gatepiers have pyramidal
caps.
(G. Jackson-Stops: Farnborough Hall: National Trust Guidebook 1984. Gordon
Nares: Farnborough Hall: Country Life 11 and 18 February 1954).
Listing NGR: SP4307849466
This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.
The 18th Century State House
Facts About the 18th Century State House
•Construction: 1772-1779
•Architect: Joseph Horatio Anderson
•Cornerstone: laid by Governor Robert Eden, March 28, 1772
•Roof Replacement and Construction of Dome by Joseph Clark, Architect: Begun 1785
•Number of Stories: Two
•Height:
oInterior of Dome, from Floor to Ceiling: 113'
oExterior, to the Weather Vane: 181'
•Oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use
•Served as U.S. capitol from November 1783 – August 1784 when Continental
•Congress met in Old Senate Chamber
Brief History of the 18th Century State House
The present Maryland State House is actually the third one to stand on State Circle in Annapolis. The first state house was built soon after the capital of Maryland was moved from St. Mary’s City to Annapolis in 1695. This first state house burned down in 1704. The second state house on State Circle was completed in 1709 and, within 60 years, had become much too small for the colony’s growing government and was too dilapidated to warrant renovation. It was torn down and construction on the new state house was begun in 1772, with Joseph Horatio Anderson as architect and Charles Wallace as the “undertaker.”
Work on the third state house was begun in 1772 and first occupied in 1779. However, by 1784 the building was already in need of work: the roof leaked and the cupola was described as inadequate, unimpressive and too small for the building. By 1788, the roof had been replaced, the old cupola had been taken off and the exterior of the dome we see today had been completed. The interior, with its beautiful plasterwork, was finished by 1795. The architect of the dome was Joseph Clark.
The jewel of this new State House was the Old Senate Chamber, featuring a gallery, described as “more elegant than required,” balanced on the opposite wall by an ornately carved niche, the Old Senate Chamber was the embodiment of Annapolis-style design and craftsmanship.
Detailed History of the 18th Century State House
On March 28, 1772, Governor Robert Eden laid the cornerstone for what would be the third State House built on State Circle in Annapolis. The first, built soon after the capital was moved from St. Mary’s City to Annapolis in 1695, burned down in 1704. The second was completed by 1709 and, 60 years later, had become far too small for the growing business of government and was too dilapidated to warrant enlarging it. The decision was made to raze it and Charles Wallace undertook the work when no one else submitted “plans and estimates” for the project.
With Mr. Wallace as the “undertaker” and Joseph Horatio Anderson as the architect, work was begun on the new State House in early 1772. While work progressed well for the first year and a half, at least one hurricane and the Revolutionary War intervened to cause enormous delays and difficulties. By the end of 1779, the building was still not completed, and Mr. Wallace’s finances and patience with the project were exhausted.
When the Continental Congress came to Annapolis to meet in the Old Senate Chamber from November 1783 – August 1784, they found a State House which was still unfinished. Although the Old Senate Chamber was complete, the roof was not and it had leaked during the last few winters, damaging the upstairs rooms. The dome—or cupola—atop the State House was variously described as inadequate, unimpressive, and too small for the building and, it, too, leaked.
In order to rectify the situation, Joseph Clark, an Annapolis architect and builder, was asked to repair the roof and the dome. Clark first raised the pitch of the roof to facilitate the runoff of water and covered it with cypress shingles. The crowning achievement of Clark’s work on the State House was, of course, the extraordinary dome which he designed and built. It is not known where Clark’s inspiration for the unusual design of the dome came from, but it is very similar to one in Karlsruhe, Germany called the Schloßturm.
By the summer of 1788, the exterior of the new dome was complete. It was constructed of timber and no metal nails were used in its construction and, to this day, it is held together by wooden pegs reinforced by iron straps forged by an Annapolis ironmonger.
Although the exterior of the dome was completed by 1788, the interior was not completed until 1797. Tragedy struck the project in 1793 when a plasterer named Thomas Dance fell to his death from the inside of the dome. By 1794, Joseph Clark was completely disillusioned with the project and left it to John Shaw, the noted Annapolis cabinetmaker, to oversee completion. Over the years, John Shaw did much of the maintenance work on the State House, built various items for it and, in 1797, made the desks and chairs which furnished the Old Senate Chamber.
The State House Annex
Facts About the State House Annex
•Construction (Replacing Annexes built in1858 and 1886): 1902-1905
•Architects: Baldwin and Pennington of Baltimore
•Number of Stories: Three
About the State House Annex
The “new” annex to the State House was built between 1902-1906 to replace two 19th century annexes that were poorly built and inadequate in size. The Baltimore architects Baldwin & Pennington designed and supervised the construction of the new annex, which houses both the Senate and the House of Delegates.
Both chambers feature unusual black and gold marble in tribute to the colors of the Maryland flag, as well as skylights by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The doors of this annex that lead out to State Circle are actually the back doors of the State House but are now the main entrance for visitors. The doors are of cast bronze and the Maryland seal is featured in the roundels.
Another feature of the annex is the grand staircase to the second floor. On the landing is the monumental painting of Washington Resigning His Commission painted in 1859 by Edwin White.
The walls in the Annex are lined with Italian marble. The black and white alternating tile floors in the new annex were selected to match the 1881 tiles in the original portion. The fossils in the black marble date back 450 million years.
Noteworthy plaques and memorials in the State House Annex include:
•The State House Building Commission
•The American’s Creed by William Tyler Page, December 23, 1919
The Dome
Facts About the Dome
•Height, from base to weather vane: 121'
•Diameter at base: 40'
•Construction begun: 1785
•Interior work completed: 1797
•Wood used in dome construction: Timber from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, supplied by Dashiell family of Cypress Swamp, Somerset County.
•Architect of the dome: Joseph Clark
•Possible model for design of the dome: Schloßturm, the dome of the free-standing tower next to the palace of Karl-Wilhelm, Markgraf of Baden, in Karlsruhe, Germany
History of the State House Dome
When the Continental Congress came to Annapolis to meet in the Old Senate Chamber from November 1783 – August 1784, they found a State House which was still unfinished. Although the Old Senate Chamber was complete, the roof was not and it had leaked during the last few winters, damaging the upstairs rooms. The dome—or cupola—atop the State House was variously described as inadequate, unimpressive, and too small for the building and, it, too, leaked.
In order to rectify the situation, Joseph Clark, an Annapolis architect and builder, was asked to repair the roof and the dome. Clark first raised the pitch of the roof to facilitate the runoff of water and covered it with cypress shingles. The crowning achievement of Clark’s work on the State House was, of course, the extraordinary dome which he designed and built. It is not known where Clark’s inspiration for the unusual design of the dome came from, but it is very similar to one in Karlsruhe, Germany called the Schloßturm.
By the summer of 1788, the exterior of the new dome was complete. It was constructed of timber and no metal nails were used in its construction and, to this day, it is held together by wooden pegs reinforced by iron straps forged by an Annapolis ironmonger.
Although the exterior of the dome was completed by 1788, the interior was not completed until 1797. Tragedy struck the project in 1793 when a plasterer named Thomas Dance fell to his death from the inside of the dome. By 1794, Joseph Clark was completely disillusioned with the project and left it to John Shaw, the noted Annapolis cabinetmaker, to oversee completion. Over the years, John Shaw did much of the maintenance work on the State House, built various items for it and, in 1797, made the desks and chairs which furnished the Old Senate Chamber.
The First Dome: 1769-1774
Just as the Articles of Confederation did not effectively govern the country, the first dome of the State House at Annapolis did not survive more than a decade of Maryland weather. In 1769, the General Assembly of Maryland passed an act to erect a new state house, securely covered with slate tile or lead. The architect was Joseph Horatio Anderson, and the undertaker or builder of the project was Charles Wallace. According to William Eddis in 1773, the work was carried on with great dispatch and when completed would “be equal to any public edifice on the American continent.”
The exact date of the completion of the first dome or cupola is not known but evidence suggests that it was completed by the year 1774. In a 1773 Act of Assembly, Charles Wallace was instructed to fix an iron rod pointed with silver or gold at least six feet above the cupola. The General Assembly also recommended that the roof be covered with copper because the slate originally specified would require frequent repairs and cause other inconveniences. According to Charles E. Peterson’s “Notes on Copper Roofing in America to 1802”, it was more than likely that local copper was put on the roof to advertise the new industry of Maryland.
The Second Dome: 1785-1794
According to the Intendent of Revenue, Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer, the first dome of the State House was a contradiction of architectural design. A survey of the timbers in 1784 revealed that they were so decayed by water damage that a new dome would be required.
“It was originally constructed contrary to all rules of architecture; it ought to have been built double instead of single, and a staircase between the two domes, leading up to the lanthorn. The water should have been carried off by eaves, instead of being drawn to the center of the building, to two small conductors, which are liableto be choked by ice, and overflowed by rains. That it was next to impossible, under present construction, that it could have been made tight”.
On February 24, 1785 Jenifer placed a notice in the Maryland Gazette for carpenters work to be made to the dome and roof under the execution of Joseph Clark
“The work We are a Doing is to put a Roof on the Governor’s House and we are going to take the Roof of the State house and it is a going to Raise it one story higher and the Doom is to be Sixty foot higher then the old one”.
Clark raised the pitch of the dome to facilitate the runoff of excess water, the chief reason the timbers rotted in the original dome.
“The Annapolis dome is in its proportions like the original Karlsruhe tower. Possibly its more classical feeling is a result of the universal trend of architectural styles rather than the influence of the altered Schloßturm. Yet the arched windows below the architrave in Annapolis, one with the lower part closed, are like the windows below the Architrave in Karlsruhe in all of which the lower parts are closed. The horizontal oval windows below the main curving section of the dome in Annapolis resemble the vertical ovals in the equivalent part of the Karlsruhe tower. The small square windows above the balustrades and the architraves themselves in both buildings are similarly placed.”
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.
The main cathedral in Birmingham, it is where the Bishop of Birmingham is based.
It is the third smallest cathedral in England after Derby and Chelmsford
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 monkey drunk on fermented grapes amongst the vines. Just a small detail from the playful Rococo plasterwork in this amazing space.
For those unfamiliar with Bristol's Royal Fort House, it contains the finest set of Rococo designed rooms in teh Uk, and was open this Saturday for the Doors Open event.
Castletown House is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Connolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centre piece of a 550 acre (220 ha) estate. The house was bought in 1967 by Desmond Guinness for £93,000 to save it from vandalism and it became the flagship of the Irish Georgian Society. In 1994, the house was transferred to state ownership and is now managed by the Office of Public Works. The transfer has paved the way for a major programme of restoration and conservation work of the house and demesne lands.
The Portland stone staircase at Castletown is one of the largest cantilevered staircases in Ireland. It was built in 1759 under the direction of the master builder Simon Vierpyl (c.1725–1811). Prior to this the space was a shell, although a plan attributed to Edward Lovett Pearce suggests that a circular staircase was previously intended.
The solid brass balustrade was installed by Anthony King, later Lord Mayor of Dublin. The opulent rococo plasterwork was created by the Swiss-Italian stuccadore Filippo Lafranchini, who, with his older brother Paolo, had worked at Carton and Leinster House for Lady Lousia’s brother-in-law, the first Duke of Leinster, as well as at Russborough in Co. Wicklow. Shells, cornucopias, dragons and masks feature in the light-hearted decoration which represents the final development of the Lafranchini style.
Coronet Cinema, Notting Hill Gate, London. Detail of the plasterwork above where the boxes should be. The Coronet has survived many attempts to demolish / trash the fine architecture. In 1972 an application to demolish and replace with shops was made by then owners Rank Organisation. In 1989 MacDonalds applied to convert it to one of their fast-food outlets. Bought and used by the Kensington Temple, although it's primary function was still showing films. Most recently it was acquired by the Print Room Theatre and adapted into a live venue again using just the dress circle and a false (removable) floor above the front stalls. The rear stalls now function as a bar. The Gallery (top balcony) is unused.
Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, London, UK - Coronet Theatre, Nottinghill Gate
January 2011, image reworked 2021
Sutton Scarsdale Hall was built in the Baroque style on the site of an existing house between 1724 and 1729 for the 4th Earl of Scarsdale. The architect for the new hall was Francis Smith of Warwick, who skillfully incorporated the earlier building of about 1469 within his design.
Notable craftsmen were employed here. Edward Poynton of Nottingham carved the exterior stonework and the Italian master craftsmen Arturi and Vasalli carried out the fine stucco (plasterwork) detailing in the principal rooms, remnants of which can still be seen.
Grinling Gibbons is believed to have contributed some of the interior wood carvings. The cost of this splendid building left the Scarsdale heirs with depleted funds and they were eventually forced to sell the hall in the 19th century.
John Arkwright, a descendant of the industrialist Richard Arkwright, bought the hall, but in 1919 the family sold it to a company of asset strippers.
Many of its finely decorated rooms were sold off as architectural salvage and the house was reduced to a shell. Some rooms still exist: three interiors are displayed at the Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
A pine-panelled room is at the Huntington Library, California. It was offered to the Huntington by a Hollywood film producer who had used it as a set for a film, Kitty, in 1934. He had bought it from William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate and well-known collector.
The ruins of the hall were saved from demolition by the writer Sir Osbert Sitwell, who bought it in 1946 after he had heard of the impending sale to dismantle the stonework. In 1970 descendants of the Sitwells persuaded the Department of the Environment to take the building into guardianship and preserve it for the nation.
A recent programme of works has been undertaken by English Heritage to preserve and protect the fragments of the original stucco interior.
The ruins of Sutton Scarsdale Hall, with tantalising remnants of a once majestic interior, offer the visitor an opportunity to view the ‘skeleton’ of the building – impossible in more complete country houses. The approach to the hall today is along a narrow driveway. Its spectacular location on a hillside is immediately apparent.
The roofless hall is built of mellow sandstone and stands to its original parapet height. Some areas of stonework have been lost at this level, giving an almost castellated appearance from a distance.
The hall was built with two impressive façades. The eastern front is the grandest, with exuberant Baroque detail typified by attached giant Corinthian columns topped with a central pediment. The central bays housed the formal drawing room. Elements of the 15th century structure such as blocked window openings in earlier brickwork can be seen in this room and in the one behind it.
The slightly plainer north elevation housed the entrance hall, which contains remnants of stucco work. The remains of the paired Ionic pilasters with wreathed swags are clearly visible, as are the remains of the chimney pieces incorporating carved figures.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/sutton-scarsdale...
Wedding cake type plaster ornamentation adds interest to the ceiling and the period type light fixture completes the scene. original ceiling plaster ornamentation of this kind is rare so it was a real treat to see this lovely example.
The main cathedral in Birmingham, it is where the Bishop of Birmingham is based.
It is the third smallest cathedral in England after Derby and Chelmsford
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
The main cathedral in Birmingham, it is where the Bishop of Birmingham is based.
It is the third smallest cathedral in England after Derby and Chelmsford
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
Just a small detail from the playful Rococo plasterwork in this amazing space.
For those unfamiliar with Bristol's Royal Fort House, it contains the finest set of Rococo designed rooms in teh Uk, and was open this Saturday for the Doors Open event
Inside the tomb of Jamali (Sheikh Fazlullah) dating to 1528-29. From Lucy Peck, "The walls combine incised plasterwork with inlaid encaustic tiles."
Embarking on a tour of The Alhambra, starting with the Nasrid Palaces, which consist of three palaces; the Mexuar Palace, the Comares Palace and the Palace of the Lions. One of the most famous images from there is the Patio de Arrayanes. There are decorations everywhere, as evidenced by this magnificent piece of arabesque, as well as decorations in the Baño de Comares.
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.
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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.
entrance to cathedral from west side. Statue of 1st Bishop of Birmingham
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
The main cathedral in Birmingham, it is where the Bishop of Birmingham is based.
It is the third smallest cathedral in England after Derby and Chelmsford
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
THE FIRST DWELLING AT LEVENS WAS A MEDIEVAL PELE TOWER, BUILT BY THE DE REDMAN FAMILY OF YEALAND REDMAYNE. THE BELLINGHAM FAMILY, WHO WERE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS, CHOSE LEVENS AS THEIR MAIN RESIDENCE IN THE 1590S AND INCORPORATED THE FORTIFIED TOWER INTO A GENTLEMAN’S RESIDENCE. THEY EMPLOYED LOCAL CRAFTSMEN TO CARVE THE OAK PANELLING, INCORPORATED ELABORATE ITALIAN PLASTERWORK, INCLUDING ELIZABETH THE FIRST’S COAT OF ARMS AND STAINED GLASS - ALL OF WHICH CAN BE SEEN TODAY.
THE HISTORIC HOUSE BECAME THE PROPERTY OF COLONEL JAMES GRAHME IN 1688 AFTER HIS CAREER AT COURT IN THE SERVICE OF KING JAMES II. HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A YOUNG FRENCH GARDENER, GUILLAUME BEAUMONT, A PUPIL OF LE NOTRE AT VERSAILLES, TO PLAN A FASHIONABLE GARDEN AT LEVENS. THIS FAMILY HOME CONTAINS FINE FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES IN EUROPE OF SPANISH LEATHER WALL COVERINGS, THE EARLIEST ENGLISH PATCHWORK, WELLINGTONIANA, CLOCKS AND MINIATURES, AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE FINEST STATELY HOMES IN SOUTH CUMBRIA.
THERE ARE TEN WONDERFUL ACRES OF GARDENS AT LEVENS HALL. THEY INCLUDE THE UNIQUE COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY TOPIARY CHARACTERS SCULPTED FROM BOX AND YEW. THEY RISE UP FROM A SPECTACULAR SEASONAL UNDERPLANTING POPULATED WITH AN EVER-CHANGING RANGE OF OVER THIRTY THOUSAND FLOWERS. FURTHER ON, BEYOND THE ROMANTIC OLD ORCHARD AND SEPARATED BY THE GREAT BEECH HEDGES, LIE THE MAGNIFICENT HERBACEOUS BORDERS. THESE ARE TRADITIONALLY DOUBLE IN FORMAT AND ARE AMONGST THE FINEST TO BE FOUND IN ENGLAND. THERE ARE ALSO WALL BORDERS, VEGETABLE AND HERB GARDENS, A ROSE GARDEN, FOUNTAIN GARDEN, FINE LAWNS, WILDFLOWER MEADOWS & WILLOW LABYRINTH ETC.
GHOSTS AT LEVENS HALL
THE MOST FAMOUS GHOST AT LEVENS HALL IS ABOUT A GYPSY WOMAN WHO IS SAID TO HAVE DIED CURSING THE HOUSE, CLAIMING THAT NO MALE HEIR WOULD INHERIT UNTIL THE RIVER KENT CEASED TO FLOW AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. STRANGELY, THE ESTATE PASSED THROUGH THE FEMALE LINE FOR FOUR GENERATIONS UNTIL THE BIRTH OF ALAN DESMOND BAGOT IN 1896 WHEN THE RIVER DID INDEED FREEZE OVER AND A WHITE FAWN WAS BORN IN THE PARK. THE THREE MALE HEIRS SINCE HAVE ALL BEEN BORN ON FREEZING WINTER DAYS.
AN EPISODE FILMED BY THE TELEVISION PROGRAMME ‘MOST HAUNTED’ IN 2002 DISCOVERED SOME LIGHTS, SOUNDS AND DISTURBING ATMOSPHERES NOT PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED BY VISITORS.
The main cathedral in Birmingham, it is where the Bishop of Birmingham is based.
It is the third smallest cathedral in England after Derby and Chelmsford
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
By William Young, 1882-88, interior 1887-90. Contractors, Morrison and Mason. Sculpture by John Mossman and George Lawson. Large extension to the E by Watson and Salmond, 1912. A statement of Civic pride and prosperity, the City Chambers occupies the whole block site between George Square and John Street. It’s style is mainly rich Italianate. Each elevation is faced in light polished ashlar now stonecleaned, fronting a fireproof framework of brick, iron, steel and concrete.
The faded splendor of the rococco salon in the Hotel Decumani de Charme. 18th Century AD. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.
This small patio between the Mexuar and the Gilded Room connects both palaces. On the façade there are two identical gates with lintels, tiles on a ceramic skirting board and plasterwork decoration. Above it are two twin windows with canted festoon and a smaller one in the middle, surrounded by inscriptions from the Koran.
The Alhambra is an ancient palace, fortress and citadel located in Granada, Spain. It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1984.
The eighth-century-old site was named for the reddish walls and towers that surrounded the citadel — al-qal’a al-hamra in Arabic means red fort or castle. It is the only surviving palatine city of the Islamic Golden Age and a remnant of the Nasrid Dynasty, the last Islamic kingdom in Western Europe.
The Alhambra is located on the Sabika hill — a strategic vantage point that provides views of the city and plain of Granada. The Alhambra complex had three main sections: The Alcazaba, a military base that housed guards and their families; the palatial zone, which contained several palaces for the sultan and his kin; and the Medina, a quarter where court officials lived and worked.
Levens Hall is a magnificent Elizabethan mansion that was built around 1350 by the Redman family as a pele (or peel) tower and was later expanded and rebuilt towards the end of the 16th Century. It is the family home of the Bagots, and contains a collection of Jacobean furniture, fine paintings, the earliest English patchwork and many other beautiful objects. (No photos from inside the house as photography is not allowed)
The world-famous award winning gardens were laid out in 1694. The topiary beech hedges and colourful seasonal beds create a stunning visual impact. The topiary garden has huge abstract shapes, pyramids and columns reminiscent of monstrous chess men.
These photographs remind me of my many days visiting stately homes during the summer months, hope you enjoy.
Inveraray Castle the State Dining Room
-------------------------------------------------------
The 3rd Duke had not set aside a room specially for eating in,but by 1770 fashions had changed and such a room was essential.That was,no doubt,part of the reason for the 5th Duke's change of plan through it was ten years before the final scheme was started.
Robert Mylne provided the surviving design in 1780 and the plasterwork was carried out in the following two years;the ceiling with decoration cast in London,England by John Papworth and the cornice and frieze by the Scottish John Clayton.The claborate painting was completed in 1784 by two French painters Girard and Guinand,whose work only survives at Inveraray.It is of a quality unparalleled in Britain at the time and it is little surprise to find that Girard was one of the principal decororative artists employed by the young Prince of Wales at Carlton House.Guinand who died at Inveraray in 1784,evidently painted the grisaille roundels of the Seasons over the doors and the ovals in the main panels;Girard's painting of the garlands of flowers over the pier glasses and details owls and squirrels in the narrow uprights is brilliantly done.On the ceiling it is difficult to tell at glance which ornaments of the central circle are raised and which painted flat.Almost all the oranamental painting is original but the area of plain colour were repainted in 1978,by Robert Stewart,of Inveraray.The chairs are part of a large set in the French style consisting of a pair of settees,berge'res (chairs with filled-in-arms),fauteuils (chairs with open arms) and side chairs,all with original Beauvais tapestry upholstery,probably ordered by the 5th Duke on one of his visit to France. Despite their French appearance the chairs were made in the Castle by two Edinburgh craftsman called Trail about 1782,working from a pattern chair that could have been a French original. Their gilding was also done in situ,by a French gilder called Dupasquier who first appeared in 1771 and who signed one of the chairs with date 1782,The tapestry was apparently put on by the local tailor and he also made curtains and liveries,such as the House of Argyll livery worn by the footmen.
The ormolu-mounted sideboards date from the late 18th Century and the dining table,probably by Gillow of Lancaster,from about,whilst the Warerford chandelier,the largest of a set of three,of which a smaller pair hang in the Tapestry Drawing Room,is circa 1830.The silver-gilt sailing ships or 'nefs' are German and were produced at the turn of the century primarily for use as table decorations.The decorated mosaic tops to the corner console tables are late 18th century Italian.The picture over the fireplace is that of the 4th Duke of Argyll in his Coronation Robes after Thomas Gainsborough.
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.
Hulme Hippodrome Manchester. The detail and abundance of the rococo plasterwork is amazing and extends throughout the building. Two balconies are supported on cast iron pillars. Urgent action is required to halt the rot, Youth Action have acquired the lease of the building and it is hoped that the Hippodrome can be restored as a Community Hub for the whole of Manchester.
menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1460167_encor...
Manchester Hulme Hippodrome
February 2012
19th-century fantasy castle with spectacular surroundings
This enormous 19th-century neo-Norman castle sits between Snowdonia and the Menai Strait.
It's crammed with fascinating items, such as a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria, elaborate carvings, plasterwork and mock-Norman furniture. In addition, it has an outstanding collection of paintings.
The restored kitchens are a delight and the stable block houses a fascinating industrial railway museum, a model railway museum and a superb dolls' museum.
The 24.3 hectares (60 acres) of grounds include parkland, an exotic tree and shrub collection as well as a Victorian walled garden.
Sadly now closed, the the Crown Hotel was opened in 1899 by entrepreneur Frank Crocker. It featured a lavish interior with ornate plasterwork and much use of different coloured marble. In 1987 it was renamed Crocker's Folly in reference to an apocryphal story about Frank Crocker. The story goes that he built the hotel in order to profit from the new Great Central Railway terminus that was then in the early stages of construction at Marylebone. Unfortunately his research was lacking and it turned out that the land nearest the hotel became part of the extensive Marylebone Goods Station, with the passenger station situated the best part of half a mile away. The story then goes that in despair and facing ruin he killed himself by jumping out of one of the upper windows. Certainly the last part of the story is demonstrably untrue - Crocker died of natural causes in 1904.
11th May 2012.
St. Lazarus Church, also known as Church of Our Lady of Hope, is one of the three oldest churches in Macau. It was erected in 1569 by Dom Belchior de Carneiro, the first bishop of Macau. At first it was a simple wooden chapel. The present church was renovated in 1886 and the plasterwork was renewed in 1957, when further major renovations were carried out.
The location of St Lazarus' Church was in the district where the leper colony situated since it was a rather remote place outside the city walls. In 1558, right after his arrival in Macau, Bishop Belchior Carneiro, using this church as his base, founded the Holy House of Mercy, St. Raphael's Hospital, and the St. Lazarus Asylum for Lepers, preaching among the Chinese, providing relief of the needy, taking care of the sick and saving their lives. He also set up a small chapel, which was the precursor of the church. In its early days, the chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of Hope, but the local Chinese citizens called it the lepers temple (瘋人廟).
When Pope Gregory XIII declared the establishment of diocese in Macau, the bishop’s seat was set here. So St. Lazarus was also the first cathedral in Macau. Later, however, it was deemed inappropriate to have the seat inside a lepers chapel, so plans were drafted to build the Cathedral. Still, St. Lazarus Church, enjoyed a lot of prestige within Catholic circles in Macau. Whenever a new bishop was inaugurated, he would come to St. Lazarus Church to receive his crosier with which he would be allowed to exercise his power. As the earliest church for evangelization of Chinese in Macau, the Chinese converts settled around the church. In 1818, a new church called “Our Lady of Hope” was built near the original church so the parishioners needed not to use the same church with lepers. The leper asylum was then moved away, the church was renovated to present feature. In St. Lazarus Square, there is a stone cross, inscribed with the following words “Crux da Esperanca Anno de 1637” meaning “Cross of Our Lady of Hope, in the year 1637”.
望德聖母堂又稱聖拉匝祿堂，為澳門三座最古老的教堂之一，始於1569年，由澳門第一位主教賈尼勞興建。最初是一座用木建成的簡陋聖堂，今日之規模是於1886年重建時奠定，1957年修葺時鋪上石米批蕩。昔日此地位於澳門城牆之外，地處偏僻，且毗連痲瘋病院。1558年賈尼勞主教甫抵澳門，即在現址興建教堂，並以此堂為基礎，建立仁慈堂、聖辣菲醫院和聖拉匝祿痲瘋病院，向華人傳道，提供慈善服務，救病扶危，他又建了一座小聖堂，奉望德聖母為主保，但當地居民習慣稱之為「瘋人廟」、「瘋堂廟」或「發瘋寺」。在1576年1月，教宗額我略十三世宣佈將澳門升為天主教教區，望德聖母堂成為首座主教座堂。後來發覺主教座堂不宜設於痲瘋院附近，遂另建大堂為主教座堂。以後每逢新任主教到澳就職，必先到望德聖母堂領取法杖，以行使其權責。因此，望德聖母堂在澳門天主教人士中享有崇高之地位。這教堂是澳門最早的一間華人教堂，華人教徒聚居於教堂附近，稱為「進教圍」。1818年，在原堂附近又另建望德堂，供居住在附近的教友祈禱，以避免與麻瘋病人混雜。由於來澳葡人日見增多，加之華人教徒不斷增加，無法容納，就拆除了舊堂，於1885年建成新堂開始啟用，奠定了今日望德聖母堂之規模。這之後，隨著麻瘋病院遷往他處，有關設施也拆卸改建了。現時的規模，聖堂前的石米批盪是在1957年重新修時所鋪上的。現在望德堂前還存有一個刻著拉丁文「望德十字架，1637年立」的石製十字架。
Former Odeon Cinema Blackpool, now Funny Girls Theatre. Detail of the Mollo & Egan plasterwork at the side of the screen, which survives today in the Funny Girls Theatre which now occupies the front of the stalls and balcony of the Odeon.
Blackpool Odeon Cinema
A scanned negative from 1996.
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
The Edwardian plasterwork of the Kings Theatre Southsea, in tiptop condition following an on-going restoration (since 2000) after years of neglect. Designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1907. Grade 2* listed.
Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK - Kings Theatre, Albert Road
March 2009 (image reworked 2020).
South doorway of St Botolph's church, Lullingstone, Kent. The glass in the door is modern (2007) and engraved with crosses. It was installed to protect the plasterwork of the porch. The view is across the parkland towards the tranquil waters of Lullingstone Castle lake.
Cine-City Withington - the former circle was converted to the largest of the three screens, retaining much of the original plasterwork, and the barrel vaulted ceiling.
Cine City Cinema Withington
A scanned negative from 1988.
The Long Gallery at Burton Constable stretches along the upper floor of the west front. It was built in the C16th. Around the tops of the walls is a plasterwork frieze of creatures - real and mythical. Its style is neo-Jacobean and it dates from the 1830s when the Clifford-Constable’s undertook a programme of extensive redecoration.
The organ of St Audeons was built in 1861 and with 2,300 pipes it is still in full working order. Notice also, the fine Renaissance-Corinthian style plasterwork and carved woodwork.
The church in High Street (Dublin 2) is built mainly of local limestone and was consecrated in 1846, after taking five years to construct. Next to it is the older Church of Ireland church built by the Anglo-Normans. The Catholic church is still in use and is also home to the Polish Chaplaincy in Ireland ( www.polish-chaplaincy.ie/?page_id=11&language=en ).
This church was designed by the well known Irish architect, Patrick Byrne (1783-1864) ( www.irish-architecture.com/architects_ireland/byrne.html ), who also designed other well known Dublin churches after the Catholic Emancipation of 1829. The large portico by George C. Ashlin was added in 1893 ( www.foscc.com/History/Architects/Ashlin.html ).
Thank you for reading.
Stuart.
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.
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.
Sudbury Hall, was the country home of the Lords Vernon, containing 17th-century craftsmanship, featuring plasterwork, wood carvings and classical story-based murals. .
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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..
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The Parish Church of All Saints,which is adjacent to the house, was restored for the 6th Lord Vernon by George Devey..
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The house was used by the BBC to film "Pride & Prejudice".
This tiny synagogue was rediscovered in the 19th century when newer mortar obscuring the Mudéjar plasterwork began to crumble. It is one of only three synagogues remaining substantially intact in Spain; the other two are in Toledo, & we saw them at the end of the trip. (I'm not counting the one in Úbeda; that was reconstructed after an archaeological excavation of the rubble.)
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Looking up at the fine plasterwork on the ceiling from the ground floor of the tower tomb built in 103 AD by four brothers:
Elabel, Shagai, Mogimo, Maani: sons of Wahballat son of Maani.
Their portraits can be seen in the ceiling's painted coffers.
Between June 26, 2015 and September 2, 2015, seven tower tombs located just beyond Palmyra's ancient city walls have been damaged and destroyed.
The Tower of Elahbel (also known as Tower 13, or Kubbet el 'Arus, or Tower Tomb of Elhabel, or Tower Tomb of Elabel) was a four-storey sandstone tower tomb near the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. The tower was completed in AD 103 by a Palmyrene aristocrat Marcus Ulpius Elahbelus and his three brothers, Manai, Shakaiei, and Malk.
Satellite imagery confirms that the Tower Tomb of Elahbel was destroyed by Islamic State (IS, ISIL, ISIS) at sometime between August 27, 2015 and September 2, 2015.
The Tower of Elahbel was a tower of four storeys, with an approximately square plan, constructed from large sandstone blocks. The lower ground storey was stepped out from the upper floors and accessed via a door in the north elevation. Above the lower ground floor was the principal ground floor, accessed via a door in the south elevation with an inscription plaque and round headed niche (like a window or balcony) decorating the otherwise blank wall above the south door. Above the principle ground floor were an additional two stories. The burial chambers inside were decorated with Corinthian pilasters and painted coffered ceilings. The tower was partially reconstructed after it was visited by Gertrude Bell in 1900, and visitors could climb an internal staircase to the upper tomb chamber, and then on to the flat roof. Inside, the tower was divided into loculi, separate compartments like pigeonholes or a columbarium used to store the sarcophagi of deceased wealthy Palmyrenes. Large tower tombs such as this could accommodate up to 300 bodies. The dead were sealed behind limestone slabs on which portraits of the dead were carved in high relief.
Valley of the Tombs, Western Necropolis, Palmyra, Syria.
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