Back in 1992, a family friend required pictures of his car following a collision. It was a 1988 Lada Samara SL which the DVLA has as being on the road until August 2000. Once a common enough type, just four were licensed at the end of 2015, with seven more on SORN.

 

Pentax K1000/50mm

Ilford FP4

This is another image from a visit to the Kinnear Yard adjacent to Gage Park in Hamilton Ontario. In addition tot he three CP (Canadian Pacific Railway) engines, a Harsco Mark IV HD tamper was parked there. The tamper uses a series of hydraulic rams (for lack of a better description) located both sides approximately midway along the carriage, to fit between the railway ties and tamp the stone base. Under computer control, this packs the base and makes sure the track sits as required. Big toys for big boys. - JW

 

Date Taken: 2014-11-30

 

Tech Details:

 

Taken using a tripod-mounted Nikon D7100 fitted with a Nikkor 18-105mm VR lense set to 48mm, ISO100, Aperture priority mode, f/6.3, two exposures one at 1/2 sec and another at 13 sec. The two (no, not three, but two) images were processed in free Open Source Luminance/Qtpfsgui HDR software using two different tone-mapping operators, Fattal to bring out colours and Mantiuk06 to bring out details. Because the two images were subsequently combined, the image is a hybrid rather than a simple HDR. HDR processing settings are shown below. PP in free Open Source GIMP: the two versions were loaded as layers and then the opacity was set to 50%, a new working layer created from the visible result and then saved as an interim image. The interim image was then processed in free Open Source RAWTherapee: highlights and shadows were enabled and shadows were brought up to bring out a bit of the undercarriage detail, the black level was increased slightly, contrast was increased slightly, vibrance was boosted, noise reduction was applied as was sharpening and then the image was saved. PP in GIMP: the image was duplicated on two layers, the top layer named 'main' and the lower layer named 'brighter', for the top layer the tone curve was adjusted slightly to darken the bottom 10% of the curve, hold the mid-tones and slightly brighten the top 20%, in the brighten layer the tome curve was boosted overall to brighten the yellow Harsco unit and incidentally the undercarriage detail, using a soft-edged eraser tool the yellow Harsco unit was removed from the top/main layer as was the undercarriage areas of the engines, a new working layer was created from the visible result, slight contrast increase was applied, sharpened, added fine black and white frame, added bar and text on left, scaled to 1800 wide for posting.

 

= = = =

Luminance HDR 2.3.0 tonemapping parameters:

Operator: Fattal

Parameters:

Alpha: 1

Beta: 0.9

Color Saturation: 1

Noise Reduction: 0

------

PreGamma: 1.6

 

= = = =

Luminance HDR 2.3.0 tonemapping parameters:

Operator: Mantiuk06

Parameters:

Contrast Mapping factor: 0.1

Saturation Factor: 1

Detail Factor: 1

------

PreGamma: 0.8

 

Antero Ávila

Apologies (and appreciation) to John Prine for his new album, The Tree of Forgiveness.

 

I arrived at this scene when it was quite dark, so the required exposure for the foreground was much longer than suitable for proper exposure of the crescent moon. Anyone who has shot under these conditions knows that the white crescent becomes ill-defined and the dark side actually records as a gray orb, so it is not a natural view of a crescent moon. The best way to shoot these is to arrive with enough daylight available so that both the foreground and moon can be recorded properly in the same exposure. Barring that, a composite is required to give a natural rendering.

 

I had shot the moon about 10 minutes earlier with proper exposure and used that image to replace the over-exposed one in the original photo here, which did not look bad, just less than natural. I am OK with these sorts of composites involving moons shot in too dark conditions as it is the only way to properly expose all elements. It is important to have shot the properly exposed moon near the same time, otherwise, you are just making up a photo, which is OK though if you are doing conceptual art but not if you are shooting realistic photos.

 

I much prefer the sharper edges of the replaced crescent moon, which has been placed in the same position within the tree as in the original and at the same size. This used to be done with film by doing a multiple exposure onto the same piece of film in camera, but we are well past that now. Our digital darkroom tools are really quite useful and save lots of time.

 

Since my Independence Tree has died by now probably, I may have to return to this one near a lake from time to time since it is equally old and quite nice, but it is not located in a nice field as was my old friend. Still, it is nearby and offers some nice possibilities, as I found here the other evening.

 

Nikkor 28/2.8 AIS for the full scene; Tamron SP 70-210/3.5 (manual) for the properly exposed crescent moon.

Teesquay Millennium Footbridge is a footbridge crossing east-west over the River Tees between Stockton high street and Thornaby (Teesdale Business Park) in Northern England. It is just east of Stockton town centre and in the town's namesake borough.

 

The bridge crosses the Teesdale Way cycle route, River Tees, and the A1035 Riverside Road. Funding for the bridge was from Stockton-on-Tees Council, the European Regional Development Fund, One NorthEast, and English Partnerships.

 

Teesquay Millennium Footbridge is also referred to as the Millennium Bridge.

 

Stockton Borough Council provided a brief for a 'design and build' competition to construct a pedestrian bridge across the River Tees. The 'design and build' competition was won by a team comprising Ove Arup and Birse Construction. Their entry was the only one to satisfy the local council's strictly limited budget.

 

The bridge has a cable-stayed design with architecture by Yee Associates and designed by Ove Arup whereas the identification signage on the bridge states that it was designed by the constructor, Birse Construction. It has a 40-metre (131 ft) 'A' frame pylon/mast with fanned cables and has a total span of 153 m (502 ft). The walkway is 2.7 m (9 ft) wide narrowing to 2 m (7 ft) on the extension over Riverside Road to the Castlegate Centre.

 

The bridge was fabricated in Spain, constructed on site by Birse Construction North East and completed in December 2000 at a cost of £1.4m.

 

The bridge was opened on 20 December 2000 by Dari Taylor, Member of Parliament for Stockton South, and the mayor of Stockton-on-Tees. The Teesgate Millennium Footbridge was one of the few number of millennium footbridges to be actually completed in the millennium year, but unlike some high-profile millennium footbridges it was not funded by the Millennium Commission.

 

The bridge has been criticised for both wobbling and being too narrow to accommodate cyclists who are required to dismount and are barred from entering the Castlegate Centre in any case.

 

Up-river on Castlegate Quay by the western side of the bridge there is the Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre.

 

Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Valley, on the northern bank of the River Tees.

 

The Tees was straightened in the early 19th century for larger ships to access the town. The ports have since relocated closer to the North Sea and ships are no longer able to sail from the sea to the town due to the Tees Barrage, which was installed to manage tidal flooding. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, on which coal was ferried to the town for shipment, served the port during early part of the Industrial Revolution. The railway was also the world's first permanent steam-locomotive-powered passenger railway.

 

Stockton is an Anglo-Saxon place name with the common ending ton, meaning farm, or homestead. Stock is thought by some to derive from the Anglo-Saxon Stocc, meaning log, tree trunk, or wooden post. Stockton could therefore mean a farm built of logs. This is disputed because when Stocc forms the first part of a place name, it usually indicates a derivation from the similar word Stoc, meaning cell, monastery, or place. Stoc in place name such as Stoke or Stow usually indicates farms which belonged to a manor or religious house. It is thought that Stockton fell into this category, and perhaps the name is an indication that Stockton was an outpost of Durham or Norton which were both important Anglo-Saxon centres. Stockton was a township in the ancient parish of Norton until 1713, when it became an independent parish in its own right. Norton and Stockton's historic roles were reversed in 1913 when Norton was absorbed into the borough of Stockton.

 

Stockton is reportedly the home of the fossilised remains of the most northerly hippopotamus ever discovered. In 1958, an archeological dig four miles (6 km) north-west of the town uncovered a 125,000-year-old hippo's molar tooth. However, no one knows exactly where the tooth was discovered, who discovered it, or why the dig took place. The tooth was sent to the borough's librarian and curator, G. F. Leighton, who then sent it to the Natural History Museum in London. Since then, the tooth has been missing despite efforts to locate it.

 

Stockton began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on high ground close to the northern bank of the River Tees.

 

Stockton was described as a manor by 1138, and was purchased by Bishop Pudsey of Durham in 1189. During the 13th century, the bishop changed the village of Stockton into a borough; the exact date the borough was founded is unknown, but it was being described as a borough by 1283. When the bishop freed Stockton's serfs, craftsmen moved to the new town. The bishop had a residence in Stockton Castle, which was a fortified manor house, the first recorded reference to which was in 1376.

 

Stockton's market traces its history to 1310, when Bishop Bek of Durham granted a market charter to our town of Stockton a market upon every Wednesday for ever. The town grew into a small but busy port, exporting wool and importing wine, which was in demand by the upper class. However, even by the standards of the time, medieval Stockton-on-Tees was a small town, with a population of only approximately 1,000, and the town did not grow for centuries.

 

Scotland captured Stockton Castle in 1644, and occupied it until 1646. The castle was destroyed at the order of Oliver Cromwell at the end of the Civil War. A shopping centre, the Castlegate Centre, now occupies the castle area, and this is scheduled for demolition in 2022.[needs update] No known accurate depictions of the castle exist.

 

The Town House (now called the Town Hall) was built in 1735, and Stockton's first theatre opened in 1766. In 1771, a five-arch stone bridge was built, replacing the nearby Bishop's Ferry. Until the opening of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in 1911, this was the Tees's most downstream bridging point. From the end of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution transformed Stockton from a small and quiet market town into a flourishing centre of heavy industry.

 

In 1833 the then Bishop of Durham, William Van Mildert (1765 - 1836) gifted five acres and the land of an existing burial site called "The Monument" (originally a mass grave from a prior cholera outbreak) to the town of Stockton. Upon this land, the process of building of and designing the gothic style Holy Trinity Church began, using funds originally allocated for church building in the Commissioners' church Act of 1818. It was designed by John and Benjamin Green, and construction began in 1834. It was consecrated as an Anglican church on December 22, 1835.

 

Shipbuilding, which had started in the 15th century, prospered in the town through the 17th and 18th centuries, with smaller-scale industries also developing. These included brick, sail, and rope making, the latter now reflected in road names such as Ropery Street in the town centre. Stockton became the major port for County Durham, the North Riding of Yorkshire, and Westmorland during this period, exporting mainly rope, agricultural produce and lead from the Yorkshire Dales. Iron making and engineering entered the local economy in the 18th century

 

The town grew rapidly as the Industrial Revolution started, the population grew from 10,000 in 1851 to over 50,000 in 1901 as workers moved in. The discovery of iron ore in the Eston Hills resulted in blast furnaces lining the River Tees from Stockton to the river's mouth. In 1820, an Act set up the Commissioners, a body with responsibility for lighting and cleaning the streets, and from 1822, Stockton-on-Tees was lit by gas.

 

In 1822, Stockton witnessed an event which changed the face of the world forever, and which heralded the dawn of a new era in trade, industry and travel. The first rail of George Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington Railway was laid near St. John's crossing on Bridge Road. Hauled by Locomotion No 1, Stephenson himself manned the engine on its first journey on 27 September 1825. Fellow engineer and friend Timothy Hackworth acted as guard. This was the world's first passenger railway,[citation needed] connecting Stockton with Shildon. The opening of the railway greatly boosted Stockton's economy, making it easier to bring coal to the factories; however, the port declined as business moved downstream to Middlesbrough.

 

Stockton witnessed another development in 1827. Local chemist John Walker invented the friction match in his shop at 59 High Street. The first sale of these matches was recorded in his sales-book on 7 April 1827, to a Mr. Hixon, a solicitor in the town. Since he did not obtain a patent, Walker received neither fame nor wealth for his invention, but he was able to retire some years before his death. He died in 1859 at the age of 78, and is buried in the parish churchyard in Norton village.

 

The first bell for Big Ben was cast by John Warner and Sons in Norton on 6 August 1856, but it was damaged beyond repair while being tested on site, and it had to be replaced by a foundry closer to Westminster, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

 

To cater to the increased population, a hospital opened in Stockton in 1862, and a public library opened in 1877. Public transport also became important. Steam trams began running in the streets in 1881, and these were replaced by electric trams in 1897.

 

Stockton was still dominated by the engineering industry in the 1930s, and there was also a chemicals industry in the town. Buses replaced the trams in 1931. Public housing also became necessary, and in the 1930s, slums were cleared, and the first council houses were built.

 

On 10 September 1933, the Battle of Stockton took place, in which between 200 and 300 supporters of the British Union of Fascists were taken to Stockton to hold a rally, but they were driven out of town by up to 2,000 anti-fascist demonstrators.

 

In the late 20th century, manufacturing severely declined, with the service industries developed into the town's primary employers.

 

The Ragworth district near the town centre was the scene of rioting in July 1992, when local youths threw stones at buildings, set cars alight, and threw missiles at police and fire crews. The area later saw a £12 million regeneration which involved mass demolition and refurbishment of existing properties, and construction of new housing and community facilities.

 

Stockton lies on the north bank of the River Tees. The town's northern and western extremities are on slightly higher ground than the town centre, which is directly on the Tees. Stockton experiences occasional earth tremors. For example, it was the epicentre of a tremor measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale on 23 January 2020. The town has many areas outside of the town centre; Fairfield, Portrack, Hardwick, Hartburn, Elm Tree Farm, Norton, Roseworth, Newtown, Bishopsgarth and Oxbridge. Norton is the second largest centre in the town.

 

Stockton-on-Tees has an oceanic climate typical of the United Kingdom. Being sheltered by the Lake District and Pennines to the west, Stockton is relatively dry for the U.K., with on average 25 inches (643 mm) of rain a year. Its climate is more continental climate than other parts of the U.K., with above average summer temperatures, and below average winter temperatures. Summer highs typically reach approximately 20 °C (68 °F), while winter lows can fall to several degrees below 0 °C (32 °F). The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).

 

Stockton town centre is the heart of the borough. The High Street—the widest in the UK—heads north through the town centre from the junction of Bridge Road and Yarm Lane, to Maxwell's Corner, where Norton Road and Bishopton Lane begin. Dovecot Street runs west from the High Street's midway point, and further north, Church Road extends east toward Northshore and the River Tees. At the centre of the High Street stands Stockton-on-Tees Town Hall, dating from 1735, and the Georgian-style Shambles Market Hall. Around the town hall, the largest outdoor market in North East England, which has been in existence since the 1300s, continues to be held every Wednesday and Saturday.

 

Much of the town centre has a Georgian and late medieval influence, with a number of listed buildings and a variety of architectural types, which help to define the town's identity. The shops predominantly have narrow frontages stretching back to gain floorspace. This burgage plot style is particularly evident around the marketplace and on side streets such as Silver Street, Finkle Street and Ramsgate. There is also the surviving ruins of the gothic style church in Trinity Green, which dates back to 1834.

 

Before 2022, the town centre retail was largely concentrated within two shopping centres, Castlegate and Wellington Square. Wellington Square has open shops on pedestrian-only paths whereas the Castlegate, opened in 1972 and currently undergoing demolition, was a building which incorporated a multi-storey car park and an indoor market. Its façade was a dominant feature along the south east of the High Street, its site bounded by Finkle Street, Bridge Road and Tower Street. The Riverside dual carriageway and the River Tees run almost parallel to the rear of the centre. The Teesquay Millennium Footbridge links the Castlegate Quay on the north side of the river to Teesdale Business Park and Durham University's Queen's Campus on the south side in the ceremonial county of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Situated at the north west end of the town centre is Wellington Square shopping centre, built on the old Wellington Street. Opened in 2001 at a cost of £43 million, it houses 46 shop units.

 

The town centre has retained a number of original yards such as Wasp Nest Yard, Hambletonian Yard, and Ship Inn Yard. Most notable is Green Dragon Yard, a courtyard of restored historic warehouses within a series of alleyways. Considered the cultural quarter of the town, this houses the Green Dragon public house, the Green Dragon Studios (recording studios) and Britain's oldest surviving Georgian Theatre.

 

Alongside retail outlets, Stockton town centre also has a variety of services including national banks and building societies, travel agents, a post office, hairdressers, beauticians, cafés, and restaurants. The refurbishment of some period buildings has provided space for small firms including solicitors, recruitment agencies, and accountants.

 

Since the construction of the Tees Barrage in 1995, the level of the River Tees through the town has permanently been held at high tide, creating a backdrop for riverside events and facilitating watersports activities such as rowing, canoeing, jet skiing, and dragon boat racing. Stockton town centre is elevated above the river, and is separated from the riverside by the A1305 Riverside Road, a dual carriageway which runs parallel to the river from Northshore to Chandlers Wharf.

 

From the town centre, Bishop Street, Silver Street, Calvert's Lane, and Thistle Green offer views of the river where it meanders around Teesdale Business Park. Durham University Queen's Campus can be seen on the opposite side, alongside the skyline of Middlesbrough in the middle distance and Roseberry Topping in the Cleveland Hills, approximately fifteen miles (24 km) south east.

 

Chandlers Wharf is situated on the north side of the river where Bridge Road approaches Victoria Bridge. The area is characterised by a mixture of office and residential accommodation, including the colourful twelve-storey Mezzino student apartments at Rialto Court, a Mecca Bingo hall, Burger King and the two-storey Grosvenor Casino, which opened in September 2011. Adjacent to the wharf is Castlegate Quay, which was once the town's main dock. The quayside is still occupied by Georgian warehouses which have been converted into a number of business units, restaurants, and a gym. A full-size replica of Captain James Cook's ship HM Bark Endeavour was once moored at the quayside, but was sold and moved after refurbishment to a mooring in Whitby. The Teesside Princess, a two-deck river boat, is docked alongside, and offers river cruises all year to Yarm via Preston Park.

 

Both the north and south banks of the Tees are retained by steel sheet pile walls, and have footpaths along the river edge. The Tees Walkway on the north bank of the river can be accessed from the town centre by the Teesquay Millennium Footbridge or the Riverside Footbridge, and incorporates a cycle path which forms part of the National Cycle Network.

 

The 11-metre Aeolian Motion wind sculpture stands on a grassy slope overlooking the riverside, which becomes an amphitheatre during large events. From Castlegate Quay, the tree-lined path along the waterfront toward the Princess of Wales Bridge opens into green space and a car park for events. Beyond the Princess of Wales Bridge, the slipway at the River Tees Watersports Centre is situated at the western area of Northshore, which is currently under development, and which leads to the Tees Barrage.

 

The town is served by two main arterial roads: the transpennine A66 (east/west) and the A19 (north/south). The A19 connects Stockton with York in the south, and extends to Peterlee and Sunderland, to the north. East of the town centre is the A1046, a mostly dual carriageway which runs through Portrack as Portrack Lane, a major retail zone, particularly for home furnishings and DIY. From Portrack, the A1046 continues to its northern terminus at Port Clarence. The A139 connects the town centre with the northern suburb of Norton. This was the original route for the A19 before a bypass was built to the east of the town.

 

The A177 runs from Stockton town centre to Durham. Known as Durham Road, it passes Sedgefield en route, and is a major route in to and out of Stockton.

 

The A66 connects Stockton directly to Middlesbrough (8 miles (13 km) to the east) and Darlington (10 miles (16 km) to the west). Beyond Darlington lies the A1(M). The A66 is connected to Stockton centre by the A135. The old A135 was renumbered A1027, and this continues through the town to Billingham. The A135 is named '1825 Way' to commemorate the former Stockton and Darlington Railway's opening; the 1825 Way's northern end is St John's Crossing, adjacent to the old Stockton Railway Station buildings.

 

A number of bus services operate in Stockton, and most services pass through the High Street. The services cover large areas of the region including Middlesbrough, Teesside Park, Thornaby-on-Tees, Billingham, Sedgefield, Durham, Sunderland, Peterlee, and Newcastle upon Tyne. Stagecoach on Teesside and Arriva North East are the major service providers, while six smaller companies also operate in the area.

 

Stockton station, located above the High Street, serves the town; however, more regular and long-distance trains run from nearby Thornaby.

 

Northern routinely serves both stations with local and regional services, whereas at Thornaby TransPennine Express runs an hourly service between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Manchester Airport via York and LNER stops once both ways every weekday between Middlesbrough and London King's Cross.

 

Teesside International Airport is partially located within the borough, several miles west of the town. The airport offers domestic flights and services international festival destinations, especially in the EU.

 

Stockton is famous as the home of the friction match and the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which operated the world's first steam-hauled passenger train in 1825. The town also has the world's oldest passenger railway station building. Industry and engineering remained central to Stockton's economy over many years, and major industries have included shipbuilding and repair, heavy engineering, steel, and chemicals manufacturing. However, during the twentieth century, Teesside's heavy industry declined dramatically.

 

Since the 1980s, Stockton has seen an increase in service industries. The development of Teesdale Business Park on the south bank of the River Tees has created commercial space with many large service providers opening call centres and offices in the area. Durham University's Queen's Campus is also situated within the Teesdale development, which is linked to the town centre by the Teesquay Millennium Footbridge, Princess of Wales Bridge, and Infinity Bridge.

 

In 1995, after four years' construction, the Tees Barrage was commissioned, permanently holding the upstream river waters at the level of an average high tide.

 

In 2007, funding from the European Regional Development Fund and English Heritage secured the ruins of the Holy Trinity Church, and renovated the site into Trinity Green, removing the site from Historic England's 'Heritage At Risk register'.

 

Work is under way to develop the north bank of the River Tees in Stockton with the £300 million Northshore scheme, which will include new offices, leisure facilities, housing, a 150-bedroom hotel, and a new campus for Durham University.

 

In 2012, a long-term scheme aimed at transforming the town centre area was announced, with investment of approximately £38 million, just over £20 million being contributed by Stockton Borough Council, and the remainder coming from the private sector and grants. The investment programme aimed to attract more retailers, businesses, and shoppers to the town by opening up new spaces and links to the River Tees, providing easier access and parking, and capitalising on the town's heritage and cultural assets.

 

Plans include the introduction of an expansive plaza area 'Infinity View' that will open up the pedestrian area to dramatic views of the award-winning Infinity Bridge. Under the scheme, the banks of the River Tees will be transformed with a series of impressive light installations which will stretch along the waterfront, from the Princess of Wales Bridge to the Millennium Bridge. This permanent colourful illumination is intended to add value to the riverside businesses and restaurants and play an important part in the council's events programme throughout the year.

 

Stockton is one of 12 towns in England to share in £1.2 million of funding, support from retail guru Mary Portas and her own team, as part of the Portas Pilot scheme. Selected from over 370 applications, Stockton's Town Team Consortium, comprising Stockton Council, Tees Music Alliance, Durham University Queen's Campus, town centre retailers, A Way Out and Stockton Heritage in Partnership, will have the opportunity to share in expert advice and guidance from a range of retail experts.

 

The Stockton-Middlesbrough Initiative is a 20-year vision for regenerating the urban core of the Tees Valley, the main focus being the 30 km2 (12 sq mi) area along the banks of the River Tees between the two centres of Stockton and Middlesbrough. The master plan has been drawn up by environmental design specialists Gillespies, the eventual aim being to bring distinctive high-quality city-scale assets to the centre of the Tees Valley, including the town centres of Stockton and Middlesbrough. The project will include the existing developments at North Shore, Stockton and Middlesbrough, with many others over a 15- to 20-year period.

 

In February 2020 it was announced that the Castlegate Shopping Centre is set to be demolished in 2022.

 

The mean weekly income for Stockton residents was £522.70 in 2017. This is below the U.K. mean of £538.70. In some parts of Stockton, most households' income is below the poverty threshold. The mean privately rented house in Stockton cost £525 per month in 2017, compared with a mean of £480 across North East England.

 

The town recorded 125 crimes for every 1,000 people in 2020, higher than similarly sized Darlington and Hartlepool and 29% higher than ceremonial County Durham's 89 out of 1,000 average. The most common crimes in 2020 were "violence and sexual offences"; 4,445 of this type were recorded in 2020. Eight out of 14 crime trends improved compared to 2019. The Eastbourne and Newham Grange Ward recorded the worst crime statistics in the town. The borough came out lower than the four other Tees Valley boroughs in 2017.

 

Stockton comes under Cleveland Police's jurisdiction. There are two police stations in town, town centre main and Newton neighbourhood. Teesside combined courts are located in Middlesbrough.

 

HMP Holme House, in Portrack, is a 1211-capacity Category B prison for male adult prisoners who are either remanded in custody or convicted. It also accommodates a small number of young offenders aged 18–21 years. The prison opened in May 1992 and mainly serves south of county Durham as well as north of North Yorkshire.

 

In the 2021 census, the borough was recorded as having a population of 196,595 with 50.9% being female.

 

For religion, 51.1% identified themselves as Christian, 39.1% having no religion, 3.4% Muslim, 0.4% Hindu, 0.4% Sikh, 0.3% Buddhist, and 0.3% answering 'Other' as well as 5% not answering.

 

For ethnicity, those who identified as White were 92.0%, Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh were 4.6%, Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African were 1.1%, Mixed or 'Multiple ethnic groups' were 1.4%, and the 'Other' ethnic group category recorded 0.8%.

 

For sexuality, those who identified as Straight or Heterosexual were 91.6%, Gay or Lesbian were 1.4%, Bisexual was 0.9%, Pansexual was 0.2%, Asexual was 0.0%, Queer was 0.0%, 'All other sexual orientations' were 0.0% and those who did not answer were 5.9%.

 

Stockton centre also has a number of restaurants, amusement arcades, a bingo hall, a snooker club, and health and fitness facilities.

 

Stockton Calling is an Easter Sunday music festival which has taken place across several of Stockton's music venues annually since 2010. In 2019, it celebrated its 11th year, and was headlined by Sophie and the Giants.

 

The Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF), one of Europe's largest open air festivals, has taken over the town once a year since 1988. Spread over a long weekend, for either four or five days, it attracts over 250,000 visitors, and features a variety of acts such as circus, comedy, music, dance and street theatre.

 

The annual riverside firework display happens on the first Sunday closest to 5 November, and is typically attended by up to 100,000 spectators from the wider region. The year's events always conclude with the Stockton Sparkles Christmas festival and associated markets.

 

The ARC Theatre & Arts Centre on Dovecot Street was built in 1999, and comprises a multi-purpose arts centre for cinema, theatre, dance, and music. It has three floors including four venues: a 260-seat theatre, a 100-seat studio theatre, a point/music area accommodating 550 standing, and a 130-seat cinema. It also has exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, a café, and two bars.

 

The Georgian Theatre at Green Dragon Yard is Grade II listed, and is the oldest Georgian theatre in the country. Originally opened in 1766, it fell into disrepair during the 19th century, but later functioned as a sweet factory and then a community building. Between 2007 and 2008, the building was given a full makeover along with the neighbouring Green Dragon Studios, and now serves as an intimate venue for live entertainment with a capacity of 200.

 

The Grade-II listed Globe Theatre built in 1936 is at the north western end of the High Street, the theatre reopened in 2021 following extensive restoration. It was built on the same site as two previous theatres, and has hosted many famous acts such as Buddy Holly, the Platters, Guy Mitchell, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Cilla Black, Carl Perkins, Cliff Richard, the Shadows and Chuck Berry. The Beatles famously played the Globe on Friday 22 November 1963, the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

 

On 12 June 2016, Stockton Council launched The Stockton Flyer, a stylised model of a flying steam locomotive in a plinth on Stockton High Street. The Flyer was unveiled to mark Queen Elizabeth II's official 90th birthday on 12 June 2016. The Stockton Flyer appears from the plinth every day at 1 p.m., and often draws a crowd of people watching the rising and lowering of the structure.

 

Designed by Phil Johnson of Ratho Forge, the wind sculpture Aeolian Motion was constructed at the end of Silver Street in March and April 2001. The design is said to impart a unique identity to the seating area, reflecting the character of Stockton, and creating a sense of place.

 

Public services provided in Stockton include a general hospital, health advice centres, dental and medical surgeries, a library, churches, employment advice centres, youth projects, energy advice centres and an international family centre. A cluster of municipal buildings is concentrated primarily along Church Road. The police headquarters is the only emergency service station located within the centre, next to Stockton Central Library.

 

The University Hospital of North Tees is located in the town and serves south east County Durham. It is part of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust.

 

Stockton has a number of public parks and nature reserves. Most notable is Ropner Park, a Victorian-style park on the outskirts of the town, near Hartburn village. Opened in 1893 and renovated in 2007, the park has tree-lined avenues approaching an ornate water fountain, surrounded by rockeries and floral displays. Overlooking a lake, a bandstand features live band music on Sunday afternoons in the summer. Seasonal fairs and occasional organised events are staged at the park throughout the year. Close by, there is also the smaller park housing the ruins of the Holy Trinity Church, now called Trinity Green.

 

Further upstream is Preston Park, a 100 acres (40 ha) public park by the River Tees. The park hosts many events each year that attract people from across Teesside and further afield. Preston Hall, once the home of Sir Robert Ropner, is situated within the grounds, and is now a museum. The park also houses 'Butterfly World', an artificial tropical environment housing various species of exotic butterflies and reptiles.

 

Downstream is Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve, a 50 acres (20 ha) nature reserve by the northern bank of the river between the Tees Barrage and the Tees Viaduct near Portrack housing estate. It is the last remaining wetland on the lower Tees. Ownership of the reserve is divided between the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and Northumbrian Water, but the reserve is managed by the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust. The western and northern parts of the reserve are mature marsh, while there are a series of man–made ponds in the south east.

 

The town's main leisure facility is 'Splash', a large wet and dry facility on Church Road which includes a 25m pool with a wave machine and flumes, a learner pool, a spa pool, a two-storey fitness facility, dry multi-activity spaces, a café and Sportwall & dance facilities. The Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre also offers opportunities for sailing and paddling on the River Tees.

 

Stockton Central Library on Church Road is the largest public library serving the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. Built in 1967, it was fully refurbished in 2011 at a cost of £1.9m. It occupies two floors: the ground floor incorporates Stockton Borough Council's Customer Services Centre, an adult lending library, and a children's library, while the first floor houses the reference library (the central reference department for the borough), a family history suite, a computer suite with free internet access, and the 'Starbooks' café. The library also has conference facilities and an exhibition area.

 

Stockton is a Church of England deanery of the Archdeaconry of Auckland, in the Diocese of Durham. The churches of St Peter, Stockton Parish Church (St Thomas'), and St Paul are in the town. Holy Trinity Church was built as an Anglican church, later became Greek Orthodox, and was then destroyed by fire in 1991. The ruins remain on site.

 

Stockton is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, and is home to the parishes of St Bede, St Cuthbert, English Martyrs and SS Peter and Paul, St Joseph, St Mary, and St Patrick.

 

Stockton also has a sizable Muslim population (6,675), with mosques such as Farooq E Azam Mosque and Islamic Centre serving this community. The Farooq E Azam mosque is especially of note, due to the recent council decision to allow the call to prayer, or Adhan, to be played once at week at an agreed volume, the first mosque in the north-east of England to do so.

 

Stockton Cricket Club was established in 1816, and has been located at the Grangefield Cricket Ground since 1891. The club currently fields three senior teams at weekends in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Dukes North East Premier League.

 

Stockton Football Club existed from 1882 until it folded in 1975. They played at the Victoria Ground which also held greyhound racing (one of two venues in the town to do so along with Belle Vue Park). The club's assets were transferred to Norton Cricket Club, who subsequently founded the Norton & Stockton Ancients Football Club. There are two other football clubs in the town. Stockton Town F.C. play in the Northern Premier League Division One East after consecutive promotions winning the Wearside League in 2016 and Northern League Division 2 in 2017. Meanwhile, Stockton West End currently play in the North Riding Football League Premier Division.

 

Stockton Rugby Club, established in 1873, is the local Rugby Union team. Home games are now played at the Grangefield Ground following a community partnership agreement with Stockton Cricket club and Grangefield Academy in 2015.

 

People born in Stockton include:

Francis Arthur Bainbridge, physiologist

Matthew Bates, footballer

Jamie Bell, actor

Neal Bishop, footballer

C. J. Bolland, electronic music producer in Belgium

Daniel Casey, actor

Lee Cattermole, footballer

Ivy Close, actress

Edward Cooper, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Brass Crosby, Lord Mayor of London

Freddie Dixon, motorcycle and car racing driver

Lesley Duncan, pop singer-songwriter

Maurice Elvey, film director

Charles Foulkes, Canadian Army officer who served in the Second World War and became a four-star general

Jonathan Franks, footballer

James Gaddas, actor

Martin Gray, footballer

Will Hay, comic actor

Frank Hawley, Japanologist (1906–1961).

Richard Anthony Hewson, jazz-funk music producer

Thomas Hornby, cricketer

Peter Howells, cricketer

Robert Icke, director and writer

David Ingman, engineer, Chairman of the British Waterways Board 1987–1993

Heather Ingman, Professor of English, novelist and journalist

Jimmy James, comedian

Richard Kilty, sprinter

Macaulay Langstaff, footballer

Jordan Nobbs, footballer

Geoff Parling, England and British and Irish Lions rugby player

Luke Pearson, cartoonist

Colin Renfrew, archaeologist

Joseph Ritson, literary critic and editor

Franc Roddam, film director/producer

Graham Rowntree, England rugby player

Thomas Sheraton, furniture designer

Michael Short, Professor of Engineering and author

Paul Smith, singer in rock band Maxïmo Park

Peter Smithson, architect

Calvert Spensley, American politician

Bill Steer, co-founder and lead guitarist of extreme metal band Carcass

Jeremy Swift, actor

Bruce Thomas, new wave bass guitar backing musician

Denis Thwaites, footballer murdered in the 2015 Sousse attacks

Stephen Tompkinson, actor

Lee Turnbull, footballer

John Walker, inventor of the friction match

Eric Young, footballer

 

Other notable residents include:

Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur, moved to Stockton when he was 30, before he made his fortune.

William Christopher, Hudson's Bay Company captain and explorer

Alan Davey, former civil servant, council administrator and BBC Radio 3 controller

Elizabeth Estensen, actress

Don Heath, footballer, winner of the 1968–69 League Cup

Harold Macmillan, MP for Stockton (1924–29, 1931–45), later Prime Minister (1957–63), invested as Earl of Stockton (1984)

Michael Marks, founder of Marks & Spencer, started his business career in Stockton in 1883.

George Orwell, author, resided for a year (1944–45) in Greystones, near Carlton, a village in the borough.

Bill Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, MP for the town (1962–83), co-founder of the SDP

Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, film directors, both lived in Stockton during their youth.

A vehicle reservation is required for both the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor and the North Fork from May 27 to September 11, 2022.

 

This pilot program is an effort to reduce congestion, improve visitor experience, and protect park resources. When the vehicle reservation system is in effect, a vehicle reservation is required to access the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor and North Fork Vehicle Reservation Areas. The vehicle reservation system only applies to these two areas of the park.

 

For more information, visit: www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrticketedentry.htm

this one might require some post processing

before i really like it a lot

blue album here:

www.flickr.com/photos/muffett68/sets/72157694014562904

require images of beaches

We're Here finding things floating in the air.

The last five months (May-September 2023) required me to move a lot for a variety of professional and personal reasons. It was the first time in several years that I entered airplanes without carrying my DSLR camera. This resulted in me tinkering and thinking with my mobile phone camera, surpassing my snobbish attitude towards it as means of photographic expression. Visiting an old favourite antique store of mine, I was exposed to wallet-sized black and white pictures, very fashionable in the 1920s-1960s. Phenomenologically, I thought, these little pictures carried significance similar to the one carried by the myriads of photos nowadays stored on mobile phones. I tried to combine the sensory experience of black and white with the ease of mobile phone shooting, itself resembling certain types of pinhole cameras. Themes are the same as in my earlier photography: decayed and rusty patterns of disintegration, emptiness of spaces, outlier figures of the everyday, street signs and letters, nonhuman friends, naturecultures, and psychopolitically haunted scenes. Places include: Canada (Toronto), Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Alonnisos, Aghia, Larissa, Eleftheroupoli, Kavala), Scotland (Edinburgh), England (Manchester), France (Paris), Belgium (Brussels).

[Update] I have continued collecting such images throughout 2024. New places visited: Dublin, Rotterdam, Glasgow, Copenhagen, London, Stirling, Peebles, Amsterdam, Dundee, Madrid.

Within weeks of the outbreak of war in August 1914 the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was operating armoured cars in Flanders. They soon discovered that Rolls-Royces were the most durable and reliable and by Christmas of that year a new, turreted version had been built. This proved so successful that in 1920, when the War Office required new armoured cars they more or less copied the original Admiralty design.

The chassis is the 40/50hp Silver Ghost, slightly modified with stronger rear springs and twin Michelin steel disc wheels at the back. Armour covers the engine and crew compartment with hinged doors at the front to protect the radiator. The turret, which is turned by hand, contains a single Vickers water-cooled machine-gun. The rear section is an open tray, flanked by wooden lockers for the stowage of tools and other small items.

This particular car left Derby Works in 1920 and was armoured at Woolwich Arsenal. It served with No. 5 Armoured Car Company of the Tank Corps, first in Ireland and then in Scarborough from 1922. In 1927 our Rolls-Royce went with the Company to Shanghai during an international emergency and in 1929 it was in Egypt. Here it served for some time with the 12th Royal Lancers and 11th Royal Hussars. By 1939 it was back in Britain, undertaking anti-invasion patrols along the coast of East Anglia. It came to the Tank Museum after the war where it has been used on many special and official occasions. In May 1997 it was employed to transport Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to the Tank Museum.

The original turreted pattern of Rolls Royce was built on a strengthened commercial chassis in September 1914. This pattern, with slightly different bodywork, more vision slits and aluminium pistons was introduced on the 9120 Silver Ghost chassis. The turret was slightly higher and the car had disc-type wheels.

Issued new to 5th Armoured Car Company in Dublin in January 1921 (formed May 1920 from 17 Tank Battalion). Served in Ireland until 1922, then in Scarborough until 1927. It was shipped to Shanghai in 1927 and formed part of the British contingent of the League of Nations International Force. It then served in Egypt from 1929 to 1932, with the R.T.C. The 5th Armoured Car Company were re-equipped with light tanks in 1932 so the car was handed over to the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales') and on their departure to the U.K. in 1934 to the 11th Hussars (PrinceAlbert's Own). In 1938 they changed the Rolls Royce cars for the new Morris AC9 and this car was shipped back to the U.K. It was issued to the 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry in 1939, and took part in anti-invasion partrols along the north-east coast. In 1940 it was trnasferred to the D&M School at the Army AFV School, at Bovington. In 1946 it was handed over to the present Tank Museum. The car is painted as it was in Shanghai in 1927, one of four cars of No. 4 Section, 5ACC. The commander of the section was Lieut. G.W. Richards, MC

 

The Rolls Royce armoured car is almost a legend: introduced by the Royal Naval Air Service in 1914 modified versions were still in service with the 11th Hussars in the North African desert in 1940-41. In between they were also used by the Royal Air Force in Iraq and Egypt.

The Naval version proved so successful that when, in 1920, the Army needed new armoured cars the War Office perpetuated the Naval version with a few modifications. The chassis is that of the 40/50hp Rolls Royce Silver Ghost modified with stronger rear springs and twin Michelin disc wheels at the back and single disc wheels at the front. The engine was fitted with aluminium pistons. The engine and crew compartment is armoured and has hinged doors at the front to protect the radiator. The turret, turned by hand, mounts a single Vickers water-cooled machine gun. The rear of the body is an open tray flanked by wooden lockers for the stowage of tools and the crew’s kit.

A modified version of the 1920 Pattern was produced as the 1920 Pattern Mark IA. This had a commander’s cupola on the turret while the Vickers machine gun was carried in a ball mounting. The Mark IA was superseded by the 1924 Pattern that had a redesigned armoured body and a similar turret to the Mark IA.

At the beginning of the Second World War in September 1939 the British Army still had 42 Rolls Royce Armoured Cars 1920 Pattern Mark I, 10 of the 1920 Pattern Mark IA and 24 1924 Pattern cars. Most of these were used for training in Britain. However the 11th Hussars in Egypt were equipped with a ‘modernised’ version. This had an open topped turret armed with a Boys anti-tank rifle, a Bren light machine gun and a smoke discharger. The Hussars used these cars in action with Italian forces during the successful early campaign in Libya.

The chassis of the Tank Museum’s exhibit was built at Rolls Royce’s Derby works in 1920 and armoured at Woolwich Arsenal. It had a long and varied career.

Issued to No. 5 Armoured Car Company of the Tank Corps it served first in Ireland and then, from 1922, at Scarborough. It then went with No. 5 Company to Shanghai in 1927 to help protect the International Settlement during an outbreak of fighting between Chinese factions. By 1929 the Museum’s car was in Egypt with No. 5 Company. In 1932 it was transferred to the 12th Lancers and then in 1934 to the 11th Hussars before being shipped back to Britain in 1938. After the start of World War II the 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry used it for anti-invasion patrols along the North East coast. It escaped wartime scrap metal drives and was given to the Museum in 1946. Here it has been used on many special and official occasions, notably to transport Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the Tank Museum in May 1997.

The Rolls Royce car is currently painted in the markings of number four section, No.5 Armoured Car Company, Shanghai, 1927, commanded by Lieutenant G.W. Richards, MC.

(Text from the Tank Museum website)

A business trip to Merseyside required an overnight stay. When I arrived at my hotel it on the 12th June 2017 it turned out to be the original terminal building for Liverpool (Speke) Airport. Speke Airfield started scheduled flights to Manchester and London in 1930. In January 1936, the airfield also became home to the Royal Air Force when 611 Squdron moved to Speke. Between 1937 and 1939 it's iconic airport terminal building along including the control tower was built (1937). Through out World War Two the airfield was used extensively by the military. After the war, development work was carried out to the airfield by lengthening runway 08/26, enlarging the apron and constructing new taxiways. In 1961, the airfield was transferred from the Ministry of Aviation to the Liverpool Corporation. They immediately began construction of a new runway (09/27) to the east of the airfield, on the bank of the Mersey River. The new runway was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 7 May 1966. A new terminal was planned also, but as it would not be completed for several years, one of the hangars was partially converted into an international terminal. In 1972 the apron was changed by joining two aircraft stands into a large parking area, capable of handling a Boeing 747 or a stretched DC-8. In the mid-1970s the airfield changed ownership again: this time to the Merseyside County Council. In 1986 the Terminal building was replaced by a completely new building near the newer 1966-built 09/27 runway, which by then was already the last remaining active runway. The taxiways from the original terminal to the runway abandoned. In 2002 the new terminal was officially renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport, severing all ties to Speke Airfield. The original terminal building stood derelict for about fourteen years until renovated and adapted to become a hotel, opening for business in 2001. The adaption involved adding two new bedroom wings on the frontage of the hotel, but the airside aspect seen here has been preserved intact.

a mere 20 yards beyond a pile of dogsh1te - surreptitiously overlooked in daylight by the dog's lazy owner. Why? DNA matching would clean it up overnight... I speak as someone often responsible for a dog. Walks after dusk require a lead, torch and poop-bags.

Boris begins the day with reference to a "kind of hysteria a contagious mourning" that exists in the nation! (1) As ms mcgonigal would say... for every finger pointing there are three pointing back..10 days after the referendumb, statements begin to trickle out from positioning individuals... confused statements.

04.07.2016. Dry day with sunny spells. Evening turns very damp.

(1) Business Insider quotes BJ..."There is, among a section of the population, a kind of hysteria, a contagious mourning of the kind that I remember in 1997 after the death of the Princess of Wales. It is not about the EU, of course; or not solely. A great many of these protesters – like dear old [Sir Bob] Geldof – are in a state of some confusion about the EU and what it does."

"It is not, as he says, a “free trade area”; if only it were. It is a vast and convoluted exercise in trying to create a federal union – a new political construction based in Brussels. But, as I say, I don’t believe that it is psychologically credible to imagine young people chanting hysterically in favour of Brussels bureaucrats. The whole protest is not about the EU project, per se; it is about them – their own fears and anxieties that are now being projected on to Brexit."

Business Insider comments... "Many Leave campaigners including Johnson himself have been attacked for appearing to not have a credible plan of how Britain should progress now that people have voted for a Brexit.

But Johnson says this is the responsibility of the Government, writing:"

"It was wrong of the Government to offer the public a binary choice on the EU without being willing – in the event that people voted Leave – to explain how this can be made to work in the interests of the UK and Europe. We cannot wait until mid-September, and a new PM." uk.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-on-eu-hysteria-being...

Leica IIIf with komura x2 rangefinder coupled teleconvertor. With the three lenses I hope will pair successfully with this accessory. 50mm summitar (1939) 90mm Voigtlander apo lanther (2002) and 135mm hektor (1958) Have read mixed reviews on the Komura ( ignoring the ones who rubbish it because it isn't Leica glass but haven't actually tried it.) A field test awaits .

Meanwhile just outside the limits of Hothlake city, a repurposed AT-AT (now used as a pet taxi service) is getting a much needed weekly cleaning.

 

Keeping this mechanical marvel in top condition is no small feat, requiring the assistance of many helpers including a pair of drones, a couple of Tauntauns, and many friends. A repurposed turret installation helps to get water up to those hard to reach spots!

 

Emma and Andrea came along to help out after a long day of courier deliveries made with their new Land speeder. Landings are still a bit rough but she'll get the hang of it soon enough!

Work required a day trip to Kodiak (yesterday it was Soldotna).

 

I flew from Anchorage to Kodiak on an ERA Aviation Beech 1900; here'a peek at the airfield as the aircraft was about 2 miles out. Notice the mountain at the far end of the runway?!?!

 

Hidden behind the center windshield support is the Coast Guard's "Air Station Kodiak."

Recent shot from Tophill Low.

Robin on - watch, and passing fly

I was at the local car show. Snapped a couple or more of them . But I came across a lot of Harleys in the shaded parking lot and was checking them out when I spotted this. I liked the lines of Black against the Chrome. The light seemed good so I took a few. I liked the way the air vents tapered down and enclosed the center piece.

I was drafted as a helper elf last night assembling the "magical mansion" dollhouse. Yeah, the thing is huge, as a comparison, I am 6'4". But I think it will be a hit.

 

i think everything requires upkeep. when you get a nice room, you want to keep it clean. when you have a nice relationship with a friend or love, you want to keep it healthy. within yourself, there's also many journeys to make inside and back out again to do spiritual upkeep, to shine up your soul over and over again. this is done in part by pure grace, the progressive sanctifying of your heart through god's awesome spirit is a gift not to be taken for granted. but there is also work we have to do, wisdom that we have to seek. nowadays, people stay in school for 5 or 7 years, working on degrees to make them better workers and thinkers, more certified through the time they put than by anything else. why would our own lives be any different? why shouldn't we do the same upkeep on ourselves and our spiritual lives?

 

today i had a lovely conversation with a woman who is older and wiser than me. she asked me a lot of questions and i also asked her a lot of questions. i think in the course of our conversation we both showed up truly and freely, allowing a generous amount of safety and authenticity. sometimes just speaking to one another in an honest, trusting space can open up so much. it is not easy to do this, being honest. it feels hard to open that door if you have been complacent with it for a while. but it is such a freeing thing, and you can leave a lot behind you as you go forward, allowing your burdens to drop. a lot of times this is when god can really rush in, when we are emptying our hands of our problems by trusting another person who is truly listening with a non-judgmental heart.

 

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. - Proverbs 4:7

 

song of the day:

"Chinese Translation"

M. Ward

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUfIKX5ReKQ

this video is so great, i highly recommend watching it from beginning to end :)

Infrared converted Sony A6000 with Sony E 16mm F2.8 mounted with the Sony Ultra Wide Converter. HDR AEB +/-2 total of 3 exposures at F8, 16mm, auto focus and processed with Photomatix HDR software. Blue and red color channels swapped.

 

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

 

High-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) is a high dynamic range (HDR) technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. The aim is to present a similar range of luminance to that experienced through the human visual system. The human eye, through adaptation of the iris and other methods, adjusts constantly to adapt to a broad range of luminance present in the environment. The brain continuously interprets this information so that a viewer can see in a wide range of light conditions.

 

HDR images can represent a greater range of luminance levels than can be achieved using more 'traditional' methods, such as many real-world scenes containing very bright, direct sunlight to extreme shade, or very faint nebulae. This is often achieved by capturing and then combining several different, narrower range, exposures of the same subject matter. Non-HDR cameras take photographs with a limited exposure range, referred to as LDR, resulting in the loss of detail in highlights or shadows.

 

The two primary types of HDR images are computer renderings and images resulting from merging multiple low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs. HDR images can also be acquired using special image sensors, such as an oversampled binary image sensor.

 

Due to the limitations of printing and display contrast, the extended luminosity range of an HDR image has to be compressed to be made visible. The method of rendering an HDR image to a standard monitor or printing device is called tone mapping. This method reduces the overall contrast of an HDR image to facilitate display on devices or printouts with lower dynamic range, and can be applied to produce images with preserved local contrast (or exaggerated for artistic effect).

 

In photography, dynamic range is measured in exposure value (EV) differences (known as stops). An increase of one EV, or 'one stop', represents a doubling of the amount of light. Conversely, a decrease of one EV represents a halving of the amount of light. Therefore, revealing detail in the darkest of shadows requires high exposures, while preserving detail in very bright situations requires very low exposures. Most cameras cannot provide this range of exposure values within a single exposure, due to their low dynamic range. High-dynamic-range photographs are generally achieved by capturing multiple standard-exposure images, often using exposure bracketing, and then later merging them into a single HDR image, usually within a photo manipulation program). Digital images are often encoded in a camera's raw image format, because 8-bit JPEG encoding does not offer a wide enough range of values to allow fine transitions (and regarding HDR, later introduces undesirable effects due to lossy compression).

 

Any camera that allows manual exposure control can make images for HDR work, although one equipped with auto exposure bracketing (AEB) is far better suited. Images from film cameras are less suitable as they often must first be digitized, so that they can later be processed using software HDR methods.

 

In most imaging devices, the degree of exposure to light applied to the active element (be it film or CCD) can be altered in one of two ways: by either increasing/decreasing the size of the aperture or by increasing/decreasing the time of each exposure. Exposure variation in an HDR set is only done by altering the exposure time and not the aperture size; this is because altering the aperture size also affects the depth of field and so the resultant multiple images would be quite different, preventing their final combination into a single HDR image.

 

An important limitation for HDR photography is that any movement between successive images will impede or prevent success in combining them afterwards. Also, as one must create several images (often three or five and sometimes more) to obtain the desired luminance range, such a full 'set' of images takes extra time. HDR photographers have developed calculation methods and techniques to partially overcome these problems, but the use of a sturdy tripod is, at least, advised.

 

Some cameras have an auto exposure bracketing (AEB) feature with a far greater dynamic range than others, from the 3 EV of the Canon EOS 40D, to the 18 EV of the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. As the popularity of this imaging method grows, several camera manufactures are now offering built-in HDR features. For example, the Pentax K-7 DSLR has an HDR mode that captures an HDR image and outputs (only) a tone mapped JPEG file. The Canon PowerShot G12, Canon PowerShot S95 and Canon PowerShot S100 offer similar features in a smaller format.. Nikon's approach is called 'Active D-Lighting' which applies exposure compensation and tone mapping to the image as it comes from the sensor, with the accent being on retaing a realistic effect . Some smartphones provide HDR modes, and most mobile platforms have apps that provide HDR picture taking.

 

Camera characteristics such as gamma curves, sensor resolution, noise, photometric calibration and color calibration affect resulting high-dynamic-range images.

 

Color film negatives and slides consist of multiple film layers that respond to light differently. As a consequence, transparent originals (especially positive slides) feature a very high dynamic range

 

Tone mapping

Tone mapping reduces the dynamic range, or contrast ratio, of an entire image while retaining localized contrast. Although it is a distinct operation, tone mapping is often applied to HDRI files by the same software package.

 

Several software applications are available on the PC, Mac and Linux platforms for producing HDR files and tone mapped images. Notable titles include

 

Adobe Photoshop

Aurora HDR

Dynamic Photo HDR

HDR Efex Pro

HDR PhotoStudio

Luminance HDR

MagicRaw

Oloneo PhotoEngine

Photomatix Pro

PTGui

 

Information stored in high-dynamic-range images typically corresponds to the physical values of luminance or radiance that can be observed in the real world. This is different from traditional digital images, which represent colors as they should appear on a monitor or a paper print. Therefore, HDR image formats are often called scene-referred, in contrast to traditional digital images, which are device-referred or output-referred. Furthermore, traditional images are usually encoded for the human visual system (maximizing the visual information stored in the fixed number of bits), which is usually called gamma encoding or gamma correction. The values stored for HDR images are often gamma compressed (power law) or logarithmically encoded, or floating-point linear values, since fixed-point linear encodings are increasingly inefficient over higher dynamic ranges.

 

HDR images often don't use fixed ranges per color channel—other than traditional images—to represent many more colors over a much wider dynamic range. For that purpose, they don't use integer values to represent the single color channels (e.g., 0-255 in an 8 bit per pixel interval for red, green and blue) but instead use a floating point representation. Common are 16-bit (half precision) or 32-bit floating point numbers to represent HDR pixels. However, when the appropriate transfer function is used, HDR pixels for some applications can be represented with a color depth that has as few as 10–12 bits for luminance and 8 bits for chrominance without introducing any visible quantization artifacts.

 

History of HDR photography

The idea of using several exposures to adequately reproduce a too-extreme range of luminance was pioneered as early as the 1850s by Gustave Le Gray to render seascapes showing both the sky and the sea. Such rendering was impossible at the time using standard methods, as the luminosity range was too extreme. Le Gray used one negative for the sky, and another one with a longer exposure for the sea, and combined the two into one picture in positive.

 

Mid 20th century

Manual tone mapping was accomplished by dodging and burning – selectively increasing or decreasing the exposure of regions of the photograph to yield better tonality reproduction. This was effective because the dynamic range of the negative is significantly higher than would be available on the finished positive paper print when that is exposed via the negative in a uniform manner. An excellent example is the photograph Schweitzer at the Lamp by W. Eugene Smith, from his 1954 photo essay A Man of Mercy on Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his humanitarian work in French Equatorial Africa. The image took 5 days to reproduce the tonal range of the scene, which ranges from a bright lamp (relative to the scene) to a dark shadow.

 

Ansel Adams elevated dodging and burning to an art form. Many of his famous prints were manipulated in the darkroom with these two methods. Adams wrote a comprehensive book on producing prints called The Print, which prominently features dodging and burning, in the context of his Zone System.

 

With the advent of color photography, tone mapping in the darkroom was no longer possible due to the specific timing needed during the developing process of color film. Photographers looked to film manufacturers to design new film stocks with improved response, or continued to shoot in black and white to use tone mapping methods.

 

Color film capable of directly recording high-dynamic-range images was developed by Charles Wyckoff and EG&G "in the course of a contract with the Department of the Air Force". This XR film had three emulsion layers, an upper layer having an ASA speed rating of 400, a middle layer with an intermediate rating, and a lower layer with an ASA rating of 0.004. The film was processed in a manner similar to color films, and each layer produced a different color. The dynamic range of this extended range film has been estimated as 1:108. It has been used to photograph nuclear explosions, for astronomical photography, for spectrographic research, and for medical imaging. Wyckoff's detailed pictures of nuclear explosions appeared on the cover of Life magazine in the mid-1950s.

 

Late 20th century

Georges Cornuéjols and licensees of his patents (Brdi, Hymatom) introduced the principle of HDR video image, in 1986, by interposing a matricial LCD screen in front of the camera's image sensor, increasing the sensors dynamic by five stops. The concept of neighborhood tone mapping was applied to video cameras by a group from the Technion in Israel led by Dr. Oliver Hilsenrath and Prof. Y.Y.Zeevi who filed for a patent on this concept in 1988.

 

In February and April 1990, Georges Cornuéjols introduced the first real-time HDR camera that combined two images captured by a sensor3435 or simultaneously3637 by two sensors of the camera. This process is known as bracketing used for a video stream.

 

In 1991, the first commercial video camera was introduced that performed real-time capturing of multiple images with different exposures, and producing an HDR video image, by Hymatom, licensee of Georges Cornuéjols.

 

Also in 1991, Georges Cornuéjols introduced the HDR+ image principle by non-linear accumulation of images to increase the sensitivity of the camera: for low-light environments, several successive images are accumulated, thus increasing the signal to noise ratio.

 

In 1993, another commercial medical camera producing an HDR video image, by the Technion.

 

Modern HDR imaging uses a completely different approach, based on making a high-dynamic-range luminance or light map using only global image operations (across the entire image), and then tone mapping the result. Global HDR was first introduced in 19931 resulting in a mathematical theory of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter that was published in 1995 by Steve Mann and Rosalind Picard.

 

On October 28, 1998, Ben Sarao created one of the first nighttime HDR+G (High Dynamic Range + Graphic image)of STS-95 on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It consisted of four film images of the shuttle at night that were digitally composited with additional digital graphic elements. The image was first exhibited at NASA Headquarters Great Hall, Washington DC in 1999 and then published in Hasselblad Forum, Issue 3 1993, Volume 35 ISSN 0282-5449.

 

The advent of consumer digital cameras produced a new demand for HDR imaging to improve the light response of digital camera sensors, which had a much smaller dynamic range than film. Steve Mann developed and patented the global-HDR method for producing digital images having extended dynamic range at the MIT Media Laboratory. Mann's method involved a two-step procedure: (1) generate one floating point image array by global-only image operations (operations that affect all pixels identically, without regard to their local neighborhoods); and then (2) convert this image array, using local neighborhood processing (tone-remapping, etc.), into an HDR image. The image array generated by the first step of Mann's process is called a lightspace image, lightspace picture, or radiance map. Another benefit of global-HDR imaging is that it provides access to the intermediate light or radiance map, which has been used for computer vision, and other image processing operations.

 

21st century

In 2005, Adobe Systems introduced several new features in Photoshop CS2 including Merge to HDR, 32 bit floating point image support, and HDR tone mapping.

 

On June 30, 2016, Microsoft added support for the digital compositing of HDR images to Windows 10 using the Universal Windows Platform.

 

HDR sensors

Modern CMOS image sensors can often capture a high dynamic range from a single exposure. The wide dynamic range of the captured image is non-linearly compressed into a smaller dynamic range electronic representation. However, with proper processing, the information from a single exposure can be used to create an HDR image.

 

Such HDR imaging is used in extreme dynamic range applications like welding or automotive work. Some other cameras designed for use in security applications can automatically provide two or more images for each frame, with changing exposure. For example, a sensor for 30fps video will give out 60fps with the odd frames at a short exposure time and the even frames at a longer exposure time. Some of the sensor may even combine the two images on-chip so that a wider dynamic range without in-pixel compression is directly available to the user for display or processing.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_imaging

 

Infrared Photography

 

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Film is usually sensitive to visible light too, so an infrared-passing filter is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red). ("Infrared filter" may refer either to this type of filter or to one that blocks infrared but passes other wavelengths.)

 

When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, "in-camera effects" can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the "Wood Effect," an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is marginal and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not strongly reflect infrared.

 

The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

 

Until the early 20th century, infrared photography was not possible because silver halide emulsions are not sensitive to longer wavelengths than that of blue light (and to a lesser extent, green light) without the addition of a dye to act as a color sensitizer. The first infrared photographs (as distinct from spectrographs) to be published appeared in the February 1910 edition of The Century Magazine and in the October 1910 edition of the Royal Photographic Society Journal to illustrate papers by Robert W. Wood, who discovered the unusual effects that now bear his name. The RPS co-ordinated events to celebrate the centenary of this event in 2010. Wood's photographs were taken on experimental film that required very long exposures; thus, most of his work focused on landscapes. A further set of infrared landscapes taken by Wood in Italy in 1911 used plates provided for him by CEK Mees at Wratten & Wainwright. Mees also took a few infrared photographs in Portugal in 1910, which are now in the Kodak archives.

 

Infrared-sensitive photographic plates were developed in the United States during World War I for spectroscopic analysis, and infrared sensitizing dyes were investigated for improved haze penetration in aerial photography. After 1930, new emulsions from Kodak and other manufacturers became useful to infrared astronomy.

 

Infrared photography became popular with photography enthusiasts in the 1930s when suitable film was introduced commercially. The Times regularly published landscape and aerial photographs taken by their staff photographers using Ilford infrared film. By 1937 33 kinds of infrared film were available from five manufacturers including Agfa, Kodak and Ilford. Infrared movie film was also available and was used to create day-for-night effects in motion pictures, a notable example being the pseudo-night aerial sequences in the James Cagney/Bette Davis movie The Bride Came COD.

 

False-color infrared photography became widely practiced with the introduction of Kodak Ektachrome Infrared Aero Film and Ektachrome Infrared EIR. The first version of this, known as Kodacolor Aero-Reversal-Film, was developed by Clark and others at the Kodak for camouflage detection in the 1940s. The film became more widely available in 35mm form in the 1960s but KODAK AEROCHROME III Infrared Film 1443 has been discontinued.

 

Infrared photography became popular with a number of 1960s recording artists, because of the unusual results; Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, Frank and a slow shutter speed without focus compensation, however wider apertures like f/2.0 can produce sharp photos only if the lens is meticulously refocused to the infrared index mark, and only if this index mark is the correct one for the filter and film in use. However, it should be noted that diffraction effects inside a camera are greater at infrared wavelengths so that stopping down the lens too far may actually reduce sharpness.

 

Most apochromatic ('APO') lenses do not have an Infrared index mark and do not need to be refocused for the infrared spectrum because they are already optically corrected into the near-infrared spectrum. Catadioptric lenses do not often require this adjustment because their mirror containing elements do not suffer from chromatic aberration and so the overall aberration is comparably less. Catadioptric lenses do, of course, still contain lenses, and these lenses do still have a dispersive property.

 

Infrared black-and-white films require special development times but development is usually achieved with standard black-and-white film developers and chemicals (like D-76). Kodak HIE film has a polyester film base that is very stable but extremely easy to scratch, therefore special care must be used in the handling of Kodak HIE throughout the development and printing/scanning process to avoid damage to the film. The Kodak HIE film was sensitive to 900 nm.

 

As of November 2, 2007, "KODAK is preannouncing the discontinuance" of HIE Infrared 35 mm film stating the reasons that, "Demand for these products has been declining significantly in recent years, and it is no longer practical to continue to manufacture given the low volume, the age of the product formulations and the complexity of the processes involved." At the time of this notice, HIE Infrared 135-36 was available at a street price of around $12.00 a roll at US mail order outlets.

 

Arguably the greatest obstacle to infrared film photography has been the increasing difficulty of obtaining infrared-sensitive film. However, despite the discontinuance of HIE, other newer infrared sensitive emulsions from EFKE, ROLLEI, and ILFORD are still available, but these formulations have differing sensitivity and specifications from the venerable KODAK HIE that has been around for at least two decades. Some of these infrared films are available in 120 and larger formats as well as 35 mm, which adds flexibility to their application. With the discontinuance of Kodak HIE, Efke's IR820 film has become the only IR film on the marketneeds update with good sensitivity beyond 750 nm, the Rollei film does extend beyond 750 nm but IR sensitivity falls off very rapidly.

  

Color infrared transparency films have three sensitized layers that, because of the way the dyes are coupled to these layers, reproduce infrared as red, red as green, and green as blue. All three layers are sensitive to blue so the film must be used with a yellow filter, since this will block blue light but allow the remaining colors to reach the film. The health of foliage can be determined from the relative strengths of green and infrared light reflected; this shows in color infrared as a shift from red (healthy) towards magenta (unhealthy). Early color infrared films were developed in the older E-4 process, but Kodak later manufactured a color transparency film that could be developed in standard E-6 chemistry, although more accurate results were obtained by developing using the AR-5 process. In general, color infrared does not need to be refocused to the infrared index mark on the lens.

 

In 2007 Kodak announced that production of the 35 mm version of their color infrared film (Ektachrome Professional Infrared/EIR) would cease as there was insufficient demand. Since 2011, all formats of color infrared film have been discontinued. Specifically, Aerochrome 1443 and SO-734.

 

There is no currently available digital camera that will produce the same results as Kodak color infrared film although the equivalent images can be produced by taking two exposures, one infrared and the other full-color, and combining in post-production. The color images produced by digital still cameras using infrared-pass filters are not equivalent to those produced on color infrared film. The colors result from varying amounts of infrared passing through the color filters on the photo sites, further amended by the Bayer filtering. While this makes such images unsuitable for the kind of applications for which the film was used, such as remote sensing of plant health, the resulting color tonality has proved popular artistically.

 

Color digital infrared, as part of full spectrum photography is gaining popularity. The ease of creating a softly colored photo with infrared characteristics has found interest among hobbyists and professionals.

 

In 2008, Los Angeles photographer, Dean Bennici started cutting and hand rolling Aerochrome color Infrared film. All Aerochrome medium and large format which exists today came directly from his lab. The trend in infrared photography continues to gain momentum with the success of photographer Richard Mosse and multiple users all around the world.

 

Digital camera sensors are inherently sensitive to infrared light, which would interfere with the normal photography by confusing the autofocus calculations or softening the image (because infrared light is focused differently from visible light), or oversaturating the red channel. Also, some clothing is transparent in the infrared, leading to unintended (at least to the manufacturer) uses of video cameras. Thus, to improve image quality and protect privacy, many digital cameras employ infrared blockers. Depending on the subject matter, infrared photography may not be practical with these cameras because the exposure times become overly long, often in the range of 30 seconds, creating noise and motion blur in the final image. However, for some subject matter the long exposure does not matter or the motion blur effects actually add to the image. Some lenses will also show a 'hot spot' in the centre of the image as their coatings are optimised for visible light and not for IR.

 

An alternative method of DSLR infrared photography is to remove the infrared blocker in front of the sensor and replace it with a filter that removes visible light. This filter is behind the mirror, so the camera can be used normally - handheld, normal shutter speeds, normal composition through the viewfinder, and focus, all work like a normal camera. Metering works but is not always accurate because of the difference between visible and infrared refraction. When the IR blocker is removed, many lenses which did display a hotspot cease to do so, and become perfectly usable for infrared photography. Additionally, because the red, green and blue micro-filters remain and have transmissions not only in their respective color but also in the infrared, enhanced infrared color may be recorded.

 

Since the Bayer filters in most digital cameras absorb a significant fraction of the infrared light, these cameras are sometimes not very sensitive as infrared cameras and can sometimes produce false colors in the images. An alternative approach is to use a Foveon X3 sensor, which does not have absorptive filters on it; the Sigma SD10 DSLR has a removable IR blocking filter and dust protector, which can be simply omitted or replaced by a deep red or complete visible light blocking filter. The Sigma SD14 has an IR/UV blocking filter that can be removed/installed without tools. The result is a very sensitive digital IR camera.

 

While it is common to use a filter that blocks almost all visible light, the wavelength sensitivity of a digital camera without internal infrared blocking is such that a variety of artistic results can be obtained with more conventional filtration. For example, a very dark neutral density filter can be used (such as the Hoya ND400) which passes a very small amount of visible light compared to the near-infrared it allows through. Wider filtration permits an SLR viewfinder to be used and also passes more varied color information to the sensor without necessarily reducing the Wood effect. Wider filtration is however likely to reduce other infrared artefacts such as haze penetration and darkened skies. This technique mirrors the methods used by infrared film photographers where black-and-white infrared film was often used with a deep red filter rather than a visually opaque one.

 

Another common technique with near-infrared filters is to swap blue and red channels in software (e.g. photoshop) which retains much of the characteristic 'white foliage' while rendering skies a glorious blue.

 

Several Sony cameras had the so-called Night Shot facility, which physically moves the blocking filter away from the light path, which makes the cameras very sensitive to infrared light. Soon after its development, this facility was 'restricted' by Sony to make it difficult for people to take photos that saw through clothing. To do this the iris is opened fully and exposure duration is limited to long times of more than 1/30 second or so. It is possible to shoot infrared but neutral density filters must be used to reduce the camera's sensitivity and the long exposure times mean that care must be taken to avoid camera-shake artifacts.

 

Fuji have produced digital cameras for use in forensic criminology and medicine which have no infrared blocking filter. The first camera, designated the S3 PRO UVIR, also had extended ultraviolet sensitivity (digital sensors are usually less sensitive to UV than to IR). Optimum UV sensitivity requires special lenses, but ordinary lenses usually work well for IR. In 2007, FujiFilm introduced a new version of this camera, based on the Nikon D200/ FujiFilm S5 called the IS Pro, also able to take Nikon lenses. Fuji had earlier introduced a non-SLR infrared camera, the IS-1, a modified version of the FujiFilm FinePix S9100. Unlike the S3 PRO UVIR, the IS-1 does not offer UV sensitivity. FujiFilm restricts the sale of these cameras to professional users with their EULA specifically prohibiting "unethical photographic conduct".

 

Phase One digital camera backs can be ordered in an infrared modified form.

 

Remote sensing and thermographic cameras are sensitive to longer wavelengths of infrared (see Infrared spectrum#Commonly used sub-division scheme). They may be multispectral and use a variety of technologies which may not resemble common camera or filter designs. Cameras sensitive to longer infrared wavelengths including those used in infrared astronomy often require cooling to reduce thermally induced dark currents in the sensor (see Dark current (physics)). Lower cost uncooled thermographic digital cameras operate in the Long Wave infrared band (see Thermographic camera#Uncooled infrared detectors). These cameras are generally used for building inspection or preventative maintenance but can be used for artistic pursuits as well.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_photography

 

Found a funny catlist on cats in facebook I would like to share.... This is so true LOL

  

1) What humans is for:

Humans have four primary functions:

* to feed you

* To play with you

* Give you the attention you require

* And to clean the litter box.

It is important to maintain their dignity when you're with people so they will not forget who is the ruler of the house. You can learn them if you start early and have great patience. Then you will have a well-functioning household.

 

2) The Doors:

Never allow any closed doors. To open the door, stand on hind legs and banging with forefeet on the door. When the door opened well, it is not necessary to use it. Stand in the doorway and not move on you. This is especially true if toilet was occupied, and you managed to get toliletvisitor to open the door. If you choose to go in and shut the door, demand immediately to go out again. It helps not to bang or scratch on the door, jama as high as you can!

 

3) The toilet:

Always follow the human into the toilet. It is not necessary to do anything, just sit there and stare. This rule applies especially when your people have guests.

 

4) Beds and carpets:

If you feel that you have to throw up, go immediately to a bed, preferably one with vague bedspread. If you do not get there i time choose the most difficult to wash the carpet instead. Make sure your back when you are sick, so that the creature spread. Like vomit several times in different places on the carpet. Choose a wretch like stained carpets and bedspreads, so that no creature can be seen.

 

5) To move around:

If you must move, make sure you run as fast as you can and as close as you can in front of your man. This rule applies especially in the stairs, when your human carrying something in the dark or when people just got up in the morning. This will help people practice their coordination skills.

 

6) To help:

One of the cat's main tasks is to help its people. Often, however, call the human the task of "getting in the way", but it means exactly the same as "help". Humans needs help in many different situations, so here are tips on the most common "to help" the situation:

 

a) Cook: When your human is cooking, sit behind one of your humans heel. You are not seen and therefore you have more chance of being trampled on and then picked up and comforted perhaps by a morsel or two.

 

b) Bookreading: Try to help your human with bookreading by positioning yourself between the book and the man's eyes. This rule applies only if you can not lie across the book.

 

c) Paperwork: Lie down on paper so that most of this is hidden in you, or at least the most important part. Pretend you are asleep, but every now and then sticking out your paw and strikes on the pen. The workers will try to distract you, ignore it and continue. Remember that the goal is to get in the way as much as possible and avoid work.

 

d) Computers Work: The computer work can help the humans in several ways. Often people write on the keyboard, help her with this by walking over it. Ask yourself, better still, still in the middle of the keyboard. This helps you in two ways. Firstly, you can quickly fill an entire document with a single letter, and you prevent your man can see the computer screen. A third way to help with computer work is to present himself at the top of the screen and cover that with paws and tail. NOTE! This requires that your man has a slightly older computer. Do not try to lie on a flat screen! Is your man a laptop, it is excellent that the tang on the table, lean forward across the screen and chewed a bit on one corner.

 

7) How to play:

Sleep well during the day so that you drop spawn during the night. Below are some of the major cat games scheduled. If you could make a small mistake during the game and, for example, fall off a chair, play, unmoved. Immediately begin to lick any body part and look as if it was actually supposed to happen. Humans always fall for this.

 

a) Capturing the mouse bed:

Humans tries to get you to believe that what is going on under the covers are their feet and hands. Do not believe this ... There are actually bed mice, which are claimed to be the tastiest mice in the world, even though no cat so far has managed to capture one. A good way to get a bedmlouse is trying to pull itself into the duvet cover with the help of its claws. If the humans is screaming, it depends on bedmouse ran over her legs.

 

b) Running Competition:

This game requires you to have a cat friend. Appropriate time to begin the running game is great when your people are asleep. Take the bullet and run everything you can eat right through all the rooms. Beds are obstacles to be crossed from the head end to foot end. Take a big leap as you land in the humans face, then take three long strides, one in the stomach, one on the legs and feet, before crashing onto the floor and continue to the next room with a bed in. This game makes you get more close to your human. Those who have time to pass through most people before you are evicted, wins the entire competition.

 

10) Holidays:

Some ceremonies are particularly suitable for play. At Christmas time you can find many fun pursuits. A Christmas tree can occupy you for hours. A spruce is possible to climb, there are plenty of fun dangling balls in it, and you can even play the game "Capture the needles in the coat", if your people have a real Christmas tree. Another funny granlek is "finding needles". You play first "catch needles in the fur", and then run you whatever your heart's content around the whole house. Then your man play "find needles" until Easter.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Gotha 146 was a fast reconnaissance aircraft that was used throughout WWII by the German Luftwaffe, and one of the results of a mutual technology exchange program with Japan. The Go 146 was actually a license-built, but modified variant of the excellent Mitsubishi Ki-46. The latter type's career started in late 1937, when the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force issued a specification to Mitsubishi for a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Mitsubishi Ki-15. The specification demanded an endurance of six hours and sufficient speed to evade interception by any fighter in existence or development at that time, but otherwise did not constrain the design by a team led by Tomio Kubo.

 

The resulting design was a twin-engine, low-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. It had a small diameter oval fuselage with the pilot and observer situated in individual cockpits separated by a large fuel tank. The engines, two Mitsubishi Ha-26 radials, were housed in close-fitting cowlings to reduce drag and improve pilot view.

 

The first prototype aircraft, flew in November 1939 from the Mitsubishi factory at Kakamigahara, Gifu. Tests showed that the Ki-46 was underpowered and slower than required, only reaching 540 km/h (336 mph) rather than the specified 600 km/h (373 mph), but, otherwise, the aircraft tests were successful. As the type was still faster than the Army's latest fighter, the Nakajima Ki-43, as well as the Navy's new A6M2, an initial production batch was ordered. To solve the performance problems, Mitsubishi switched to Ha-102 engines, which were Ha-26s fitted with a two-stage supercharger, while increasing fuel capacity and reducing empty weight. This became the Ki-46-II, and this type was also demonstrated to German officials who immediately noticed its potential.

 

Knowing that the German Luftwaffe lacked this specialized, fast type of aircraft (German reconnaissance aircraft of that time were either slow artillery observation types, or variants of bombers or heavy fighters), the RLM immediately asked for a batch of airframe kits to adapt it to the European theatre and test its capabilities. Seven engine-less airframe kits were delivered to Germany in early 1940. In the meantime, with the help of blueprints and other documentations, an alternative engine installation had been devised: the “Germanized” aircraft was to be powered by liquid-cooled DB 601 engines, which delivered more power than the Ha-102 and offered improved aerodynamics, despite the necessity to add radiators under the outer wings. Many stock parts from the contemporary Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter were incorporated, so that the development time was very short, and the commonality of mechanical parts eased logistics and maintenance.

 

In May 1940 the first batch of the Gotha 146 A-0 pre-production aircraft (which had officially been described as a further development of a four seat, twin-engine transport aircraft from the 1930s to cloud its origins and mission) was ready. They were immediately transferred to the Western Front for field tests, and the specialized Go 146 became quickly popular among its crews. It was fast, agile and easy to fly – almost on par with state-of-the-art fighters like the Bf 109. During the test phase in summer 1940 the Go 146 proved to be slightly faster than its Japanese Ki-46 ancestor, and with a top speed of more than 375 mph (600 km/h) it was hard to intercept by any British or French fighter of the time. The results were so convincing that the type was ordered into serial production, and from October 1940 on the Go 146 A-1 was produced in limited numbers at the Gothaer Waggonfabrik in Thuringia. Even though production only ran at small scale, it was continuous, and the Go 146 was steadily developed further, including the change of the nose section that came with the Ki-46-III, stronger engines and an improved defensive armament.

 

This evolution led to the Go 146 B, which had the traditional stepped windshield replaced with a smooth, curved, glazed panel extended over the pilot's seat. It not only gave a more aerodynamic nose profile, the re-shaped nose also offered room for an extra fuel tank. The space between the two crewmen, connected with a crawl tunnel, held another fuel tank, the radio equipment (a Sprechfunkgerät FuG 16 ZY and a FuG 25a „Erstling“ IFF beacon), as well as a compartment for up to three cameras with several ventral windows, which could take Rb (“Reihenbildner” = serial picture device) 20/30, 50/30 and 75/30 devices that could be mounted in different combinations and angles as needed.

Power came now from a pair of new Daimler-Benz DB 603A liquid-cooled piston engines, which offered 1,290 kW (1,750 hp) each for take-off. Since the engine mounts had to be re-designed for the DB603s (the Go 146 A had used adapters to attach its shorter DB 601s to the original Ha-102 radials’ hardpoints), German engineers used the opportunity to redesign the complete engine nacelles. As a result, their diameter and “wet” surface was reduced, so much that the landing gear had to be modified, too. It now rotated 90° upon retraction, so that the main wheels were lying in shallow wells within the wing structure. Beyond better aerodynamics, structural measures saved almost 250 kg (550 lb).

 

Instead of the Go 146 A’s single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun in the observer's cabin, facing rearwards, the defensive armament was improved and consisted of a pair of 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remotely-operated barbettes, one per side. This rather complex installation had become possible (and in part necessary) due to a center of gravity shift from the modified engines and their empennage. The weapons were aimed by the rear crewman through a periscope that covered both the upper and lower rear hemisphere. The control unit had a rotating transverse crossbar with a sideways-pivoting handgun-style grip and trigger at its center, "forked" at its forward pivoting end to fit around the crossbar, with the upper fork extended beyond the rotating crossbar to mount the gunsight. This unique aiming and control scheme rotated the crossbar axially, when the handgrip was elevated or depressed, to aim the guns vertically by rotating both turrets together, and a sideways movement of the handgrip would pivot either one of the guns outwards from the fuselage-mounted turrets for diagonal firing. The guns were electrically fired, and an electrical contact breaker prevented the gunner from shooting off the aircraft’s tailplane. When not in use, the guns would return to a neutral position that would allow to fire directly backwards with both guns.

Furthermore, plumbed hardpoints were added to the inner wings, just inside of the engines. These could carry a 300 l drop tank each for an extended range and loiter time. Single bombs of up to 250 kg or racks with four 50 kg bombs each were theoretically possible too, but the aircraft lacked any bomb aiming support. Crew protection was slightly improved, too, but the airframe was overall kept as light as possible. Despite these efforts, however, MTOW rose to 6,500 kg (14,317 lb), but this was still relatively light in comparison with the similar contemporary Me 410 multi-purpose aircraft, which weighed more than 9 tons and was powered by similar engines. Consequently, and thanks to its clean lines, the G 146 B had a top speed of almost 700 km/h (434 mph) at ideal altitude and the aircraft retained its excellent handling, even though its structure was rather fragile and could not take much stress and punishment.

 

Two versions of the Go 146 B were produced, steadily but only at a low rate because the aircraft received, due to its highly specialized role and limited offensive capabilities, only a low priority. The B-1 was the main variant and kept the A version’s standard wing, a total of 54 were produced between 1943 and 1945. Additionally, the B-2 was produced between late 1943 and early 1944 as a dedicated high altitude photo reconnaissance aircraft. This sub-variant had an extended wingspan of 16.00 m (52 ft 5 in) instead of the standard 14.70 m (48 ft 2¾ in) and an improved oxygen system, even though the cabin was not pressurized. Its maximum service ceiling was almost 12.000 m (39.305 ft), with a maximum speed of 415 mph (668 km/h), a cruise speed of 250 mph (400 km/h) and a range of 3,200 km (1,987 nmi). Only twelve of these machines were produced and put into service, primarily for flights over Southern Great Britain. When the Arado Ar 234 became available from September 1944 on, though, this new, jet-powered type immediately replaced the Go 146 B-2 because it offered even better performance. Therefore, the B-3, a planned version with a fully pressurized cabin and an even bigger wingspan of 19.00 m, never left the drawing board.

 

Furthermore, the RLM had idea to convert the fast Go 146 into a fighter amd even a night fighter in mid-1944 as the “C” series. But these plans were not executed because the light airframe could hardly be adapted to heavy weapons or equipment like a radar set, and it was unsuited for vigorous dogfighting. The type’s poor climbing rate made it ineffective as an interceptor, too. There were, nevertheless, tests with at least one Go 146 B-1 that carried four Werfer-Granate 21 rocket launchers under the outer wings, as a fast bomber interceptor esp. against the high-flying B-29, which was expected to appear over continental Europe soon. But this kind of weaponry never reached frontline units and the Go 146 was never operated as a fighter of any kind.

There were, however, other uses: in 1944 the Go 146 was enlisted as a fast liaison aircraft for the RLM (Ministry of Aviation) in Berlin. Stripped off of any armament and cameras and outfitted with two passenger seats in the rear cabin, at least one Go 146 B (with the confirmed registration “ST+ZA”, others in similar configuration may have existed, too) was operated by the RLM’s Zentralabteilung (central command) from Tempelhof airfield for top brass officials between Luftwaffe locations on German terrain. ST+ZA’s fate after January 1945 is uncertain, though.

  

Specifications:

Crew: two (pilot and observer)

Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)

Wingspan: 14.70 m (48 ft 2¾ in)

Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 8¾ in)

Wing area: 32.0 m² (344 ft²)

Empty weight: 3,830 kg (8,436 lb)

Loaded weight: 5,661 kg (12,480 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 6,500 kg (14,317 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Daimler-Benz DB 603A V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines, rated at:

- 1,290 kW (1,750 hp) each for take-off

- 1,360 kW (1,850 PS) at 2,100 m (6,890 ft)

- 1,195 kW (1,625 PS) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)

- 1,162 kW (1580 PS) combat power at 2500 rpm at sea level

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 695 km/h (377 knots, 430 mph) at 5,800 m (19,000 ft)

Cruise speed: 450 km/h (245 knots, 280 mph)

Range: 2,800 km (1,522 nmi, 1,740 mi) with internal fuel

Service ceiling: 11,250 m (36,850 ft)

Wing loading: 157.8 kg/m² (32.3 lb/ft²)

Climb rate: 14.7 m/sec (2,900 feet per minute)

Climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft): 15 min 20 sec

 

Armament:

2× 13 mm (0.51 in) defensive MG 131 machine guns with 500 RPG,

each firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side

2× underwing hardpoints under the inner wings for 250 kg (550 lb) each,

typically occupied by 300 l drop tanks

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a déjà vu build: I already did a “Germanized” Ki-46 in 2015, it was an Airfix Ki-46-II outfitted with DB 601s from a Bf 110 as a pre-series Gotha Go 146 A-0, an aircraft that (naturally) never existed but appeared plausible, since German military hardware including aircraft had been evaluated by Japanese forces. And why should this exchange not have worked the other way around, too? However, as I built this modified Dinah for the first time, I already thought that the basic idea had more potential than just one model, and the streamlined Ki-46-III just lent itself for an updated, later version.

 

This B-2 variant of the Go 146 was based on the LS Models/ARII Ki-46-III. Like the Airfix kit (its molds are from 1965, and that’s just what the kit feels, looks and builds like…), it’s a rather vintage offering, but it is in many aspects markedly ahead, with fine surfaces, recessed details, 3D engines and clear parts that actually fit into their intended places. The LS Models kit’s 10 years less of age are recognizable, and there are three boxings around with different versions of the aircraft (a Ki-46-II, a -III and a trainer with a raised tutor cockpit), differing in small extra sprues for the respective fuselage parts, but they all share a common sprue with the clear parts for all three versions.

 

The Ki-46-III kit was taken OOB, with just some minor mods. The most obvious change concerns the engines: they were transplanted from a Bilek Me 210, together with the underwing radiators outside of the nacelles. The Me 210, even though it’s from 1997, is a rather mediocre model with some dubious solutions, therefore earmarked for a conversion and ready to donor some body parts… The engine switch was insofar easy because the Ki-46 kit comes with completely separate parts for the engines and their fairings which also contain the main landing gear wells.

Because of this “clean” basis I decided to cut the nacelles out from the Me 210 and attach them to the Ki-46 wings, so that the DB 603 engines would have perfect attachment points. While this was a bigger overall surgery stunt than on the earlier Airfix Dinah, this was easier than expected and resulted in a cleaner solution that also underlines the Ki-46’s clean and slender shape. The modified nacelles were much smaller than the Dinah’s, though. The main wheels were replaced with slightly smaller and narrower ones from the scrap box.

 

Inside of the cockpit, I implanted a dashboard. In the rear cabin the seat was reversed and moved further forward. In the cabin’s rear a scratched targeting scope/weapon control column for the FDSL 131 installation was added. Since I left the single-part canopies (which are quite thick but very clear) closed I outfitted the model with a crew. The Ki-46 III kit comes with a pair of figures, but they are very small (H0 scale, at best!) and look goofy, so that I exchanged them with Matchbox WWII pilots, which had their legs bent and their bottoms cut away to make them fit into the tight fuselage and under the canopies.

 

Unfortunately, the Me 210 kit had already donated its machine gun barbettes (they had gone onto an upgraded Heinkel He 115 floatplane), so that I scratched them for the Go 146. WWII bombs became the fairings, some leftover landing gear struts were used as gun barrels, and round styrene bases were used as mounts that also lift the fairings slightly off the hull. The barbettes as such look a little superficial on the slender Dinah, but they are a nice, typically German detail, über-complicated for this type of fast aircraft that probably would have more benefited from leaving them away altogether to save weight and drag.

The (typically German) 300 l drop tanks come from Hobby Boss Bf 109s and each received four short attachment struts, made from styrene profile material, so that they could be stuck under the inner wings.

  

Painting and markings:

This was more complicated than expected. I wanted to apply a plausible, late German WWII livery with typical colors, but finding something that would be suited for high-altitude operations and not copy anything I had already done turned out to be challenging.

 

The paint scheme would be very light, with only low-contrast camouflage added on top. Therefore, the basis became an overall coat with RLM 76 (I used Tamiya XF-23, Light Blue, which is an excellent option). Inspired by He 177 bombers I found in literature, large blotches of a rather obscure and uncommon tone, RLM 77 “Hellgrau” were added to the flanks of fuselage, fin and engine nacelles. RLM 77 is/was a very light grey, and it was primarily used for markings like code letters on night fighters and not for camouflage. AFAIK it would later become the RAL 7035 (Lichtgrau) tone that still exists today. Humbrol 196 would have been an authentic option, but to keep the contrast to the underlying RLM 76 low I rather used XF-19 (Sky Grey) and extended the blotches under the fuselage and the nacelles, for a semi-wraparound scheme.

 

Then came the upper surfaces, everything was painted with brushes and without masks, with an intentional uneven finish. The wings and stabilizers were to receive a slightly darker camouflage in the form of RLM 02 and 75 splotches (with Tamiya XF-22 and XF-XX as proxies) over the uniform RLM 76 base, so that the aircraft’s outlines would be broken up from above. However, after first tests I found this did not look convincing, the RLM 76 was very prominent and bluish, so that I rather gave the upper wings and the spine a semi-translucent but continuous coat of paint, with the underlying RLM 76 just showing through here and there – much better. At this stage I added the decals (see below), but now found the upper surfaces to look too uniform and somewhat dark, so that, as a final measure, I added a meander pattern with RLM 77 (again XF-19) to the wings. This not only looked good and very “German”, it lightened the cammo and also helped to break the aircraft’s lines up. Some light panel shading to the uniform undersides, black ink and grinded graphite were used for weathering, but the effects are very soft.

 

Interior surfaces (cockpit and landing gear wells) became late-war style RAL 7021 Schwarzgrau (Humbrol 67), the landing gear struts were painted in RLM 02, this time Revell 45 was used. The propeller blades were painted in a very dark mix of green and black, the spinners became black with simple white spirals – the only detail with a high contrast on this aircraft.

 

The markings of this aircraft are minimal. Balkenkreuz markings only consisting of outlines were used, another typical late-war practice and for a low-visibility look/effect. They were taken from an Academy Fw 190 D. On the fuselage, the gun barbettes caused some headaches, because they take up a lot of space and made the application of a standard Luftwaffe code almost impossible. Consequently, the fuselage Balkenkreuze were placed ahead of the barbettes, partly disrupted by the observer’s lower side windows, while the tactical code became separated by the guns. At starboard the code even had to be reversed - not correct, but a pragmatic solution.

The model/aircraft belongs to a fictional unit, its code “P3” in front of the fuselage Balkenkreuz has no real-world reference and was executed in small letters, a typical late WWII measure. This part of the code was done with small, black 2 mm letters. A fictional unit badge, depicting a running greyhound, was added under the cockpit. It actually belongs to a German tank unit.

The “KN” part of the code, including the Ks on the nose, came from an Airfix Ju 87 B sheet. As an aircraft belonging to the 5th squadron within the unit’s 2nd group, the 4th letter in the code became “N”, while the 3rd letter “K” denotes the individual aircraft. The color code associated with a 5th squadron was red, incorporated on the aircraft as a thin red outline around the individual aircraft letter (another late-war low-contrast measure). To provide a little visual excitement, small red Ks were added to the nose, too, to make thew aircraft easy to identify when parked at the flight line.

Since this aircraft would operate over the Western front from German home ground, no further ID/theatre markings like fuselage or wing bands or wingtips in yellow or white, etc. were added. This, together with the lack of visible red as squadron code, results in a rather dry look, but that’s intentional.

After some exhaust and oil stains with graphite and Tamiya “Smoke”, a coat of acrylic matt varnish finally sealed the model and a wire antenna, made from heated sprue material, was added.

  

Well, an exotic what-if idea, but I really like how this conversion turned out, even though the livery evolved in a different way from what I had initially in mind. The Ki-46 was already an elegant aircraft, especially the Ki-46-III with its teardrop-shaped nose section. But, with the smaller, streamlined inline engines instead of the radials, this iteration looks even better and faster. It reminds a little of the D.H. Hornet? The gun barbettes are a nice “German” detail, and the makeshift high-altitude paint scheme adds to the obscure impression of the model. A really nice sister ship for the Go 146 A-0 build from 2015.

Donemana, Donemanagh, Doneymana, Donnemanagh, Dunamanagh, Dunemanagh, Dunimana, Dunnamanagh or Dunnymana (historically spelled in numerous different ways) named after the townland of Dunnamanagh, from Irish Dún na Manach, meaning 'stronghold of the monks' is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

It is 7 miles (11 kilometres) North-East of Strabane, on the banks of the Burn Dennett (River Dennett) and at the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains. It is the largest of the thirteen villages in the Strabane District Council area and had a population of 593 in the 2001 Census.

 

The townland is situated in the historic barony of Strabane Lower and the civil parish of Donaghedy and covers an area of 130 acres in the province of Ulster.

The village, is situated in a deed and retired glen amidst the Mounterloney mountains [now better known as the Sperrin’s] and was established in the early 17th century as part of the Plantation of Ulster, instigated by James I in 1609.

A total of 59 Scottish landowners (or undertakers as they were known) received lands in the Plantation of Ulster. Most were minor lairds, though others, such as Ludovic Stewart, Duke of Lennox (b.1574 d.1624), and James Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn (b.1575 d.1618), were aristocrats and held important positions in the Scottish government. Many of the original grantees sold out early on. Some never even made it as far as Ireland. Others took their responsibilities seriously and built fortifications and introduced the required number of settlers to their estates.

According to the rules of his settlement, the whole county, which was estimated to contain 1571 balliboes, or 98,187 acres, being at the rate of 1000 acres to 16 balliboes, was divided into 78 portions, which, after deducting a portion for the church and some lands for Trinity College, Dublin, were granted to English and Irish undertakers, that is, settlers, who engaged to build, fortify, and stock the lands with British tenantry. Five borough towns, Dungannon, Clogher, Omagh, Strabane, and Mountjoy, were allowed a certain portion of the surrounding grounds; and another portion was assigned to some of the members of the O'Nial family [Irish: Ó Néill]. The Irish were distributed as tenants among the undertakers, the swordsmen were removed to the waste parts of Connaught or Munster, where they were to be dispersed and not permitted to settle together in one place.

 

Pynnar Survey 1689-19

On 28th November 1618 Captain Nicolas Pynnar (b.? d.1644) under King James I direction was issued with a commission to carry a new survey into the progress of the Plantation, he was engaged on this work from 1 December 1618 to 28 March 1619, 119 days in all. It appeared that the county was divided into the five precincts of Strabane, Omy [Omagh], Clogher, Mountjoy, and Dungannon, the first of these, Strabane, was allotted to Scotch undertakers, of whom those then in possession of the lands granted to the original patentees were Sir George Hamilton 3rd Earl of Abercorn (b. c.1636 d.1683), Sir William Stewart of Fort Stewart (b. abt. 1582 d.1646), Sir Robert Newcomen, 4th Baron Newcomen (b.1596 d.1672), and Sir John Drummond 5th of Boreland (d.1630)

 

Those granted land were required to build a fortification on their lands. The simplest type of fortress was known as a ‘bawn’ (from the Irish for ‘cow fort’). A bawn was a courtyard surrounded by strong walls and was usually square or rectangular designed as a place of refuge for settlers in case of attack. The most important of the new landlords were expected to build a strong castle as well as a bawn.

 

The publisher Samuel Lewis in “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland” wrote in 1837,

“Donaheady, a parish, in the barony of Strabane, County of Tyrone, and province of Ulster, on the road from Strabane to Cookstown; containing, with the post-town of Dunamanagh, 10,480 inhabitants. The greater part of this parish was granted by James 1st to Sir John Drummond, who founded the town of Dunamanagh, and built a bawn 109 feet square, no part of which remains, as the bawn was removed some years since, and the modern building called the Castle was erected on its site.

It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 39,3983 statute acres, of which 28,728 are applotted under the Tithe Act, and valued at £10,271 per annum. There are about 154 acres of water, and 250 of bog; the remainder is arable and pasture land. There is abundance of excellent limestone, both for building and agricultural purposes, but the mountains are chiefly clay-slate”.

 

Earls Gift Historical Information

Earls Gift Castle has the appearance of a Georgian gothic dwelling or folly and as far as can be determined from the remaining structure, probably dates from the late eighteenth century.

Castle and Bawn ruin, consisting of a "double pile with a five-bay, 3 storey, South front with arched windows to the top floor & a fore standing round tower in the central bay". The North Western perimeter is still bounded by what seems to be the remains of foundations of a bawn wall.

According to the Natural Stone Database, the stone used is local Dalradian schist and Tyrone carboniferous sandstone.

 

Sir John Drummond 5th of Boreland (d.1630) was the man responsible of the establishment of Donemana town and Earls Gift Castle. His father was John Drummond, Fiar of Bordland (d.15 Dec 1582) who married Barbara Cunningham (d.?) on 12th December 1540, she was the daughter of Sir John Cuninghame [Cunningham], 15th of Glengarnock, [Ayrshire] who died in Dec 1595.

 

Sir John does not appear to have been a popular landlord, for Nicholas Pynnar’s Survey of 1619 reports that, “although there are many tenants on his lands, they have no estates [tenures] at all; insomuch that they, knowing I was in the country, came and complained unto me, and said that for these many years they could never get anything from him but promises; and, therefore, the most part of them are leaving the land. I desired the lady to show me their counterpaines, but her answer was that her Knight was in Scotland, and that she could not come unto them. but upon examination, I found there were 90 men of firittone [from Scotland] on the land." Sir John Drummond was styled as of the Rosses, in the parish of Oapprey [?], where he died in May, 1625 [alt.1630].

 

Sir John Drummond, 5th of Boreland, married Marjory (Marion) Hamilton on the 6 Nov 1601 in Edinburgh, she was the daughter to the John Hamilton, Laird of Blair (d. abt. 1630) and Grisel Sempill (d. Oct 1575)

 

Sir John sold the estate to John Drummond, Earl of Perth, and having purchased Kesh Castle in Co. Tyrone in Ireland and died childless in 1630. His only sibling, brother Malcolm (d.22 May 1650) 7th of Bordland (or Boreland) succeeded to the estate when he got a re-grant of the premises, which were created into a manor, to be called the manor of Castle Dormand.

 

Earls Gift Folklore?

Local folklore provides the following romantic and tragic story of events that surround the unfinished building of Earls Gift Castle. Sir John Drummond decided to build a castle near his home at Earls Gift and like most landlords of the time he also had a house in London. It was there that he met and fell in love with a beautiful French girl and they planned to marry and retire to the castle in Donemana when it was complete.

However, tragically the ship that was bringing Sir John’s betrothed to England was wrecked in a storm in the English Channel of the coast of Dover on 2nd November 1650 and all onboard perished.

I’ve not been able to find any on-line records of a ship wreck in the English Channel on or about the date stated. I’d also expect that a record would have existed if a ship had sunk especially one where all on board had died. So, it’s quite likely this story has been handed down through the generations and now forms part of local folklore?

 

Historic Maps & Surveys

It is shown on McCrea and Knox’s map of Tyrone dated 1813 as a castle in ruins, although the later Ordnance Survey map of 1832 does not so designate it, and in fact it is not described as a ruin on OS maps until the third edition of 1905. The first edition OS map appears to caption it, ‘Earls Gift’, but by the second edition it is ‘Dunnamanagh Castle’. No earlier maps were found to show the castle. The Townland Valuation (1828-40) lists ‘an old castle’ and tower giving dimensions and describing it as ‘not habitable’ although a valuation is given to it of £3.6s.

 

In a “Book of Survey and Distribution” dating from 1666 to 78, ‘Downemanagh’ is listed as the property of Sir William Hamilton (b. abt.1604 d.1662) Esquire of Elieston, Knight and Protestant. His descendant Sir John, Stuart Hamilton (b. c1740 d.1802) is mentioned several times in late-eighteenth-century correspondence between John James Hamilton Marquess of Abercorn (b.1756 d.1818) and his agent James Hamilton (b.? d.1806) as being in residence at ‘Donemanagh’ or occasionally ‘Earls Gift’ and it may be that the residence referred to is the current building.

 

On 19 March 1793, Hamilton writes, “Sir John [Stuart] Hamilton’s brother died last week at ‘Donemanagh’, his weight 42 stones. It took 16 planks to make his coffin…” and on 19 March 1798, “Your Lordship will be astonished when I tell you that Sir John Hamilton has subscribed his entire pension £300 a year towards the war [possibly, the Irish Rebellion of 1798?] and is living the life of a hermit at Donemanagh”.

 

James Hamilton’s letters also report Sir John’s (Stuart) Hamilton’s death in 1802 and speculate that his son the ‘Young Sir John’ [Sir John Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet] will be the last of the line. [Note: Sir John Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet was in fact the last Baronet, he died in 1818]. “If I can credit his surgeon and housekeeper, he will never leave an heir”. His agent proposes that Abercorn try to obtain the reversion of young Sir John’s estates. As far as can be determined from the correspondence, the son does not appear to have lived at Dunnamanagh, and it may be that the building began to fall into disrepair shortly after Sir John (Stuart’s) death.

 

It is thought that the following statement alludes to the 1st Baronet, Sir John Stuart Hamilton:

"When he was but nineteen, he was unanimously elected one of the representatives in Parliament for Strabane, in which high and honourable station he behaved for upwards of thirty years with a conduct suitable to the great confidence reposed in him. To his immortal honour he was one of those heroic patriots of fabrician fortitude, who signalized themselves in so conspicuous a manner in the successful defence of the pass, which in 1753 was strenuously attempted to be forced, in order to overthrow the parliamentary constitution of this country; for which they were distinguished from their opponents by their wearing gold medals in memory of that glorious epoch. And so sensible were his constituents of his singular merit and invariable principles in favour of his country, that at the late general election they unanimously re-elected him "to represent them in parliament; the goodness and benevolence of his heart endeared him to all, and render his death universally lamented. He is succeeded in his estate by John [Charles] Hamilton, Esq. (b.1745 to 1805 d.1818), his eldest son and heir."

 

The Hamilton’s

In the early 1600s Sir Claud Hamilton (b. abt 1579 d.1614) of Shawfield in Scotland, second son of Lord Claud Hamilton (b.1546 d.1621) Commendator of the Abbey of Paisley and a friend of the Earl of Abercorn. Claud, as an undertaker in the plantation of the county of Longford, he had 400 acres of land granted to him there, together with the small proportion of Eden [the estate and remains of the castle at Mount Castle] or Teadane and Killeny which occupied most of the eastern half of the barony and which were largely mountainous. They contained about 2000 acres in the barony of Strabane, Co. Tyrone, on which he built a strong and beautiful castle [possibly, Mount Castle, Donemana, a short distance from Earls Gift Castle], which, with other lands mentioned in the patent.

Sir Claud firstly married Janet Hamilton (b1583 d.1623) a daughter of Robert Hamilton of Leckprevick, she and Claud had no issue. Claud secondly Janet Hamilton (d.1613) Heiress of Leckprevick and Easter Greenlees she was the daughter of Sir Robert Hamilton of Manor Elieston (b. 1448 to 1568) in the County of Tyrone, and had six sons and two daughters.

1.Sir William (b.1604 d.1664), his heir

2.Alexander died 21 Nov 1587, aged 8 moths

3.Robert died before 1657

4.George died unmarried

5.Claud

6.James (died unmarried)

7.Grizzel Hamilton (m. Sir William Nisbit, Baillie of Lamington)

8.Margaret Hamilton (m. Sir John Stuart [Stewart] of Gorgonoch-Stewart of Methven)

 

After Sir Claud Hamilton death in 1614 the land was given to his eldest son Sir William Hamilton.

 

William, is buried in Bodoney parish church, Killeter, Castlederg, County Tyrone and was succeeded by his third son, Claud Hamilton (b. c1648 d. c1695)

 

Claud Hamilton (b.c1648 d.c1695), of Monterloney (near, County Tyrone, High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1671 and 1683, who married Isabella Wingfield and had issue, with five daughters, Beatrix, Mary, Agnes, Margaret, and Rebecca and two sons, William, his successor and Claud of Strabane, ancestor of Hamilton Baronets of Woodbrook.

 

A castle, surrounded by a square bawn (fortified enclosure) was built by the Hamilton’s in Donemana around 1618-19, and was described at the time as ‘both strong and beautiful’. No trace of the castle survives, but it is believed to have been where the ruined eighteenth-century building known locally as 'Earls Gift Castle' now stands. The castle occupied a commanding position on the edge of a steep bank high above the Burn Dennett River.

 

In 1629 Sir William Hamilton renamed the estate ‘Manor Elliston’ after his mother’s home in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

In the course of the 1600s families from Britain, primarily from Scotland, settled in the district and their descendants are still numerous in the area today. Other Scottish surnames names found in this area over the past 400 years include Buchanan, Campbell, Colhoun, Galbraith, Henderson, Leslie, Lindsay, McCrea and McFarland.

The Hamilton family remained in possession of Dunnamanagh until the early 1800s. The last but one member of the family, Sir John Stuart Hamilton (b. c1740 d.1802) 1st Baronet of Dunamana, High Sheriff of County Tyrone 1764, MP for Strabane from 1763-97 and son of William Hamilton (d. est. between 1675 and 1735) of Dunamanagh, County Tyrone, MP for Strabane, 1733-62, and Catherine Leslie daughter of the Rev Dr George Leslie, of Ballyconnell House, County Cavan,

www.geni.com/people/Catherine-Hamilton/6000000005062062760

 

The demise of the estate is suggested as the result of the reckless expenditure of Sir John Stuart Hamilton. He was the rather ineffective MP for Strabane who was once described as a ‘man of small fortune and large stature, possessing a most liberal appetite for both solids and fluids.

 

The development of the village that we see today probably dates from the middle of the eighteenth century and is likely to have been associated with the rise of the linen industry in the area.

Sir John Stuart Hamilton 1st Baronet of Dunamana (b. c1740 d.1802), High Sheriff of County Tyrone, 1764, MP for Strabane from 1763 to 1797.

Sir John Stuart was the son of Sir William Hamilton of Manor Elliston (b.1604 d.1662) and Elizabeth (Johnston) Hamilton (b.1605)

 

Sir John Stuart Hamilton who married Sarah Hamilton (b. c1740 d.1770) on 20 November 1770 was the illegitimate daughter of Frederick Hamilton, 3rd Viscount Boyne (b.1718 d.1772 who is buried St. Paul's Church, Dublin, County Dublin) and his second wife Bridget Mooney (d.1771) and was the daughter of Lt.-Col. unknown Mooney who he married on July 1746 (This marriage was during the lifetime of his first wife, Elizabeth Hadley who he had married on 25 August 1737 at Chapelizod, County Dublin).

.

After her marriage to Fredrick, Bridget Mooney was styled as Viscountess Boyne in July 1746. She died 1771, without surviving issue.

 

19th–Century Earls Gift Map and the Douglas Family

An early 19th–century map of the ‘Earl’s Gift’ Demesne showing lands near the town of Donemana, Co. Tyrone, in the parish of Donagheady and diocese of Derry.

The map had suffered the ravages of time, and was in need of urgent repair, but thanks to the expert intervention of Liz D’Arcy at the Paperworks Studio for Paper Conservation, and the availability of the Representative Church Body (RCB) Library’s Conservation Fund which allows for the urgent repair of historical items, this beautiful work of art has been brought back to life.

Clearly of significant independent means the Hon. Revd. Charles Douglas, and also benefiting from the grant funds available to him, he was able to commission a professional surveyor Robert Craig in 1830 to measure out his property, and draw the colourful survey map of the lands where he had laid out a house and planned demesne on the former ‘Earls Gift Castle’ estate, which had been associated in the 17th century with Sir John Drummond who laid out the original ‘Earls Gift Castle’ and town of Donemana.

 

The map depicts various field boundaries, and the location of townlands, including Tullyard, Black Park, Glebe and Benown where the original parish church of St Michael’s was located. As well as Earls Gift Castle, farmyards with stables and other outbuildings, landscaped garden, pleasure grounds and the association of over 95 acres of these lands.

Immediately to the North–East of these and connected by a road is the original parish church now known as St. Michael’s cemetery. Today this building is a ruin, having been replaced by St James Church (150m South West on the B49) after disestablishment when the original church had fallen into disrepair in 1879.

 

There has been an Anglican Church in the parish of Donagheady since the early 17th century, when a church at Church Hill, St. Caidinus (where the Old Donagheady Graveyard is located) was built during the plantation of Ulster. All that remains of this church is a few gable walls and a small graveyard.

 

Around 1788 a new church, St. Michael’s, Church of Ireland in the townland of Benowen, was constructed in what is now known as St. Michael’s cemetery and again a portion of the gable wall remains standing to this day. The church was consecrated 1838.

The final service held in St Michael’s was on 23 November 1879 and the preacher was the Rector, Rev. F J Clarke.

 

In 1870, Canon Clarke and church warden Henry Danton JP arranged repairs to the original parish church of St. Michael’s at Benowen, now known as St. Michael's Cemetery, the ruins of which lies nearby St James Church which is located about 150m on the right-hand side further on, NE from St. James Church, Donagheady on the B49 road from Donemana to Claudy.

An approach was made to Mr. Claud Ogliby (b.1851 d.1894) of Altinaghree Castle (Liscloon House) Donemanagh to request financial assistance, however Mr. Ogiliby refused this request but instead offered £500.00 towards the building of a new church, that of St James.

Mr. Claude Ogilby laid the foundation stone on St James Day, 25th July 1877 and the Church was consecrated on 28th November 1879 by Bishop of Derry and Raphoe the Rt. Rev. Bishop Nathaniel Alexander (b.760 d.1840).

 

Hon. Revd. Charles Douglas

The Revd. Charles Douglas (b.1791 d.1857) was Ordained in the Church of England; he came to Ireland as rector of Donagheady in 1825 and continued to serve there until retirement in 1857. He was the second son of Hon. John Douglas (b.1756 d.1818), who married on 4 Oct 1784 Lady Frances Lascelles (b 1762 d. 1817). John was the son of James Douglas (b.1702 d.1768), 14th Earl of Morton.

 

The Revd. Charles firstly married Isabella (Gore) Douglas (b.1786 and 1799 -d.1838) on the 2nd March 1816 she was the daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore (b.1734-d.1809 ), 2nd Earl of Arran (the Arran Islands) and Elizabeth Underwood (d.1829) who was the daughter of Richard Underwood and Christiana Goold.

Charles and Isabella had 11 children:

1. Anne Jane Douglas b.? d.10 Jan 1868 (m. 3 Jan 1843 Frederick Richard Surtees).

2. Augusta Frederica Douglas b. 22 Nov 1819 d.? (m. 15 Dec 1842 Henry Poore Cox).

3. Julia Mary Douglas b.? d.? (m. 20 July 1848 George James Montgomery).

4. Caroline Douglas b.? d.9 April 1908 (m. 17 Dec 1844 Edward Prothero).

5. Georgiana Frances Douglas b.? d.20 June 1844 aged 15.

6. Adelaide Charlotte Douglas b.? d.1903 (m. 30 Jan 1851 William Ogilby).

7. Louisa Emma Douglas b.? d.? (m. 29 Sep 1857 Charles Fox).

8. Captain William Grant Douglas b.1824 d.1898 aged 74 (Royal Navy).

9. Charles Edward Douglas b.1825 d.1842 aged 16 years.

10. Gordon James Douglas b.1835 d.1905 aged 69 (m. 12 Aug 1858 Louisa Turbett).

11. Claudine Douglas (b.? d.1842) aged 8

 

Hon. Revd. Charles Douglas, secondly married Agnes Julia (Rich) Gason on 28 Dec 1852 to 1857 without issue. Agnes was daughter of Captain J. S. Rich of Woodlands, Limerick. She died on 4 Nov 1916.

 

Interned at St Michael’s Church & Graveyard, Bunowen, Donagheady.

1. Hon. Revd. Charles Douglas (b.1791 d.1857) aged 65.

2. his wife Isabella (b.1786 and 1799 d.1838) aged 43.

3. son Charles Edward (b.1825 d.1842) aged 16.

4. youngest daughter Claudine (b.? d.29 Apr 1842) aged 8.

5. daughter Georgina Frances (b.abt 1829 d.20 June 1844) aged 15.

 

Captain William Grant Douglas married, firstly on the 16th December 1851, Elizabeth Inglis, daughter of William Inglis (d.1865), Elizabeth died in 1965 leaving 6 children.

1.Bessie Henriette Douglas d. 12 Oct 1938 who married Claud William Leslie Ogilby (1851-94) of Altinaghree Castle (Liscloon House).

2.Ada Charlotte Douglas b.1862 d.?

3.Mary Louisa Douglas d.1940

4.Margaret Caroline Douglas b.9 July 1859 d.25 Apr 1921

5.Maud Isabel Gore Douglas d.2 Feb 1934

6.Sholto Douglas d.?

 

Captain William married, secondly, on 6 June 1867, Elizabeth Frances Vesey (b. abt.1844 d.1919), daughter of Thomas Agmondisham Vesey (b.1812 d.1895) and Jemima Belford Gregg (b.1820 d. 1898), They had 3 children, a son: Sholto Osborne Gordon Douglas (b.1873 d.1937) B.A. (Oxon) Author of 'A theory of Civilisation' and two daughters, Maude Isabel Gore Douglas (b.1869 d.1934) and Margaret Caroline Douglas (b.1883 d. unknown)

 

Gordon James Douglas, married, 12th August 1858, Louisa Turbett (b.1837 d.1923) daughter of James Turbett of Owenstown, Dublin, and had one daughter, Isabelle Sophia Frances Douglas (b.1860 d.1914), she married Bedford Randolph Wilson

 

Connection with the Ogilby Family of Altinaghree Castle

William Ogilby JP (1808-73), of Altinaghree Castle (Liscloon House), Donemana, County Tyrone, married, in 1851, Adelaide Charlotte Douglas, daughter of the Hon. Rev. Charles Douglas of Earls Gift.

See my video and associated transcript “Altnachree Ogilby's Castle Liscloon House, Donemana Co. Tyrone 8 March 2020 v1”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7zEW6GHH3Q&t=3s&ab_chann...

 

Donagheady is a parish, in the barony of STRABANE, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, on the road from Strabane to Cookstown; containing, with the post-town of Dunamanagh, 10,480 inhabitants. The greater part of this parish was granted by James I. to Sir John Drummond, who founded the town of Dunamanagh, and built a bawn 109 feet square, no part of which remains, as the bawn was removed some years since, and the modern building called the Castle was erected on its site. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 39,3983 statute acres, of which 28,728 are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £10,271 per annum. There are about 154 acres of water, and 250 of bog; the remainder is arable and pasture land. There is abundance of excellent limestone, both for building and agricultural purposes, but the mountains are chiefly clay-slate.

 

Many of the glens and banks of the rivers are covered with underwood, the remains of the extensive forests of Mounterlony. Formerly there were several bleach-greens in the parish, and a paper-mill near Dunamanagh, all of which are now unemployed; but the inhabitants unite linen-weaving at home with agricultural pursuits. The upper half of the parish, with the exception of the church lands, is in the manor of Elliston, the court for which is held at Gortin; and the lower half is in the manor of Donolonge [probably, Dunnalong], which was granted by James I. to the Earl of Abercorn. A court is held at Donolonge monthly, for the recovery of debts under 40s. There are several handsome houses, the principal of which are Earl's Gift, the residence of the Hon. Rev. Charles Douglas; Loughash, Lieutenant-Colonel John Pitt Kennedy (1796-1879); Tullarton House, of R. Bond Esq.; Glenville, of R. McRae, Esq.; Silver Brook, of J. Carey, Esq.; Black Park, of R. Ogilbye Esq.; Thorn Hill, of A. C. D. L. Edie, Esq. and the Grange, of T. Hutton, Esq.

 

The Board of First Fruits was an institution of the Church of Ireland that was established in 1711 by Anne, Queen of Great Britain to build and improve churches and glebe houses in Ireland. This was funded from taxes collected on clerical incomes which were in turn funded by tithes. The board was replaced in 1833 by the Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

 

Glebe (also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church.

 

A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques whereas, historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce.

 

Living is a rectory, in the diocese of Derry, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Abercorn: the tithes amount to £1350. The Glebe-House was erected in 1792, by aid of a gift of £100 from the late Board of First Fruits: the glebe comprises 1192 acres. The church is a small neat edifice, half a mile west from the ruins of the old church; it is in the Grecian style, with a small cupola and a bell at the western end; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £202 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions this parish is the head of a union or district, comprising Donagheady and Leckpatrick, and containing one chapel in the former and two in the latter: it is in the benefice of the dean of Derry. There are four Presbyterian meeting-houses, three of which are in connection with the Synod of Ulster, two being of the second class, and one with the Seceding Synod, also of the second class.

 

The male and female parochial schools adjoin the church, and are supported by the Marquess of Abercorn and the incumbent. At Loughash is a large and handsome school-house, erected at an expense of £200: the school is under the National Board, as is another at Lisnarrow [near Dunamanagh]. There are also schools at Killeany, Rusky [Rousky near Gortin), Tamnaghbrady, Tyboe [Donemana], Grange [Civil Parish of Ardstraw], and Ballyneuse; and an agricultural school at Loughash [near Donemana], supported by Capt. Kennedy. At Mount Castle [Civil Parish of Donaghedy], which gives the title of baron in the Irish peerage to the Marquess of Abercorn, are some fragments of a castle, built in 1619, by Sir Claude Hamilton, on an estate of 2000 acres, called Eden, which was granted to him by James I. It was the birth-place of Sir George Hamilton, who distinguished himself in the parliamentary war, and of his son, Gen. James Hamilton (b.c.1661 d.1734), afterwards 6th Earl of Abercorn, who commanded the Protestant Irish army against James II at Londonderry. Extensive ruins of the ancient church of Grange, which belonged to the abbey of Derry, exist on the banks of the Foyle. At Kildollagh [Coleraine] are some large artificial caves, formed of loose stones, with flagstones over them covered with earth; they are about a quarter of a mile long, and contain several apartments; there is a less perfect one at Gortmaglen.

 

Hurricane Debbie

Earls Gift or Donemana Castle was reportedly damaged during hurricane Debbie which was a moderate tropical cyclone which had significant impact when it hit Ireland on the morning of Saturday 16th September 1961, with gusts of 113 miles per hour, almost 182km/h, being recorded at Malin Head, Northern Ireland. On Monday September 18th, 1961, The Irish Times reported the storm had killed 15 people on the island of Ireland.

 

Davy Crockett's Da

A popular local song celebrates the claim that ' Davy Crockett's da (or father), John Crockett (b. c.1753 d. after 1802) came from Donemana'.

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2799150686822749

An historical curiosity is the fact that the Crockett family are known to have fought on the Williamite side during the Siege of Derry (1689) before emigrating to North America. Davy Crockett (b.786 d.836) later fought at the Battle of the Alamo (23 February – 6 March 1836) during the Texas Revolution. As with most aspects of the Alamo battle, the exact details of the deaths of both James Bowie’s (b. c.1796 d. 6 March 1836) and Davy Crockett may never really be known? William Barret Travis (b.1 August 1809 d. 6 March 1836) died early in the battle from a single bullet in the head.

 

Earls Gift Castle Access

Sadly, public access to the Earls Gift site has not been provided therefore the site is only accessible by permission of the private house owners situated along the B49, Longland Road fronting the castle site.

 

Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Derick Gamble who provide me with access to the Earls Gift castle and Derick took me to Church Hill Graveyard.

 

Requires severe mechanical attention, and a good clean!

Some of the 1:24 scale 1320 Inc. vintage drag racing die-cast models were also offered in "kit" form for those who enjoy assembling model cars. The tubular frame and body are cast metal with most of the remaining parts being plastic, along with rubber tires, plug wires and hoses. The dragster measures 10 1/2 inches from the front of the body to the back of the roll cage. Out of the 14 1320 dragsters I have, 4 were in kit form. I have already assembled the other 3 kits and soon this one will join the line-up.

Monopiles are required in many European near-shore wind farms in a water depth up to 20 metres.

www.offshore-wind.de/page/index.php?id=10236&L=1

 

Please View Large On Black

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© All rights are reserved, please do not use my photos without my permission. Thanks !

 

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Flag: Denmark

Port of Registry: Aalborg

Owner: Aarsleff Bilfinger Berger JV, London, United Kingdom

Manager: Per Aarsleff A / S, Aarhus, Denmark

Year built: 2010

Built by: Huarun Dadong Dockyard Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China

Length: 100.58 m

Beam: 30.48 m

Draft: 4.73 m max.

Gross tonnage: 4946 tons

 

The London Array is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. With 1,000 megawatt (MW) nameplate capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm.The site is 17.77 miles (28.60 km) off the North Foreland on the Kent coast in the area of Long Sand and Kentish Knock,and will cover 90 square miles (230 km2) between Margate in Kent and Clacton in Essex. The first foundation was installed in March 2011and phase I is expected to be completed end 2012 at a cost of €2.2 billion and will deliver a capacity of 630MW.

Their foundations are built by the joint venture between Per Aarsleff - Denmark- and Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau - Germany. The same company supply and install monopiles.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Array

 

The Keelmen of Tyne and Wear were a group of men who worked on the keels, large boats that carried the coal from the banks of both rivers to the waiting collier ships. Because of the shallowness of both rivers, it was difficult for ships of any significant draught to move up river and load with coal from the place where the coal reached the riverside. Thus the need for shallow-draught keels to transport the coal to the waiting ships. The keelmen formed a close-knit and colourful community on both rivers until their eventual demise late in the nineteenth century.

 

Beginnings of the coal trade

Coal began to be exported from the River Tyne from the mid-thirteenth century onwards. The first recorded shipment of coal from the River Wear was in 1396. The pits from which coal was then exported were near the riverside so that as little effort as possible was required to load it. The coal was carried to London and elsewhere in colliers; small wooden sailing ships that sailed down the east coast. At this time neither the Tyne nor the Wear were easily navigable for ships of significant draught. The mouth of the Tyne was obstructed by Herd Sands, Bellehues Rock and a bar that ran across the mouth of the river. Further up river a ship might run aground in various shallows and the stone bridge at Newcastle prevented colliers from reaching coal deposits further up river. Both rivers were very shallow near the banks, which made the approach difficult so coal was loaded into the shallow-draught keels to transport it down river.

 

The keels

The keels were wooden boats with a pointed stern, so that the bow and stern looked almost the same. They were of shallow draught so that when fully loaded they drew only four and a half feet. The keels were forty feet long and at least 19 feet wide amidships: a very broad configuration. They were carvel-built (smooth sided) and generally of oak, often with elm used below the waterline. In 1266 the standard load of a keel was set at 20 chaldrons (wagonloads) or approximately 17 tons. After 1497 the keel load was frequently increased, until in 1635 it was set at 21.1 tons. A chaldron was a horse-drawn wagon containing 17 cwt of coal. Keels were supposed to be measured by the Kings Commissioners and given a load mark to show when they were full.

 

Early keels were propelled with a large oar, handled by all the crew except the skipper; they had no rudder and were steered by a second oar or "swape" over the stern. The crew worked with the flow of the river tides where practicable. Later the oars were supplemented by a mast with a square sail attached to a yard, and latterly with a large spritsail and staysail, though the oars were still used to row when the wind was not favourable. There were also two eighteen-foot, iron-shod poles ("puoys") for polling the keel through any shallows. The floor of the hold was only two feet below the gunwale to allow for easy loading. The coal was piled high above the top of the hold with wooden boards used to prevent the cargo from sliding. Each keel was manned by a skipper, two crewmen and a boy, known as a 'pee dee' 'P. D.' or 'paydee'. While it has been stated that the meaning of this title is unknown, it might have developed from an earlier use of 'peedee' meaning "footboy", or "groom", from Latin pede, "on foot". As the railways started to take away the keelmen's trade, most skippers discontinued the employment of a boy to save on their salary. The two crewmen were invariably called the 'bullies' ("bully" here meaning "brother", "comrade"). Many keels had a small after-cabin or "huddick", fitted with a stove, where the crew could sleep.

 

Work and conditions

Keelmen loaded coal into the keel's hold from a "spout" or riverside chute. The keel would then be taken down river on the ebb tide using oars, or sail if the wind was favourable, and taken alongside the waiting collier where the crew would shovel the coal into the collier, working even after darkness. This could be arduous due to the difference in height between the keel's gunwale and the collier's deck. When keelmen struck in 1819 one of their demands was an extra shilling per keel per foot that the side of the collier exceeded five feet. After a time colliers were constructed in such a manner as to make it easier to load coal into them. After loading the keelmen would return for another load if there was daytime left and tides allowed. They were paid by the "tide"; i.e. by each trip between the ship and the staith, irrespective of distance. By the mid 19th century the usual fee was one guinea, including loading, which the keel's owner would split amongst the three crew in nearly equal shares, retaining only around 8d. per tide over and above the other shares. Before the railways began to harm the trade, a keel owner would expect to make around ten "tides" a week.

 

Keelmen were traditionally bound to employment for a year, the binding day normally being Christmas Day but employment tended to be seasonal with hardly any work in winter. The availability of work was often affected by the weather, if ships were unable to come into the river, and also by the supply of coal from the pits. Strikes might affect output and wily pit owners would sometimes curtail production to keep prices high. As a result, keelmen could spend long periods without work, during which they would have to live on credit or find employment in clearing wrecks and sand banks from the river. The Tyneside keelmen formed an independent society in 1556 but were never incorporated, probably because the Newcastle Hostmen feared their becoming too powerful. The Wearside keelmen were finally incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1792.

 

The Tyneside keelmen lived in the Sandgate area, outside the city walls, one of the poorest and most overcrowded parts of the city, made up of many narrow alleys. John Baillie, writing in the late 18th century, said that they "live almost entirely upon flesh-meat and flour, of the best kinds, which their strong exertions in their employment require." They were known by some as a close-knit group of aggressive, hard-drinking men: John Wesley, after visiting Newcastle, described them as much given to drunkenness and swearing. Baillie said that this reputation was entirely undeserved: the keelmen had a "rough" way of expressing themselves, and were loud and vociferous "from the practice of hailing one another on the river, especially in the night tides", but "they scorn to show what they think incivility or rudeness to any person".[8] Despite this, in the mid 19th century they were described as "a proverbially unintelligent, ignorant and intemperate set of men. One keelman, it used to be said, could drink out three pitmen".

 

For their Sunday best clothing the keelmen often wore a distinctive blue coat or short blue jacket: this was accompanied by a flat-brimmed black hat, yellow waistcoat and white shirt, and legwear described as either slate-grey trousers or blue stockings and flannel breeches. In the 18th century keelmen were identifiable by the blue bonnet many of them wore at work, later replaced by a sou'wester. In the 1840s they were described as wearing "a peculiar costume, consisting of a large jacket, or rather doublet, with loose breeches, made very wide at the knee, and not descending further". The trade of keelmen tended to be passed on from father to son, the son working as an apprentice on a keel until considered old enough and strong enough to be a crewman. Most men were unfit to continue the physically very demanding work into their forties. By 1700 there were 1,600 keelmen working on the Tyne in 400 keels. Not all were local: there was a significant number of Scottish keelmen who returned home in the winter when trade was slack.

 

Disputes with the Hostmen

The Tyneside keelmen were employed by the Newcastle Hostmen and were often in dispute with their employers. They went on strike in 1709, 1710, 1740 and 1750. One grievance held by the keelmen was that the Hostmen, in order to avoid custom duties, would deliberately overload the keels. Duty was paid on each keel-load, so that it paid the owner to load as much coal as possible. This meant that the keel-load gradually increased from 16 tons in 1600 to 21.25 tons in 1695. As the keelmen were paid by the keel-load, they had to work considerably harder for the same pay. Even after the keel-load had been standardised, there were cases of keel owners illegally enlarging the holds to carry more coal, as much as 26.5 tons. In 1719 and 1744, the Tyneside keelmen went on strike in protest at this 'overmeasure'. The 1750 strike was also against 'overmeasure', as well as against 'can-money', the practice of paying part of the keelmen's wages in drink that had to be consumed at 'can-houses', pubs owned by the employers.

 

Expansion of the Wear coal trade

The coal export trade from the Wear was slow to develop, but by the seventeenth century there was a thriving trade in exporting coal from the Durham coalfield via the River Wear. The tonnage however was much smaller than on the Tyne; in 1609, 11,648 tons were exported from the Wear compared with 239,000 tons exported from the Tyne. This imbalance changed dramatically during the English Civil War because of the Parliamentarian blockade of the Tyne and their encouragement of the Wearside merchants to make up for the subsequent shortfall in coal for London. Coal exports from the Wear increased by an enormous amount, causing a similar increase in the number of keelmen employed on the river. By time of the Restoration in 1660, trade on the Tyne had recovered, but the river was now only exporting a third more coal than the Wear.

 

The Keelmen's Hospital

In 1699 the keelmen of Newcastle decided to build the Keelmen's Hospital, a charitable foundation for sick and aged keelmen and their families. The keelmen agreed to contribute one penny a tide from the wages of each keel's crew and Newcastle Corporation made land available in Sandgate. The hospital was completed in 1701 at a cost of £2,000. It consisted of fifty chambers giving onto a cloister enclosing a grass court. One matter of contention relating to the hospital was that the funds for its maintenance were kept in the control of the Hostmen, lest they be used as a strike fund by the keelmen. The hospital building still remains in City Road, Newcastle, and was used for student accommodation until recently. The building is now on the Heritage at Risk register. It has stood vacant since the closure of the student accommodation, and was added to the register in 2009.

 

Impressment in the Royal Navy

Because of their experience of handling boats, the keelmen were considered useful in times of war when the Royal Navy required seamen for its warships. During the French wars of the late eighteenth century, the Naval Impress Service would have liked to impress as many keelmen as possible, but the keelmen were officially protected from impressment. However, in 1803, during a time of crisis, the Tyne Regulating Officer captured 53 keelmen with the intention of impressing them into the navy despite their exemption. In retaliation, their wives took up whatever was handy (shovels, pans, rolling pins) and marched to North Shields intent on using any means to rescue their men, whilst the rest of the keelmen went on strike until the captured men were released. A compromise was reached so that 80 ‘volunteers’ (one in ten keelmen) would be accepted into the navy and the rest would be exempted from impressment. A levy was to be paid by the coal-owners and keelmen to provide a bounty for the keelmen who joined the navy. A similar situation existed on the Wear, except that the keelmen there were treated less generously. They had to provide a similar quota of recruits with two landsmen counting as one prime sailor.

 

Coal staiths

About 1750 a new development began to be used on the Tyne. New pits were being sunk further and further away from the river and coal was being brought to the riverbank via wagon ways. Once there, in places accessible by colliers, coal staiths were built to allow coal to be dropped directly into the holds of the colliers without the need for keels. The staiths were short piers that projected out over the river and allowed coal wagons to run on rails to the end. Colliers would moor alongside the end of the staiths and, initially, the coal from the wagons was emptied down chutes into the colliers’ holds. Later, to avoid breakage of the coal, the coal wagons were lowered onto the decks of the colliers and were unloaded there. This was the beginning of the end for the keelmen and they realised the threat that the coal staiths posed. Strikes and riots resulted whenever new staiths were opened. In 1794 the Tyneside keelmen went on strike against the use of staiths for loading coal.

 

Because of the shallowness of the Tyne, the use of coal staiths did not entirely eliminate the need for keels. The amount that the staiths projected into the river was limited so as not to obstruct river traffic, so that the staiths ended in shallow water. As colliers were loaded their draught would deepen until often they were no longer able to continue loading from the staiths. In such cases the colliers would have to move into deeper water and the loading would be completed using keels.

 

Until 1800, the most productive pits were situated upriver from Newcastle, and colliers could not pass the bridge there to load coal. After 1800, coal production switched to further down river, where coal staiths could be used. Already by 1799, the number of keels working on the Tyne was 320 compared with 500 at the peak of their use. At this time, the Wear, with a smaller output of coal, employed 520 keels. Coal staiths were not introduced on the Wear until 1812, but were resisted just as strongly by the keelmen there. They rioted in 1815 in protest at coal being loaded via coal staiths.

 

Steam tugs

Another threat to the livelihood of the keelmen was the development of steam tugs. During a ten-week strike by the keelmen of both Tyne and Wear against the use of coal staiths, the keel owners installed one of the newly developed steam locomotives in a keel equipped with paddle wheels. The keel was not only able to propel itself, but was able to tow a string of other keels behind it. By 1830, Marshall's shipyard in South Shields had begun to manufacture steam tugs, for the Tyne and for further afield. This development did not threaten the livelihood of the keelmen as completely as the development of the coal staiths.

 

Improvements in river navigation

As mentioned above, the reason for employing keelmen was the poor state of the navigation on the Tyne and Wear, which prevented ships from moving up river without danger of grounding. As time went by this situation gradually worsened. Colliers arriving at the river mouth would have a ballast of sand that had to be disposed of. The correct method of doing this was to deposit the sand on specified areas on the riverbank provided for the purpose or by depositing the sand in the sea. The Wear had ballast keels that were used to unload the ballast from colliers and take it out to sea. There were penalties for depositing ballast in the river, but this often occurred. The result was that the riverbed became silted up, causing even more navigational difficulties. Additionally, industry on the riverbanks often deposited its waste products in the river. The situation on the Tyne became so bad that in 1850 the Tyne Navigation Act was passed, which gave control of the river to the Tyne Improvement Commission. This body began an extensive program of dredging to substantially deepen the riverbed. This program was completed in 1888 so that the largest colliers could pass right up to Newcastle and beyond. This deepening of the river meant that colliers could load coal from the staiths without the need for keels to complete the work. In 1876 the existing bridge at Newcastle was replaced by the Swing Bridge, which rotated to allow ships to pass up and down river. This allowed colliers to be loaded from staiths above Newcastle and so further sealed the fate of the keelmen.

 

The Wear Improvement Bill was passed in 1717, creating the River Wear Commission. Building was started on a south pier at the river mouth in 1723 and continued for many years. A north pier was completed in 1797. The piers were intended to improve the flow of water and prevent the river from silting up. The river was dredged in 1749 to improve access, but the use of keels continued undiminished until the introduction of coal staiths in 1813. In 1831 a new harbour was opened at Seaham, further down the Durham coast. This diverted much of the Durham coal away from Sunderland and further threatened the existence of the Wearside keelmen. In 1837 a North Dock was completed at the mouth of the Wear to load colliers and in 1850 a huge South Dock was completed with room for 250 vessels. These loading facilities made keels unnecessary except for inaccessible pits far up river. On the Tyne, three large docks were also constructed for loading coal: Northumberland Dock in 1857; Tyne Dock in 1859; Albert Edward Dock in 1884.

 

Final demise

By the mid-nineteenth century, less than a fifth of the pits on the Tyne and Wear were using keels to load coal. The introduction of coal staiths and steam tugs had already severely diminished the number of keelmen. The new docks with their efficient coal loading facilities brought the final demise of the keels and the men who worked them. The last few keels survived until the closing years of the 19th century, though by 1889 a writer noted that though some keelmen were still carrying out coal loading, "steamboats now do the work; keels are towed to and from the ships". "It's them steamers that's brust up the keelmen," the last keelman in the Keelmen's Hospital said in 1897, "it's a bonny bad job, but it cannot be helped".

 

The second half of the nineteenth century was a time of rapid industrial growth on Tyneside and Wearside, so that the keelmen would be readily absorbed within other industries. They are now just a distant memory with little to remind us of them, apart from the Keelmen's Hospital, which still stands in Newcastle, and the well-known local songs "The Keel Row" and "Cushie Butterfield."

 

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.

 

Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

 

The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.

 

Roman settlement

The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

 

The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.

 

Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.

 

Anglo-Saxon development

The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.

 

Norman period

After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.

 

In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.

 

Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.

 

Middle Ages

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.

 

The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.

 

Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.

 

In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.

 

In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.

 

Religious houses

During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.

 

The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.

 

The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.

 

The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.

 

The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.

 

The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.

 

All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

 

An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.

 

Tudor period

The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.

 

During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).

 

With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.

 

Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.

 

The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.

 

In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.

 

Stuart period

In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.

 

In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.

 

In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.

 

In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.

 

In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.

 

A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.

 

Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.

 

In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.

 

In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.

 

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.

 

In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.

 

In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.

 

Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.

 

The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.

 

In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.

 

A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.

 

Victorian period

Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.

 

In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.

 

In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.

 

In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.

 

In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.

 

Industrialisation

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.

 

Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:

 

George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.

George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.

 

Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.

 

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.

 

William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.

 

The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:

 

Glassmaking

A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Locomotive manufacture

In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.

 

Shipbuilding

In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.

 

Armaments

In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.

 

Steam turbines

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.

 

Pottery

In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.

 

Expansion of the city

Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.

 

Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.

 

Twentieth century

In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.

 

During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.

 

In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.

 

Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.

 

As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.

 

In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.

 

As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.

 

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.

 

Recent developments

Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.

In February 1991 one of Tinsley's gronks 08880 is moving 47317 in and out the shed during the duff receiving attention.

The gronk met its end at Liverpool Docks cut up by S. Norton LTD in 2005 .

The former Warrington Yard 47317 still exists today as 57003.

 

22 2 91

When your prop just ain't spinning like it should, you may need a Cleaning, Lubrication and Adjustment . . .

 

This photo was taken from a Hasselblad 500C medium format film camera with a Carl Zeiss S-Planar 1:5.6 f=120mm lens and Kowa Y2 ø67 filter + adapter using Rollei Retro 400S film, scanned by an Epson Perfection V600 and digitally rendered with Photoshop.

I simply pose 'cause it's my want.

Faville Prairie

Wisconsin State Natural Area #3

University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum

~permission required to visit~

 

Jefferson County

Only the brightest of colors will do for those wearing flip-flops on a Summer day!

 

Captured while riding on the upper level of the NYC-bound Megabus as it exited the Lincoln Tunnel at W 38th St, New York, NY.

 

LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a G2

[ 0.01 sec (1/100) | f/5.5 | FLength 39 mm | ISO 400 ]

 

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Primitiva

Denny, Martin

Liberty LRP 3087

1958

New bedding required!Something you dont see often.

That steering column looks a bit vulnerable and unless you were well padded yourself I should think a cushion would be welcome.

Travel West Midlands association with 'Fleetlines' didn't completely end on 1st November 1997, when No 7000 made its final fare-paying journey from City to Washwood Heath Garage on the late afternoon of that day. Indeed, two Fleetlines were later transferred to TWM's 'Travel Merry Hill' operation, for use as car park shuttle buses at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre near Dudley.

 

A third Fleetline, 6898 was also drafted into 'Travel Merry Hill' for use as a driver training vehicle. However, as things transpired, the bus was never used. As for Travel Merry Hill, that was eventually incorporated into the main TWM bus fleet.

 

6898 is pictured parked-up at the rear of the former Metrowest garage in Coseley in March 1998.

 

This bus lives on in preservation.