Sunset at National Trust site on Dunstable Downs. Caught the sun dropping into one of the old beacon lanterns.

My sister and her gorgeous boy Billy !

Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Cheshire, England.[1] The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust since 1976. Dunham Massey was historically in the county of Cheshire, but since 1974 has been part of Trafford Metropolitan Borough; the nearest town is Altrincham. As of the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 475.[2]

Dunham Massey has a long history, as reflected in its 45 listed buildings. It was a locally important area during the medieval period, and acted as the seat for the Massey barony. The Georgian hall, with the remains of a castle in its grounds, is a popular tourist attraction. There are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dunham Massey: Dunham Park, located south of Dunham Town, and Brookheys Covert.

History

The Chester to York Roman road passes between the settlements of Dunham Massey and Bowdon and today forms the boundary between the two places. The name Dunham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon dun, meaning hill. The Massey element of the name is a result of its ownership by the Massey Barons. The manor of Dunham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having belonged to the Saxon thegn Aelfward before the Norman Conquest and to Hamo de Masci after. De Masci was an influential baron, who also had control over the manors of Baguley, Bowdon, Hale, Partington, and Timperley. The addition of "Massey" to the name Dunham reflects the manor's importance within the barony; Dunham was the seat of the Masseys. The importance of Dunham is further emphasised by the presence of two of de Massey’s castles: Dunham Castle and Watch Hill Castle on the border with Bowdon; a third, Ullerwood Castle, was near Hale. The Masseys remained barons of Dunham and its environs until the 14th century, when the line became extinct.[3][4]

The Booth family inherited most of the Massey lands in 1409, with Dunham Massey remaining at the heart of the estate; at the time, only four villages were in the Trafford area. By the Elizabeth period, Dunham Massey Castle had been demolished. Probably during the medieval period, Dunham Massey Hall became the home of the manorial lord, and a centre of power in the area. The hall was rebuilt in 1616, leaving no remains of the old medieval hall. The mill at Dunham was first documented in 1353, although the mill's present structure dates to the 1860s. It lies on the River Bollin, opposite Little Bollington. The first record of Dunham's deer park was also in 1353. The settlement of Dunham Woodhouse dates from the 15th century. During the medieval period, the primary source of employment in Dunham Massey was agriculture, mainly arable.

The Warrington and Stockport Railway was constructed through Dunham during 1853/54. Dunham Massey railway station served the area between 1854 and its closure in 1962. Dunham grew as a result, the population increasing by 57.5% between 1851 and 1881. Otherwise, the industrial revolution had little effect on Dunham Massey, and it remained a predominantly agricultural area.

Dunham Massey Hall

Dunham Massey Hall.

The present hall was initially built in 1616 by Sir George Booth, who was amongst the creations of Baronets by James I in 1611, but was later remodelled by John Norris for George, Earl of Stamford and Warrington between 1732 and 1740; it was also altered by John Hope towards the end of the 18th century and by Joseph Compton Hall between 1905 and 1908. The hall itself, the stables, and the carriage house of Dunham Massey are all Grade I listed buildings, three of six such buildings in Trafford.[5]

The site is moated and lies immediately west of the village of Dunham, with the deer park lying to the south. The hall was donated to the National Trust by the last Earl of Stamford, in 1976. The hall was used as a military hospital during the First World War. Inside is a collection of Huguenot silver, the carving The Crucifixion by 17th century wood carver Grinling Gibbons, and a white marble bust of the Emperor Hadrian; the head is antique, but the neck and shoulders are 18th century, it was probably acquired by the 5th Earl of Stamford. The collection of paintings in the hall include Allegory with Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time by Guercino; The Cascade at Terni by Louis Ducros; and portraits by William Beechey, Francis Cotes, Michael Dahl, A. R. Mengs, Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, Enoch Seeman, and Zoffany. The 7th Earl of Stamford removed a selection of paintings to Enville Hall in the late 1850s, and it was not until the time of Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford that some were returned after sales in 1929 and 1931.[6] The deer park at Dunham Massey is the only medieval park in Trafford to survive to the present.[4] The hall and grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction, with over 115,000 visitors in 2007.

Governance

The civil parish parish of Dunham Massey was created in 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894, and has its own parish council. Dunham Massey became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in 1974 upon the borough's creation, but was previously in Bucklow Rural District. The village is part of the Bowdon electoral ward.[9][4] The councillors for the Bowdon ward are David Merrell, Paula Pearson, and Stephanie Poole, all members of the Conservative Party.[10] Dunham Massey is also a part of the Altrincham and Sale West constituency, and belongs to the North West England constituency of the European Parliament. Since the formation of the Altrincham and Sale West constituency in 1997, it has been represented in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP, Graham Brady. At the 2005 General Election, the Conservatives won with a majority of 7,159 and 46.4% of the vote. Labour won 30.3% of the vote, Liberal Democrats won 21.7%, and the United Kingdom Independence Party won 1.7%.

Geography

Dunham Massey lies to the east of Warburton, and to the west of Bowdon, with Altrincham approximately 2 miles (3 km) to the northeast. The landscape is generally flat, with some mossland. Dunham Park occupies 192.7 acres (780,000 m2) of the area. The Roman road running from Chester to York forms the boundary between Dunham and Bowdon. The River Bollin runs to the south, with the Bridgewater Canal running through the area. The local geology is lower keuper marl, with a ridge of sand and gravel running from Dunham to Warburton.

Demography

As of the 2001 UK census, Dunham Massey had a total population of 475. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. The average household size was 2.36.[2] Of those aged 16–74 in Dunham Massey, 42.0% had no academic qualifications or one GCSE, similar to the figures for all of Trafford (40.8%) and in England (45.5%).[12][13] According to the census, 0.01% were unemployed and 19.24% were economically inactive.[12] 17.89% of the population were under the age of 16, and 9.89% were aged 75 and over; the mean age of the residents of Dunham Massey was 43.71. 75.79% of residents described their health as 'good'.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

Brookheys Covert

Brookheys Covert is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Dunham Park Estate (grid reference SJ742904). The site is a semi-natural wood consisting mainly of ash, birch, and rowan, with a wetland habitat and several marl pits, which have flooded to form ponds. The reserve spans 5.8 acres (23,000 m2) and is managed by the Dunham Massey Estates. Brookheys Covert provides a habitat for many animals, including foxes, rabbits, squirrels, and 57 species of bird.[15][16]

Dunham Park

Dunham Park covers an area of 192.7 acres (780,000 m2) and is part of the Dunham Park Estate, run by the National Trust (grid reference SJ740870). The park is mostly “pasture-woodland or park-woodland” and has been since the Middle Ages. Many of the oak trees, which make up the larger part of the woodland, date back to the 17th century. Dunham Park is the only place in the northwest of England with such a concentration of old trees, and one of only a few remaining in England, making it a site of national importance. The park supports a range of animals, including fallow deer and over 500 species of insect.

Grade II listed buildings

Dunham Massey has many grade II listed buildings; among the most striking is the 18th century sandstone obelisk at the end of the north vista from Dunham Massey Hall. Tradition has it that it marks the burial site of a race horse.[18]

There are many listed residences in Dunham Massey, most of them dating from the 18th or early 19th century, and many of them featuring Flemish bond brickwork and slate roofs. They include: Dunham Massey Lodge, on Dunham Road;[19] Willow Cottage;[20] numbers 1 and 2 Barns Lane;[21] number 1 Orchard View;[22] The Hollies, on Station Road;[23] numbers 1, 3 and 4 Woodhouse Lane;[24] Big Tree Cottages, on Woodhouse Lane.[25] Agden View, also on Woodhouse Lane, dates from 1725 and has both garden wall bond and Flemish bond brickwork.[26] Big Tree House, on Charcoal Road, dates from the mid-18th century and features English bond brickwork.[27] Yew Tree Cottage and Lime Tree Cottage are also on Charcoal Lane; both houses date to the 17th century and exhibit garden wall bond brickwork with slate roofs.[28] Ivy House, on Woodhouse Lane, was built in the early 18th century.[29] Kitchen Garden cottage was built in 1702.[30] Rose Cottage and Farm Cottage are late 18th or early 19th century.[31] The Meadows, on School Lane, was built in the 17th century and features garden wall bond brickwork and a thatched roof.[32]

The farm buildings of Home Farm, including its dovecote, were built in the early 19th century, and feature Flemish bond brickwork.[33][34] Sinderland House, also dating from the early 19th century, is another of Dunham Massey's listed farmhouses.[35] Manor Farmhouse, on Station Road, was built by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington; the building dates from the mid-18th century and features both Flemish and garden wall bond brickwork.[36] The farmhouse on Station Road was built in 1752.[37] The barn on Woodhouse Lane dates from the early 18th century and features garden wall bond brickwork, a slate roof, and upper cruck frames.[38] Dog Farmhouse, also on Woodhouse Lane, was built in the early 19th century; however it may have been an adaptation of an earlier, possibly 18th century, farmhouse.[39]

Dunham School was built in 1759, with additions in 1860 and the 20th century. Above the door is an engraved panel reading “This School was Erected in 1759 For the Benefit of the Township of Dunham Massey. According to the Will of Thomas Walton Gent”. The school now serves as the parish hall.[40] The nearby Dunham School Bridge, over the Bridgewater Canal, was built in 1776 by John Gilbert,[41] who also built the aqueduct for the Bridgewater Canal over the River Bollin, which was opened in 1776.[42] The other listed bridge, Brick Kiln Lane Bridge, was also built in the 18th century.[43] Bollington watermill was constructed in the 1860s, and has an undershot waterwheel.[44]

There are a number of listed structures in the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall, including the 1720 wellhouse that supplied water to the hall until the 1860s,[45] and the early 18th century ornamental sundial in front of the hall, depicting a black slave clad in leaves, carrying the sundial above his head.[46] The stable buildings,[47] the slaughterhouse,[48] the deer house,[49] the orangery,[50] and an ashlar shelter to the west of the hall,[51] all date from the 17th or 18th century. Barn Cottages date from at least 1751. The cottages were originally a single barn, which was converted in the 19th century.[52] Other grade II listed structures in the grounds of the hall include: the lakeside wall (18th century);[53] two small piers south of the garden forecourt (18th century);[54] a pier north west of the garden forecourt (18th century);[55] the gateway opposite the kitchen (1750);[56] the piers at the south of forecourt garden topped with lions (18th century);[57][58] and an obelisk erected by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington, in 1714 in memory of his mother.[59] Near the hall there is a Grade II* listed sawmill, probably built in 1616.[

I do! It's the only way I'll make it through.

Down to the really tough stuff now and I'm a bit overwhelmed. Just about two weeks till I close on the new house. Then a couple more weeks of leaving this home and setting up a new one. After that, there are the small matters of finding a job and making a new life. What a huge load of change in just six month's time! Sure, I'm a little excited, I know there are good things ahead, yet I'm also scared and kind of lonesome. But I'll just keep praying and keep that music playing. : )

Will be disappearing from flickr for a bit. Must completely devote myself to taking care of business for a little while. But save my seat now, cause I'll be reappearing here soon as an Iowan! I'll wear a Hawkeye shirt so you'll know me! : )

LOVE you guys! See you soon!

xoxo

Shari : )

Calke Abbey Orangery. Processed in Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro2.

It takes a lot of patience, but it's well worth it! My friend(or so I'd like to think)....the red fox.

National Trust, Somerset

Very intimate pose full of trust. In the middle of road in open space, Mickey on his back with paw reaching the sky.

Iron block and some man, in Setubal Port, one evening.

You may view more of my images of Ickworth House, Park and gardens, by clicking "here" !

Please do not insert images, of group invite, thank you!

Ickworth Park. With over 1,800 acres of parkland designed by Capability Brown, the house and its grounds were created as an homage to Italy, the country so beloved by Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol. The Earl-Bishop spent his life travelling the continent, gathering together a vast collection of paintings, sculpture and artefacts. Already possessed of several houses, he conceived Ickworth primarily as a museum for his treasures. At his death only the Rotunda - the giant circular structure at the centre of the two wings, described by Hervey's wife as 'a stupendous moment of Folly' - was nearing completion. The house was eventually finished by his son. Although Hervey's treasures, confiscated during the French invasion of Italy, were destined never to occupy Ickworth, his descendants made it their life's work to rebuild what has become an exceptional collection of art and silver. Paintings housed in the galleries include works by Velázquez, Titian and Poussin, while the collection of 18th-century portraits of the family is exceptionally fine, featuring canvases by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Vigée-Lebrun and Hogarth. In addition to one of the very best British collections of Georgian Huguenot silver, Ickworth is also home to an impressive array of Regency furniture, porcelain, and domestic objects. More made a career of producing idealised Italian landscapes. His Landscape with Classical Figures, Cicero at his Villa, painted in 1780 and funded in 1993, is a typical work, the misty soft-focus and pastel light adding to its appeal. Hugh Douglas Hamilton's The Earl Bishop of Bristol and Derry Seated before the Prospect of Rome shows Hervey seated at what is thought to be the southern tip of the Borghese Gardens. Ickworth's parklands and gardens can provide a day's activity in their own right. The south gardens are modelled on the formal Italian style, while the gardens to the west of the house are more informal. Visitors can walk or cycle out into the park itself and up to the Fairy Lake. Bright and modern, The West Wing Restaurant overlooks the gardens and can be guaranteed to catch any sunlight on offer. It serves everything from hot meals to snacks, and at weekends the restaurant is open for breakfast. If you're after something rather more formal, try Frederick's restaurant at Ickworth Hotel in the grounds.

The sheep is a quadrupedal, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe (/juː/), an intact male as a ram or occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a younger sheep as a lamb. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleece, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. Ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science. Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production. Sheepraising has a large lexicon of unique terms which vary considerably by region and dialect. Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap; it is both the singular and plural name for the animal. A group of sheep is called a flock, herd or mob. Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age. Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and find representation in much modern language and symbology. As livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions. In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals. Domestic sheep are relatively small ruminants, usually with a crimped hair called wool and often with horns forming a lateral spiral. Domestic sheep differ from their wild relatives and ancestors in several respects, having become uniquely neotenic as a result of selective breeding by humans. A few primitive breeds of sheep retain some of the characteristics of their wild cousins, such as short tails. Depending on breed, domestic sheep may have no horns at all, or horns in both sexes, or in males only. Most horned breeds have a single pair, but a few breeds may have several. Another trait unique to domestic sheep as compared to wild ovines is their wide variation in color. Wild sheep are largely variations of brown hues, and variation within species is extremely limited. Colors of domestic sheep range from pure white to dark chocolate brown and even spotted or piebald. Selection for easily dyeable white fleeces began early in sheep domestication, and as white wool is a dominant trait it spread quickly. However, colored sheep do appear in many modern breeds, and may even appear as a recessive trait in white flocks. While white wool is desirable for large commercial markets, there is a niche market for colored fleeces, mostly for handspinning. The nature of the fleece varies widely among the breeds, from dense and highly crimped, to long and hairlike. There is variation of wool type and quality even among members of the same flock, so wool classing is a step in the commercial processing of the fibre. Depending on breed, sheep show a range of heights and weights. Their rate of growth and mature weight is a heritable trait that is often selected for in breeding. Ewes typically weigh between 45 and 100 kilograms (99 and 220 lb), and rams between 45 and 160 kilograms (99 and 353 lb). When all deciduous teeth have erupted, the sheep has 20 teeth. Mature sheep have 32 teeth. As with other ruminants, the front teeth in the lower jaw bite against a hard, toothless pad in the upper jaw. These are used to pick off vegetation, then the rear teeth grind it before it is swallowed. There are eight lower front teeth in ruminants, but there is some disagreement as to whether these are eight incisors, or six incisors and two incisor-shaped canines. There is a large diastema between the incisors and the molars. For the first few years of life it is possible to calculate the age of sheep from their front teeth, as a pair of milk teeth is replaced by larger adult teeth each year, the full set of eight adult front teeth being complete at about four years of age. The front teeth are then gradually lost as sheep age, making it harder for them to feed and hindering the health and productivity of the animal. For this reason, domestic sheep on normal pasture begin to slowly decline from four years on, and the average life expectancy of a sheep is 10 to 12 years, though some sheep may live as long as 20 years. Sheep have good hearing, and are sensitive to noise when being handled. Sheep have horizontal slit-shaped pupils, possessing excellent peripheral vision; with visual fields of approximately 270° to 320°, sheep can see behind themselves without turning their heads. Many breeds have only short hair on the face, and some have facial wool (if any) confined to the poll and or the area of the mandibular angle; the wide angles of peripheral vision apply to these breeds. A few breeds tend to have considerable wool on the face; for some individuals of these breeds, peripheral vision may be greatly reduced by "wool blindness", unless recently shorn about the face. Sheep have poor depth perception; shadows and dips in the ground may cause sheep to baulk. In general, sheep have a tendency to move out of the dark and into well lit areas, and prefer to move uphill when disturbed. Sheep also have an excellent sense of smell, and, like all species of their genus, have scent glands just in front of the eyes, and interdigitally on the feet. The purpose of these glands is uncertain, but those on the face may be used in breeding behaviors. The foot glands might also be related to reproduction, but alternative reasons, such as secretion of a waste product or a scent marker to help lost sheep find their flock, have also been proposed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Second Life - Veronica Swift - Trust in Me 🎶

“So, that’s what they wanted: lies.

Beautiful lies.

That’s what they needed.

People were fools.

It was going to be easy for me.”

“I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” - Yeats

The Winter Garden. The famous grove of Himalayan Birch trees (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii) which has its gleaming white trunks pressure washed every year to produce this ghostly scene, which has an even greater impact on gloomy days..

Stoneywell, National Trust: Rear Elevation

Because of coastal erosion this lighthouse has now been removed

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Peter Pan inspired series!

Leighton as Wendy Darling.

Imagine Wendy a grown-up, she wants to go back to Neverland because she wants to see Peter again, so she uses Pixie Dust to try to fly.

An icon of the city that anyone can recognize.

Air Malta Airbus A320 deploying the trust reversers as it's slowing down after landing at EBBR, Brussels airport.

Dave Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orpah Project, Nairobi

Once healed and stabilized at the nursery, they are moved more than a hundred miles southeast to two holding centers in Tsavo National Park. There, at their own pace, which can be up to eight to ten years, they gradually make the transition back into the wild.

did you ever wonder why some elephants are brown, others gray and like these red? It is from the mud and dust they roll in.

"Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”

☆NEW BLOG☆ Stiff

-Stiff - Felicia Set-

Compatible with:

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+Reborn

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Now on Level Event: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEVEL/114/225/4

Event Starts 1th - Ends 25th.

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Feel free to comment my pics or contact me - in English or German.

I am very thankful for every constructive criticism that helps me to get better!

Small viperine water snake.

Petite couleuvre vipérine. Natrix maura.

Zoo d'Amnéville, Moselle, Lorraine, Grand Est, France.

© 2017 Schneider Morgane | Setsukoh

This a corner of the Square ine the beautiful little town of Dunkeld. Many of the properties are owned by the National Trust

Youth Waste

Trust, A Yellow Rose.

Happy Navaratri Day 4.

Salutations to the Goddess Lakshmi and her 8 manifestations .

Your color is yellow.

As the creative power of the universe, you have created the world with your divine beauty, grace and abundance.

Like our Sun, You are the primordial energy of the Absolute that created the whole world .

Through your blessings, may we live in Harmony with the universal laws that we are naturally drawn to care for, and protect the resources that sustain the earth.

May we be ever grateful and honor your beauty and abundance in our worlds, both inside and outside ourselves.

🙏🌞🙏