Life's a gas

 How about this for a rather splendid upcycling of an old gas marker and some stray lego. Now repurposed into a flat number plate.

One of the many wonders I trundled past on my first visit to Nottingham or Snottingham if we are to use its original Saxon name! I'll write more next week. Have a great weekend.

Arilx

Breaking the journey

 A fleeting, but fruitful break in our journey towards the north of the country with a brief stop at Canons Ashby. A new NT house for me and although on the smaller side, most definitely perfectly formed.

In its first incarnation Canons Ashby was a medieval Augustinian Priory which, by the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, had got itself a rather unsavoury reputation and was thus one of the first in line when the closures started in 1536. It passed into the hands of one of Henry VIII's cronies, Sir Francis Bryan, [he was related to the Boleyns and the Howards]. He understood and adapted seamlessly to the intrigues of the court and managed to remain in favour with the monarch. His behaviour and rakish exploits earned him the nickname of the 'Vicar of Hell'

Further down the line in the history of the property's ownership it passed into the Dryden family following John's marriage to Elizabeth Cope in 1551 [her father held the estate of Canons Ashby] and there it remained for the next 400 years. This couple had the tower built and then joined the original farm to it which gives it its distinctive H shape and then Edward Dryden had the dressed stone frontage added to bring it in line with 18th century taste. By the 20th century the fortunes of the family had declined and they were unable to afford the upkeep so it passed over into the care of the NT.

There were a whole row of these in the hallway...shoes to go over the horses hooves so that they didn't damage the grass no less. The problems of the wealthy eh!

This rather gorgeous Arts and Crafts table and chair was designed and made by Clare Dryden in the 1890s.

How about this for a rather splendid example of a Jacobean room...behold that confection of a ceiling and the many delicious details on the overmantle.

Round every corner there seemed to be a new delight to behold. The first photo is one of the series of 17th century wall paintings which were discovered when work was done on this part of the house and the panels with the armorial details would have been there to impress all and sundry. A bit like a Burke's Peerage, but in painted form. Amazingly that ended up as the servants quarters in the end.

I simply couldn't resist asking what the object below was....I'm reliably informed that it's a bobbin winder.

With a view out across the garden to the far hills to finish with. As you can see the storm clouds were gathering by then so we made a dash for it back to the car and resumed our journey to our first stopover.

Arilx

Sat on the bench

 One of the wonderful things about travelling for me is not just about the things we've planned to see, but equally the unplanned sprinkling of surprises as we explore. Over a couple of days one of the themes was definitely benches with a difference. I could have happily sat on all of them and watched the world go by.

In Harrogate many of the seats have this snake on them mainly in black and silver, but this one stood out for its alternative green and red colouring.

 I am led to believe that this particular reptile symbolises, Asclepius, the Greek God of health and is referencing the supposed health giving qualities of the different waters [some of which are proven] from this famous spa town.

However, lovely though these examples are Alnwick was next level. Dotted around the market place are these stunners....given the opportunity I'd very happily have the dragon one in my garden!

Personally I love to see the purely functional reimagined in this artistic way and the more the merrier I say.

Arilx

Rusty Rita

 The rather fabulous 'Angel of the North' [or Rusty Rita as she's otherwise known] by Sir Anthony Gormley. I've always hoped that one day I might be able to see this piece of sculpture with my own eyes and I have to say that it didn't disappoint close up to. This alone rather gives the game away as to where we headed for our holiday.

Arilx

Dying to impress

 I didn't know a whole heap about Winchelsea before we popped over for lunch on our Brede adventures. I was vaguely aware that it was a cinqueport and it was established on this site by a charter from Edward I in 1281. However it goes back further than that as Old Winchelsea was a place of great significance which unfortunately ceased as it all fell into the sea. The new town [one of the smallest in England with a population of 500] used to be by the sea, but as the area has all silted up it now finds itself most definitely inland. I think that you can see how splendid it would have been back in the day simply from the size of its parish church even though a fair portion of that now lies in ruins.

Back in the 13th century the Alard family were one of the important families. They didn't want their memory to fade over time and by commissioning an impressive set of tombs they were successful in their mission. I felt that the purbeck marble effigies of a Knight, a lady and a civilian wearing the fashionable clothes of the 1320s were pretty stunning. These canopies tombs are built into the walls of the North Chapel. It's believed that the trio are Robert, his wife Isabel and his brother Henry.

However, if you wander over to the South Chapel this is where you'll find the big cheese...Gervase Alard. His brother Stephen lies in the tomb next to him, but somehow it's noticeably just that bit smaller. The main man is depicted in armour holding a heart in his hands. In life he made his money in wine trading with Gascony and and he was the Baron of the Cinque Ports

My motivation was a little different...I had got wind of the fact that it has some rather cracking foliate spewing faces on it and as it's been a while..........

From the little I saw of it the town looks to be very charming and popular in the tourist season I'd guess. If you've a mind to visit the church it also has the most fabulous set of windows which cast a lovely light when the sun shines through. I've just included the one image to give you an idea. They were designed by Douglas Strachan between 1929 and 1933.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and I shall be back with a few holiday tales next week.

Arilx

Giants and Ogres

 Good evening and here I am back after my adventures way up north in the country. More of that next week, but first a little about a trip we made over to the far reaches of Sussex a few days before we headed off. You know you've gone a long way east when the road signs are directing you towards Folkstone! On this occasion we were in pursuit of giants and an ogre.

Now I rarely pass up the chance to see old machines being put through their paces whether that be cars, traction engines. planes or in this case some whopping great beam engines. Originally these behemoths were installed as part of the Hastings water works to pump water along a six mile pipe into the town. The water works were set up in 1904 with two Tangye engines [one has been destroyed]. 

In 1940 another engine made by Worthington Simpson joined their ranks. It had only been manufactured the year before and was the last one made in the country. It and its fellow engines continued operating until 1964 when they were mothballed.

By 1994 when the decision was taken to restore the engines they were in poor condition. However, the Brede Steam Giants society got the bit between their teeth and many thousands of voluntary hours later they have been beautifully restored [along with many pieces of machinery on display] and they now have them running on the first Saturday of the month with free entry. They are magnificent beasts to behold, but are not the only giants that the small village of Brede can lay claim to.

In the nearby parish church is this rather unremarkable tomb with the recumbent figure of Sir Goddard Oxenbridge depicted upon it.

In life this gentleman was a pious chap who was deeply religious and held various offices including the Sherriff of Sussex and Surrey yet even during this time the rumours swirled that he was a giant of a man who measured 7' in height and could only be killed by a wooden [not a metal] weapon. It was even claimed that he ate a child every day for his supper. The calling of his good name into disrepute seem to have started either with the smugglers or the Catholics. The legend was that in the end he was caught by a gang of children one night when he was drunk and they sawed him in half with a wooden sword on the nearby Groaning Bridge. Henceforth he has been known as the Brede Giant or worst still the Sussex Ogre. All very undeserved poor fellow.

Nowadays the Brede Giants are run on compressed air rather than steam which means that they can't run both at once...that gave us as a natural break and a chance to do a bit more nosing about over lunchtime. More on that next time.

Arilx

Spiky

"I told you I was ill"

When the church refused to let Spike Milligan have those words upon his grave he had the last laugh and had them put on in Irish instead. Witty to the end.

 Have a great weekend folks. I shall be conspicuous by my absence next week, so will catch up with everyone in a few days time.

Arilx