Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
We wanted to see the brand new park in the centre of Manchester, not far from Piccadilly Station, which opened last week. Very impressive it was too. Lovely soft planting, very nice hard elements, a cleaned up River Medlock (jet black in my youth like all Manchester rivers), and a good playpark. Terrific job, Manchester. We then headed for the Vimto Park. After Primary School I would often sit on the Vimto factory wall and look wonderingly inside the factory. First however we saw Archimedes. This statue sits under the railway arches on Altrincham Street and depicts a larger than life-size Archimedes, leaping out from a bath during his famous 'Eureka! ' moment and is sculpted in stone by Thompson Dagnall. It was unveiled in 1990. The Godlee Observatory which we could see above the Uni's Sackville Street building just by the side of Vimto Park was bequeathed to the people of Manchester by businessman and philanthropist Francis Godlee in 1903. The observatory features a spiral staircase, trap door, and dome made from papier-mâché! It has been a feature of the city’s skyline for well over a century – and even played a part in putting man on the Moon. I did enjoy seeing at last this monument to a Manchester drink. This is on the spot where the drink was invented by a Manchester herbalist. We then made our way towards the Art Gallery, passing the old London Road fire station. In addition to a fire station, the building housed a police station, an ambulance station, a bank, a coroner's court, and a gas-meter testing station. The fire station operated for eighty years, housing the firemen, their families, and the horse-drawn appliances that were replaced by motorised vehicles a few years after its opening in 1906. It is currently, after years of neglect, being renovated for multi-use. We passed other grand Edwardian buildings from Manchester's heydey. Here a building now occupied by the Uni. here the old Tootal's warehouse and showroom...... here just one of the many grandiose warehouses on Portland Street where I used to catch my bus home after spending Saturday morning in Sherratt and Hughes, the bookshop. Pevsner described it and its companion, No. 86, Manchester House, as "quite splendid ... good examples of the warehouse type designed for multiple occupation by shipping merchants". Now flats. With a totally different look, the former Lloyds Bank at 53 King Street in white stone , also splendid Edwardian....... Anyhow, we eventually arrived at Manchester City Art Gallery where we went on an hour's tour with one of the curators. We've always found this a great thing to do and very instructive, and often amusing. So it proved. We first learned about Stubb's Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians when a cheetah brought to England from India was pitched against a stag in a hunting demonstration at Windsor. The outcome was not as expected.....the cheetah hid behind a tree when released and the stag chased him away! It rather looked as if Stubbs (famous of course for his horses) had just put a stag's head on a horse's body. Interesting. We then learned about Etty's mammoth and voluptuous The Sirens and Ulysses. "Dramatic depiction of the Sirens, three nude voluptuous females on a small island, their hands raised in gesture, one playing a lyre, all of them singing. Around them are strewn the decaying remains of dead sailors. In the background to the right is Ulysses' ship, Ulysses bound struggling to the mast, surrounded by his men, struggling with the sails of the boat. Dark clouded sky and sea." The bodies resulted from Etty's trips to morgues. Perhaps the Victorians found this all too much as Etty could't sell this picture. We were also surprised by how much Turner had taken from his hero Claude. This is Claude's Adoration of the Golden Calf ........... and here Turner's 'Thomson's Aeolian Harp'..... We had a brief look at the Lowry room which had his paintings alongside his teacher Valette's. But we were hungry and so hurried along to Rudy's our new and very very good pizza place. The pizza is only in the oven for a minute so service was exceptionally quick. And they did one pizza between us - more than enough. On our way to our concert we were taken by the reflections of the grandiose Midland Hotel in a modern building opposite. The Bridgewater Hall bar overlooks this sculptured scene...... We were at the BBC's Young Musician of the Year and excellent in all aspects it was too. And a stalls seat for £10....you couldn't grumble.
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Surprisingly, since we once lived quite near, we had never visited Newby Hall. The reality matched our pre-conceptions. It is one of England’s renowned Adam houses, and justifiably so, and a really exceptional example of 18th century interior decoration. Designed (but not visited) in the 1690s by Sir Christopher Wren the house was later enlarged and adapted by John Carr (of York of course) and subsequently Robert Adam. The first views of the house are magnificent. We must return when the double herbaceous borders are at their best, probably next July. We had chance before our tour of the house to stroll the length of the borders down to the riverside and the two charming pavilions there........ ........with decorated shell interiors which the Georgians so loved. Every detail shouted class - including this water butt of 1841. We entered at the back of the house (used to be the front, in the way of these things), and enjoyed the guard dogs and door knocker (a sign of things to come). One William Weddell was one of the most important owners in the story of the house, as it was he who went on the Grand Tour and brought back such treasure chests of goodies. He had the very good taste too to employ Robert Adam and the local Thomas Chippendale for a lot of the design of the house as it is today, giving them free hand to decorate and furnish whole rooms so that everywhere the house seems 'complete'. The entrance hall was a good example, inspired by the architecture of Ancient Rome. Adam designed the whole and Chippendale made furniture to match. The mahogany doors and their door handles in gold were especially impressive (as they were throughout the house). The Sicilian marble floor was one of the treasures William Weddell brought back - many many tons. This room was the original dining room but when the house was inherited later by the 3rd Lord Grantham he turned it into his library to house his many books. Design again all by Adam. The side and ceiling painted panels were by Zucchi who also did much work in the house, helped by his wife Angelica Kauffman, an amazing woman about whom I must learn more. The stuccoists working everywhere were the York firm of Joseph Rose. Incredible what local skills were available. It goes without saying that Lord Grantham built a replacement dining room on the side of the house. The South Bedroom contains a grand bed by Chippendale as well as some of his bedroom furniture. Incidentally, Chippendale not only provided his clients with chairs, tables and beds, but everything a household might need, including mirrors, pelmets, curtains and wall coverings. The Print Bedroom has lovely views of the River Ure at the end of the garden and was reserved for the most important guests. Undoubtedly the grandest of Adam's work at Newby is the Statue Gallery, consisting of two square rooms with a central rotunda. It is magnificent. Most of the statuary is genuine Roman from the First Century BC to the Second Century AD, all from the Grand Tour (in all nineteen chestfuls). The finest collection of Roman statuary in private hands in Britain. I think I am correct in saying the large Roman tomb shown below weighs more than a ton. A truly massive piece of Roman history and undoubtedly meant for an Emperor or someone in his family. We had a lovely lunch in the restaurant (NT could learn a lot), and then had a leisurely stroll around the gardens....... This statue will undoubtedly be original Roman.......... The orchard was truly bountiful...... We sat in the tropical garden enjoying a Yorkshire Dales ice cream......the nicest we have had since Brymor's. This end of the garden was very Monet-esque........ We loved these two zebras (and you can just see the giraffe behind)....... We then drove into Ripon which we didn't know well. Our first view of the cathedral was impressive enough. And the Dean who lives in this house is a very lucky individual! The West front is Early English, about 1220. and the East window built as part of a reconstruction of the choir between 1286-8 and 1330, was described by architecture critic Pevsner as 'splendid' which of course it is. The church's thirty-four misericords were carved between 1489 and 1494. Saint Wilfrid was buried in this church near the high altar. Devastated by the English king Eadred in AD 948, as a warning to the Archbishop of York, only the crypt of Wilfrid's church survived but today this tiny 7th-century chapel rests complete beneath the later grandeur of Archbishop Roger de Pont L'Eveque's 12th century minster. These oils were hanging on the chuch walls - top is Richard II and below his Chancellor....... and this one is of Anne Boleyn, not a friend of the Church as it was.......... The rood screen dates from the fifteenth century, but the statues were added in 1947. Here is the tomb of our friend William Weddell from Newby Hall. After leaving the cathedral we ambled to the main square....... and down one or two older streets with much character and we really enjoyed the various styles of architecture the housing showed..... The map showed what looked like a nice walk from one bridge over the Ure to another. Unfortunately we couldn't see much of the river because of the trees and most of the walk was blighted by traffic noise. We trudged wearily into The Water Rat for a reviving drink!
We have lots of local walks, a good few of them involving walks along either the Ribble or the Hodder. With dramatic skies (but no rain) today we opted for the walk at Grindleton along the Ribble where occasionally we'll see a fly fisherman trying his or her luck. Good piece of news as well. Where we finish up in Grindleton there has always been the frustrating sight of two closed pubs, but now lots and lots of work going on at one of them and a banner proclaiming the Rum Fox will open in Autumn. Three cheers! The following day we did the walk to Mitton along the Ribble, through fields and along Malkin Lane. We then dived into the Aspinall Arms and relaxed in their garden with a view of the medieval manor house and church and old bridge. We were soon catching the bus to Whalley and there went into the Abbey grounds............ through the imposing gatehouse....... We hadn't seen the East range before so we enjoyed this view which shows a mixture of medieval, Elizabethan and Victorian........ This range is now used for Diocesan meetings etc and so has a few modern bits....... One thing I did discover was a lovely tree-lined walk along the Calder at the back of the Abbey. Wandering among the ruins you see this medieval wall with later windows. In front of it stood the kitchen and infirmary. On the dissolution of the abbey, most of the stone was used by the locally-powerful Assheton family to build a manor house and the windows represent the remains of what must have been a very impressive long gallery. And here, not accessible as owned privately by the RC church of all people, is the laymen's dorter (dormitory). Historic England have listed it as at risk 'Category A - Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; no solution agreed'. That is all I can find........an absolute disgrace. We next had a look inside the lovely parish church St Mary and All Saints. The roof of the nave is Fifteenth Century, but the roof of the chancel seen beyond the rood screen is the original roof from when the church was built in the early Thirteenth Century. Remarkable. An interesting brass bears the figures of Ralph Catterall and his wife, the man in armour of the early Tudor period, kneeling at a prayer desk with nine sons behind him, and facing his wife, who kneels at another desk with eleven daughters. The inscription reads: 'Of yr charitie pray for the sowllys of Ralfe Catterall esquire, and Elizabeth, hys wyfe, whyche bodies lyeth Before this Pellor and for all ther Chylder sowlys whyche Rafe decesyd the xxvi day of deceber ye yere of our Lord God MoCCCCCoXVo, on whose sowlys Jhu. have mercy Amen.' Twenty children! The triple sedilia is Early English from the early thirteenth century. The choir stalls were carved for the Abbey about 1430 and we just had time for a brief look at the misericords. 'Great British Churches' draws attention to "a blacksmith attempting to shoe a goose that is being held in some kind of frame. On the left are all his tools in gorgeous detail, although I don’t know what some of them are! On the left you can see his bellows, the nozzle poking into what appears to the furnace with a chimney. Why is the smith doing something so absurd? There is, again, wording beneath - something probably unique to Whalley. It paraphrases the mediaeval proverb that meddling in other people’s affairs is about as useful as trying to shoe a goose." There were several private pews Also a door knocker thought to be from the original church door ie Eleventh Century Norman. We just had time to have a white wine and nuts in Whalley Wine Bar (excellent), before catching the bus home. A very relaxing and interesting afternoon.
One of Lancashire's historic houses that we hadn't visited was Turton Tower. We booked a tour. It was built in the late Middle Ages as a two-storey stone pele tower which was altered and enlarged mainly in late 16th century. It is built on high ground 600 feet above sea level about four miles north of Bolton. William Camden described it as being built "amongst precipices and wastes." A north wing and additions were made during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and alterations were made during the early years of Queen Victoria. So it is a real miscellany and indeed you can sense, more than almost anywhere, how the individuals inhabiting the house adapted it to their own times and usages. Throughout the house are displayed one of the finest collections of period furniture and paintings in the region and many items are on display from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, while others are from local museums and organisations such as Towneley Hall in Burnley and Chetham’s Library in Manchester. All look very much the part. The Dining Room is located in the oldest part of the building – the base of the old stone tower. This room was dramatically altered after James Kay became the owner of Turton Tower in 1835. Kay was a keen antiquarian and wanted to recreate a dining room of the 1600s. The oak panelling was bought from the sale of interiors at Middleton Hall near Manchester at the time of its demolition in 1844. The windows contain excellent examples of painted glass made in Switzerland in the early 1600s. In another room we saw the so-called 'Bishop's Chair'. There are only three examples in the UK In the hallway are two pictures of the Horrocks Family who were tenants of the Tower from 1750 to 1820. Pictured are William Horrocks and his wife Elizabeth on their wedding day in 1743, he is age 86 and she is 28. Elizabeth previously worked as a servant for the Chetham family. They went on to have a child, James, who lived to be over the age of 100. On the top floor of the pele tower the Drawing Room became a place for relaxation and entertainment. From the 1840s the Kay family and their guests amused themselves here by enjoying games at the card table, playing the piano, sewing by the fire and admiring the paintings on display. The oak panelling here is also from Middleton Hall, and a new plaster ceiling was installed showing a Tudor rose design. In the Tapestry Bedroom, one can see an oak bed, made some time around 1590. Carved into the oak is the coat of arms of the Courtenay family of Devon. James Kay bought the bed in the 1840s, attracted by its age and motivated by his desire for historic things. This bed would have also appealed to him because of its association with such a distinguished aristocratic family. The date is carved into the foot of the bed. This detail was probably added to the bed shortly before it was transported to Turton Tower. Recently the bed was damaged a little in situ, and the V & A want it back! Basically Bolton Council have said come and get it (an expensive process), and so there is somewhat of an impasse. Such you learn from chatty guides! At one point we could see the cruck house very nearly abutting the tower with just the tiniest gap. Was this insurance against fire? Whatever, it is a singular arrangement and astonishing to see. Three types of wattle and daub were on display. This is the most recent. The Chetham Room is at the top of the stone tower. The walls were extended up a floor by the Orrell family in the 1500s. Evidence of this can be seen from both the outside and inside of the tower. Once divided into two connecting rooms, the Kay family played billiards here in the late 1800s. I was interested in this portrait as it shows one of the officers - a Robert Keymer - present at the Peterloo Massacre. One outside window had two interesting stone figures, the right-hand one almost Peruvian or African?
I'm always amazed by Preston. With a few hundred million spending on it, and all the atrocious Sixties concrete buildings knocked down, it could be superb. The ex Harris Institute below is a good example of what's wrong. It is a massive classically designed public building, empty for a long time, currently needing a lot of tlc. It is Grade II * but on the 'At Risk' list with Historic England who said in 2019 "In recent years the Institute was operated as Darul Uloom Islamic Institute but closed after a year of operation and the building has stood empty since 2014. There is a risk that dry rot (which was previously eradicated) could re-establish as the building is unventilated and suffering from water ingress.” In 2022 it is currently for sale at £350,000. with no takers. Surely a partnership between Council and a developer could turn it to a hotel/offices/accommodation........ It stands not far from the impressive Winckley Square in a Georgian area which could easily one would have thought be reinvigorated. There are some interesting examples of appropriate use of old buildings s you wander around the town.........and later we were to see a prime example. Whilst waiting for our meeting at the Plau we walked round the university area, and very good it was too with interesting buildings and terific planting. Here is one of the older Uni buildings...... and, next to it the building of John Crook, tea merchant and grocer whose last mention was in 1963..... WE were headed for The Plau Gin and Beer House as part of the Heritage Days openings in Preston. The Plau opened in November 2018 after more than three years of careful and sensitive restoration of the building, most of which dates from the the 18th century. Built in 1668 as a butcher’s shop, Plau was first converted into a pub in 1795. The name recalls the fact that the Plough Inn occupied the property in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, which finally closed as a licensed premises in 1923. The resurrection after 95 years of closure must be one of the longest gaps in the country. Jeremy Rowlands, owner of Plau said, “We had this romantic notion of a place lost in history and set out plans for its renovation, which quickly escalated into a much bigger project.“We ended up purchasing a second part of the building, within which we uncovered an 18th century subterranean gin distillery, that has now become our vaulted cellar bar. We also found a 40ft medieval well in the cellar that housed pieces of pottery and historic bottles, which we’ve collated into a display cabinet of curiosities inside Plau”. We entered into the front bar, and were struck by the atmosphere inside the building. ........and we went below to the cellars, and gin bar.......where we had a talk on the restoration from one of the owners.....the historic nature of Plau has really only been revealed by meticulous restoration.......before they took it on it was a vintage clothing shop and a tattoo bar with 'modern' fixtures and fittings. The vaults for instance were a chance discovery being filled with 50 tons of rubble and not even visible........their restoration including a gin distllery in the yard contributed to several awards including the ‘Conversion Award’ in CAMRA’s prestigious Pub Design Awards. Andrew Davison, chair of CAMRA’s Pub Design Award judging panel, said: “Jeremy Rowlands and architect/designer Rose Peploe of The Artistry House have turned a disused and run-down building into a highly attractive pub, its refurbishment informed both by the known history of the building and by features uncovered during the work. “It uses the long narrow plan and the height of the building to the full, from the vaults in the cellar – with its reopened medieval well – to the split-level ground floor bar, with a more secluded room behind, and the dining room on the upper floor, with its open roof-trusses and boarded roof lining. All has been done with great care, and with quality materials. The result is striking – a traditional pub re-imagined for the 21st century!” Much hard work and digging also uncovered a medieval well unusually constructed with ashlar cut stone which shows it was done by someone with lots of wealth, possibly the nearby Greyfriars...... The dining room where we had a meal later was quite special with its panelling and....... .....views to the rafters......... but everywhere there were things of interest to see whether Victorian screens...... old paintings....... or a cabinet of items found in the excavation of the well......... One of five chandeliers carefully assembled from bits and pieces by the owner gives just some idea of the amount of work and care that went into the restoration. Exiting the back of The Plau we were escorted along a very long internal passageway which once was a medieval lane and this led to a sister establishment - Once Was Lost. They share this beautiful and historic courtyard. Next to it is a 'lifestyle' shop. These buildings are converted weavers cottages. Who knew all this existed in Preston?! The street on which Plau sits - Friargate - is full of modern tatty buildings with modern frontages, takeaways and tat shops, but look up and you see buildings which could be very like Plau. Lots of potential for improvement then.
Ironically the Plau is associated with Thomas Swindlehurst and his decision to for-swear all alcohol in the pub itself, which anticipated the advocacy of teetotalism by the temperance movement, of which he was one of the leading crusaders. As part of the terrific Heritage Open Days which see the opening to the public of many buildings usually not available to access we visited the Moravian Settlement in Manchester. Leaving our car in the Girls' High (which had been founded by the Moravians) we walked down what had obviously been a narrow country lane and sat in the church for a short introduction to the Movement. I was afraid that there would be a preaching element. I was wrong. We were taught about the origins of the Moravians and how they came to be here in an unprepossessing suburb of Manchester. And very interesting it was too. The name Moravian identifies the fact that this historic church had its origin in ancient Bohemia and Moravia in what became the Czech Republic. In the mid-ninth century these countries converted to Christianity chiefly through the influence of two Greek Orthodox missionaries, Cyril and Methodius. They translated the Bible into the common language and introduced a national church ritual. In the centuries that followed, Bohemia and Moravia gradually fell under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome, but not all of the Czech people conformed.The foremost of Czech reformers, John Hus (1369-1415) was a professor of philosophy and rector of the University in Prague. The Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, where Hus preached, became a rallying place for the Czech reformation. Gaining support from students and the common people, he led a protest movement against many practices of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy (which later on would become the battle ground for Luther). Hus was called to Rome with a promised safe-passage, but there accused of heresy, and undergoing a long trial at the Council of Constance, was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. The reformation spirit did not die with Hus, and the church began to grow. By 1517 the Unity of Brethren numbered at least 200,000 with over 400 parishes. Using a hymnal and catechism of its own, the church promoted the Scriptures through its two printing presses and provided the people of Bohemia and Moravia with the Bible in their own language. A bitter persecution, which broke out in 1547, led to the spread of the Brethren’s Church to Poland where it grew rapidly. By 1557 there were three provinces of the church: Bohemia, Moravia and Poland. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) brought further persecution to the Brethren’s Church, and the Protestants of Bohemia were severely defeated at the battle of White Mountain in 1620. Again the spirit lived on. The eighteenth century saw the renewal of the Moravian Church through the patronage of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a pietist nobleman in Saxony. Some Moravian families fleeing persecution in Bohemia and Moravia found refuge on Zinzendorf’s estate in 1722 and built the community of Herrnhut. The new community became the haven for many more Moravian refugees. And from there missionaries spread the word, coming to England and thence to Manchester. The Fairfield Moravian Settlement opened in 1785. It was planned and built by Moravians and it functioned as a self-contained village with its own inn, shop, bakery, farm, laundry, fire-engine, night-watchman and it's own doctor. There were separate houses for sisters and brethren. The single men (Brothers) operated a bakehouse and the single Sisters had a farm, a laundry, and did beautiful needlework. Education was always important to the Moravian culture and in 1793 Day Schools were opened alongside Sunday schools and the pupils included non-Moravian children. All of this led eventually to the extremely successful Girls' High where we had parked. After the talk we had a look round the community. Here is the entrance to the church with the Single Sisters' house to the right. This is where the unmarried female members of the community lived with similar accommodation for men on the left hand side of the church. Opposite the church is the burial ground. Every grave is the same size and form, and they are numbered........... .........indeed here is the very first The Georgian houses stand on cobbled streets and provide an altogether surprising ocean of tranquillity. The cobbles were all found in the bottom of the nearby canal and barrowed here....... The house with the Blue Plaque was that of Benjamin Latrobe one of the founders of Fairfield. His son, also Benjamin, emigrated to America, became an architect, and went on to design Washington's Capitol and the porticos of the White House. Before he left England he had planned and laid out the settlement here. Here is the street which leads to the canal and, on the right, the last commercial property (the Dairy) to be converted to housing. The museum was more interesting than most. First of all a display relating to Fairfield's role in various films and TV series. Here a mock-up of a Single Sisters' room with home-made bedspread covers which both F and I remembered us having exactly like these ourselves. I particularly liked this ladder which had been used in the Dairy to gain access to the hayloft. Here carved ivory toys brought back from the Moravian settlement in Alaska. Incredibly, this Hotpoint washing machine was electric and only ceased use in 1958! All in all an unexpected surprise of a visit...........
"Astley Hall is the most exhilarating house in Lancashire" - Simon Jenkins in his book 'England's 1000 Best Houses'. Surely one of the most exhilarating houses in the country.....It is set adjoining a 60's or 70's estate on the edge of Chorley whose boxy appearance is redeemed by lots and lots of mature trees. When you enter the extensive grounds of Astley however you are in another world. We had a look at the Gardens of Reflection........all brilliantly done ....and the walled garden which was at its luscious best if you like to see rare varieties of apple in profusion....all under the care of volunteers. On approaching the house itself the first thing you notice is the sheets of unadorned windows rising two stories to a huge long gallery - "the facade must carry the most sensational glazing of any house in England" (Jenkins). When the Brookes took over from the Charnocks in 1653 they built over the core medieval hall...... ........and the Elizabethan structure which you can glimpse in the inner courtyard... but first you enter the Great Hall where the decoration is unbelievably sumptuous - 'the hall of a Renaissance prince'. What immediately strikes you is the plasterwork some of the most astonishing anywhere. Pevsner called it by turns 'barbaric' and 'breathtaking'! The guide we chatted to said it was done by local workmen. The written guide sees a London influence. But also unique are the painted panels which depict famous people of the time - Elizabeth the First and Drake, Columbus, Henry IV of France, and pairs of enemies such as Scanderberg and Mohammed II or Phillip II and Leicester. The over-the-top plasterwork continues elsewhere into the house, here the Drawing Room. And the Morning Room....... The Dining Room...... Wood carving was everywhere too....... and fascinating details....... Upstairs a Room of Reflection (all this appropriate as the house was gifted by the family to Chorley as an act of remembrance of the First World War). The various bedrooms were on display and lastly you climb to the Long Gallery which undulates like a galleon, three of its sides completely fenestrated.......... ........and the longest shovel-board table in existence. Very impressive and according to the guide 'one of the most significant pieces of English oak furniture in the country'. After walking the grounds and getting our steps in, we then drove to The Spread Eagle at Mellor where there are far-seeing views of the Trough of Bowland.
Smithills Hall owned by Bolton Council is just 3 miles from the town centre. Yet set in its thousands of acres it is another world, and remarkably little known. For such an important building it is very poorly promoted. More than almost any house I can remember you get the feeling of a house built up and added to over the ages. it is fascinating and we had a lovely tour with guide Pat. A visit starts in the old hall the oldest part of the buildings dating from the Fourteenth Century, and very fine it is. and this window is the very oldest part of the hall.... There are clear information boards everywhere, and you soon come to appreciate the history of the house with its descent through several families. The mass trespass interested me in view of the articles I have been reading which re-iterate that an amazing 92% of the country is still out of bounds to the public. Everywhere there are beautiful carved pieces.........and atmospheric rooms. Probably one of the finest displays of combined medallion and linen panelling in the country is here at at Smithills Hall, in the Withdrawing Room which has deep moulded sixteenth-century timber ceiling beams with infill panels, and walls lined with carved oak linenfold panelling from the same period, which reputedly took a Flemish craftsman seven years to complete. It is considered almost certain that a good portion of this internal decoration was added by Sir Andrew Barton during the reign of Henry VII. The panelling portrays many carved portraits of the Barton family. Most notable is a rebus in three panels: the top and bottom panels respectively depict Andrew Barton’s initials ‘A’ and ‘B’, and the middle panel has a carved image of a bar crossing a tun (a barrel) representing a pun on his surname – Barton. The top tier of panelling, next to the cornice, is enriched with pilasters of Gothic design, beneath which appears a tier of panels with carved medallion portraits of the family. I did rather like the carved deer's head which reminded me almost inevitably of Gromit. The chapel was rebuilt about 1520 by Andrew Barton and maintained by the families who lived there. It has subsequently been added to, refurbished, suffered a major fire, and restored. It still has some of the original stained glass. The Victorian wing has been 'recreated' but with some interesting pieces including this rare square piano. We didn't really explore the grounds, but near the house was well-maintained For some exercise we drove the short distance to Lever Park.........Gifted to the people of Bolton by Lord Leverhulme, Lever Park has been a country park since 1904. The park, which covers about 160 hectares, includes terraced gardens with walks, water features, a Japanese garden with pool, a scale model of Liverpool Castle, and an ornate pigeon tower with a sewing room on the top floor. Much of this is in the process of restoration. After a gradual stroll uphill we started at the first man-made feature, this bridge...... ......which then led to all kinds of terraces and follies of the grandest kind. The lake was unfortunately dry because of the recent drought, but when full and with the picaresque waterfall tumbling down to it, it must be quite a sight. Despite the haze, the views were amazing.......... especially at the top where is Rivington Pike itself, built as a hunting lodge in the Eighteenth Century. We didn't have time or stamina to divert to the Japanese gardens on the way down. But we will be returning on some crisp and clear Autumn day, so look forward to seeing them then.
A long time since I had been to a Roses match so it was good to have a sunny first day. At the interval you were allowed on the outfield. I hadn't realised how hard, dry and cracked the wickets were. I watched from The Point on the left of the pic. Good view. Sat with a chatty Member. Next day with F as guest we upgraded (£5 each) to the pavilion balcony. What a great view you had, right behind the bowlers. The weather was stormy and no play til after lunch so we amused ourselves reading and talking to another Member in the pavilion and having lunch........quite civilised.
In building the new Motorway system around Manchester huge quantities of gravel were excavated as local to the workings as possible. Twenty years later and the pits have become waterparks which look as though they have been here for ever. We parked at Sale and walked the circumference of the park and then along a rather boring stretch of the River Mersey to Chorlton waterpark....... .....just pausing half way luckily for us at , originally the site of a ferry across the Mersey here (not that one)........... The tram took me to the Etihad where I had the satisfaction of seeing ManCity beat Nottingham Forest 6 - 0 with a hatrick by new signing centre-forward Haaland.......
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August 2023
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