Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
"It is written upon a wall in Rome; Ribchester was as rich as any town in Christendom". So wrote William Camden in 1586. A rumour picked up by him in the village perhaps. Nevertheless, quite the statement. We were in Ribchester to visit the Roman Museum. The village's setting by the Ribble with Pendle in the background as always is picturesque. For the Romans it -Bremetennacum - was of strategic importance, and the location of a cavalry fort. The Ala II Asturum, a Spanish cavalry unit were here and then replaced by a Sarmation unit from Hungary. What a cosmopolitan Empire the Roman Empire was. The museum is run by a small charity and receives no grants, a typically English affair. Although small it does contain a wealth of remains, starting with the Bronze Age but heavily concentrating on the Roman occupation. Some absolutely fascinating stuff. I had never seen for instance a Roman tent. Made of leather and with substantial pegs as you can see. The catapult balls were also larger than expected. Now I have seen many Roman nit combs before but never a Roman nit! Amazing. There was quite a lot of stonework on display, this a cavalry tombstone of a “rider and barbarian”, the barbarian being ridden down by the Roman rider. of course. These tombstones were seemingly more popular in Britain than in the rest of the Empire. Similar ones can be seen at the museums of Lancaster and Chester, both of which had forts. The XX Legion at Chester was indeed connected with the building here. Here an altar dedicated to Marcus Aurelius......... But the most remarkable of the many finds at Ribchester is this full-faced Roman parade helmet. "This helmet covered the whole of the rider’s head, with the mask showing the fine features of a human face. On top of the helmet are human figures fighting. The replica in the museum is impressive and well displayed, but the original is on permanent display in the British Museum, London." One of the reasons the Romans valued Britannia was for its mineral wealth. Here we see a lead ingot. A great little museum, with finds even littering its doorstep. We went next to the bathhouse built around 100AD. It had the usual arrangement of cold, warm and hot rooms. Here the circular laconium or sauna distinctly visible. The bath house would have had painted plaster walls and barrel vaulted ceilings. Small translucent glass windows would have given some illumination. Finds from the site indicate that it was used by both men and women and include gaming counters, brooches, beads, stones from rings, bronze pins and 25,000 pottery sherds as well as coins from the times of the Emperors Trajan and Antonius Pius. After 225 AD the baths were no longer in use. They may seem to have had a short life but in relative terms the same sort of time span as between the Victorian PM Lord Salisbury and now. A beer break in the fine pub The White Bull was next. And, suitably refreshed, we looked round the medieval parish church of St Wilfrid, dating back to at least the Eleventh century. The chancel, parts of the nave and vestry date from around the 1220s. The distinctive narrow lancet windows of this period can be seen in the chancel. the oak-beamed roof was repaired and altered in 1527. The wooden medieval screen in front of one of the two chantry chapels is quite rare. The list of former rectors goes back to 1243, the first name being simply Drogo. Tolkien was a frequent visitor to nearby Stoneyhurst. Draw your own conclusions........ "One striking feature is the sundial in the churchyard. It’s 17th century, but the tall flight of steps that it stands on is much older, probably medieval 13th-14th century. At the top of them would have stood a tall cross, now long gone with no trace of it to be found, a fate of many crosses throughout the country. The top step supporting the sundial bears the inscription: “I am a shadow, so art thou. I mark time, dost thou?” This comes from the brilliant blog Lancashire Past by two brothers Adrian and Richard Bowden. Recommended.
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A busy day in Manchester. First to the Trafford Centre where we did well in buying a coffee table, side table and lamp from JLP. Then into the city centre and I couldn't resist taking us to what is becoming my favourite pub The Crown and Kettle, shown here next to my favourite Manchester building - the Daily Express Building which I remember from the Sixties. In fact and astonishingly it dates from 1939. Who would have thought it? It is timelessly modern and up-to-date. We then had tapas (and non-alcoholic beer for me, not bad if you like the taste of lager. I don't), at Pep Guardiola's Tast. Great service. Then to our concert featuring The Piccadilly Sinfonietta. This took place in the lovely Georgian central Manchester church of St Anne's. We sat in the private pew of Michael Ward a Georgian gentleman. The cheap tickets purchased on Groupon were supposed to be restricted view, but our view was fine. The players were amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert. We will be back.
Blackburn cathedral of course. We'd seen it many times on the Antiques Road Show. We were in Blackburn to go to M&S, and we made the cathedral our first stop on alighting at the very good modern bus station. First impressions were of a significant building with a friendly welcome. Inside the cathedral there was a lot to admire. The old Georgian parish church forms the nave of the largely Sixties new building. The roof is splendid. But your eye is immediately drawn to the Sanctuary with its striking corona (under the lantern tower) and rood screen. Whilst we were there an organist was at work, or should I say play, which added to the atmosphere. Looking back down the nave there is the 'Worker Christ' by artist John Hayward. The modern wood carving, here one of several figures adorning the lectern, was quite as good as the old masters. And not all was modern. These chairs with misericords are thought to have come from Whalley Abbey. The centre of Blackburn was pleasant enough. Here Church Street has contemporary sculptures running down its centre. The market was exceptionally good with apparently thriving butchers, bakers, a fishmonger, a tripe shop (haven't seen one of those in a long while), and much much else. But the modern shopping precinct which was dominant is full of closed down units. There are more than 40 mosques in the borough and a third of the population is non white British which certainly alters the feel and complexion of the city. It certainly no longer feels like a former mill town, which is a great shame. Not much sign of Blackburn's heritage in the city centre.
We made our way back from Blackburn Hospital through Colne to Barrowford, a delightful village which we didn't know. Our destination the Pendle Heritage Centre (above) gives a lot more than we imagined. Park Hill is the name of the complex house which the Bannisters have lived in for centuries. A descendant is Sir Roger Bannister. Park Hill dates from the fifteenth century and has been a working farm for most of its existence. The Bannisters after a couple of generations became bankrupt but not before they had built two new wings (seen right and middle below). Thier successors the Swinglehursts and their relations then owned the property until 1920, building the Georgian house facing the river. The Swinglehursts' Georgian house. Inside there is a museum which is a mine of information about the house, its construction, the materials, the craftsmanship. Also large parts of the museum are given over to the Pendle witches, the abbies at Whalley and Sawley, the whole area of Pendle and much else. In fact the information you have to absorb about the house in particular is so much as to be almost overwhelming. You can have too much of a good thing. We also explored the 3 gardens, the cottage garden, the walled garden and the vegetable garden. Exiting through the woods we looked at the outside of an impressive cruck barn (now used for weddings and such). The park at Barrowford is really beautiful, the river running along one side. Here we are approaching the Crown Green bowling green. We couldn't resist a drink in The White Swan and looked at the well-known Bankers Draft next door as well. A thoroughly interesting visit.
We had passed Manchester Hall (a Masons HQ) a few times. Now we were due to enter to one of the three new restaurants opened inside the restored building (The Masons still have the secretive third floor). How magnificent the inside is and very atmospheric. And our restaurant - Masons- was terrific. I was expecting it to be good (all Five Star reviews), but it was beyond that. Cocktails brilliant. Service exceptional. And the beef simply the best I have ever had. A lovely lunch. And so we strolled past the magnificent Midland Hotel....... .......to our venue the ultra modern Bridgewater Hall. We were there for a performance of Mahler's Symphony Number 3. It was long (the longest in a standard orchestra's repetoire apparently), but dramatic. I listened to a 30 minute recording of the First Movement in the morning, and what a comparison to hear it live. Well there was no comparison. Compared to a recording, the live performance is incomparable, sublime. The soloist Alice Coote was very good but so were the Halle Choir and the Halle Children's Choir. and, at the end a standing ovation (granted some of the parents of the children must have been there!). And both The Guardian and The Times gave it unreserved 5 Stars. The Guardian ★★★★★ Hallé/Elder review – Elder’s measured passion unleashes Mahler’s magicBridgewater Hall, Manchester Mahler’s huge Third Symphony marked a triumphant opening of the Hallé’s spring season The Times
★★★★★ At a certain point this Mahler Symphony No 3 transformed from the very good to the sublime. I almost didn’t notice it happening, so powerful was that sensation of being utterly consumed by the music, of living and experiencing it rather than simply listening to and observing the performance. Atrocious weather meant no walks around Clitheroe, so off we went to Saltaire, seen here across the allotments and always worth a whole day visit. This time we managed to see some of the things we had missed on our last visit. including Hockney drawings... ....lithographs the Spring collection.... and i-pad sketches We ate in the Opera cafe which was full of atmosphere. A lovely meal with good service. On our reciprocal visit to Northumberland we had a number of days out. Belsay had changed a lot since our last time there maybe 50 years ago. The Greek-revival new hall (one of the first of its kind in England), designed by owner Sir Charles Monck himself, and an uncompromising building, was completed in 1817 after 10 years in the building. After dealing with the ravages of dry rot when taking it over in 1980 English Heritage have restored the hall and are gradually bringing it back to life as a 'stripped down to the basics' shell. Because the hall has no furniture or fittings one is able to appreciate all the more the design of the house and its rooms.........here the Library with original bookcases in place. Very different to a National Trust house but perhaps all the better for that. The hall is joined to the original castle through Belsay's famous quarry gardens which one reaches after the formal gardens....... and very impressive they are............ The castle has a distinctive pele tower which dates to the late fourteenth century....a mansion was added to the tower in the time of James I. It proved a really fascinating building to explore. and in the Great Hall there are fragments surviving (just) of the fourteenth and fifteenth century decorations...... One could even go on to the roofs which was a favourite thing to do for owners and their friends after dinner parties.....we have been to hundreds of properties in our time but never on a roof. On our way back from the castle by a different route we saw in the distance what looked like a church and vicarage but was in fact a folly.........the first of this kind I have seen. We had a little look round Morpeth which is a delightful town clean and prosperous. The park, which is an enormous credit to the town, now contains a brilliant statue of Emily Wilding Davison. She was a redoubtable militant suffragette who of course died when she threw herself in front of King George V's horse at Epsom. She is buried in the family plot at Morpeth. We climbed the motte in the park originally thrown up in 1095. The castle was burned down by King John. On top, unusually, there were some rather fierce-looking but as it turned out friendly Orkney sheep. Wanting a short walk one day we walked through the woods along White Burn which eventually joins the River Wansbeck. Another visit was to Howick Hall designed and built by the Newcastle architect William Newton in 1782. A fire destroyed the whole interior and the contents on the top two floors in 1926 after which it was rebuilt with a slightly different design and footstep. It looks magnificent. The gardens and arboretum are a true wonderland, with continuing development. and a real highlight was the sensory garden, designed also with autistic people in mind...... The church in the grounds is Victorian displacing what was there before after a number of fires. It contains the tomb of the PM Earl Grey, famous not only for the 1832 Reform Bill which he steered through Parliament, but also the Slavery Abolition Act the following year, and then a number of restrictions on the employment of children. A major statesman. On our walk the sunlight lit up the house in a rather special way... The porch is unusual to say the least..... and the welcoming open front door reveals some of the craftsmanship that went into the whole house.... Inside is memorable not only for its splendour but also............ for the way it is being brought to life room by room with furniture you can sit on and feel at home with. I loved it. A trip to a rather uninspiring pub was redeemed by the beautiful Cheviot scenery on the way....... and a look at the Otterburn Mill, now mainly a retail outlet, but over 250 years old and with a display of oroginal workings which transfomed local wool into knitting yarn and then into knitwear. It was fascinating to see teasels used on a gig to raise the surface of the cloth and make it fluffy...... and outside possibly the only remaining in-situ tenterhook frames in the world..... Two other enjoyable visits, one to Kirkharle the birthplace of Capability Brown, and a short walk around landscape he worked on and then drew up plans for..... and the other to buy kippers at Craster, and stroll along towards Dunstanburgh Castle..... Many thanks to Julia and Allan for a relaxing and fascinating few days
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August 2023
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