During the twentieth century the Guide and Scouting movement and Parlington were inexorably linked, many references have been uncovered which show the camping holidays that were enjoyed by the Scouts. Even on a recent visit to a heritage meeting at Leeds Civic Hall, one delegate explained that she had fond memories of camping at Parlington! Well here are two iconic pictures from around the 1920′s, kindly provided by David Teal quote: “I’ve dug out the photos of the Scouts in Parlington Park, I’m told it was the 13th Leeds N.E. group in about c.1920.”
Archive for January, 2008
The Scouts
Sunday, January 13th, 2008The Ice House
Sunday, January 13th, 2008There are some things here at Parlington which are quite unusual and are worth a mention, one, which is the subject of this first blog is the old Ice House. The picture above is a view of the entrance, which in recent years has been secured by the steel grill. The structure is built into an escarpment and is built of brick, it is shaped like a flat bottomed egg. The second image is a virtual representation of the structure, created in Sketchup Pro.
The Hunt :: Boxing Day
Sunday, January 13th, 2008
Boxing Day is a time when something of the flavour of old Aberford can be sensed with the arrival of the hunt. Although those that RIDE to the meet in the twenty first century are in a minority, contrasted with those that travel in the luxury of a large horse box, it is none the less an attractive sight to see the many riders enjoying what is essentially a hack! The odd fox was seen but we did not give away its position, the hounds were less efficient than I might have expected. So I think on balance the fox won the day.
My eldest daughter also likes to ride and is seen here on Equador with the delightful Cedar of Lebanon in the background.
A Picture of the Stables
Sunday, January 13th, 2008Towards the end of 2007, I was contacted by a lady who is the Granddaughter of the last gardener to be employed by the Gascoigne family. He lived in the house which lies north of the old hall, termed the “Gardens House”. Naturally his granddaughter enjoyed playing in the vicinity in her early years when visiting her grandparents, in fact visiting right up until the death of her grandfather in the 1960′s.This has brought to light some of the most informative pictures yet found and over time, as with the stereo images discovered early in 2007, will be the subject of a more complete analysis. But to wet the viewers appetite here is a picture taken in front of the now demolished stable block. The only known image of this structure! 
Stained Glass
Sunday, January 13th, 2008The Gascoigne sisters were known for their interest in stained glass and the nearby Almshouses built in the early 1840′s at the behest of the two heiresses is a monument to both the skills of local stonemasons and the artistic talent of glaziers of the day. It is thought that the stained glass however is not the work of the sisters, but believed to have been commissioned by them. However traces of stained glass have been unearthed at Parlington, which could be described as “craft work”, rather than the more formal pieces found in the Almshouses. During excavations in the early autumn of 2007 fragments of glass, only 2mm thick were discovered in the area once adjacent to the Drawing Room and rear of the conservatory.
The Rose is particularly interesting, it seems similar stained glass has been identified at Castle Oliver in Ireland.
The New Parlington Blog
Friday, January 11th, 2008Ok, I’ve finally given in! I’ve succumbed; in order to keep a reasonable flow of information on Parlington for those readers who are keen to learn more about the history of this old place I have started a “WordPress” Blog on http://www.parlington.info, this should enable me to keep adding information on a regular basis, without the detail of the main site, really a synopsis of my findings. Hope you enjoy it! I shall of course continue to put detailed accounts on the main site, which has for some time now lain abandoned due to a serious amount of research work over the last summer and autumn.