A recent eBay auction for a postcard of Parlington Hall circa 1941 went beyond my budget and I was disappointed to miss the card, however I made some enquiries and did manage to obtain a reasonable digital version; frankly this is all I need to do analysis and set out the conclusions in future articles, the actual card is not required. But we seem to be going in the same direction again with a postcard presently on eBay which is from the post WW2 period. The same image turned up some years ago as part of a five way postcard, but as used in that way was cropped and therefore only revealed aspects of the Hall itself, missing a large Cedar and some details in the gardens which can be seen in the individual preview of the postcard presently taking bids. Preview picture, below.
Archive for the ‘Parlington Estate’ Category
eBay Irritations, am I being Gazumpted? [Rant]
Monday, November 29th, 2010The Cellar is Consigned to History Again
Thursday, September 30th, 2010My excavations that re-discovered the cellar in the summer of 2005 as documented here on the Parlington History site are being consigned to history AGAIN! Sadly, the location is being filled with cheap rubble and demolition waste, not even clean stone is being used. The stairway to the cellar built almost certainly in the 1730′s at the behest of Sir Edward Gascoigne, when he constructed the central block that would endure as Parlington’s main elevation for over 250 years, is being filled by Messrs Moron & Co! That’s how annoyed I am. I don’t care who owns the place, playing fast and loose with our history and heritage is frankly truly barbaric. Here is the evidence:
Parlington Rally :: Rally of the Tests, Thumbs Down!
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010Brochure Extract from the Upcoming Rally
Click on the picture to visit the Classic Rally Web site in a new window.
Another sad tale; earlier in the year I met with Peter Scott a notable local Rally Driver who also runs Bretts Fish Restaurant in Headingley. Any how turning to the rally rather than the fish suppers. We spent some time researching the prospects of making the estate roads around Parlington the venue for a stage in the soon to be run Rally of the Tests, a latter day reminder of those terrific RAC rallies of the nineteen fifties! The estate managers were informed and initial feedback was favourable, therefore further work was undertaken, by Peter and the organiser Fred Bent. [yes I know what a name for a rally enthusiast!] All seemed on course for the occasion in November this year.
Last Post ~ Well Maybe Not!
Friday, July 30th, 2010I have been non-productive in respect of updates to the main Parlington history site, and also the day to day comments site, here, for the last month. The fact is lots has happened since the previous post, too much to mention at the moment. Anyway this weekend is the end of our era at Parlington and also the fifteen years I’ve lived in Aberford, I am downsizing and moving to Tadcaster! All good things must come to an end, and in fairness most of the previous inhabitants at Parlington went out in a box! Well up to the death of Colonel F C Trench-Gascoigne in 1905, I’ve less than a useful knowledge of the people who spent time here in the remaining twentieth century. Some I know about others came and went and have left no record.
Summer Solstice
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Yesterday saw the start of summer time and to celebrate the event nature produced a dramatic sunset over the northern sky at Parlington, here is one picture from a collection I captured as the sun set! For those interested the image below is a satellite view of Parlington showing the sun rise and set along with the moon rise and set. Sunset was 21:40 @313.9° which is the orange line, sunrise is the yellow line at 04:33 @46.1°, the moon rose at 16:36 @119.5° and set at 01:07 @246.0° Moon’s disc was 70% illuminated. This info thanks to Steven Trainor of The Photographers Ephemeris [TPE].
Forest Floor is Locked Down
Monday, June 14th, 2010
During a walk through the woods here in Parlington, I came across this extraordinary scene, there on the floor of the forest was a lock and clasp in the tangle of dead leaves. It is as if there is a doorway to the lower extremities of the planet, a kind of door to Hell itself, do not pass Purgatory, continue straight down to Hell! Well I wasn’t going to lift it now was I, Instead I took a photograph of the hidden entrance.
Photos are King
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Yesterday I posted some pictures of Tewkesbury, which I believe set the scene in that part of the world, but remember local photographs of Parlington can hold up against most things. The picture here is of the driveway with a slight mist affecting the ground levels but the trees are dreamlike, and all is enhanced by a wild sky. The Triumphal Arch in the background just makes it for me!
Frost Damage to the Round Building
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
The extreme winter conditions have had a toll on the roads and many buildings, however I was dismayed to discover that the Round Building in Parlington Park, classed as either a Deer Shelter, or Cattle Shelter according to the listing on English Heritage, had partly collapsed no doubt due to the movement caused by frost followed by thawing conditions. Hopefully it can be re-instated in the near future before it gets any worse. I have written about it previously, the design was by William Lindley, a Doncaster architect who trained under the famous Yorkshireman John Carr. Further information about the structure is on the Parlington History site here, about a third way down the page is a QuickTime VR 360° panorama taken inside the building late last year.
Sunrise at Parlington and everyday country life.
Saturday, January 9th, 2010
The temperature at 7:00 am today was around -5.0° and leaving the estate by car, the padlock securing the gates on the driveway was frozen, fortunately previous experience has taught me to have a warming device to hand, to free the mechanism. After a couple of minutes with my camping lighter, which is like a mini blowlamp, the lock mechanism freed up and I was able to open the gates and proceed beyond Narnia, which is how Parlington seems at this time of year, and over to Saxton. Passing by the Crooked Billet, on route, I noticed that the place looked decidedly undisturbed by visitors, perhaps it has closed down?
Panoramic Photos
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Manfrotto 303 SPH Panoramic Head
Over the last few years I have had many people ask me about producing panoramas of the various parts of the Parlington Estate, some to show on the Parlington history site other to offer for sale. I have decided to be more pro-active and take some of my photography to a new level and offer various items for sale. To this end I have invested in a Manfrotto Panoramic Head for producing multi row panoramas. These will be available on http://www.parlington.biz in the near future, generally in giclée print versions up to A2 size. I will also be adding some of my photos from other parts of the country in due course.