I 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.
Archive for the ‘Parlington Estate’ Category
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Friday, July 30th, 2010Summer 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.
Out of the Blue
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
Moody view of the Triumphal Arch
Yesterday the post arrived and out of the blue was a large packet, with the words “Please Do Not Bend” emblazened across the top left corner. I had no idea what it could be as I was not expecting anything. So imagine my delight when I discovered that it contained a photograph from 1914 of Parlington being used as a hospital; a fact, hitherto unknown. I had often wondered what Parlington had been used for during the First World War, as numerous accounts had suggested that troops were here. However I had always taken it that the troops had camped in the area beside the driveway to the Triumphal Arch, and photographs verified this. The picture has now been added to the history site, here.
Parlington Oil Paintings Exhibition
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
This coming October, 4th-11th each day from 10:00am- 4:30pm, is an exhibition at Aberford Interiors featuring the paintings by the internationally acknowledged artist Anthony Christian. He and his wife Marian, enjoy a quiet and thoughtful existence in the grand old Gardens House, just up the hill from the site of the old hall. However, today’s produce is oil on canvas whereas in days gone by the Gardens house was renowned for the production of fresh produce for the Gascoigne table. Residing in such surroundings is a great nutrient to the creative juices and we are pleased to see his work on local landscapes being presented at an exhibition in the village. Of course Aberford has often been the subject of artistic endeavours the Almshouses once being used by local artist, Heather Walker. The windmill long since demolished on the hill above the road to Lotherton, was often the subject of artists, and the main street with the bridge over the Cock Beck has drawn the eye of amateur painters over the decades.
Harvest Twentyfirst Century
Friday, August 28th, 2009
At this time of year, the sight of heavy farm combined harvester equipment rumbling across the fields, with a plume of dust behind is etched on my memory, I say memory because for the most part it has been three years since we have enjoyed a BBQ Summer, [Predicted by the Met Office, see my earlier post]. As I type its raining again and my plans to do dinner on the BBQ have been suspended [Friday 17:30pm].