The above picture is something and nothing, but I see the image as a representation of the old Hall disappearing into the ether, which is represented by the clouds in the sky! Which seems to have sucked the Hall from the landscape, of course this view was obscured for centuries, my photograph is taken from the location of the old kitchen, looking across where the central section stood after the 1730’s! The picture is sized A3+ [330mm x 483mm].
Day two of the 2010 election campaign, and as I drove up past a rather sinister looking Triumphal Arch, see picture above, I took a few moments out to grab a shot of it. I believe it was trying to tell me something, it was erected as a rejection of the policies of Lord North and the monarch George III, with their unpopular civil war against the American Colonialists. I would love to change the inscription to address the issue of the corrupt parliamentarians of our time, to: “Victory by the People of Britain over their Corrupt Political Class, 2010″.
Following the purchase of Manfrotto Pano head [Mentioned in an earlier post here] I am now busy producing exciting wide angle shots from locations around Yorkshire, and beyond. The picture above is a 17″ [42cms] wide reproduction of Lotherton Hall, resplendent in the thick coating of winter snow! Below is a detail view at 100% of the same image.
During a weekend trip to London, for me it was important to make a visit to Marble Arch, one of many, to view again this edifice built in 1828 to a design by John Nash to form an entrance to Buckingham Palace. It was moved in 1851 to its present location, nearby the location of the then removed Tyburn Gallows.
The stone, Portland Limestone, is clearly much more durable and impressive than the stone used on the Triumphal Arch at Parlington. But it is significant that this arch which was like Parlington, modelled on the Constantine Arch adjacent to the Coliseum or Colosseum in Rome. One advantage that the arch in Parlington has, is the opportunity to photograph it without any people!
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.
A reader of the Country Life magazine sent a letter to the editor about a painting they had of Parlington, a water colour, I was later contacted and asked if I could supply a picture for the magazine for their response to the the reader. The picture below is of the item in the September 2nd 2009 edition. The reply was provided by a Mr Scott of Merseyside. I requested that the magazine publish my web site address to accompany the item, this they did as you can see in the image of the magazine page below.
An american authoress, Prof. Stephanie Barczewski, a specialist in modern British history at Clemson University in South Carolina, USA, visited Parlington last weekend to learn about the Triumphal Arch for a new book she is undertaking. We met and discussed what I know of the history of the monument and the reasons for it being built. Details of the structure are on the main site here.
The sudden arrival of three or four inches of snow prompted many people to get out their cameras this Easter, here are a few taken locally and a couple by a friend, who sent them by email.
Additional photos are available here: my dotmac account
The Triumphal Arch on the Parlington Estate
The former Almshouses
The gatehouse to the Almshouses.