Britain, Beautiful, Interesting and Sometimes Strange

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28899)

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28905)

Untitled image in Brockham Bonfire, 3rd November 2012. (28907)

Warrington Town Hall and Gates 26th February 2020.The gates were made in cast iron by the Coalbrookdale Company at Ironbridge and had been shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862 It is believed that they were originally commissioned as a gift to Queen Victoria, but she declined them. They were seen at Ironbridge in 1893 by Frederick Monks, a member of the council, and he offered them as a gift to Warrington Borough Council. They were formally opened on 28 June 1895. On each side of the gates is an ornate screen which contains four columns. On top of each column is a statue of Nike, the goddess of victory. In the centre of the archway over the gate are the arms of Warrington Borough Council.The gates, piers and associated lamps are listed at Grade II.

Country cottages in Wiltshire - Woodborough.

Haddon Hall,Derbyshire,2nd August 2019.

Mottisfont,8th June 2019.

Survival among those affected appeared random, as many who remained alive had had close contact with those who died but never caught the disease. For example, Elizabeth Hancock was uninfected despite burying six children and her husband in eight days (the graves are known as the Riley graves after the farm where they lived). The unofficial village gravedigger, Marshall Howe, also survived despite handling many infected bodies. Plague Sunday has been celebrated in the village since the plague's bicentenary in 1866 and now takes place in Cucklett Delph on the last Sunday in August. Originally it was held in mid-August but now coincides with the much older Wakes Week and the well dressing ceremonies.

Perhaps the best-known decision was to quarantine the entire village to prevent further spread of the disease. The Coolstone in which money, usually soaked in vinegar, which was believed to kill the infection, was placed in exchange for food and medicine. It is just one of several 'plague stones' that served to make the boundary that should not be crossed by either inhabitant or outsider. The plague ran its course over 14 months and one account states that it killed at least 260 villagers, with only 83 surviving out of a population of 350. This figure has been challenged on a number of occasions with alternative figures of 430 survivors from a population of around 800 being given.The church in Eyam has a record of 273 individuals who were victims of the plague.

Untitled image in Miscellaneous photographs from around the British Isles (Gallery Nine) -Views of Lacock Abbey & its surrounds. (26761)

Untitled image in Miscellaneous photographs from around the British Isles (Gallery Nine) -Views of Lacock Abbey & its surrounds. (26767)

Untitled image in Miscellaneous photographs from around the British Isles (Gallery Nine) -Views of Lacock Abbey & its surrounds. (26758)

Untitled image in A Visit to Salisbury - 10th July 2018. (25488)

Although each dove is individual,together they stand for a fundamental human right that of peace and freedom.

Untitled image in A Visit to Salisbury - 10th July 2018. (25497)

A woodland walk on the Bowood Estate near Chippenham,Wiltshire.4th May 2018.

A woodland walk on the Bowood Estate near Chippenham,Wiltshire.4th May 2018.

The proud history of Laverstoke Mill is recorded as far back as the 1086 Doomsday Book, in which a mill is noted on the site. Laverstoke Mill has been under the ownership of William the Conqueror, Henry VIII and enjoyed four royal visits, most recently Queen Elizabeth in 1962.In 1719, having acquired the lease for Laverstoke Mill, printer Henry Portal expanded the site enabling him to begin manufacturing bank notes for the British Empire in 1724.

Palm House 18th December 2016.

Untitled image in Kew Gardens at Christmas. (22384)

Untitled image in Kew Gardens at Christmas. (22385)

National Arboretum,Westonbirt,31st October 2016.

Plaque with Coastal artilliary piece.16th August 2016.

Wadworth Northgate Brewery,Devizes,18th July 2016.

Looking into the setting sun over Combe Martin Bay on 5th July 2016.

Views over the reefs from Warren Beach, Hartland Quay,7th July 2016.

Views around Hever Castle 30th June 2016.

The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was a 24 km (16 miles) long horse-drawn wagonway from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour. It was intended to carry Black Country coal to the rural districts of southern Warwickshire, via the Stratford-on-Avon Canal; and limestone and agricultural produce northwards. The Parliamentary Act for the line was passed in 1821. Construction was completed in 1826, the route having been surveyed by the railway promoter William James and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick. The branch to Shipston was built in 1836.The line functioned as a horse-drawn tramway for several decades, but did not prosper. In 1851 the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway was opened through Moreton-in-Marsh and the tramway began experimenting with steam operation. In 1859 the southern section between Moreton and Shipston was converted into a proper railway. The tramway company went bankrupt in 1868.

Mullion Cove,Lizard Peninsula,Cornwall,28th March 2016.

St.Mary the Virgin and St.Nicholas,Sandy Lane,near Chippenham,North Wiltshire.5th May 2016.Modern settlement at Sandy Lane began in the 18th century and it is very much an estate village. Ecclesiastically it had come under Derry Hill, but in 1864 it was transferred to the new parish of Chittoe. The church of St. Nicholas was built in 1892 as a mission church, to the design of J.H. Hopkins. It is small and of an unusual timber construction with a steep thatched roof. The timbering is in an A form with 6 pairs of trusses resting on brick sleeper walls. The walls of the church consist of 2 timber sections with sawdust rammed between. All fittings are made of wood, except the 19th century brass oil lamps. In 1980 Chittoe church was declared redundant and Bromham and Chittoe parishes were united as a new parish of Bromham, Chittoe and Sandy Lane. Sandy Lane church became a chapel of ease in the new parish. In 1981 the church was rededicated with the present joint dedication.