10 Comments CherryPie on Oct 16th 2012
The East Parterre garden was visible through the windows of the ballroom:
The focal point when viewed from the house was a fountain of Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, whose statue crowned the composition. She holds a cornucopia or horn, intended to jet water, and round her are four tritons (fish-tailed humans) blowing jets of water from conch shells.. Smaller jets line the circumference of the basin. The original Flora statue was broken some years ago when an attempt was made to remove it, and the fountain as a whole has been badly vandalized.*
Restoration of the gardens started in 2005 and it is hoped that funds will allow restoration of the fountain at a later date.
*Information from the English Heritage guidebook.
10 Comments CherryPie on Oct 15th 2012
There has never been a time when you and I and the kings gathered have not existed, nor will there be a time when we cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth and old age, so too at the time of death, he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.
Bhagavad Gita (5th century BC)
18 Comments CherryPie on Oct 14th 2012
Autumn is not quite ready to be photographed yet, it seems all the best trees are in all the wrong places to be able to get a decent photograph. I did however enjoy my lunch out, a leisurely drive and a short walk. Here are a couple of photos that I did manage to capture complete with autumn hues and streetlamps.
8 Comments CherryPie on Oct 14th 2012
8 Comments CherryPie on Oct 13th 2012
12 Comments CherryPie on Oct 12th 2012
The spectacular Perseus and Andromeda fountain has been restored to full working order, it is reached via a flight of steps from the south parterre.
The theme of the central sculptural group, which was carved from Portland stone by John Forsyth, is the classical myth of Perseus and Andromeda. Perseus having obtained the head of the Medusa with the help of his winged sandals and his helmet of invisibility, flies to the rescue of Andromeda; she has been chained to a rock by the sea god Poseidon, angry at the suggestion that she is more beautiful than the sea nymphs. A sea monster threatens to devour her, but Perseus gets there first and carries her off on the back of the winged horse Pegasus. Rising out of the water to the left and right are two cupids riding dolphins, replicas based on photographs of the lost originals.*
*From the English Heritage guidebook.
20 Comments CherryPie on Oct 11th 2012
