The painted ceiling in the Chapter House of York Minster is made up of triangles. The ceiling was restored in 1845 with ‘Agnus Dei’ central boss.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
20 Comments CherryPie on Jul 16th 2010
The money that was received from friends in memory of my Dad was donated to the Heart Foundation and the Lingen Davies Cancer Relief Fund. The latter showed their appreciation by sending my Mum a certificate that entitled her to a memorial rose from a specialist rose centre near to the hospital. As today would have been my Dad’s 80th birthday it was an ideal day to go and choose the rose.
I had been to the rose centre a number of years ago so I knew roughly where it was. I programmed the postcode into the SatNav to get the exact location and away we went. On arriving at the village next to the rose centre, the SatNav had other ideas and turned us off down some very narrow (one car width) but very pretty country lanes! The rose centre was nowhere to be seen and the SatNav went very quiet so I can only think the post code covered a very large area. Despite the lack of electronic assistance I managed to get back on the main road and navigate my way to the centre. After all that adventure the first port of call was the teashop for that much needed refreshment.
After much deliberation we finally settled on a suitable rose called ‘Remember Me‘. The decision was made easier because certain colours were ruled out by default. The rose will be planted behind the conservatory, to be enjoyed in the summer months whatever the weather.
I felt that my own patio was in need of a little addition and took advantage of the opportunity. I settled on Strawberries and Cream, although I had to go back to the drawing board with my choice of pot because the original was deemed too small.
Later in the day when we were leaving Mum’s house ready for an evening meal at Cherie’s Place I heard what I thought was a door shutting upstairs. When I went to investigate I found that the door to my Dad’s office had blown to… Which has just reminded me that my mobile phone is playing up in a very unusual way today as well…
So now I am raising my glass to say cheers, the bar in the top photo is well stocked with my Dad’s favourite tipple 
24 Comments CherryPie on Jul 15th 2010
The first photograph shows the Elizabethan carving above the chimney-piece in the Red Drawing-room:
The main panel is a gruesome Dance of Death, showing a skeleton trampling on the symbols of earthly vanity, such as a papal crown, orb and sceptre, mitre, weapons of war, etc. The figures on either side are the Just, being received by angels, and the Unjust, claimed by the devil. *
The other two photos show the Upper Drawing-room which contrasts to the other main rooms in the house due to the removal of the seventeenth-century panelling. It was redecorated by the 3rd Baronet in the early eighteenth century.
*From the Burton Agnes guidebook.
8 Comments CherryPie on Jul 14th 2010
The first room you see when you enter Burton Agnes Hall is the Great Hall. It features fine Elizabethan carving, plasterwork and panelling:
The figures – biblical, allegorical and mythological – are far too numerous to catalogue, and in the screen alone there are angels, a crusading knight, Elizabethan ladies, the Twelve Apostles (these in narrow tier) with the pilgrim knight again featured at the centre, perhaps representing the builder of the house. The loser tier has as its subject the four Evangelists and their emblems. In the woodcarving below, the figurines in the frieze depict the Twelve Tribes of Israel, with en-scrolled captions naming them and supplying relevant texts.
The massive chimney-piece is a further example of elaborate Elizabethan alabaster, rich in allegory. The lower part depicts the Wise and Foolish Virgins – those on the left are industriously at work spinning and washing while the idle ladies on the right sing and dance, their lamps upturned. The carved wood entablature above incorporates the arms of Sir Thomas Boynton and two of his three wives. This was brought from nearby Barmston Hall, an early home of the Boyntons. The chimney-piece is surmounted by the arms of Sir Griffith Boynton, 6th Baronet, impaling those of his first wife, Charlotte Topham. *
*From the Burton Agnes Hall guidebook.
14 Comments CherryPie on Jul 13th 2010
Before we move on to exploring the interior of Burton Agnes Hall I will show you what is remaining of the original manor-house. The brick building in the foreground of the first picture looks quite modern, but it conceals a surprise which you can see in the third photo. The brick cladding was put was put in place in the seventeenth century when the building was used as a laundry.
The Old Manor House was built in around 1170 by Roger de Stutville. It was lived in by the local Lords for 500 years before the newer Elizabethan house was built in 1601-1610.
Burton Agnes Church which dates from around the same period can be seen behind the manor-house in the first picture.
2 Comments CherryPie on Jul 12th 2010
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -”Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade.
Rudyard Kipling, “The Glory of the Garden”
10 Comments CherryPie on Jul 11th 2010
Earlier this week the Shropshire Star published an article about Shrewsbury Museums curator, Peter Boyd’s, quest to find the long lost Towton Rose. It is reported to have grown in its hundreds on the graves of the fallen in the in the Battle of Towton that took place during the Wars of the Roses. In the late 19th century the rose was identified as a form of the native Scots Rose (Rosa spinosissima), which is also known as the Burnet Rose.
I passed Towton Battle Field on my way to York early in June but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to go back and visit. It would have made an interesting follow up to my Flodden Field Battle Trail posts. But anyway I digress so back to the search for the Towton Rose.
From the Shropshire Star:
A Shropshire-based world expert on roses is embarking on a Holy Grail-type quest to find a variety of plant associated with the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil – and which has not been seen for over 70 years.
Peter Boyd, curator at Shrewsbury Museums, is appealing to people across the country to search high and low in their gardens for the Towton Rose – which featured pink and red markings on its petals.
The rose allegedly grew in its hundreds on the graves of the fallen at the famous Battle of Towton during the Wars of the Roses just a few miles from York.
More than 28,000 Lancastrians and Yorkists fell at the spot in 1461, reputedly the bloodiest battle in English history. The rose is only purported to have bloomed on the soils where the blood of dead is supposed to have been spilled, according to legend and poetry.
Mr Boyd said: “The Towton rose was identified in the 19th century as a form of the native Scots Rose (Rosa spinosissima), also known as the Burnet Rose. There is no doubt that it did exist but it is said that it has not been seen for over 70 years.
“At this particular site at Towton, there were these flowers which had pink and red markings that people said was from the blood of the fallen. Of course, that is non-sense but it makes a romantic tale.
“Because this rose was common on the battlefield, people went to collect bits of it as souvenirs and local people even sold them. But just after the Second World War, local farmers got so fed up of people coming onto their land that they went out with their men and dug all the remaining plants up.
“It might still survive on the site but I have been there and had a pretty thorough search and we certainly didn’t find any.”
Mr Boyd is being joined in his quest for the rose by author Peter Algar, from Leeds, who wrote the book The Shepherd Lord, set during the aftermath of Towton.
“Day trippers from Leeds and Bradford area and further afield were known to visit Towton to pick up souvenirs of the rose” said Mr Algar.
“Maybe someone has one in their garden elsewhere in Britain?”
If anyone can help in the quest, they can visit www.theshepherdlord.com or www.peterboyd.com.
Article by Russell Roberts
You can follow the quest on George Algar’s Blog, hopefully it will be successful, I shall certainly be keeping my eye on it and if any of you just happen to see one…
14 Comments CherryPie on Jul 10th 2010
