Random thoughts and photos of my journey through life…
After a busy day out and about in the sun yesterday, I allowed myself to get sidetracked on the way home. When I got home it was time to light the BBQ and take advantage of the summer weather. It is always nice to sit out in the back garden as the rays of sun shine through the oak tree.
Then to finish the day off we just had to get one of those board games on the table 
14 Comments CherryPie on Jul 4th 2010
This was taken in Burton Agnes Garden, which is Elizabethan in style.
Since 1990 the family have been involved in a major redevelopment of the garden. The garden has many different garden rooms showing different themes and colours. The aim was to make it a garden that all the family can enjoy and several giant sized board games were added, one of which can be seen in previous post.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
30 Comments CherryPie on Jul 2nd 2010
Some of you will already know that I am very fond of board games and that I have quite a collection of them. Snakes and Ladders isn’t usually a game I would play, my usual choice is a strategy game. It was however fun to play because it was hidden away in Burton Agnes Garden. I am not sure I was supposed to win though 
My board game collection as it looked a couple of years ago can be found here.
I shall post some more photos of the garden with a bit of background information in the next few days.
20 Comments CherryPie on Jul 1st 2010
Burton Agnes Hall was built in 1598 next to the Old Manor House. It has remained within the same family since it was built, although on occasions it has passed through the female line.
In 1977 the Hall and gardens were handed over to a charitable trust by Mr Marcus Wickham-Boynton so that they could be protected and preserved. In this way it was hoped that future generations would continue to live in it and that it would remain a “lived-in” family home.
The Hall website gives a brief summary of the history of the Hall:
Burton Agnes Hall is a house of immense charm and character. It has many unusual features and is fortunate in suffering so little from alterations or additions in its history. The family stress that it is a ‘lived-in’ home and this welcome quality is perhaps its most appealing asset. Since the Norman Manor House was built by Roger de Stuteville in 1173 the property has never changed hands by sale, though it has passed from family to family on occasions when the male line has ended.
The beautiful proportions of the Hall and its adherence to the principles of Tudor Renaissance architecture (Commoditie, Firmness and Delight) confirm that a professional hand drew up the designs. The architect was in fact Robert Smithson – Master Mason to Queen Elizabeth I and builder of such other famous houses as Longleat, Wollaton and Hardwick. It is the only Smithson house where the plan still exists, in the RIBA collection. In his definitive book on the Smithsons, Mark Girouard called Burton Agnes a ’spendid and glittering composition’.
2 Comments CherryPie on Jun 30th 2010
The first photo was taken from Clifford’s Tower and shows three blocks of buildings that mark out the extent of the bailey or courtyard of York Castle. The second photo shows what was originally the Assize court (now used as the Crown courts) with Clifford’s Tower in the background to give it perspective.
The three neoclassical buildings in the courtyard are the Debtors’ Prison of 1705, with its clock tower and cupola (opposite), the Assize Courts of 1773-77 (on the right) and the Female Prison (on the left). This group of buildings, although much late in date that the medieval castle, emphasises the continuing status of the castle as a centre for law and order. The Assize Courts and the Female Prison were designed by the celebrated York architect John Carr (1723-1807) who was responsible for many of the public buildings and town houses in the city. both the Debtors’ Prison and the Female Prison are today open to the public as museums maintained by York District Council. *
*From the Clifford’s Tower guide book.
6 Comments CherryPie on Jun 28th 2010
Your mind is a garden,
your thoughts are the seeds,
the harvest can be either flowers or weeds.
Author Unknown
34 Comments CherryPie on Jun 27th 2010
It was such a lovely day yesterday that it would have been nice to get out and about somewhere, especially because the lounge floor had been taken over by a wargame. Unfortunately there were jobs to do, but even those got put on hold because the war game didn’t quite happen. Before lunch everything was packed away in it’s boxes without a shot being fired.
Then I was persuaded to get one of my board games out which took most of the afternoon to play. To save cooking we had fish and chips for dinner and then retired to the patio where we stayed until the stars came out. The visitors still showed no signs of leaving, but did eventually leave at nearly 2 in the morning!! I am rather tired today.
14 Comments CherryPie on Jun 27th 2010
