tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54132701667875203362024-02-07T18:30:04.513-08:00View from the GatehouseFrom the first glimpse of the Hall from between the farm buildings, to the moment the Mediaeval Courtyard opens up as visitors pass beneath the Tudor Gatehouse, Markenfield never fails to astound. Follow activities at the Hall in this Blog and find out more about "Yorkshire's best kept secret".Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-21001818389707814662017-10-11T03:20:00.001-07:002017-10-11T03:20:15.632-07:00Literary Lectures - from out of the blue<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People sometimes ask where the inspiration for the Hall's events comes from. The answer - more often than not - is out of the blue. The Literary Lectures in the Library for example, they idea for those came from a book I was reading at the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had read Sally Beauman's book Rebecca's Tale (sadly before I actually read Rebecca, but never mind...) and enjoyed it so much I started to work my way through her other books. The Landscape of Love was the next book, and even before Chapter One began I was hooked - and not necessarily for the reasons you would expect...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Her description of "Wykenfield" and Abbey were truly uncanny:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"The Convent was founded in 1257 by Isabella de Morlaix, heiress, cousin and friend to Winifride of Ely... The Abbey, under the protection of the monastery at Deepden, flourished until the 15th century, when its influence began to decline. By the time of the Act of Suppression less than a dozen nuns remained. Their lands were then confiscated by the Crown, passing to Sir Gervaise Mortland, a henchman of Henry VIII, in recompense for his role in the vicious suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you see what I mean? It gets better...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"The remaining buildings were occupied by tenant farmers, finally being abandoned in the mid 19th century. In 1919 they were saved from dereliction, and restored by Henry Mortland, formerly of Elde Hall."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yet there's still more...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"<i>(Fair state of preservation to some parts of the medieval convent structures... The Cloisters, refectory and part of the Lady Capel (13th century) still remain. The moat that surrounded the nunnery enclosure has been drained. The Squint (c. 1450) in the south corridor is quaint, and unique in the county; the reasons for its irreligious placing are unknown.) </i>Present owner: Mr H G Mortland. Private house. Not open to visitors"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And so I was hooked - by what, on first reading, I could see so clearly as a description of Markenfield! What Sally Beauman's inspiration was I don't suppose I will ever know. The big coincidence is that she used to be one of Mr Curteis's neighbours - long before he had ever even heard of the Hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The book it split into two parts - then and now - and dare I say it, Then is an awful lot better than Now...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So thank you Sally - for inspiration you will never know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sally Beauman: </span><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">25 July 1944 -</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> 7 July 2016</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-76447209814411590142017-04-12T03:33:00.000-07:002017-04-12T03:33:23.161-07:00The Kindness of Strangers<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's not every day that you receive an email like this. Sometimes, out of the blue, someone says something lovely and it really, really makes your day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My name is Matthew and I’m part of the Marketing Team at Sykes Cottages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In April, we’ll be launching a month-long campaign celebrating all that is great and good in Yorkshire from our newly re-launched blog, rolling out across our different social media channels, which have over 100,000 followers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I’m delighted to be able to tell you that Sykes has shortlisted Markenfield Hall as one of Yorkshire’s top 6 hidden gems and will feature in an upcoming campaign article.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I hope you’re pleased about the good news and I look forward to hearing from you soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And it was really true! Here we are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <a href="http://www.sykescottages.co.uk/blog/6-hidden-gems-to-discover-in-yorkshire/">http://www.sykescottages.co.uk/blog/6-hidden-gems-to-discover-in-yorkshire/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The wording is just lovely - </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Like in all the best fairy tales, however, the magical entrance to another world isn’t around for long and Markenfield Hall’s is no different; the gates of this unique place are only opened to the public for 30 precious days annually, so make sure you’re amongst the few each year to catch a glimpse of it!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you Sykes Cottages - you made this Administrator very happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-84972646234750126872017-04-11T04:49:00.003-07:002017-04-11T04:50:57.027-07:00The tattooed Pilgrim?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's amazing how sometimes little snippets of information fall into your lap - watching the news last week there was an article about the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, and a new exhibition on tattoos that they were putting on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The article itself was fascinating - and further information on the exhibition can be found here: <a href="https://nmmc.co.uk/whats-on/event/tattoo-british-tattoo-art-revealed/">https://nmmc.co.uk/whats-on/event/tattoo-british-tattoo-art-revealed/</a> What pricked my ears up was the mention of Mediaeval Pilgrimage tattoos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It has long been known that Sir Thomas Markenfield (Thomas V) made a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the 1560s, including a visit to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. We know this as a long list of places that he visited still exists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the end of his Pilgrimage Sir Thomas was admitted to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre on 14 June 1566. His citation sets out his credentials:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Lately to the most sacred Holy Land there came on pilgrimage with sincere devotion the Noble and Gentle Thomas Markynfeld of the English Nation and born of noble blood </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Lord of M[arkenfield]</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The warrant was sealed with with the seal of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. To become a member of the Order was considered by Roman Catholics to be an honor worth more than any knighthood conferred by their own Sovereign.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">"Accounts of crusaders visiting the Holy Land reveal that tattoos could also serve as permanent proof of pilgrimage trips. One person who has done a great deal of work on pilgrim tattoos is Dr. Anna Felicity Friedman at the Center for Tattoo History and Culture. As she notes, it is likely that "tattoo practitioners and tattoo recipients looked at and drew from common Christian symbols and iconography around them for inspiration for their tattooed marks of faith." " Forbes.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Was Sir Thomas Markenfield a tattooed pilgrim? We will probably never know, but the the tattoo shop he may have used still exists to this day: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/inside-the-worlds-only-surviving-tattoo-shop-for-medieval-pilgrims">http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/inside-the-worlds-only-surviving-tattoo-shop-for-medieval-pilgrims</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With thanks to Janet Senior's book The Markenfields of Markenfield Hall for the information on Thomas V.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-27251987361670877042017-03-07T05:20:00.001-08:002017-03-07T05:20:32.200-08:00Timber!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the beginning of last year it was decided that the large Sycamore trees that lined the side of the moat were beginning to look rather worse for wear. A closer inspection revealed that they were suffering from various stages of Honey Fungus. The trees at the north end were in a worse state than the trees to the north as can be seen in this quite fascinating picture:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The trees to the north have spent the last couple of winters with their roots in substantial amounts of water after some of the wettest winters in memory. This had weakened them considerably and made them more susceptible to the disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After a lot of planning, the day dawned and the trees were brought down...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last one standing... this one wanted to stay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The last one was a bit of a struggle! It was the healthiest, but was by no means a healthy tree and would have started to die off like the others if left.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once they were down we were able to get a better look at them - you can see the dark inner colour, which is where the fungus is attacking the inside of the tree. A quick count of the rings put the trees at around 200 years old, which puts them feasibly within the period of the Victorian restoration of the Hall carried out by 3rd Lord Grantley when he worked with local architect JR Walbran. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During this time a few internal changes were made, but more striking was the exterior works - which we now know to include the park land. The 3rd Lord Grantley extended the Tudor long low farm buildings (extreme east and west buildings and still in use today) were extended to create two small courtyards either side of the central aisle that visitors see today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Friends of Markenfield have been busy fundraising and the new trees will be planted alongside the moat this spring.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-34738344395167469602017-02-10T05:17:00.000-08:002017-02-10T05:17:34.345-08:00Those who measure wealth in money alone...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwtYAuJxSlIRBYCN0-P0r7GCT6eIL9MWibS32iPoC2Ix7LDBZ89K8ISno2GlZzlpmHlHsQF6gLzI5QOLf0AGxZj3e0rJNaTPtMSdJMfAkqZVgdoL4nAU3Ci4Oq4u3MUEFQuLBkQ9PGe0/s1600/11.04+Oilseed+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwtYAuJxSlIRBYCN0-P0r7GCT6eIL9MWibS32iPoC2Ix7LDBZ89K8ISno2GlZzlpmHlHsQF6gLzI5QOLf0AGxZj3e0rJNaTPtMSdJMfAkqZVgdoL4nAU3Ci4Oq4u3MUEFQuLBkQ9PGe0/s320/11.04+Oilseed+016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a seemingly innocuous envelope that landed last December on the doormat. What it contained was not so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It contained maps and plans outlining a proposal for the "Markenfield New Village Settlement" a development of hundreds of new houses covering the farmland from The Old Mediaeval Road down to the A61. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Accompanying the alarming maps was a letter offering to make the owners "millionaires".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Needless to say, a letter was sent back explaining that the land they were proposing to build upon was worth more to the owners as it was, on an emotional level, than having millions of pounds in the bank and having to drive through something akin to Milton Keynes each and every time they wanted to leave home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so life went back to normal - peaceful, quiet and happily un-rich.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until the Developer turned up at the door one day armed with a clipboard and pamphlets...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...needless to say he was not welcomed with open arms and was in fact threatened with the police should he return!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Markenfield is special - and it will stay that way.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-83021462222535198762016-11-24T06:12:00.001-08:002016-11-28T06:25:30.244-08:00Seek and ye shall find...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQV8vwkH_C_-s3fOHDxybR9sY-O-5CEhS-geCCyEhIUyUGtTbxwffCpMDGqkGK_q-XWxOxUVFY4WheaCskSUWODFdl_VcQcxccZx_1VSSZOdsLt6uoqF3-TEfvaPzjDYVm3pTACNvfJM/s1600/HLS05854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQV8vwkH_C_-s3fOHDxybR9sY-O-5CEhS-geCCyEhIUyUGtTbxwffCpMDGqkGK_q-XWxOxUVFY4WheaCskSUWODFdl_VcQcxccZx_1VSSZOdsLt6uoqF3-TEfvaPzjDYVm3pTACNvfJM/s400/HLS05854.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Research can be a thankless task - especially online. You can spend hours looking through lists of searches containing the word Markenfield (now bear in mind the the Archive & Research Group have identified over 16 possible spellings of Markenfield over the years) and some days the most exciting thing that pops up is a pair of Markenfield Lounge Pants - I kid you not!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But not last week... last week contained one of those rare days when you click on that link and you're transported back precisely 116 year in time to a Great Hall hung as a portrait gallery and faces from the past stare out of the screen at you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fast forward to today and a visit from three Volunteers from the Pennine Heritage Digital Archive, who have been lovingly taking care of a collection of photographs taken in 1900 by a Mr George Hepworth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mr Hepworth seemingly worked his way around Yorkshire, photographing historic houses - and how glad are we that he did?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He donated the glass negatives to the Hebden Bridge Local History Society in 1916 and they were digitised and put online by the lovely people we met today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We now have 11 (yes 11!) images from 1900 that show the Hall pre-restoration, but as a quite-obviously much-loved and very much cared for family home - home of the Foster family, tenant farmers of the day... and still tenant farmers to this day, living just across the Courtyard in the Farmhouse Wing.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-60423138192759674022016-10-19T02:22:00.001-07:002016-10-19T02:22:46.374-07:00Shhhh... it's Quiet Week!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UYftSJLR-Om6TYWgOBqFoZShwIZeTEyrs0aw9TrbUXx5WVnk4J0zwYGEEpzzQcNbbks6HNKoBEJgo3IGKqURcgQQ9RZU2YT0sXstNcVm9y3lkhY3aWqP3hJ64neM9lKxF1yzmut63jc/s1600/IMG_4242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UYftSJLR-Om6TYWgOBqFoZShwIZeTEyrs0aw9TrbUXx5WVnk4J0zwYGEEpzzQcNbbks6HNKoBEJgo3IGKqURcgQQ9RZU2YT0sXstNcVm9y3lkhY3aWqP3hJ64neM9lKxF1yzmut63jc/s320/IMG_4242.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the most-commented upon things in the Hall's Visitor Book is the atmosphere at Markenfield - benign, tranquil - spiritual even.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the hardest things to do is to maintain that atmosphere for all to enjoy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Hall isn't just a visitor attraction - it is first and foremost a family home, and much-loved family home at that. It isn't Chatsworth, or Harewood, where the family can take to a a private wing of the house for some peace and quiet - the family live in the rooms that the public see, and this quite often turns them into a visitor attraction too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't get me wrong... the family very much enjoy welcoming visitors into their home. But as you may have read in the latest newsletter, the number of guided tours has sky-rocketed over the past 12 years and there hasn't been a week since the beginning of April when we haven't had a tour or a wedding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Weddings involve an awful lot of preparation and furniture moving - setting up on the Friday and putting back the following Monday. We don't have a Function Room - we use the Drawing Room, or the Great Hall - imagine someone getting married in your Living Room...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so we have introduced the idea of Quiet Weeks... one week a month where we have no groups, no weddings and no upheaval. The furniture stays where it should be, the tea urn is switched off and the house get to recharge its atmosphere ready for its visitors the following week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shhhhh.... it's quiet week....</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-66110451267832986112015-10-16T06:40:00.001-07:002015-10-16T06:40:46.422-07:00The day the Beetles sang...<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If there's one thing that we get through a lot of at the Hall at this time of year... it's logs. With three open fires, and a wood-burning stove of epic proportions, the log shed is nothing if not well stocked.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E3qtZxVrUlmjKbZY_LqpdOkOP3i9v8L3G2k07OWCr8IcrWNoNaTdyFc0rjdrkTGHds0F4TZMl4IJdzZypKK4Ligp1HFTqZB4_Qrmy-Xu91h1eqHO60IaLCOqAClpgHoBbZRL6M63PkY/s1600/027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E3qtZxVrUlmjKbZY_LqpdOkOP3i9v8L3G2k07OWCr8IcrWNoNaTdyFc0rjdrkTGHds0F4TZMl4IJdzZypKK4Ligp1HFTqZB4_Qrmy-Xu91h1eqHO60IaLCOqAClpgHoBbZRL6M63PkY/s320/027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All the wood burned at the Hall is gathered from the Estate's woodland - Spring Wood. It is brought in one autumn, left to season for a year and then chopped and stored in the Log Shed before being brought into the house in small loads as needed throughout the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that was where the problems started...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We were turning the lights off after a guided tour when we noticed a couple of small beetles on one of the tables in the Drawing Room. They were leg-in-the-air so we swept them to one side thinking we'd look at them in better light the next day. The next day? They'd moved! This time they were under the lamp. So we went on a bug hunt and low and behold - there were more - under lamps and on window cills. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fearing the worst we Googled Death Watch Beetle - far to big. Woodworm - still far too big. So, feeling slightly more positive that the house wasn't been chewed from the inside out, we called the Architect... Take a photo he said, it's simple he said. Have you ever tried to take a photo of something the size of a grain of rice?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is what we came up with! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Very revealing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we rang the Bug Man. Send me a sample he said, it's simple he said - put them in a pot and post them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So off we went, pot in hand - and they'd all gone! We hunted high and low and finally found some huddled under a cloth in the Log Shed. Into the pot they went and on the end of my desk the pot went, waiting until I could find a jiffy bag. And then the noises began...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I blamed the Office Dog originally - thinking she was chasing rabbits in her sleep and making squeaking noises, but no. Then I blamed the heater, but no. Then the printer, but no. Finally in desperation I put the pot to my ear - the beetles were singing!!!! Never has a jiffy bag been found so quickly. Into the post they went and then we waited.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Five days later we got a phone call - he had no idea!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We went through a few facts: where they were, what they did, why they seemed to be indestructible (he'd had them in the freezer for 24 hours and they were still singing when he took them out)!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His first idea was disastrous: Museum Beetles. Within 10 minutes we'd formulated a plan to remove every single piece of wood from the Hall, vacuum all surfaces, carpets, nooks, crannies and under all furniture plus under the carpets. Thankfully we received a second phone call confirming that they were actually Ash Bark Beetles - a non-destructive beetle that lives purely in the bark of wood and does not eat furniture - hallelujah! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So - crisis averted - a Hall without logs would be a very sad place indeed!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-36483055241099870042014-07-15T07:09:00.000-07:002014-07-15T07:09:39.729-07:00As one door opens...<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gosh - who would have thought it was February when I last wrote about the Dogs' Entrance Doors and the on-going saga of problematic pintle? A lot has happened in the intervening five months... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The question on everyone's lips must surely be - did it come off?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, after a fashion it did - just not in the way you would expect. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Common sense prevailed in the end at the decision was made to remove the door from its ornate hinges - that way it could be removed forwards rather than upwards - and it worked!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This meant that the bottom hinge could be removed, exposing the problematic-pintle, and allowing it to be drilled out and replaced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once it had been removed...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhggH2EIB4KvctsdUMTTy0c7V-g_dWzTv3Pncy_L5kYjItiaG8eHyyzqyBlSbpQD8d87LTFOL4065fm3EzG-4EAD9YRJdIpdwxLZkCuCNYhGg4HZIVPUqVRIY9X1OV6yS09e0Q_vfpCA/s1600/IMG_3630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhggH2EIB4KvctsdUMTTy0c7V-g_dWzTv3Pncy_L5kYjItiaG8eHyyzqyBlSbpQD8d87LTFOL4065fm3EzG-4EAD9YRJdIpdwxLZkCuCNYhGg4HZIVPUqVRIY9X1OV6yS09e0Q_vfpCA/s1600/IMG_3630.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...the new stone could be fitted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The new pintle was the inserted into new lime mortar and a synthetic compound to hold it firmly in place. The doors were closed for 48 hours until the compound solidified and a fortnight ago the work to the doors was completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>As one door opens... another one closes.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Blog post is dedicated to the memory of John Maloney - Stone Mason and friend. John passed away suddenly at home shortly after completing the work.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviJ18GyWzoWoUMg0xSWWdzTx2uZrOmaSmGJvmnieavR-TfP5hyphenhyphenPDyhz0L70WCZw0CwxIcFOmcXJlAj-UHes3CvVit3G5yqPNxQIoaDmnzD01MGXcS29pkRH2zaohQAKOUX8Mgy06KyTo/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviJ18GyWzoWoUMg0xSWWdzTx2uZrOmaSmGJvmnieavR-TfP5hyphenhyphenPDyhz0L70WCZw0CwxIcFOmcXJlAj-UHes3CvVit3G5yqPNxQIoaDmnzD01MGXcS29pkRH2zaohQAKOUX8Mgy06KyTo/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I always knew that when I looked back on the times I cried I would smile. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I never knew that when I looked back on the times I smiled I would cry."</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-68306445258693138282014-03-03T04:25:00.000-08:002014-03-03T04:25:34.012-08:0079 Boxes...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"A Mr Johnson of Ripon removed from Markenfield 79 boxes of evidence, 1 little coffer and 2 littell bagges by commission (and to deliver) the same into the Exchequer"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">circa. 1601</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Markenfield is a house of may mysteries, but perhaps the most prevailing - and most vital in its history - is the mystery of the 79 boxes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Much of the history of the Hall pre-Norton & Grantley is unknown - and that is largely due to the lack of archival evidence. A lot of the history has been pieced together using the history books and references made to the Markenfield family that can be found in other archives and historical sources. What the Hall lacks however is its own primary evidence - the day to day papers, logs, maps and books that would have related to the daily business of the house and family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is believed that all the paperwork pertaining to the Hall was confiscated - along with the Hall - in 1569; after The Rising of the North and the failed attempt to put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has long been known that the mediaeval archive was missing - and it has long been believed that the papers had been mixed up with the Bridgewater archive and gone unnoticed and uncatalogued within a much larger collection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That belief has now changed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Friends of Markenfield Archive and Study Groups have been undertaking independent research in to "the missing years" - the years between the confiscation by the Crown for treason and the purchase of the Hall by Fletcher Norton (1st Baron Grantley).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Contrary to popular belief, the Earls of Bridgewater never owned Markenfield Hall. Further details in to this ownership will be revealed at The Friends' AGM in April - let's just say that the history books have been well and truly re-written!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to the boxes... it is now thought that the boxes may be held in the National Archive at Kew. Judith Smeaton, head of the Archive group, is hoping that they will be found there and that finally the true history of the Hall can be revealed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-91154209128996106562014-02-06T04:16:00.001-08:002014-02-06T04:16:43.864-08:00If we remove the ceiling... with a rope or two...!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ElxkchoT0BnOTRy2FqkXja54TW8wbQ9nn0JZOA2lOt-5RBTgkqddNGsEKssj_G_GuptMw5JB66yzFPsfm4S18ih8-h_cIATQYm5-jZY2HPV6thxsDZBCtyw0tq3LWZsp-nsQvBm8GjY/s1600/076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ElxkchoT0BnOTRy2FqkXja54TW8wbQ9nn0JZOA2lOt-5RBTgkqddNGsEKssj_G_GuptMw5JB66yzFPsfm4S18ih8-h_cIATQYm5-jZY2HPV6thxsDZBCtyw0tq3LWZsp-nsQvBm8GjY/s1600/076.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We all know that Markenfield has its quirks - and its challenges - but who could have guessed that they might actually have built the house around a door!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Known as The Dogs' Entrance (or Dog's Entrance depending on how many are in residence at the time) the wooden double doors leading out on to the moat are without doubt one of the Hall's gems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over an inch thick, with ornate hinges and enough security built in to the back to stop a small army (don't even think about it okay...?) the doors have featured in many a wedding photograph.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because they face north they "get a lot of weather" - and boy have we "had a lot of weather" recently! And so it transpired that the doors were stronger than the house itself...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now for the science part...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is believed that the doors were hung there as part of the 1850s restoration, undertaken by JR Walbran on behalf of 3rd Lord Grantley. At this time numerous features were moved around - in part to protect some things from the elements*. It is not clear whether the doors were a part of the house's fabric before this - but that is where they ended up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hung on metal "pintles" inserted in to the stone archway that surrounds it, over time the pintles rusted and finally last year a large section of stone facing was forced away from the wall exposing the hinges and meaning that the bottom stone of the doorway needed to be replaced. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so the Stone Mason was called. He measured up and went away. The Black Smith was called. He measured up and went away. Finally, the stone was ready and new bronze (none-rusting) pintles had been forged...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we discovered that we couldn't get the door off!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pintles are essentially large hooks - the door needs to be lifted off them - but at every attempt to lift the door it hit the arched entrance above it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After a lot of head-scratching, several cups of tea and a fair amount of hysterical laughter... it was decided to leave them where they are. Just for a while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Answers on a postcard to...!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-53229722263399792632013-12-18T03:56:00.000-08:002013-12-18T03:56:33.235-08:00Further Festive Forays...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXgwdHX7ZDtTuKTa8IRG5NSppHUYEoLOoe3X9rz_ClYHIJWNgnoI1WIqiRZB_1LQk4Mix6Ao0I16nXAvYJFzkPOUgUsP4orK90e2tEUa06HBj3dXZHwEpIuFYBe-lt4hHM845yHREXWs/s1600/Wreath+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXgwdHX7ZDtTuKTa8IRG5NSppHUYEoLOoe3X9rz_ClYHIJWNgnoI1WIqiRZB_1LQk4Mix6Ao0I16nXAvYJFzkPOUgUsP4orK90e2tEUa06HBj3dXZHwEpIuFYBe-lt4hHM845yHREXWs/s320/Wreath+2.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next on our Christmas list was our very first (and hopefully the first of many) Luxury Door Wreath Workshop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hosted by the delightfully brilliant Joanna McCrea from Ripon's Twisted Willow floristry, five willing - and as it turns out, highly talented - participants arrived for coffee and mince pies at 10:00am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By 1:00pm there were five perfectly crafted door wreaths on display!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The greenery came from the Estate and the lovely bits and pieces were supplied by Joanna with "extras" - including battery powered fairy lights - were also available.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lunch was served in the Great Hall and the day was rounded off with a tour of the Hall by one of our knowledgeable guides.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Flowers By... is a series of workshops that we are very much looking forward to expanding on in the new year.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-3229955409542770502013-12-17T03:43:00.000-08:002013-12-17T03:43:47.037-08:00All things Festive & Lovely!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfDngYx4OkJsGQssDUEVjmj9nlm3LM9qobTtpAkiZbyTVV2X2ByOyghBDJcffg1-LaJvb9yf2Zt6agXMLdHQdsglp2WFLv6ZeUTPOQN0cIUYdLvcJHtOMGJJ_7AhvXLbe6meu2wIi4PM/s1600/10.01+snow+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfDngYx4OkJsGQssDUEVjmj9nlm3LM9qobTtpAkiZbyTVV2X2ByOyghBDJcffg1-LaJvb9yf2Zt6agXMLdHQdsglp2WFLv6ZeUTPOQN0cIUYdLvcJHtOMGJJ_7AhvXLbe6meu2wIi4PM/s320/10.01+snow+021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Markenfield has always been a little "out of bounds" in winter, due to the copious amounts of mud that begin to form towards the end of October and then increase in size and volume until it's wellies-all-round by December! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year however all is calm, all is bright (and shiny!) with the arrival of the new car park. It's very nearly there, and the mud is certainly diminishing daily!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so to celebrate, we decided that this was the year Markenfield was going to join in with Christmas (think "John Lewis advert"!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly we decided to resurrect A Tour & A Tea - the success story of summer. Exactly what it says - a tour of the Hall followed by an afternoon tea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The idea began in summer when we suddenly realised that each Friday in August was curiously free. The Mop-Up Mondays had been a great success and so we decided to do a Mop-Up... with scones!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We were amazed!!!! Each Friday in August we had a happy band of incredibly interested people who came and listened to a talk on the Hall and then sat out in the Orchard and enjoyed a beautiful Afternoon Tea Moat-side. It was so popular that on one afternoon we had over 30 people and were having to turn down bookings! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So... "A Tour & A Tea - the Right House for Christmas" was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The idea actually came about back in August when one of our Guides was talking about the various houses owned by the Grantley family over the year and this passage from THE SILVER SPOON: Memoirs of the 6th Lord Grantley, sprung to mind:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">“… Perhaps my father’s most outstanding
characteristic, was his </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">capacity
for absent-minded lapses of memory. My memories of school holidays are somewhat jumbled, owing to
the fact that my father developed a habit of taking a new country house every
year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #d00028; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 100%;">The only place he never parted with was
Markenfield Hall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">My
Aunt Carlotta, who only visited us at Christmas or family </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">occasions,
was always much puzzled and once violently </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">embarrassed,
by my father’s peripatetic land ownership. The </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">unfortunate old lady went to the wrong country house
to stay with us one Christmas: no one, least of all my father having remembered
to</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">tell her that he had changed his
abode."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Hence - the right house for Christmas! The story does continue...</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“My Father… inherited five houses when
my Grandfather died, of which Grantley was the largest. On one occasion, going
up there by train, he was looking out of the window when he saw an uncommonly
attractive house standing on a little hillside. He was so taken by it that he
got out at the next station, and went to the largest Estate Agent in the town.
He described the house in detail and said “I want to buy it”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“But” protested the Agent “we have no
house of that description on our books. Why should you think the owners wants
to sell?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">“Find out the name of the house, the
owner, and what he wants for it. And be quick about it”. Without another word,
and without even bothering to say who he was, my father sat down and waited
till the </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">information was available.</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="line-height: 100%;">So great was his power of command that
the whole office immediately went in to action. After a while the agent came up
deferentially: “We are making some progress Sir, he said. “The house is called
Elton Manor*. The owner is a Lord
Grantley…” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Elton Manor was subsequently sold and later
demolished in 1933.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB"; font-size: 12.0pt; language: EN-GB; line-height: 100%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Californian FB"; mso-default-font-family: "Californian FB"; mso-latin-font-family: "Californian FB";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">And it would seem that the love of Afternoon Tea has struck again - we are once again having to turn down bookings as this coming Friday's Tour & Toast as one Guide calls it, is now fully booked. Turkey sandwiches, Stollen, fruit cake & cheese (</span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">among</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 100%;"> other lovely nibbly bits) what's not to love?!</span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-58526114363613417222013-12-03T04:40:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:40:13.547-08:00Fa la la la la!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the first Monday in December each year, Markenfield hosts what Celebrant Canon Punshon once described as "the start of Christmas" - a Service of Lessons and Carols, held in the Great Hall in aid of a Charity.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC1xcFouI9EyOTxjdyHzSjtwtml6oId5ys18Hl_tCRt3Yvk5Imx5dLu5OiH3DPecPIffYyKEeqFVudB6TxO2Zi3g9Gfoo75mGIRH7G7a-9SVlNZ_TGwiG2sl2E6-PC5WvOswTJ7vt83A/s1600/13.12+Christmas+2013+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC1xcFouI9EyOTxjdyHzSjtwtml6oId5ys18Hl_tCRt3Yvk5Imx5dLu5OiH3DPecPIffYyKEeqFVudB6TxO2Zi3g9Gfoo75mGIRH7G7a-9SVlNZ_TGwiG2sl2E6-PC5WvOswTJ7vt83A/s320/13.12+Christmas+2013+051.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year's Charity was the fabulous Hope & Homes for Children - a charity set up specifically to remove children from institutionalised settings and either return them to their families, or find a family that will provide them with the warm and loving home that their parents' could not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Further information about the work of Hope & Homes for Children can be found here: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.hopeandhomes.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.hopeandhomes.co.uk/</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Charity works hard in the run up to the event to organise mulled wine, mince pies and the all important job of Decking the Great Hall with Boughs of Holly... (fa la la la la...).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUvKasozOn0dsVA_kS9NU90_tENCVAUO7lPx1nsDtvHdDaltaTguEx12RT0JgcJtNbQplXzmFO7QCZjYtqx-lVrEr9rIDLP5513wm_gLZ1A4hePv9lyDnrUm874hhb4COeXGdq9uQ6Ms/s1600/13.12+Christmas+2013+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUvKasozOn0dsVA_kS9NU90_tENCVAUO7lPx1nsDtvHdDaltaTguEx12RT0JgcJtNbQplXzmFO7QCZjYtqx-lVrEr9rIDLP5513wm_gLZ1A4hePv9lyDnrUm874hhb4COeXGdq9uQ6Ms/s400/13.12+Christmas+2013+044.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Valerie and the Hope & Homes team did the Hall proud - the greenery, much of it collected from the Estate looked wonderful, and as ever the Hall came in to its own after dark - lit by the light of the altar candles and the scent of mince pies wafting up from below - it truly did feel like the start of Christmas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A big thank you needs to go to Pam Dyson of Cascade Garden Centre, who allowed the Congregation to park in her car park. They were then brought to the Hall by the ever-cheerful drivers of Aquarius Mini-Coaches of nearby Kirky Malzeard. The works to the car park meant that parking the 80-strong guests would have been nigh on impossible. Several sing-alongs were reported and as a real treat the coaches dropped their passengers at the door! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was however noted that - despite the efforts of Hope & Homes to arrange alternative parking, pay for the coach transfers and send out all instructions at the beginning of November - what is currently left of the car park was full! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That, and the fact that 22 people were still being awaited at the Garden Centre once the Service had started meant that some of our Congregation had not read their paperwork...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You know who you are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next year's Service will be organised by, and held in aid of, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bishop Thornton School.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tickets go on sale at the beginning of November - watch this space!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-85888629635576393742013-10-17T03:06:00.000-07:002013-10-17T03:06:19.256-07:00Operation Car Park: Week One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyR0O7g2cwRVK36tMshN2EPYQGQKNuXQKJSyKJ2ofiPJ-IhX1T8nux4mYmjJ64ZJSfJ4Ttn8Wwl40EmA2sGxnePxFt0FDtp9ta3UvE9h2ERolwKqH3wMVCy2cBoHQL8J2pJu4kPZ0fNjQ/s1600/13.01+mud+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyR0O7g2cwRVK36tMshN2EPYQGQKNuXQKJSyKJ2ofiPJ-IhX1T8nux4mYmjJ64ZJSfJ4Ttn8Wwl40EmA2sGxnePxFt0FDtp9ta3UvE9h2ERolwKqH3wMVCy2cBoHQL8J2pJu4kPZ0fNjQ/s320/13.01+mud+083.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Car Park at Markenfield has never been quite the same since it was dug up twice in quick succession - once by BT looking for a junction box, and once by the water people looking for a leak!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The surface became lumpy and began to hold water. The grass disappeared and the whole area began to resemble the surrounding farm land rather than somewhere for visitors to park their once-clean cars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A brand new car park has been on the cards for many years now - but how to fund it? What to do with it to keep it in keeping? A concrete monstrosity just wouldn't do. Tarmac? Sacrilege! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As it turned out, inspiration wasn't too far away!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was decided that the new Car Park should be surfaced in a pale hardcore to match the central aisle of the Courtyard and then edged in cobbles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The cobbles in the Courtyard were unearthed when the grass was edged one day by the Hall's gardener and the decision was taken to preserve and maintain them rather than to grass over them again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They are a handsome feature of the Courtyard and actually run along the side of the Gatehouse too. So it was only natural that the thought of introducing them in to the Car Park too was greeted with enthusiasm by English Heritage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because the Car Park is on land Scheduled as an Ancient Monument, English Heritage have been involved from the very beginning. Most car parks do not require Consent from the Secretary of State and an Archaeologist on stand by!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, work began this week on scraping off what remained of the old grass surface. What was underneath was then leveled by hand proving a hard standing surface for the Hall's staff still to park on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luckily the existing drainage from the farm buildings still worked... we knew that following a morning of frothy pouring water down various holes and then running round to see if the moat was frothy too... a bit like Pooh Sticks - but with bubbles! So the surrounds to the run off drains will be made this week by the Hall's Stone Mason and then it's cobble time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Funnily enough... it would appear that someone (several hundred years ago) had the same idea! Look what was uncovered against the farm buildings - just under the grass.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-59951975100158454322013-07-17T02:29:00.000-07:002013-07-17T02:29:08.978-07:00The Bats & The Bees...<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wildlife seems to be high on the agenda at the Hall this week, with a wide variety of creatures - great and small - making their presence known.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This little fellow made an appearance in The Gatehouse last week - he was incredibly tiny and tangled in the cobwebs on the wall by the window. A quick check on The Bat Conservation Trust website confirmed that he really shouldn't be there and he was popped in a box awaiting collection by one of their Volunteers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At 9:00pm that night, a slightly odd assortment of people gathered around a cardboard box to see what it was that we had... a baby bat - less than a week old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was imperative that he was reunited with his mother and we spent over an hour scouring The Gatehouse for possible bat entrances, but unfortunately none could be found. It was decided that perhaps mother had been carrying him whilst searching for food and either abandoned him - or he had simply fallen off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back out in the Courtyard Nick (otherwise known as The Bat Man) set up his bat detector and we spent a further hour watching in awe as bats swooped and soared around us. He identified at least three species, including the solitary Long Eared Brown Bat. Nick is planning to return in order to identify the possible roosting sites within the Courtyard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another new arrival at the Hall - Hadrian's Bees. If you read the Blog on a regular basis you will already have come across Hadrian, the Hall's Dry Stone Waller. Not only is he a superbly talented waller, he is also a keen Apiarist. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He has installed two hives of bees to the west of the Hall, positioned so that they will (hopefully) take full advantage of Spring Wood and the abundance of wildflowers that flourish there.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-2800521791472800482013-06-17T07:33:00.001-07:002013-06-17T07:33:29.098-07:00Lumps, Bumps, Bodies and... Bunnies!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">South of the Hall, and sitting along-side the main drive, is a peculiarity of the Hall - known affectionately as The Lumps and Bumps Field. It is Scheduled as an Ancient Monument, along with the land that the Hall sits upon and all the land within the Park Pale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The area is described as follows in the Scheduling document originally drawn up in 1977:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.03125px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">To the south of the current farm buildings, which lie to the immediate south of the moat, are the substantial earthwork remains of the service buildings for the medieval complex. These buildings lay within an outer court and include well defined remains of at least four buildings laying either side of a later field wall. The remains survive up to 0.5m high and include a building platform 10m by 5m surrounded by a shallow gulley some 1.5m wide. To the east of these remains are two substantial earthen banks 5m apart and up to 0.5m high which extend east for 70m then turn to extend south for 100m, and which are interpreted as the sides of a track way. The curtain wall which surrounded the outer court survives as a prominent bank along the western side of a track extending south west from the farm buildings. To the west of this wall, outside the outer court, are remains of ridge and furrow cultivation. The southern and eastern sides of the outer court are defined by the park pale but the location of the boundary on the north side is currently unknown.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Various people, at various times over the years have hazarded various guesses about the origins of these Lumps and Bumps. The general consensus - and the version told during guided tours of the Hall - is that they are the remains of the original mediaeval village that would have sprung up to support the Hall and its associated activities - such as labourers, craftsmen, farmers and the like. This possibility is also hinted at in the English Heritage Scheduling:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.03125px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">A park pale was the boundary around an area of land often set aside and equiped for the management and hunting of deer and other animals although farming also took place. They were generally located around or adjacent to a manor house, castle or palace. Parks could contain a number of features, including hunting lodges, a park keepers house, rabbit warrens, and enclosures for game. They were usually surrounded by a park pale, a fenced, hedged or walled boundary often on a massive bank with an internal ditch. The peak period for the laying out of parks, between AD 1200 and 1350, coincided with a time of considerable prosperity amongst the nobility. Parks were established in virtually every county in England and were a long lived and widespread monument type. Today they serve to illustrate an important aspect of the activities of medieval nobility and still exert a powerful influence on the pattern of the modern landscape. Where a park pale survives well, and is well documented or associated with other significant remains they are normally identified as nationally important. The medieval fortified house complex at Markenfield Hall survives well. The full extent of the outer court is known and earthwork remains of its enclosing wall and buildings are preserved. The associated park pale also survives well and is unusually complete. Taken together the remains demonstrate a rare survival, offering important scope for understanding the nature and functions of a medieval complex and its impact on the wider economy and landscape.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This belief was changed briefly back in 2011 when Historical Dowsers worked their way across the Courtyard, the Car Park, the One Acre Paddock and the Lumps and Bumps Field to try and identify what historical archaeological secrets could be hidden under the surface. They identified the outlines of numerous buildings within the Courtyard, and it was truly fascinating to see the outlines of buildings from days gone by begin to take shape in front of your eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the Dowsers got to the Lumps and Bumps Field however they did not find the anticipated mediaeval village - instead they identified three plague burial pits. Not exactly the "View from the Gatehouse" that a girl wants each day!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then, not a year later, we were privileged to welcome historical writer Richard Almond to the Hall. He was speaking for The Friends on the subject of the Park Pale and mediaeval hunting in general. He identified the Lumps and Bumps as rabbit warrens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His explanation being that when rabbits were first imported to this country, they were above-ground animals used to a hot climate and that in order to survive they had to be "taught" to live underground away from snow, wind and rain. Thus it was that artificial rabbit warrens were built consisting of stone tunnels and chambers; and this is what we have here at the Hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was lucky enough to meet The Muddy Archaeologist (otherwise known as Gillian Hovell) at the Ripon Local and Familiy History Fair last week and plans are under way for her to come and look at our Lumps and Bumps with a view, not only to providing a definitive answer, but to put on a lecture (or two..) about the Hall and its archaeology based on her extensive knowledge of landscape archaeology. Muddy Markenfield... it has a ring to it!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-45656331214450661312013-05-30T03:10:00.001-07:002013-05-30T03:10:51.416-07:00Spring Wood and beyond<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Besides the Hall, and its surrounding 600 acres of farmland, the Hall also has a small woodland - situated alongside the north-west boundary of the Estate. It is not accessible to the public, as it is home to a number of rare plants and a haven for deer and other wildlife.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A recent survey of the site, carried out by the North Yorkshire County Council Department for Ecology identified 125 different species of flora and fauna within the wood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Work to maintain, and also regenerate, the woods has been ongoing for the past three years with gulleys cleared, walls re-built and insect habitats created.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work begins in 2011 on clearing the gulleys<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGxpQyYlSXrpzO8ckf9dz8jy7s4XLGMDtvH7pjAdH9LQo6axuifDhnRrv2uo8xm6C8uHuYxAIOmBBzkK4-B0ZpGHm4ORXNwd6VEA4-R6Pb20NNUIY8XUZlt7hLRZcJcYbRxs9nzF80wA/s1600/12.04+Sluice+and+tree+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGxpQyYlSXrpzO8ckf9dz8jy7s4XLGMDtvH7pjAdH9LQo6axuifDhnRrv2uo8xm6C8uHuYxAIOmBBzkK4-B0ZpGHm4ORXNwd6VEA4-R6Pb20NNUIY8XUZlt7hLRZcJcYbRxs9nzF80wA/s320/12.04+Sluice+and+tree+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the broken-down walls blocking the gulley</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QbSBwbNpylNIj_HEFYtsZTaaMFbnmbZl2YKedpIhrqGPRHXOOLAFUChlInPlwQKeJ2W9x8iBtWNDRYq-OK03RMlwIIPDMt6LAMsi1ng6Od2ZyZ1-HB0PiUqbKAXtplCcvp5DqyHMSCk/s1600/12.07+Wall+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QbSBwbNpylNIj_HEFYtsZTaaMFbnmbZl2YKedpIhrqGPRHXOOLAFUChlInPlwQKeJ2W9x8iBtWNDRYq-OK03RMlwIIPDMt6LAMsi1ng6Od2ZyZ1-HB0PiUqbKAXtplCcvp5DqyHMSCk/s320/12.07+Wall+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The re-built wall, courtesy of "Hadrian" the Estate's dry stone waller<br /></td></tr>
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The work is ongoing, as is much of the restoration of the landscape around the Hall, and it is hoped that more species will be counted at the next survey in three years time.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-77506773909868117552012-11-22T05:10:00.002-08:002012-11-22T05:10:57.140-08:0020th November 1569<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tuesday 20th November saw the 443rd anniversary of The Rising of the North, the most serious of the rebellions against Elizabeth I and the end of the Markenfields of Markenfield Hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are a number of annual Chapel Services at the Hall - the Requiem Mass in August, the Remembrance service in November and of course Christmas at Markenfield. Tuesday however saw the first of what is hoped will become a new annual service - a Pilgrimage to mark the Rising.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Organised by Andrew Burrell and the Catenian Society, 31 hardy souls braved the dark, damp night and gathered beneath the Gatehouse arch. The sound of Psalm 53 sounded out across the Courtyard as the procession made its way towards the Hall with lighted tapers held aloft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was a moving sight, and a fitting reminder of the bravery of the men who rode out from the Courtyard all those many years ago.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-73961058127526935232012-10-12T04:26:00.001-07:002012-10-12T04:26:19.723-07:0040 Days and 40 Nights?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwsZPGNkg2hQSBokDfbqS-Tflm39Ee-gIaLt-dWD5dUSiSstImW6RruHOzp-Jnw1z4-RGLacdF4Io9cfzSZ33e8L8ZQpUft5Ddb_DJ0KilcwDG5XqXbKaON39689y7ed2h8kliM6oPsI/s1600/11.05+noodle+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwsZPGNkg2hQSBokDfbqS-Tflm39Ee-gIaLt-dWD5dUSiSstImW6RruHOzp-Jnw1z4-RGLacdF4Io9cfzSZ33e8L8ZQpUft5Ddb_DJ0KilcwDG5XqXbKaON39689y7ed2h8kliM6oPsI/s320/11.05+noodle+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just when you think that the sun is here to stay, we stage an Event... and down comes the rain!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm starting to take it personally - is someone up there trying to tell me something? Should we give up trying to entertain our faithful followers?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No of course not! Last night, despite the horrendous forecast, 60 guests enjoyed the cosy surroundings of Markenfield on an autumn night in aid of Ripon Cathedral. We obviously had someone on our side last night, as the rain held off until everyone was safely inside and enjoying the delicious homemade canapes and wine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Cathedral Choir put on a wonderful performance in the Great Hall, followed by The Dean talking about the Cathedral Patrons and then a talk by Ian Curteis FSA on the history of the Hall and the ongoing restoration work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So all in all, not only were we very lucky, we were very fortunate to spend the evening in such good company.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-5779565776884811242012-07-11T03:58:00.001-07:002012-07-11T03:58:49.812-07:00An Evening of Champagne, Bach... and mud!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbdx3aiJQyhpw1aaVVGSNVxhZnhlFBICUUWpXLJmnPjPI5qaJEWKcBkXUe08wjxFR5sEj1Gst_uknHZ3vLPVyA6e0MGgh2G4-quT9GynVv1tX5duFdszbbgZLyDad99CzjDh15qkchyphenhypheng/s1600/Duo+Dorado2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbdx3aiJQyhpw1aaVVGSNVxhZnhlFBICUUWpXLJmnPjPI5qaJEWKcBkXUe08wjxFR5sEj1Gst_uknHZ3vLPVyA6e0MGgh2G4-quT9GynVv1tX5duFdszbbgZLyDad99CzjDh15qkchyphenhypheng/s320/Duo+Dorado2.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fifty incredibly lucky people gathered at Markenfield last night for an Evening of Champagne and Bach in a simply stunning performance by Early Musicians Hazel Brooks and David Pollock - otherwise known as Duo Dorado.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As with most events at the moment, mud played quite a large part in the evening - but unlike the Great Yorkshire Show, our show went on!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Harpsichord that Duo Dorado brought with them was a work of art in its own right. The instrument (shown left) was made in 1999 and is a replica of the 1733 Ruckers-Hemsch held in the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands Park. Transporting the priceless instrument up the stairs to the Great Hall posed challenges, but once there it looked instantly at home. We did actually offer to keep it here and look after it for them... but strangely they declined!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is identical - down to the individual brush-strokes of the painting - to the original, and decorated with gold leaf. The sound that it produced is unmistakable and to hear it fill the Great Hall was a joyous experience of all present.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, after pink Champagne in the Undercroft the audience made their way up the stairs to the Great Hall. The Duo were kindly introduced by Roger Chapman and then the magic really began.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Playing a selection of pieces by Bach, including the much loved Well-Tempered Clavier, Baroque Violinist Hazel kept the audience entertained with anecdotes from the life of Bach. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During the interval David kindly showed the audience around the Harpsichord, allowing them to take a closer look at the intricate paintings that adorn it and answering the many questions that the audience had.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We sincerely hope that we will be able to welcome them back to the Hall in the future as they were an absolute delight.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-84257322420988688022012-05-26T09:11:00.001-07:002012-05-26T09:11:18.117-07:00Follow the Yellow Brick Road<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok, so the drive to Markenfield is not made of yellow brick - nor is it paved in gold - or any other colourful quotation... in fact it is quite often paved in good old mud, but the fields either side are simply stunning at the moment. Ah ha - Fields of Gold!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is a joy to be able to drive past views like this every day in the beautiful sunshine that we have been having this week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are some Markenfield residents who are none too happy about the heat though...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkj3P5F2h0-uOprpzhxLDan7g8Z9qQjdMMTF79mBZlc2T5c-MX4dGKZryxXccmW8lGeCf-fnwUchnnYA2AgKC2L0iigcyv6KdVsGiGZz3r3PPjo0J9aJf5cM3LWOWhuIIYuj0Sw8YUag/s1600/12.05+sunshine+and+Decantor+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkj3P5F2h0-uOprpzhxLDan7g8Z9qQjdMMTF79mBZlc2T5c-MX4dGKZryxXccmW8lGeCf-fnwUchnnYA2AgKC2L0iigcyv6KdVsGiGZz3r3PPjo0J9aJf5cM3LWOWhuIIYuj0Sw8YUag/s400/12.05+sunshine+and+Decantor+008.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cows have taken to the shade of the avenue of trees on the drive.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-60461440778378765152012-05-15T03:00:00.001-07:002012-05-15T03:00:32.502-07:00The Other 337 Days...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ4ie6vWSYFMWZtS0OsqrRWTD7giTeAb4fgdxWR_yw7KgXvfQyB1k4IiBQNWWOm4mct8z1Jpy3fk64wJkz07rV5-k5mo_u4V2p8EnK2VAjPhcv5Gym3wnmQIfGBGy-502OAnTsphfBmM/s1600/12.03+Park+Pale+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ4ie6vWSYFMWZtS0OsqrRWTD7giTeAb4fgdxWR_yw7KgXvfQyB1k4IiBQNWWOm4mct8z1Jpy3fk64wJkz07rV5-k5mo_u4V2p8EnK2VAjPhcv5Gym3wnmQIfGBGy-502OAnTsphfBmM/s400/12.03+Park+Pale+016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whilst the Hall may only be open to the public for 28 days each year, the Estate is still a busy place during the other 337 days of the year. The latest Project is the restoration of the Park Pale - a rare Mediaeval survival and gem of the Estate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The first Deer Parks were created in the C12th. These tended to be on the forest margins and differed in that they were enclosed, sometimes by a wall alone but more usually by a massive earthwork, the park pale. As deer can jump up to six metres horizontally and three metres vertically this had to be a formidable barrier. The usual form was of a large bank, three to four metres high topped by a strong wooden fence or wall. On the inside, to deny the deer the footing to take off, would be a steep sided ditch of similar dimensions to the bank. Although many of these earthworks have been lost to the plough enough survive around the country, albeit in a degraded state, to reveal how widespread a feature deer parks became. Indeed by the start of the fourteenth century there were something like 3,200 deer parks in England occupying around 260,000 hectares (650,000 acres) which represented something like 2% of the countryside.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4LAba4Ks7HbHRF8D3t-rQXsto_Gc7bcuEASf1lBiEYhddIjqYUvqXGttcDrHxt31YHdoQtvQflfjaOibYZbF99-MN_lTBPiQ_m6om5q3jkNAH1klp6fxGM34CZ2U24m4trVkDnMBkL4/s1600/12.03+Park+Pale+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4LAba4Ks7HbHRF8D3t-rQXsto_Gc7bcuEASf1lBiEYhddIjqYUvqXGttcDrHxt31YHdoQtvQflfjaOibYZbF99-MN_lTBPiQ_m6om5q3jkNAH1klp6fxGM34CZ2U24m4trVkDnMBkL4/s320/12.03+Park+Pale+013.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a2e20; letter-spacing: 1px; text-align: left;">The Park Pale at the Hall originally extended for 1¾ miles around the Hall and an amazing 1½ miles still survives in one continuous length. It was the boundary wall of the original deer park, enclosing 128 acres with Markenfield Hall at its centre. It takes the form of a stone wall, and some of the original banking can still be seen either side – high outside and low inside so that the deer could leap in but not jump out. Despite being in a semi-ruinous condition over much of its length it is Scheduled as an Ancient Monument and as such any re-building works are subject to restrictions under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act of 1979.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #3a2e20; letter-spacing: 1px; text-align: left;">In early spring 2011 the weeds and self-sown saplings were cleared from around the wall by Junior Soldiers from the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. The wall in its existing state was then thoroughly surveyed by Dr Keith Jones using ranging poles and photographs to record precise details of the position of the stones and key features to be retained. All of this was done in accordance with strict English Heritage regulations and the work carried their blessing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then in the autumn of 2011 the Volunteers from the <a href="http://www.nidderdaleaonb.org.uk/nidderdale-70" style="color: #000099; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Walling Team</a> arrived to begin work. Under the supervision of Chris Grundy and Emma Walker-Palin the slow and methodical task of restoration and repair of the first section began.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> It is only the bottom two courses of stone that are subject to the Scheduling and anything above that level was removed and rebuilt to produce the stunning piece of craftsmanship that can be seen today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The cap stones were transported from elsewhere on the Estate initially with the help of Bryon Jehu (the Hall’s Handyman) and Hugh Farren (Farm Manager), but we did later discover that the Wallers have the most dedicated team of Volunteers ever, when it was discovered that they were actually carrying the cobbles by hand the full length of the Old Mediaeval Road!</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-8365079107658126522012-05-14T02:53:00.001-07:002012-05-14T02:53:24.454-07:00The most interesting Utility Room in North Yorkshire...?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXGnx0HAGVxriJFutevNuIdLLF2Ap9hkHiwsj5zOK-_T_iZNqdbS9Gnv_NKbadJ5ug3IXupjcXVsw_MNVIo1i4iMiMu79xF8OXI15GfaWXjrJNnD0_gkGBKyaqaF5MHmoP9wvppVo9w4/s1600/12.05+Utility+Room+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXGnx0HAGVxriJFutevNuIdLLF2Ap9hkHiwsj5zOK-_T_iZNqdbS9Gnv_NKbadJ5ug3IXupjcXVsw_MNVIo1i4iMiMu79xF8OXI15GfaWXjrJNnD0_gkGBKyaqaF5MHmoP9wvppVo9w4/s320/12.05+Utility+Room+014.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*drum roll please*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are proud to announce - new for 2012 - the Markenfield Hall Utility Room... open to the public for the first time this year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But it's not just any old Utility Room. There
are two small at the Hall that escaped the “modernisation” of the ground floor
in 1569 and retain the original Mediaeval vaulting. Excitingly, it is believed
that the two rooms that survived form the oldest part of the Hall and that they
date from 1230.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Owner
Ian Curteis explains “a few years ago we were lucky to have a survey undertaken
by architectural historian Professor Andor Gomme. He believed that the Hall’s
Utility Room and the Vaulted Study next door date back to the days before the
Hall was extended to form the Courtyard you see today and that they were part
of a small Undercroft and had a small Great Hall above. The existing Undercroft
and Great Hall are much more modern - being completed in 1310!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He
goes on to say “it is clear to visitors that Markenfield is very much a family
home - we have dogs, grandchildren and family clutter around on a daily basis.
The problem with living in a historic house is that you do run out of rooms
suitable to live in and that is how a very modern Utility Room comes to be in a
room that is approximately 782 years old - we simply don’t have the room to put
it anywhere else!”</span><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB'; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A section of the report by the late Professor Andor Gomme can be read by visitors on the room sheet for the Utility Room - it makes for truly fascinating reading.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413270166787520336.post-58535298812467452332012-05-09T07:46:00.001-07:002012-05-09T07:46:32.918-07:00It's oh so quiet...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FjoHmx0wXyMosJwQFZTcCYy3U3XQuDP0OFl4jpA47VZ9iDoShHRsJOq8vYkiAINcJGqk5hKVo2AnF5mMS0N3YuTCQTzIlEHtocXFM0CdO-PLw3ISsZd36tmsaESZ-Lxu28SlQ_gHAR8/s1600/11.05+noodle+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FjoHmx0wXyMosJwQFZTcCYy3U3XQuDP0OFl4jpA47VZ9iDoShHRsJOq8vYkiAINcJGqk5hKVo2AnF5mMS0N3YuTCQTzIlEHtocXFM0CdO-PLw3ISsZd36tmsaESZ-Lxu28SlQ_gHAR8/s320/11.05+noodle+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You may have noticed that The Blog - and Twitter and Facebook for that matter - has been rather quiet of late. It's not that we don't want to update you with all the wonderful things that are happening here - we're currently open to the public until 19 May, we have concerts and lectures coming up - it's just that there are times when we can't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You see back in the 1960s when telephones first came to Markenfield, a trench was dug (presumably by hand) from Whitcliffe Lane to the Hall in which the telephone cable was then laid. That trench and that line are still in use to this day. Thinking aloud... perhaps that could be a new claim to fame - the oldest telephone line in Yorkshire... it has a ring to it (ahem!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, as you can no doubt imagine, a trench just a few inches under the surface of the ground, carrying a rather decrepit cable several miles under fields (see photo above) is not the most reliable of communication methods - hence when the telephone line went down last Monday we were not overly worried - these things happen. By Tuesday - just four days away from our first open day - we were starting to get nervous, and by Wednesday abject panic had set in!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thankfully the line came back on of its own accord - 30 minutes before the BT Engineer turned up!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The trials and tribulations of working somewhere so stunningly beautiful and "remote" from Ripon. We do at least have telephones now... emails are another matter entirely. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0