Dismantled & Ready to be Shipped to America..

This was the first fireplace to be dismantled and removed from the castle.

Just click on a photograph if you'd like to enlarge it, you'll see much more detail.

Way back in 1911 Tattershall Castle had fallen into disrepair, and was unloved and unwanted.... few people had heard of Lincolnshire, never mind Tattershall.

The owner had no interest in it, the buildings and land were to be sold.

This beautiful room is the Audience Chamber, on the second floor

A meeting of the Council of the National Trust was convened, but decided against purchasing the castle, despite being offered an interest free loan to do so!

Instead it was purchased by anAmerican millionaire, who planned to have the wholecastle dismantledand shipped, brick by brick, to the U.S.

When news of this was made public there was a huge outcry, especially when it became known that the huge and handsome stone fireplaces were being dismantled and taken away from the castle, in pieces. Bricks were smashed, chimneys dismantled, rubble lay all around.

Luckily Lord Curzon (Viceroy of India) was able to purchase the building and he set about trying to track down the missing fireplaces.

He had all the ports watched so that they could not be taken out of the country. Eventually he was contacted by a dealer, acting as the middleman for the people who now owned the fireplaces.

Image borrowed from tattershallwiththorpe, many thanks

Image borrowed from tattershallwiththorpe, many thanks

To cut a long story short, a deal was struck and they were returned at a cost of £5,155.00. This was in May 1912. The two black and white photographs show the triumphant return of the fireplaces.



The dismantled fireplaces would have been taken down this beautiful staircase.

Going up the spiral staircase doesn't seem so bad, coming down is a little trickier - especially given that it is two-way traffic...

There are approximately 150 steps from the basement to the battlements.



This photograph may give you some idea of the scale of the fireplaces and the vastness of the 'chambers'. Each floor has one large chamber with a few very small ante-rooms leading off.





It is a very simple building with lots of beautiful detailing, both inside and out. The walls have never been plastered or painted. The principle rooms were hung with huge tapestries like this one. Everything was on a grand scale.



Even corridors had beautiful ceilings.

Here we are at the top of the building, a beautiful open air space. Climb another few stairs and you are rewarded with amazing views of the countryside - see my previous post.

On a clear day you can see all the way to Boston - in Lincolnshire, of course!

Mating Damselflies, Swamp River

I paddled 13 miles on Swamp River yesterday and saw several critters but the highlight of the day was seeing all of the damselflies in the grasses and on the lily pads along the edge of the river. They are so small, most people probably wouldn’t even notice them. These little guys are only about an inch and a half long. Once you notice them, it’s hard to take your eyes off them (they are also quite hard to photograph, since they usually don’t sit still for very long). Adding to the difficulty was the wind. It was quite hard to capture these critters when the grasses were blowing around so much!

Peekaboo

I didn't get a better photo before he noticed us. He slithered away so fast I could hardly believe it.
I am really, really glad that venomous snakes don't tend to move that fast, or at least, not that fast towards you. (I have seen Copperheads move fairly quickly, but away.)
Anyway, this is a Water Snake, I think the Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota).
They supposedly have poor dispositions (they'll bite if you pick them up), but if you ask me, any snake that runs away from me has a disposition that I enjoy.
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Submitted to the Friday Ark.

A Dreamy Place to Read

I took this photo during a movie I was watching. The movie was so bad that I won't even tell you the name of it. I fell in love with this reading nook.
The window is leaded, diamond panes with a deep windowsill. Tucked below that is a row of old books within easy reach of anyone fortunate enough to be lounging on the pillow-covered bed. It's in England, of course.
I'm walking around my house looking for a place to make my own little nook similar to this one. I just bought two antique needlepoint pillows on E-bay yesterday, so I've got a good start. I'll keep you updated.

"Remembering Tony"

I never met Tony - wish I had. From what his friends say, he was a great guy.
Yesterday, about 20 mountain bikers gathered at Lake Manawa and rode to Lewis & Clark. My apologies, but wires got crossed regarding the route, so I missed seeing the group at LNC, and their visit to Tony's Bench.
More friends arrived after the ride for a picnic. Today or tomorrow I will get the photos on the T.H.O.R. web site.
For now - it looks like a good morning to ride, too hot to ride this afternoon.

The Gales Storm Gathering premiers

The view from Middle Island looking toward Marquette on a calm day.

We just returned from the first annual Gales Storm Gathering, a Great Lakes rough-water symposium based this year in Marquette, Michigan. We write "based" and not "held" because while all the coaches and participants stayed in Marquette, class locations depended on conditions. One of the unique aspects of this symposium was the night-before planning: Depending on the forecast, classes would be offered on surfing, rough-water rescues, incident management, rock gardening, navigation, and long boats in current. Even the scenic tours offered opportunities to learn boat control in wind and waves.

We expected rough water on Lake Superior in early October, but were instead treated to a classic Indian summer. The days were warm and sunny, and the winds generally light. The coaches scouted the two key locations: the nearby coast of Lake Superior, with its rocky islands and shoals, and a stretch of the Menominee River that offers current, eddies and rapids.

Scouting the Menominee to find the right line.

When the symposium began, the winds picked up, but they were off-shore instead of on-shore, creating no surf. So day one began with a drive through the Hiawatha National Forest--a visual feast of fall leaves--to Manistique,where Lake Michigan was delivering waves to five feet.

A pre-surf session talk about launching and landing.

Another unique aspect of this symposium was the ratio of instructors to students. With 12 instructors and 36 students, it was possible to safely take people out in dynamic conditions and keep class sizes small. This also meant that instructors and students got to know one another well over the course of the weekend, and everybody benefitted from working with guest coaches Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme of Body Boat Blade.

Shawna debriefing with her class after an incident-management scenario.

Even though we never got rough conditions on Lake Superior, the symposium managed to deliver on its promises, thanks to trips to Lake Michigan and the Menominee and creative use of rocky shorelines. It was a pleasure to work with participants who had substantial paddling skill and experience and were eager to be challenged and learn.

Cliff jumping, kayaker style.

This symposium will happen again next October, based in Wawa, Ontario--another place known for rough water in the fall, but that also has a river to ensure conditions no matter what Mother Nature delivers. We're looking forward to it already.

Technicolor Fields

Technicolor Fields, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Multicolored carpets at Shell Creek Road...the species you see here include goldfields and owl's clover.