25 Saturday Apr 2015
Posted in Out and About.
Tags
architecture, Birmingham, British Monarchy, Council House Birmingham, Flag of Birmingham, flags, public art, Queen Victoria, sculpture, statue, Victoria Square Birmingham, Victorian., Victoriana
Note the civic flag of the city of Birmingham flying over Council House.
31 Tuesday Mar 2015
Tags
allegorical figure, beard, Dundee, moustache, Persian slippers, Queen Victoria, sculpture, slippers, statue, Statue of Queen Victoria, turban, Victorian., Victoriana
Posted by Mr. B Flaneur | Filed under Photo Archive.
06 Friday Mar 2015
Posted in Photo Archive.
Tags
allegorical figure, beer bottle, Bronze, George Stephenson, John Graham Lough, Newcastle, sculpture, Steam Train, Trains., Victorian., Victoriana
The Victorian Web reminded me that this allegorical figure, representing an engineer, sits at the base of the Stephenson Memorial. I think it was the beer bottle that attracted my initial attention, because I neglected to photograph the other three allegorical figures at the base of the sculpture or the larger than life George Stephenson which towers over them. Stephenson was a railway pioneer, I think it’s fair to say, since he was mind behind the Stockton to Darlington Railway and The Rocket locomotive. The statue is by Northumbrian sculptor John Graham Lough.
04 Wednesday Mar 2015
Posted in Souvenirs.
Tags
Bangladesh, Bengal, British Industry, Dundee, India, Industrial Heritage, Industrial Revolution, jute, leaflet, Museums, Scotland's Jute Museum, Social history, Souvenirs, sticker, Ted, textiles, Verdant Works, Victorian., Victoriana
Expertly modelled by Ted.
*Raspberry*.
Have you ever thought about jute? I had only considered the properties of jute once before my visit to Dundee. I was in Cambridge, walking around the open air market behind Great St. Mary’s Church and a short walk from King’s College Chapel, when my attention was caught by a stall on which everything was made of jute, which was haled as a renewable wonder material! Anyway – I didn’t think about jute again until I arrived in Dundee and asked a very helpful lady at Discovery Point, “Do you recommend any other visitor attraction in Dundee?” [or words to that effect]. She gave me a map and pointed me in the direction of the Verdant Works. To quote from the leaflet I still have, “Scotland’s Jute Museum @ Verdant Works is just one of the many mills that flourished when the jute industry was at its height. Verdant Works takes you on a tour of the trade, from its beginnings in the Indian subcontinent to the end product in all its myriad forms“.
In brief: The story of jute starts on the Indian Subcontinent, Bangladesh to be exact; formally Bengal. A number of enterprising, Victorian, individuals, had the bright idea of using their assets in the ship building, whaling, textile industries to bring the jute over to Dundee, soften it using whale oil and then turn it into sailcloth, sacking, ropes, tarpaulins and countless other things you would find in your very own home.
The Verdant Works is a very interesting place to visit. The museum covers all aspects of the subject, from the jutes cultivation to the finished product. Parts of the Works don’t look as if they’ve changed much [or have been restored] since 1900, so you get that feeling of walking back in time. The “From Fibre to Fabric” section has an extensive collection of working textile industry related machinery [it was all a bit over my head, but if you’re of a mechanic inclination I am sure you’ll love it]. The museum also covers the effect of the jute industry on the social history of Dundee, which is a very interesting topic; with special reference to the unique role of women in Dundee.
26 Thursday Feb 2015
Posted in Souvenirs.
Tags
artillery, artillery pieces, Ben Ainslie, Fortifications, forts, guns, London Summer Olympics 2012, Military History, Museums, Nothe Fort, Nothe Fort Weymouth, Olympic Gold Medal winner, Olympic sailing, sailing, Sir Ben Ainslie, Souvenirs, Victorian., Victoriana, Weymouth
I witnessed a small, but significant, moment in the history of the Nothe Fort back in 2012, as Weymouth and Portland prepared to be the venue of the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic sailing. That was the year Sir Ben Ainslie won his Gold medal in the Finn Class sailing, his fifth Gold at five consecutive Olympic Games [not that I was in Weymouth or Portland for the actual sailing, I was only there for the final preparations].
The Ramparts.
The Fort operates on three levels; the ramparts on top, the gun deck/parade ground below and the magazine beneath that. You enter the Fort at the gun deck/parade ground level, through the barbican; the main defensive feature on the landward side of the fortification.
The gun deck is comprised of 26 casements, which once open plan and housed the “massive Victorian muzzle loaded guns“. Casement 22 contains a reconstruction of the Victorian gun deck, where an impressive collection of very proud looking mannequins manned artillery pieces that look so colossal you would think they were immovable. There were no partitions between the casements back then, so it was possible to move along the gun deck without having to go out onto the parade ground. The casements also contain the reception and shop, the canteen and some interesting displays about the building of the fort and films about the various guns that have been positioned there throughout its history.
The gun deck.
On the ramparts above you can see one of the 6 inch guns that made the Victorian muzzle loaded guns on the gun deck below obsolete by 1905 [there were three guns originally, but now there is only one, but you can still see the emplacements were they once stood].
One of the 6 inch guns on the ramparts.
The magazine.
In the magazine below the gun deck you will find a series of underground tunnels and rooms. One surprising feature of the fort is that a third of the magazine was converted into a nuclear fallout shelter for civilian use during the Cold War.
The Nothe Fort is a fascinating place were Britain has faced external threats both real and imagined; arguably the fortifications finest hour was during World War Two when it served as an anti-aircraft position protecting Portland and Weymouth harbours, a conflicted its Victorian architects could never have imagined. The Victorians were right about one thing however, the Nothe Peninsula offers great views of Weymouth and Portland, so it is worth the trek up there even if you are not interested in history, especially on a sunny day, like that day back in 2012.
Belts and braces.
15 Sunday Feb 2015
Posted in Photo Archive.
Tags
architecture, bricks, brickwork, Bury St Edmunds, Bury St Edmunds Railway Station, ornamental detail, Public Transport, Sancton Wood, stonework, tower, Train stations, Victorian., Victoriana
Designed by Sancton Wood and formally opened in November 1847.
25 Sunday Jan 2015
Posted in Photo Archive.
Tags
architecture, Charles Lynam, Colin Minton Campbell, English Heritage, Grade II listed building, library, Library and Shakespeare Institute Stoke-on-Trent, Minton, Shakespeare, Stoke-on-Trent, The Potteries, Victorian., Victoriana
English Heritage Building ID: 384432.
To quote from British Listed Buildings. co. uk, “Library, purpose-built as library and Shakespeare Institute in 1878. By Charles Lynam. Brick with stone dressings, enriched
with tiled panels and mosaics. 2-storeyed over a basement, 5 bays, stepped in plan. Red brick to basement, then white brick above, with rubbed red brick pilasters and architraves to windows in the advanced 3-bay section to the SW. 3 oculi, with tiled panels over, and mosaic depicting Shakespeare in the central panel“.
The Stoke-on-Trent: Breaking The Mould website informs me that the Minton family, Colin Minton Campbell to be exact, donated the site for the Library. His other achievements, listed on The Potteries. Org, he introduced the “acid gold process“, served as Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent between 1880 and 1883 and served as a Captain in the Stoke Rifle Volunteers, amongst many other things.
According to the BBC News website “Stoke-on-Trent’s former library has been sold for £128,000 – £40,000 more than expected“.
13 Tuesday Jan 2015
Tags
architecture, black and white, Mind the gap, Public Transport, Saltaire, Train stations, Trains., Victorian., Victoriana, World Heritage Site
Posted by Mr. B Flaneur | Filed under Photo Archive.
17 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Out and About.
Tags
Africa, black and white, blue, Dr David Livingstone, Edinburgh, explorers, exploring, illustration, National Library of Scotland, Victorian., Victoriana
I wonder if the front of the National Library of Scotland is still boarded up? The blue hoarding, which must have been obscuring some sort of building work, was decorated with illustrations, like this one, depicting the famous Scottish explorer and missionary Dr. David Livingstone.
04 Thursday Dec 2014
Tags
architecture, Hull, Hull City of Culture 2017, leafs, ornamental detail, The Old Customs House Hull, Victorian., Victoriana
Posted by Mr. B Flaneur | Filed under Hull and Hullness
The Antics Roadshow blog 