WINDOWS 1598
‘EXTRA CURLY’ MONKEY TAIL WINDOW STAYS
A MORE HUMBLE DWELLING IN DORSET WITH HAM STONE WINDOWS
THE PARK AND LONG RIDE IN JANUARY SUNSHINE
Category: BUILDINGS
CUTE AND MONTACUTE: A STATELY HOME IN JANUARY SUNSHINE (1)
Montacute House is a late Elizabethan country house in Somerset, and is considered to be one of the finest houses from the Elizabethan era. It has survived almost unchanged. It was built in the 1590s from local ‘ham stone’ from the nearby Ham Hill quarries, a jurassic limestone known for the beauty of its honey-gold colouring. It remained in the Phelips family until the early c20, and became one of the first National Trust properties in 1927. By then it had largely been emptied of its contents. Today it houses an important collection of pictures from the National Portrait Gallery. Unsurprisingly the house and its grounds are much used for films and TV costume dramas.
A sunny day in early January was the perfect time for a family expedition to Montacute, including Genevieve (18 months, cute) who was more interested in the fish in the pond than anything else.
In between two pavilions are gates onto a long ride stretching far into the distant parkland
The Phelips Coat of Arms above the front door
A ‘welcome’ message that I suspect is not an original feature…
Adornments on the garden walls, the first presumably a fountain in days gone by
Part 2 will show some of the architectural detail of Montacute, and more of the gardens
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT… CERNE ABBAS, DORSET
Through and indeed under it, to be strictly accurate. This Dorset village, a few miles north of Dorchester, is well-known, but for (arguably) the wrong reason, the chalk-figure giant on the hill in all his unfeasibly impressive priapic glory. Some say he represents Hercules (besides the fearsome club, excavations have found traces of some form of covering over the other hand – a manly lionskin for protection? Or for modesty perhaps?). 
There are many theories for the giant’s origin and purpose, but the general consensus is that he dates from the c17 or early c18 – he is first noted in records in the mid-c18. Maybe he’s much older. It is said that a belief in the giant as a symbol of fertility encouraged young women of the surrounding area to climb the hill and sit on his… oh, work it out for yourselves. Let’s move on swiftly.
The fairly recently installed car park overlooking the hill has information boards that are unusually helpful. There’s a good map of the village and its significant features, and another boards with details of the village and its history.
In AD 987 a Benedictine Abbey was founded below the giant’s hill. The dissolution of the monasteries erased it, and apart from a gateway (‘Abbot’s Porch) very little remains, though lumps and bumps in a field reveal its extent. 
Medieval monasteries were invariably built close to a reliable source of fresh water. The River Cerne runs through the village, with rivulets running right under the main street. It is a trout stream, which doubtless provided food for the monks. However, there was another water source that still exists. St Augustine’s Well, replete with Augustinian legend.
The water constantly bubbles out of the ground, and has a remarkable clarity. Although these leaves look as though they are on the surface, they are in fact covered by 3 inches of crystal-clear water.
The water from the well runs a short distance to form a millpond, before joining the river.
The manor house in its present incarnation dates from the 1750s, and is built in the abbey grounds 
The church of St Mary’s has a medieval origin, but was expanded in later centuries
The churchyard is also in the abbey grounds
Outside the church is a reminder of earlier times for crime and punishment
The Pitchmarket is one of the oldest buildings in the village, an excellent though spectacularly misshapen example of a Tudor building.
Cerne Abbas was the location of the 1963 film ‘Tom Jones’, starring Albert Finney and Susannah York. If you are interested in seeing stills from the film, showing the village ‘Fielding-ised’ for the film, click HERE. If you want to know more about the book, including a reasonable synopsis, click HERE.
A painted jest from a few years ago…
AN ANCIENT LIGHTHOUSE, A TRIG POINT & A FINE VIEW: ST CATHERINE’S DOWN, IoW
St. Catherine’s Down is a chalk down near the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight, rising to 240 metres above the level of the nearby sea. There is a rewarding walk from a car park on the road, climbing steadily and in places quite steeply. On the way up there are spectacular views across to the Needles to the west.
Eventually the track opens out near the top of the hill to reveal an amazing medieval prototype for a skyrocket near the summit. 
This is in fact St. Catherine’s Oratory, known locally as the ‘Pepperpot’, a stone lighthouse built in the 14th century by Walter de Godeton. It is the second oldest lighthouse in the British Isles – only the Roman-built lighthouse at Dover is older.
De Godeton was convicted of scavenging wine ‘belonging to the Church’ from a shipwreck. He was ordered to make amends, under threat of excommunication, by building a lighthouse. Wreck plunder / lighthouse penance – a rare early example of punishment fitting the crime at a time when theft of a sheep might mean death. Fires were lit in the lighthouse tower to warn ships at sea that they were close to the coastline.
There was an attached chapel at one time – hence the ‘Oratory’ – but it has been long since demolished. A replacement lighthouse was begun in 1785, but never completed. Locally this half-finished building is known as the ‘salt pot’.
The hill is surrounded by unspoilt downland, with long views on all sides
There is also a trig point, providing an unstrenuous target for ‘trig-baggers’. Anyone interested in using trig points as a purpose for a nice walk and needing an incentive for the achievement might like to look at http://www.trigpointinguk.com
HAY CASTLE: ROMANTIC RUIN (c12th) & JACOBEAN RELIC (1660)
HAY CASTLE dominates the famous little book town of Hay-on-Wye, a fire-ravaged but stately part-ruin. Currently owned by the HAY CASTLE TRUST, a restoration project for this once-gracious building is underway. I’d started to write my own potted history when it occurred to me that the official one would be (a) more informative and (b) more likely to be accurate. Here it is – click the blue link above for further information about the history and preservation of this important building.
“Hay Castle is one of the great medieval defence structures on the border of England and Wales still standing. Built in the late 12th century by the powerful Norman Lord William de Braose, its history is long and turbulent. The castle was sacked by Llewelyn II, the last prince of Wales, in 1233, and rebuilt by Henry III. Centuries of turmoil followed until the 15th century, when the castle passed into the hands of the Beaufort Estates. Castle House, a Jacobean mansion, was built alongside the tower in 1660.
The remains of the castle include a four-storey keep and a beautiful arched gateway. The multi-gabled Jacobean manor was severely damaged by fire in 1939, and again in 1977. Remnants of the 18th century formal gardens and 19th century terraced gardens can still be seen. Owned by bibliophile Richard Booth since the 1960’s, the site was purchased in 2011 by the Hay Castle Trust.”
The summer Hay Book Festival is one of THE literary events of the year. Less well-known is the Hay Festival Winter Weekend. A Wales-related book published by Mrs Harbour was launched at the Castle, with an author’s talk and a party – followed by (and completely unconnected with) a gig containing copious humourous material of questionable taste by comedian Marcus Brigstocke. Here are a few photographs of the castle.
THE VIEW FROM THE TOWN SIDE
THE CASTLE FROM THE GARDEN SIDE 
A round-arched window dating back to an earlier period of the castle’s history
The only occupied part of the ruined side… a perfect place for birds to nest
ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY 