Lavender fields and Kirkham Priory

Another beautiful spot we visited was Yorkshire Lavender, a 60-acre hillside farm featuring lavender gardens, specialist plant shop and a sculpture park.

The patterns formed by the Lavender were just waiting to be photographed. 

A great place to visit with it`s herbs and other plants. To cap it all, a great place to have a mid morning coffee and cake. What more could you want. 

I know, more ruins! The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. 

The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. The area was later used to test the D-Day landing vehicles. The ruins are now Grade I listed and in the care of English Heritage. 

The Gatehouse of Kirkham Priory, built c.1290-5, is a specimen of English Gothic medieval architecture. It is a rare survival of such a gatehouse, comparable to that of Butley Priory in Suffolk. It has a wide arch of continuous mouldings with a crocketed gable running up to the windows, with sculptures of S.George and the Dragon on the left, and David and Goliath to the right. Above the arch is Christ in a pointed oval recess, plus two figures below of St. Bartholomew and St. Philip, in niches. 

And the very last ruin is Sheriff Hutton Castle in the village of Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire 

The original motte and bailey castle, the remains of which can be seen to the south of the churchyard, was built here in the Forest of Galtres by Bertram de Bulmer, Sheriff of York during the reign of King Stephen(c. 1135–1154), 

The stone castle was built at the western end of the village by John, Lord Neville in the late fourteenth century. 

The castle became the property of Henry VII and, in 1525, Henry VIII granted it to his son, Henry Fitzroy, who had been newly created as Duke of Richmond and Warden-General of the Marches. A survey of this date describes the castle as being in need of repair. 

The castle was acquired by the Ingram family in 1622, and stone from the site was used by them in the building of nearby Sheriff Hutton House. 

The castle remained in the Ingram family until the early twentieth century, by which time the ruins were being used as a farmyard. It was designated a scheduled ancient monument in the 1950s, and has recently undergone some repairs by English Heritage. Today the castle is privately owned.

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Anglesey Abbey

Anglesey Abbey is a great place to visit and is very family orientated as well. A community of Augustinian canons built a priory here, known as Anglesea or Anglesey Priory, some time during the reign of Henry I (i.e., between 1100 and 1135), and acquired extra land from the nearby village of Bottisham in 1279. The canons were expelled in 1535 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The former priory was acquired around 1600 by Thomas Hobson, who converted it to a country house for his son-in-law, Thomas Parker, retaining a few arches from the original priory. At that time the building's name was changed to "Anglesey Abbey", which sounded grander than the original "Anglesey Priory". Further alterations to the building were carried out in 1861.

Now it is a beautiful garden to visit, owned by the National Trust, and well worth spending the day here. 

Heading toward the winter garden first, we encounter thes beautiful `touchable` trees You just have to!. 

As this is September, the trees, and indeed the whole garden, is showing signs of the autumnal season.

Silver Birches in the winter garden section. 

There are lots of trees around the site, in avenues (below) and in individual areas (above) 

Autumn colours along this avenue. To commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937, Lord Fairhaven planted this extensive avenue of trees with a crossing avenue at the far end. The trees used were London plane alternating with horse chestnut in four rows, copying those planted in Windsor Great Park 

A large pool, the Quarry Pool, is believed to be the site of a 19th-century coprolite mine 

A watermill probably stood on the site of Lode Mill at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086. The Mill which stands today is likely to have been built in the eighteenth century. 

In 1793 the mill was described in a sale notice as 'Anglesea Watermill with dwelling house, yard, garden, barn, stables and outhouse and 3 acres of pasture adjoining'. Old photographs show the house next to the mill. The house was taken down in the renovation of the 1930s. 

In about 1900 the mill was converted from corn grinding to cement grinding. The cement was generally made by firing a mixture of clay and lime or natural chalk at about 400°C and grinding the resulting clinker into a powder. 

An engine may have been installed at this time, as inside the mill today there are some shafts, gears and a chain drive that are unusual in a watermill. 

The mill was owned by the Bottisham Lode Cement and Brick Company. Bottisham Lode is the stretch of water below the mill, one of a number of lodes that were used as a transport link to the River Cam. The water above the mill is called Quy Water. 

Unfortunately, the Bottisham Lode Cement and Brick Company was a victim of competition and the business had closed down by about 1920, leaving the mill to become derelict. 

The extensive landscaped gardens are popular with visitors throughout the year. The most visited areas include the rose garden and the dahlia garden, which contain many dozens of varieties. Out of season the spring garden and winter dell are famed nationally, particularly in February when the snowdrops first appear. The lawns of the South Park are mown less frequently and this allows the many wildflowers to flower and set seed. Over 50 species of wildflower have been recorded, including bee orchid, pyramidal orchid and common spotted orchid. In mid-summer, there are large numbers of butterflies such as meadow brown, gatekeeper, small skippers and marbled whites. 

Seen in the great dahlia garden, some beautiful displays - this suspended display really effective as you approached. 

The Circular Temple, Anglesey Abbey 

A touch of autumn. 

In the rose garden 

There is a lot to see at any time of year, masses of snowdrops in late winter but when we visited, cyclamen were putting on a great display as well as the dahlia. With a great place to get food, its a must see at least once. 

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Newstead Abbey fungi & gardens

We visited here while based in a log cabin in Sherwood. We were mainly looking for different fungi on this trip, so this visit combined an historic site, with some fungi hunting.

The former Augustinian abbey once belonged to Lord Byron and now has a Mixed Style romantic nineteenth century garden.

The priory of St. Mary of Newstead, a house of Augustinian Canons, was founded by King Henry II of England about the year 1170, as one of many penances he paid following the murder of Thomas Becket. Contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey: it was a priory.

In the late 13th century, the priory was rebuilt and extended. It was extended again in the 15th-century, when the Dorter (A bedroom or dormitory, especially in a monastery.), Great Hall and Prior's Lodgings were added. The priory was designed to be home to at least 13 monks, although there appears to have been only 12 (including the Prior) at the time of the dissolution.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gave the clear annual value of this priory as £167 16s. 11½d. The considerable deductions included 20s. given to the poor on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of Henry II, the founder, and a portion of food and drink similar to that of a canon given to some poor person every day, valued at 60s. a year.

Despite the clear annual value of Newstead being below the £200 assigned as the limit for the suppression of the lesser monasteries, this priory obtained the doubtful privilege of exemption, on payment to the Crown of the heavy fine of £233 6s. 8d in 1537.

The surrender of the house was accomplished on 21 July 1539. The prior obtained a pension of £26 13s. 4d., the sub-prior £6, and the rest of the ten canons who signed the surrender sums varying from £5 6s. 8d. to £3 6s. 8d.

The lake was dredged in the late eighteenth century and the lectern, thrown into the Abbey fishpond by the monks to save it during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was discovered. In 1805 it was given to Southwell Minster by Archdeacon Kaye where it still resides.

The value of these sums may seem small but they have to be multiplied by 300 (approx) to get today's value.

Satyr Pan - Classical Mythology. one of a class of woodland deities, attendant on Bacchus, represented as part human, part horse, and sometimes part goat and noted for riotousness and lasciviousness.

The Byron Oak, as it is known, was planted by the young George Byron, later to become one of Britain’s greatest poets, at Newstead Abbey, shortly after he inherited the estate from his great-uncle in 1798 at the age of 10. The oak, and the poem the Byron wrote about in 1807, tell a story that is eloquently relevant to oak collectors and indeed anyone involved with the planting of trees.

Brown Birch Bolette (Leccinum scabrum for Latin lovers) Seen in one of the gardens.

There were many fungi dotted about. This one appealed to me with the abbey as a backdrop

View along one of the paths to the abbey.

The stew ponds are believed to be medieval and to have been made by the monks. The large rectangular pond is believed to survive from the late 17th century garden. What is a stew pond? A stew pond or stew is a fish pond used to store live fish ready for eating. During the Middle Ages, stews were often attached to monasteries, to supply fish over the winter.

The gardens around the house were made by Mrs William Frederick Webb and her daughters between 1865 and 1900. They include a fern garden, a sub-tropical garden, a Spanish garden, a Japanese garden (c1900) and a rockery inspired by Benjamin Disreali's novel Venetia, which was set in Newstead Abbey. The Rose Garden was added by Nottingham City Council, in 1965, and occupies the old kitchen garden. 

Dawn Redwood

Beautiful autumn colours.


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