Tag: heritage

Arundel Castle’s tulips

By cpadmin

BBC Breakfast TV featured Arundel Castle’s tulips. Carol the BBC weather forecaster gave us a tour one morning and definitely showed the nation how nice it was. Last weekend we drove down there to look for ourselves. While some of the tulips had started to ‘go over’ and the daffodils were well past their best it was a truly magnificent display.

Arundel Castle's tulips
Pots and pots of brightly coloured blooms surround a gazebo

Pots and pots had been filled with bulbs in addition to those planted in the grass. One group of pots surrounded a tree that was just coming into leaf. Orange, different pinks and yellow tulips clustered around the otherwise uninteresting tree in a blaze of colour. Subsequently, we came across a gazebo around which were many more colourful pots.

By now Arundel Castle’s tulips will have ‘gone over’ however you can see more images of the time we spent there by using this link or visiting the website of Arundel Castle itself.

Arundel Castle’s website has the following text. “There are nearly 1,000 years of history at this great castle, situated in magnificent grounds overlooking the River Arun in West Sussex and built at the end of the 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel.

Bright day at Hadleigh Castle

By cpadmin

Bright day at Hadleigh Castle. Hadleigh Castle in Essex is an English Heritage property near Southend. English Heritage’s website describes it as “The romantic ruins of a royal castle overlooking the Essex marshes”. Hadleigh was begun in about 1215 by Hubert de Burgh, but extensively refortified by Edward III during the Hundred Years War, becoming a favourite residence of the ageing king John. See more on the English Heritage website

  • Falling over
    The falling tower at Hadleigh Castle
  • Hadleigh Castle
    The Norman Tower at Hadleigh Castle

My visit to Hadleigh Castle in Essex took place in the week before Christmas 2020. It was a week day and there were not too many people about. A selfish thought but it was good for capturing images. The website also tells us that In 1215 King John gave this area of land, known as the manor of Hadleigh, along with many other gifts, to Hubert de Burgh, his chief minister. The castle is a ruin. Two towers are still visible, one of them leaning precariously. The other one is upright and it is possible to go inside it.

The bright day at Hadleigh Castle provided some magnificent views from the castle and its surroundings. Looking up the Thames the Great Cranes at Tilbury are visible. Looking down the Thames, the pier at Southend is visible. A bracing walk along the grass offers lots of opportunities to capture interesting images.

This post shows two of the many images captured. Go to the Compass Photography Website www.compassphotography.co.uk to see more images captured that day

Looking straight down

By cpadmin

Looking straight down from the top of the Moot Hall. The roof of the Moot Hall is open to the elements. From the roof you can see the Blackwater Estuary as far as Bradwell and the Promenade Park in the east. To the south you can pick up tower blocks on Southend seafront. From the other sides fascinating images of the town itself can be captured. You can see where building really are. Not where you think they are!

Maldon High Street as you have never seen it before is the image looking straight down over the front retaining wall here. Perspective is added by the brick which appear to be horizontal.

  • looking straight down
    Maldon High Street
  • looking straight down
    The prison yard at the Moot Hall

The bricks are actually on the vertical wall and lead the eye down to the clock, which is seen from a strange angle. Moving further down we see the balcony and its flower boxes which are on the first floor, level with the Court Room.

At the top of the image is street level and people crossing the road!

The back of the viewing platform offers a nice view towards Heybridge. Looking right over the edge is a view all the way down to the prison yard and its primitive sanitation. The high walls are visible and the green floor of the yard shows that the sun doesn’t get there often.

The Moot Hall will soon be open for visitors again, check out their website. Click this link to see our gallery of images from the top of the Moot Hall. See more of our images by visiting our website www.compassphotography.co.uk

Photoshoot at Moot Hall

By cpadmin

I did a photoshoot at Moot Hall in Maldon recently. The Trustees and the manager of the Moot Hall in Maldon monument wanted to update their website and publicity material, therefore they needed some new photographs. Three of the images from the day are shown below.

The ground floor of the building opens into the Committee room. Sales and local events are held here. Off the committee room is a beautiful red brick spiral staircase. This staircase has been blocked at the first floor level at some time in past centuries. It is still very photogenic!

On the first floor we find the Court Room. The court room tried people and even had them transported to Australia for stealing a handkerchief! There are more stairs to climb to reach the court room is the council chamber. For the photoshoot the Mayor and her mace bearer came. For the photoshoot both people put on their formal robes and processed in with the mace.

More of the images captured from the photoshoot at the Moot Hall can be seen on our website

Have a look at the Moot Hall Website here

  • Maldon Moot Hall
    The committee room
  • Moot Hall photoshoot
    The stairs lit with candles
  • Moot Hall Photoshoot
    The mayor and mace bearer

The little people in Warnamunde

By cpadmin
the little people in warnamunde
A fountain in Warnamunde

I am currently indexing some of my old photographs and I found this 2012 image of the little people in Warnamunde. We went there for half a day when the cruise ship stopped in Rostock.

The sculpture is actually a fountain. This fountain is unique in that it’s not a spouting fountain. The fountain is linear and water runs alongside a procession of 19 bronze figures. The sculpture is based on an actual practice in Warnemunde. The citizens, dressed in their finery, walked together to the tax office to pay their taxes. They wanted to make it a happy event. The website says this event still takes place in Warnemunde. It reminded me of the borrowers, hence “the little people in Warnamunde”. Click here for more details

Click here to see our other travel images