The Iron Gate Mystery - Good Fences

Beautiful gate, someplace where it snows

I have no idea why this photo wasn't labeled properly. It was in my files, and I tried to find it in sequence, so I could determine the location that way. Here's what I usually do with my photos:

Take photos, and at the end of the week/day, upload them to the computer, filing them under the month's name, e.g. NOVEMBER 2014. Then I do whatever I want to edit the photo, including resizing it for my blog, and save that second photo with several appropriate tags and the month folder which the original is in.

So this photo should have had a file extension with a name like this: gate brick snow england (or wherever), November 2014.  But it didn't.

So now I'm just guessing. Maybe it's the J.J. Hill House in St. Paul...but no, I looked that up and it doesn't look quite right. Then I thought maybe it was the Congdon Mansion in Duluth, MN, but that doesn't look right either. Wherever it is, I do like the gate and that beautiful house, especially those windows on the main floor.

I hope that if this belongs to someone else, they don't sue me.

 In Ironbridge, Shropshire

 Ironbridge, Shropshire

You can see why I'm thinking that the mystery photo could have been taken in England. Then again, I guess they don't have a monopoly on iron gates and brick houses (but I think they do, on drystone walls).

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To  my dear cousin Bobby in Great Falls, MT, I am sorry that it is so cold at your house. Minus 4 degrees F. We're at a balmy 22 degrees here in NW Wisconsin.

Linking to

TexWisGirl's

Good Fences  

 

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Tontine Hotel, Ironbridge, Shropshire, England - Anglophile Friday

Tontine Hotel, Ironbridge, Shropshire

After landing at the Manchester airport, the first thing we did was drive south to Ironbridge. There on the bank of the River Severn  sat the Tontine Hotel. It piqued my curiosity because that was only the second time in my life that I'd heard the word 'tontine.' And where was the first? On a Miss Marple movie - '4:50 From Paddington.'

So, what is a 'tontine'??

From:  The Free Dictionary

"An organization of individuals who enter into an agreement to pool sums of money or something of value other than money, permitting the last survivor of the group to take everything.

The holders of tontine life insurance contracts enter into an agreement to pay premiums for a certain amount of time before they gain the right to acquire dividends. In the event that a policyholder dies during the tontine policy, his or her beneficiary will be entitled to benefits, but no dividends. The earnings that ordinarily would be used to pay dividends are accumulated during the tontine period and subsequently given only to policyholders who are still alive at the end of the term. This type of policy is known as a dividend-deferred policy..."


*Underlining is mine. You can see that this would be a good setup for a murder mystery, right?

 Joan Hickson as Miss Marple

4:50 From Paddington, one of my favorites!

From Wikipedia:

"Elspeth McGillicuddy has come from Scotland to visit her old friend Jane Marple. On the way, her train passes another train running parallel to her. Then, a blind in one of the compartments flies up and she sees a woman being strangled to death. Only Miss Marple believes her story as there is no evidence of wrongdoing. The first task is to ascertain where the body could have been hidden. Comparison of the facts of the murder with the train timetable and the local geography lead to the grounds of Rutherford Hall as the only possible location: it is shielded from the surrounding community, the railway abuts the grounds, and so on. Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a young professional housekeeper and an acquaintance of Miss Marple, is sent undercover to Rutherford Hall.

Josiah Crackenthorpe, purveyor of tea biscuits, built Rutherford Hall. His son, Luther, now a semi-invalid widower, had displayed spendthrift qualities in his youth. To preserve the family fortune, Josiah has left his considerable fortune in trust, the income from which is to be paid to Luther for life. After Luther's death, the capital is to be divided equally among Luther's children. Luther Crackenthorpe is merely the trustee of Rutherford Hall and hence, according tp the will, cannot sell the house. The house itself will be inherited by Luther Crackenthorpe's eldest surviving son or his issue."  - in other words, a 'tontine.'

So, evidently, in this case, the last surviving shareholder got... a hotel.



From The Tontine Hotel's website:

The Tontine Hotel was built in 1784. Erected by hard-headed Ironbridge shareholders, it is rich in character and of historic interest. The exterior has changed little since the exciting days of the Industrial Revolution. In the hotel foyer there is a quite magnificent tiled floor (made by Maw & Co. of nearby Jackfield) which is splendidly preserved.

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You can find 4:50 from Paddington on Netflix. I wouldn't bother watching any version other than the one with Joan Hickson. She is perfect.

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Two years ago I wrote a photo post about Ironbridge, Shropshire, including photos of the actual iron bridge, after which the city is named. If you like Dark Satanic Mills, the River Severn, and iron bridges, you might enjoy that post.

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Cardington, Shropshire

 Cardington, a village east of Church Stretton in Shropshire

I may have mentioned this before, but Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Yorkshire seem like the 'real' England to me, for some odd reason. I think it's a result of years of BBC TV. Shropshire did not disappoint me. It's not London, or anywhere near London, so it's not crowded with annoying tourists - like us. Instead, it was quiet, calm, and beautiful.

 Cardington Road, flanked by hedges, where you hope you don't meet another vehicle. 

Believe it or not, it is meant to be a two-way road.

We did give ourselves plenty of time to get from Point A to Point B, for the roads are either winding or narrow or winding and narrow.

 Another busy intersection

A couple miles west of Cardington lies the hill fort, Caer Caradoc (l.) where the Britons' last stand against the invading Romans was made by Caradoc (Caractacus) in A.D. 50. He escaped, fled north to what is now Yorkshire, only to be betrayed by the Brigantian queen who turned him over to the Romans. So much for neighborly hospitality.  Tactitus, a Roman senator and historian (AD 56-AD117), mentions the capture of Caractacus. There is, of course, controversy as to whether the Caer Caradoc near Cardington is the actual location of Caradoc's last stand. Nevertheless, legend has it that he and his family were taken prisoner to Rome, that he was held in high esteem, and that eventually they were released to return to Britain. (I doubt they settled in Yorkshire.)

 On the road between North Hill Farm and Cardington

 Pretty rooster. This is the England I love: the lanes, the hedges, pheasants, fences, gates, etc. At any moment, I expect to see Detective Inspector Foyle approaching in his 1936 Wolseley, although Shropshire is a little out of his territory.

from imcdb.org

and, of course, sheep

Whelping box in the kitchen of our B&B
Awwww

Early springtime view over Shropshire hills

I hope springtime has come to your  home. It was here yesterday, and I see sunshine this morning!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

Just down river from Ironbridge, Shropshire, is the little village of Jackfield. We were there only one night, but enjoyed our short stay very much. At our B&B, we met another couple who were from the Manchester area. We had a fun visit with them, and after breakfast the woman and I were standing next to the window talking, when all of the sudden she said, 'Quick! Kiss your hand!'

What?? 

'Quick! Kiss your hand! It's for good luck!' and she pointed out the magpie perched in the tree outside the window.

Wikipedia

 Then she began,

    'One for Sorrow
    Two for Joy
    Three for a Girl
    Four for a Boy
    Five for Silver
    Six for Gold
    Seven for a tale never to be told
    Eight you Live
    Nine you Die
    Ten you eat a bogey pie!'

which, of course, being from Wisconsin, I'd never heard before. Or since. But I obeyed her. I have no idea why. Maybe it was the 'When in Rome' thing. Good thing she didn't tell me to jump out the window, huh!

Her husband then asked me if I was familiar with the song, 'On Ilkla Moor Baht'at' and was very surprised to learn that yes, indeed, I was!  I hadn't watched all those episodes of All Creatures Great and Small for nothing! We enjoyed our visit and pouring over the tourist guide maps together. It's experiences like this that make me a firm believer in staying at B&Bs, rather than a chain hotel.

 Church of St. Mary the Virgin

St. Mary's Church - Jackfield. The tile church. There is a tile manufacturer in the town along with a tile museum which was closed when we were there. Still we got to see the church, and while we were standing and looking at the exterior, the vicar happened by and invited us inside. It was dark and dank, but the reception by the vicar was warm and friendly. He gave us a personal tour of the church. We found that type of reception everywhere we went.

From www. Broseley.org.uk:

'The village church at Jackfield can claim to be, architecturally, one of the most distinguished buildings in the Severn gorge.  It was designed by the prominent Victorian Architect Sir Arthur William Blomfield (1829-1899) architect of Selwyn College Cambridge, the Royal College of Music London and St Mary's Portsea (Portsmouth Cathedral).  It is in the French Gothic style and makes extensive use of local materials.  In its use of layers of differing colours of brick it has a passing resemblance to the Norman Shaw Buildings on the Embankment and Butterfield's Keble College. The reredos is a remarkable triptych displaying local tiles painted at the Craven Dunhill factory behind the Church and reputedly first shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1862.  Unusually for a parish church there is a large rose window in the west wall.'

 

 I was fascinated by the colorful tiles!

 from Ironbridge Guide

Just down the street was the Black Swan Pub, which served the best fish and chips! What's the deal with fish and chips? It's one of the cheapest meals and usually delicious, as long as mushy peas aren't touching the fish and can be avoided. The ambience at The Black Swan was great - It was friendly enough and we met nice people and three great Border Collies there. I always miss my dogs when we travel, so I always enjoy seeing other dogs.  It's also a great way to strike up a conversation. Dog people like talking about their dogs. :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend. Wouldn't it be fun to have dinner at the Black Swan tonight!

Much Wenlock, Shropshire, Part 2

So here we are, Part 2 of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England

Alright, class, in case no one was paying attention last week, ;-)  Shropshire is NW of London and borders Wales on the west.

Besides enjoying the picturesque village of Much Wenlock itself, we were  fascinated by the ruins of the 12th century Cluniac Priory. There had actually been an Anglo Saxon monastery built either on or near this site in 680 AD by the King of Mercia. In the 12th century, monks from Cluny (pronounced Kly-nee, I believe, and if I'm wrong, PLEASE inform me. I just hate pronouncing things incorrectly!) France arrived and founded a Priory here. This was a 'daughter abbey' to the one in Cluny, France which was founded in 910 AD.

Perhaps it's because the oldest building where I live is from the 1800s, that it seems amazing to be able to walk among the ruins of a structure that was built in the 1100s, and also know that there has been a Christian influence in that area at least since 680 AD - possibly as early as the mid fourth century AD or even earlier.

It's also humbling to realize that these buildings were constructed without all the modern equipment that we now have. I hope they got coffee breaks.

Standing in the nave.

Notice the pointed, Gothic arches above the columns...

...and the rounded, Romanesque arch here. Looking onto the carved arches of the back wall of the Chapter House and the adjacent Infirmary, which is now a private residence.

Some of the remaining floor tile. This is a bit of floor tile my husband has not been asked to remove. He's a contractor.

I think this is my favorite photo. The lively, fresh flowers and greenery were in such stark contrast to the cold, hard stone.

Outside the site of the Refectory, the lavabo, or washing fountain, where the monks would wash their hands before eating a meal - presumably, or maybe an occasional water fight when no one was looking!

Close-up shot of stone carving on lavabo. I think this is Jesus walking on the water and disciples in a boat, although the boat looks kinda like a coracle, doesn't it - like those used in early Britain. I thought that was interesting.

Topiary. I was so relieved not to find Mickey Mouse among them.

A small, out-of-the-way village of approximately 2600, Much Wenlock should be on the itinerary of anyone who wants to see more than the fast-paced life of London or Manchester.

We'll move on to another location next week.  Be sure to bring your walking shoes and notebooks! :-)



This post is linked to Outdoor Wednesday