Tuesday 10 March 2015

Lacock Abbey Part two



In this blog I'll show you some the things you can see round the house itself and a few of the exhibition at the end.






Going upstairs you can look out of the window to the Tudor Courtyard






One of the bedrooms





In another room we saw this which looks like  paraffin cooker


































 The painting is of one of the last owners of the house and on the left is a pound note, doubt many people in the UK will remember the or know what they were now





This was an intersting room




Because I noticed this breastplate 




and helmit which I knew were civil war


 but the piece  here threw me until the guide picked it up and gave it to me. Dam was it heavy, he also have it to a lady he was talking to and she was very surprised at the weight. Turned out it went under the felt hat some of the soldiers wore,so you had this really heavy iron object on your head in battle. They must have had strong necks is all I can say
























 These were also interesting are these helmets which were used when displaying a dead knight, I think they are called Mort Helms

How about this chair which is a tad uncomfortable looking, can you see the faces in it






Found them rather gruesome






Passed this which is the kids play room with real Tiger skin rug. You have to feel sorry for the Tiger












This was the next place of interest

 Because this was the room in which this window is and is where Henry Fox Talbot took a negative which is considered the oldest one in existence in 1832





Next place I ended up with was here in the dining room




eventually we ended up in the entrance hall




which had lots of carved figures around it
 Along with some really nice stained glass







Though the guy on the left looked like Gandalf or could it be Rincewind  with Death watching him












After leaving the Abbey we walked past the Botanical Gardens though we did not feel there was much worth seeing at the time
We then had a quick look round the museum at some of the old cameras 






























Some of the old cameras and a painting of Fox Talbot





in the background you can see one of Fox Talbots photos of the bust here in the photo
Some of the Many old cameras on display with a ghostly image of me in the background





How about that then, A gold Nikon something they reproduced again of late in gold as a digital version. I'll stick to my trusty Canon


I'll leave you with a shot of an original Box Brownie, even I have a similar one at home.

For more information Visit the National Trust Website

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Lacock Abbey Part One



You may be wondering why I am writing a blog about an Abbey and posting it on my Exploration Blog well that is because it is only an Abbey in name. It was founded in 1229 by Lady Ela and dedicated to St Mary and St Bernard. Because of the large amount of land left by Lady Ela it prospered in the middle ages from the wool trade but suffered in the dissolution of Monasteries were it was sold by Henry VIII to Sir William Sharington who converted it into a house. The Abbey was garrisoned by the Royalists in the civil war. The house eventually ended up with the Talbot family which is why many people make pilgrimages here now as Henry Fox Talbot lived here and he became a Father of Photography as he made the earliest known surviving example of a photographic negative. The Abbey is now owned by the National Trust but you can see an Exhibition on Fox Talbot at an adjoining museum by the entrance  to the property.

Lacock Abbey as you see it from the road side






This is the entrance to the NT and also where you will find the museum











One of the first places you see is the Tudor Yard , the building on the right is part of it, below is a stitch of the yard itself
One of of the things you can see in the yard  is this 16th century Brew House






This wonderful arch is the entrance to the grounds 




and this the first view of the house






which from over the drive looks impressive











this is a view of the house and hexagon tower















We went into the cloisters through the side entrance and I was in awe of what I saw












The next few photos were taken using the HDR setting on my camera





the detail is amazing





along with the color which does not show that well














but you can see they are vivid






and still show up well for being done back in the middle ages






In the distance in the photo on the left you can see a fenced off are where Ela the founder is buried













You pass these old stone coffins on the way into the warming house






Which is this place 



it was used in the Harry Potter Films and was the warming house in the nunnery














Not sure what this one was














This is the area between the cloisters




and this is looking through one of the windows



My wife pointed it out to me this look suspiciously like a Glastonbury Thorn, makes me wonder if it is the place is the right age for some dealing to have gone on
I have always wanted to take a shot like this

What do you think, looks cool





In the room where the lady is standing in the last photo you can see this broken frame in a cabinet. It was on the wall till some numptys backpack knocked it off, it shows the family tree of the owners  Laycock abbey
And this is a hand written dictionary which I have forgotten how old it is but we are talking middle ages





the kitchen though I think it has been retro fitted












The dumb waiter made me smile but so did the old cabinet









as I has seen them before I think my mum has something similar






This is called the Chaplin's Room





Think you can guess what this room is from the bottles though I doubt it was it's original use.










I think that is enough for now as I have shown you most of the ground floor.
 If you have enjoyed this then you can read  part two  which will show the house itself and some of the exhibition. I will also feature Laycock Church in a separate Blog
More information on the National Trust Website