Beneath a Surrey Lake

Lea Park and the adjoining South Park Farm were purchased in 1890 from the Earl of Derby. The new owner, J. Whittaker Wright had made and lost a fortune in the United States through mining. Returning home to England, he used his knowledge of mining to promote colonial prospects on the London market. He was soon a wealthy man again and developed his new property at great expense. The original mock tudor house was rebuilt as a large mansion amidst landscaped grounds and ornamental lakes. The enlarged house with 32 bedrooms was on an extravagant scale and contained a ballroom, observatory, theatre and even a hospital.

One of the lakes concealed an underwater folly which, often referred to as a ballroom, was used as a smoking and billiard room and for observation of the lake fish. A statue of neptune, breaking the surface of the water surmounted the dome beneath.

The folly cost nearly half a million pounds to build but soon after completion, Wright was in trouble. His company collapsed, leaving many investors bankrupt. Wright was charged with fraud and in 1904 was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. He had, however, smuggled a cyanide into court and committed suicide in the presence of his solicitor.
The estate was sold to Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland and Wolff, builders of the Titanic. Adjacent common land passed the The National Trust. The Leigh family were later owners and changed the name to Witley Park. The house burned down in 1952 and a modern replacement was built on a new site. The follies remain although there is no current access to the underwater passages and rooms.

Bloomsbury WC1

Bloomsbury is a district of  Central London between  Holborn and Euston. It is home to the British Museum, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, several hospitals 

and University of London faculties. The area was developed by landowners such as the Earl of Southampton and the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford. Building began in the 17th century although the Bloomsbury of today dates largely from the 19th century. This is an area noted for its squares containing small, parks some of which remain gated for the exclusive use of the residents who are provided with keys.  The streets are typically lined with fashionable georgian town houses although the southern parts are more institutional and commercial. 

This part of London has long been associated with the Bloomsbury Group, a loose association of influential artists, writers and intellectuals who from 1904 regularly met at the 46 Gordon Square home of the  Stephen

46 Gordon Square

Family. They only lived at this house for two years before moving to Sussex but they had already made their mark.  In 1916 the house was bought by economist and fellow Bloomsbury Group member John Maynard Keynes. It remained his London home for 30 years

Thoby Stephen introduced many of the friends that he had made at Cambridge and they too often settled in the locality. There is a bust of Thoby's sister, Virginia Woolf in nearby Tavistock Square Gardens.

The Bloomsbury Group apart, this district has long associations with the arts and literature. Charles Dickens, J. M. Barrie, Vera Brittain and William Butler Yeats are just a few of the famous residents. Bloomsbury abounds with blue plaques.

John Everett Millais had a studio at the Gower Street home of his parents. Here in 1848, Millais, Hunt and Rosetti founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; a group of artists who advocated a return to the quality of 15th century Italian art.  

Publisher Faber and Faber had its offices at Tavistock Square, the editor being poet T. S. Eliot.

There are three important churches in Bloomsbury. St George's built in 1731, the gothic Christ the King of 1853 and St. Pancras New Church of 1822. Coram's Fields on the site of a foundling hospital is home to a small flock of sheep, unusual residents for Central London. Adults may not enter the park unless accompanied by children.

Each year there is the Bloomsbury Festival in Russell Square which includes an arts and crafts fair, dance workshops and food stalls. Bloomsbury has numerous hotels, restaurants, pubs and a good selection of interesting shopping.

Family. They only lived at this house for two years before moving to Sussex but they had already made their mark.  In 1916 the house was bought by economist and fellow Bloomsbury Group member John Maynard Keynes. It remained his London home for 30 years.

The Bloomsbury Group

Follw this link to the full story of the Bloomsbury Group and its members :   http://brickcourse.blogspot.co.uk/p/artful-trick.html

Take a ride around ghostly Lincoln

As befits a city as old as Lincoln, there are numerous phantoms haunting the streets and buildings, especially in the medieval quarters. We will visit just a few.

A pedestrian street climbs high to Lincoln's historic Bailgate quarter. The lower part is called "The Strait" and on our left we pass "The Jew's House". Here one might hear footsteps on the staircase, voices in the corridors and utensils being clattered about in the empty kitchen. 

Soon the road becomes known appropriately as "Steep Hill".  Tempted to call at Brown's Pie Shop?  Listen out for coins being counted !  Watch out for Humphrey, the young lad who sometimes runs around the shop or the young girl who is occasionally to be seen.
We might also call at the coffee shop on Steep Hill.  There's a mysterious young boy here as well as a man in a grey suit who has his own vanishing rick.

It's a relief to reach Castle Hill and level ground.  Don't feel too sorry for the malnourished lurcher dog that you might see near the Castle walls.  His owner William Clark was hanged for murder and the dog is looking for his master. Sometimes he will bark and scratch at the door of The Struggler's Inn on nearby Westgate. He has been known to sit by the bar and to brush against the legs of customers.

To our left is the Castle Hill Club. Here, the ghost takes pleasure in pinching the bottoms of visitors !

At the Castle gate just ahead, a man riding a black horse has been seen. As he approached the closed doors he called out "open the gates" before disappearing through them.

The Cathedral itself has many ghosts and a famous imp.  Lincoln's symbol is that devellish creature and legend tells us that two were sent to the city intent on making mischief. Having smashed up Cathedral furniture and tripped up the Bishop they were confronted by an angel. The braver imp retaliated by throwing rocks at the angel and for his trouble was turned to stone.  He can be seen above one of the Cathedral pillars.  The second imp hid under the broken chairs and made his escape but his presence can still be felt as he dashes around seeking his accomplice.
One could also see the holy man with a chain around his neck, a procession of monks, the re-enactment of a suicidal leap from the tower or hear a phantom peal of bells.

Within the Cathedral precinct is Queen Anne's Well. Walk around it seven times to summon the Devil.  If you then put your finger in one of the holes in the door you will feel his breath; but only if you have been good. If you are bad, he will bite it off.

Just below the Cathedral is the Edward King House, once the Bishop's Palace.  In the late 1800's the Bishop was lured from his home by some would be robbers. Some years later one of the villains confessed that he would have carried out the crime but for the large, strong man who accompanied the cleric.  Although the Bishop remembered the occassion, he declared that he had been alone that night.

Next door is the Great Hall where a woman's skull once graced the room.  When it was removed it started to scream and had to be returned. The owners bricked it up in a wall to avoid any further troubles but she continues to haunt the hall.

We are now close to Greenstone Stairs, a long flight of steps leading down the southern side of The Hill.  Ghostly monks inhabit this area as does a woman holding a baby. Worst of all of the city's ghosts must be the head that bounces down the steps knocking over all who stand in its path.

If we can tempt you to spend a night or two in Lincoln, perhaps a room at the White Hart Hotel will suit. Here is a floating light, a woman in a mob cap, a highwayman and restaurant food that jumps from the plate. We just hope your rest is not disturbed by the sound of gunfire.

Are Ye Right There Michael

   
    You may talk of Columbus's sailing
    Across the Atlantical Sea
    But he never tried to go railing
    From Ennis as far as Kilkee
    You run for the train in the morning
    The excursion train starting at eight
    You're there when the clock gives the warnin'
    And there for an hour you'll wait
    And as you're waiting in the train
    You'll hear the guard sing this refrain:

    Are ye right there, Michael, are ye right?
    Do you think that we'll be there before the night?
    Ye've been so long in startin'
    That ye couldn't say for certain
    Still ye might now, Michael
    So ye might!

Large parts of rural Ireland were barely accessible in the nineteenth century so government encouraged the construction of light railways to a narrow gauge. Hundreds of miles of railway were thus constructed at a relatively low cost and one such was the West Clare Railway. This 43km line ran from Ennis to the coastal towns of Kilrush and Kilkee and operated from 1887 until 1961. It was operated by an independent company until becoming part of the Great Southern Railway in 1925.  A 5km stretch of the line has now been reconstructed and tourist trains are operated

    They find out where the engine's been hiding
    And it drags you to sweet Corofin
    Says the guard: "Back her down on the siding
    There's a goods from Kilrush coming in."
    Perhaps it comes in two hours
    Perhaps it breaks down on the way
    "If it does," says the guard, "by the powers
    We're here for the rest of the day!"
     And while you sit and curse your luck
    The train backs down into a truck.

William Percy French was from an Anglo Irish family who had
lived at Cloonyquin House, Co. Roscommon sine the 17th century. He was educated at Trinity College where he took rather a long time to earn his B A in Civil Engineering. By his own admission he was more interested in tennis, painting and banjo playing. He was to write his first popular song whilst at University "Abdallah Bulbul Ameer" which became a great hit.  French took a number of short term posts before settling into employment with the Board of Works in Cavan. Although well paid, he did not enjoy "inspecting drains"  so in his spare time he took to song writing and watercolour painting.

 

    Are ye right there, Michael, are ye right?
    Have ye got the parcel there for Mrs White?
    Ye haven't, oh begorra
    Say it's comin' down tomorra
    And well it might now, Michael
    So it might

In 1888, French's employment came to an end due to cuts in council expenditure !  He returned to Dublin where he was offered the post of editor with a satirical weekly paper "The Jarvey". The journal was not popular and soon ceased publication. French now took a part in a theatrical revue "Dublin Up To Date". His comic songs, anecdotes and sketches were to prove so popular that he started touring. First performing in London, then the U. S. A., Canada and the West Indies. He continued to tour Europe, Britain and Ireland almost until the time of his death in 1920.  French was a popular performer, well known in his days. Many of his songs such as "Mountains of Mourne" were major hits.

    At Lahinch the sea shines like a jewel
    With joy you are ready to shout
    When the stoker cries out: "There's no fuel
    And the fire's tee-totally out!
    But hand up that bit of a log there
    I'll soon have ye out of the fix
    There's fine clamp of turf in the bog there
    And the rest go a-gatherin' sticks."

In 1896 French was due to appear in Kilkee, Co Clare for a concert. He left Dublin at eight in the  morning for Ennis where he changed for the 12.30 West Clare train. The 25 mile journey should have taken a leisurely three hours but on approaching Miltown Malbay the train came to a halt.  The fireman found that the water tank contained a lot of weeds and so dropped his fire rather that risk the engine which was in danger of exploding.  It was nearly five hours before a replacement engine arrived and the train finally arrived at Kilkee at 8.20.  French was to find that almost all of his audience had given up and gone home.

    And while you're breakin' bits of trees
    You hear some wise remarks like these:

    "Are ye right there, Michael? Are ye right?
    Do ye think that you can get the fire to light?
    Oh, an hour you'll require
    For the turf it might be drier
    Well it might now, Michael
    So it might."

Percy French successfully sued the railway for loss of earnings and was awarded £10 compensation. He wrote the song "Are Ye Right There Michael" as a parody of the railway and its operations.

    Kilkee! Oh you never get near it!
    You're in luck if the train brings you back
    For the permanent way is so queer
    It spends most of its time off the track.
    Uphill the old engine is climbin'
    While the passengers push with a will
    You're in luck when you reach Ennistymon
    For all the way home is downhill.

  
The West Clare Railway challenged the judgement and an appeal was to be heard. On arriving an hour late at court, French was admonished by the judge. He apoplogised but when he explained that his train was an hour late, the case was dismissed.

 And as you're wobblin' through the dark
    you hear the guard make this remark:

    "Are you right there, Michael, are ye right?
    Do you think that you'll be home before it's light?"
    "Tis all dependin' whether
    The old engine holds together—
    And it might now, Michael, so it might! (so it might),
    And it might, now, Michael, so it might."

Most of French's songs are now long forgotten but his work as an artist is still popular. He was an accomplished watercolour painter and many of his pictures depict Ireland's mountainous landscape. He was always able to find a market in Dublin. Now his work is sought after and can fetch as much as £6000 in auction.

Marvellous Machines

Rowland Emett 1906 - 1990 was a draughtsman, artist, cartoonist and most famously a creator of "things" as he called his fanciful machines. 

 During the 40's; 50's and 60's his work appeared regularly in Punch magazine. He was to become famous in the United States after a feature in Life magazine and many examples of his work are to be found in museums and institutes in that country.  Many of his designs were for trains, often drawn by locomotives with odd names and exaggerated features. His Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway was re-created for the Festival of Britain of 1951. It continued to operate until 1975. 

Many of Emett's designs were actually built and some of these machines work today. One famous creation is the clock in Nottingham's Victoria Centre.

William Heath Robinson 1872 - 1944 was also a cartoonist although his early work was that of a book illustrator.

 The term "heath robinson" came to be used during the first world war to describe a makeshift device or repair. Like Emmet, Heath Robinson designed fanciful machines, often to conduct absurd operations such as rejuvinating stale scones or removing warts from the top of ones head. His work appeared in a varieety of magazines as well as being commissioned to illustrate advertising campaigns.