#chiddingstone

[aisphotostuff]

Churchyard Nature @ Chiddingstone Kent.. by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: Beautiful Magnolia tree in the village churchyard Kent AONB

[coffeenuts]

Angkor in Kent by Marcus@TPS https://flic.kr/p/nPwpfN

[jontycrane]

Chiddingstone Castle

An English house / castle with a difference, Chiddingstone Castle is home to the eclectic collection of Denys Eyre Bower, who with limited means managed to acquire an extensive range of Japanese, Egyptian, Stuart and Jacobite, and Buddhist objects. He had hoped for the house and collection to be taken on by the National Trust on his death 1977, but without an endowment they weren’t interested,…

[master-john-uk]

Hever Castle.

While the Christmas light display is spectacular to behold, personally I do not like the commercialism and the fairground rides by the moat... although I understand the need to attract visitors at this time of year. Hever Castle and Gardens will be open to the public from 27th December until 1st January 2024... after which they will be closed until early February.

The castle was closed today, but I was able to take James's sister and her family to privately view the outside of Hever Castle and the formal gardens.

The kids are little too young to appreciate the full history... but, I told them a few stories about Henry VIII, the Boleyn family and jousting tournaments.

They seemed to be fascinated, but still asked if they could go on the merry-go-round (or is it a carousel?) So I then told them about the ghost of Anne Boleyn which reportedly appears above the River Eden at Christmas... explaining that that is the reason why the fairground rides are not allowed to open on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. (The boys accepted my answer.)

As it was not raining, I took them to the area south of the castle and the Italian gardens, (which I believe they call Anne Boleyn's Walk now.) I told them about the unofficial war-game that used to take place between the Chiddingstone Castle boys and the Hever Castle boys in the summer when I was about ten years old, and showed them where somebody had carved my initials in an old stone archway. The boys loved this story... but, their mother did not look too impressed!

[imperfectfragilediary]

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Japonica (Chiddingstone) 1910

[therapardalis]

[A Place to Live Meme from @thestorycontinues​.]

Exandria! ------------

After a bit of reading - the City of Whitestone, in the northeast of Tal’Dorei. Surrounded by Parchwood Timberlands and close to access from the sea. Specifically a house on the outskirts, on the northwestern side, where there’s enough room for a small garden and a barn, or at least stables.

Taking a leaf from her Middle Earth verse, she would probably be a healer and guide connected to the Grey Hunt, both escorting travellers from Galdric’s Gate to the river or along the Alabaster Trail, and patching up the Hunt and others as need be.

[House is actually Bayleaf Farmhouse in Chiddingstone!]

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

ELIZABETH R (1971)

ELIZABETH R

1971

Elizabeth R is a historic television 6-part series which stars Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I of England. It was filmed at Penshurst Place and Chiddingstone, Kent. The TV series begins in 1549, with Princess Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne and ends with her death in 1603. It was so popular when it was first broadcast that they had to replay it immediately afterwards due to audience demand. The series was created after the success of the TV series the ‘Six Wives of Henry VIII’ (1970). Glenda Jackson played Elizabeth I once again for the Mary Queen of Scots (1971). Costume designer Elizabeth Waller recreated many of Elizabeth’s actual gowns, adapting them from her portraits. The dresses went on display at Hampton Court Palace.

#elizabethr #elizabethr1971 #glendajackson #elizabethiofengland

[digright]

DigRight Training

At DigRight’s newly built plant operator training centre, nestled in the heart of Kent, our state-of-the-art facility is designed to provide a dynamic learning environment, delivering a wide spectrum of courses for plant operators. From mastering the intricacies of diggers and dumpers to honing the precision required for excavators, our comprehensive NPORS training ensures you’re equipped with the expertise demanded by the industry

Business hours: 9AM-5PM Mon to Fri

Payment Methods: Debit or Credit Card, BACs or PayPal

Business Since: 2022

Contact Us;

Address: DigRight, Witchell Lee, New Tyehurst Farm, Chiddingstone Hoath, Edenbridge TN8 7DA

Phone: +447716202273

Website: https://www.digright.org.uk

Business Email: yes@digright.org.uk

[124daisies]

Chiddingstone Stores and Post Office, Chiddingstone

[aisphotostuff]

Village Store @ Chiddingstone Kent by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: For such a small village, Chiddingstone squeezes in plenty of opportunities for relaxation, refreshment and even a touch of retail therapy. There’s a charming tea-room and restaurant, a local shop and post office that could be the country’s oldest, and even a small furniture store..With its authentic half-timber Tudor buildings and cobbled pavements, strolling down the narrow high street of Chiddingstone Road is like stepping back in time.

[sussex-nature-lover]

Sunday 24 July 2022

A Pot Pourri of Nature News

Usually I’ll add odd photos to a draft on Tumblr and a theme for the week will develop and come the weekend I sit down to write already inspired. This week we’ve either been busy or it’s been too hot to muster any sensible thoughts and make the effort, so here I am musing over the photos I have and what will be interesting.

I found this Spanish hand painted tile sun dial in a cupboard. I had assumed it was Portuguese because of the cockerel, but it says Spain on the back, so there you go. We’ve never fixed it up, so am currently experimenting with it down by the pond. I had a quick look on You Tube but don’t think I have it calibrated correctly as yet. I put it down on top of the big log by the pond and immediately it had to be ‘inspected’

As I say, it’s been super hot here, but, of course heat and climate are all relative. My friend Elle sent me a photo of the thermometer recording 112F in Massachusetts! but in England, we’re just not used to excessive heat and fierce sunshine, so there were government warnings to people to take great care in the heatwave that’s swept most of Europe. It’s unbelievable how many reports I read about the police or fire brigade smashing car windows because people had left dogs in unbearable temperatures and the scenes of wild fires are absolutely horrifying.

To much more pleasant thoughts. Yesterday was my birthday and the girls organised a bit of a mystery meet up. We were told the assembly point and to be there in comfortable shoes at Noon. We went to the village of Chiddingstone (Kent) and walked around the castle-that’s-not-a-castle grounds (the house is closed on Saturdays) and had lunch in a very pleasant courtyard tea room in the village.

It was lovely to all be together, both girls and their partners, both dogs and a baby. I should reconfigure that somehow to read more like a film title, but <HOT>

The portions of homemade cake at the Tea Shop are gargantuan. Me and Crow stuck with orange flavours (orange and almond polenta cake and a slice of  orange and courgette cake which was huge) Here’s an idea of portion size.

Iced coffee and coffee cake that has real roasted beans in it

Birthday flowers

The castle isn’t known for its garden really, but some flowers are holding up against the heat. Here’s a selection from a long flower bed.

The Acanthus Mollis below looked to be doing particularly well

Oh and I hope we weren’t caught on camera and pegged as vandals. There was a large marquee on the lawn, where there’d obviously been a function the night before. It was all fastened up, but we saw a bird trapped inside. It was very hot, obviously even hotter inside a closed marquee and there wouldn’t be any water, so we had to try mounting a rescue mission. Unfortunately, the bird, a Pied Wagtail, was scared and flew up over the ceiling fabric where we couldn’t get to it. We left a whole side of the marquee rolled up though, so it would’ve been able to find its own way out following the cooler air, when it was left alone. I hope some hapless student isn’t told off for not securing the tent, but we couldn’t just leave it.

People in the village obviously have a sense of humour. I’ll end today with a few quick snaps that I took.

Above: a frog community by someone’s front door...

A quite unusual blue tit nest

and

definitely not litter!

Happy Days.

[katelakephotography]

Chiddingstone Castle Lake taken in winter last year.

[whatevergreen]

Tibetan and Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist sculptures in Chiddingstone Castle, Kent. 17th-19th century. Amie S - September 2019

[master-john-uk]

News from my home territory... Reportedly the oldest shop in England, The Tulip Tree in Chiddingstone, Kent is up for sale... or rather the lease is.

The shop was once owned by Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire... former owner of Hever Castle and father of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII. (My mother used to place a rose on Thomas Boleyn's grave every year.)

The Tulip Tree today has a Post Office, general store and tearoom.

Chiddingstone is unique in being the only village to be entirely owned by the National Trust, with the exception of the church and the castle.

Chiddingstone is approximately 1.5 miles east of Hever, where I grew up. When I was young there was a (mainly) friendly rivalry between the boys of the two villages.

In the school summer holidays an unofficial wargame took place. The aim was to invade the "enemy's" territory and plant a flag outside their castle. It was all good humoured fun when I first took part... but, gradually got more serious with plant pots being smashed, and other minor damage occurring.

I had no part in this vandalism... but, I got severely punished when a window of an outbuilding at Hever Castle had a window smashed. I protested my innocence... I was defending Hever! But I was the only one who got caught.

I think I was 12 or thirteen years old at the time. That was the last time the wargame took place. There are very few of the 1970's kids still living in the area... but, I am still seeking revenge!

[marble-hearth]

A 15th Century Home and fireplace - see www.British fireplaces through the ages.