Mr. Topping paints Eltham Palace …..

 Now, I maintain, and I maintain most strongly that you can never have enough paintings of Eltham Palace.

Growing up in Well Hall with the Pleasaunce and the Tudor Barn, that magnificent medieval Palace was always a counter attraction.

True in the 1960s you could only gain access on a Thursday but that was enough and as a kid with a vivid imagination my day would be spent with a host of kings, and barons down to the cooks and servants who waited on. 

Even then I was well aware that had I been in the Palace in the Middle Ages I wouldn’t be giving the orders, instead it would be my task to fetch, obey and generally be the dogsbody.

And then our Jill moved into a house nearby with views up to the Palace and as the book says, “my cup runneth over”.*

All of which made the Palace a perfect topic for a Topping painting and like New York I just had to repeat it.

Location; Eltham Palace

Painting;2024 © Peter Topping Paintings, from Pictures from an photograph by Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick 2015.

A castle ..... heaps of horseshoes ...... and a museum ...... down in Oakham

I like other people’s pictures especially when they come from the family, and so I was especially pleased to receive a heap of holiday photographs from our Elizabeth.

She and Colin were in Oakham which my Wikipedia tells me is a “market town and civil parish in 25 miles east of Leicester, [with] a population of 12,149*.

And because we all like all things old and quant their accommodation was just a few minutes’ walk  from Oakham Castle.

Its not one I knew and to be strictly accurate was less a castle and more a "fortified manor house [with] many of the traditional features of a castle such as a curtain wall, a gatehouse and a drawbridge with iron chains.

There is also historical and archaeological evidence to suggest that Oakham Castle possessed towers at strategic points along the walls as well as a moat”.   

Today all that has survived is the Great Hall and the gateway into the marketplace.

But that was enough for our Elizabeth who recorded bits of the place along with exhibits from the museum including lots of horseshoes which the castle is famous for.

And for those that like the history, “the castle was built between 1180 and 1190 by Walkelin de Ferrers, lord of the manor of Oakham, and a great nephew of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby.

The Great Hall comprises a nave and two arcaded aisles, each with three large stone columns. 

There are a number of 12th-century sculptures decorating the hall including six musicians that are supported by the columns. 

The sculptures are carved from local stone quarried at Clipsham and are believed to have been made by masons who had also worked at Canterbury Cathedral”.**

And I have to say I did like the information panels which are crisp in design and very  informative.

At which point I could loop off into a detailed description, but where would be the point in that given that the pictures do the place credit and there are always the guide books and online information, for a castle which is free to visit.

Leaving me just to thank Elizabeth and Colin for the images.

And conclude that their accommodation looked excellent and was indeed just a step away from the property.

Location; Oakham

Pictures, the castle and much more 2024, from the collection of Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

*Oakham, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakham 

** Oakham Castle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakham_Castle

Never go home …………. “or Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be”

This was the advice given to me a long time ago.

At the time I thought it was rubbish because home is where you are from, where your family live and where many of your memories reside.

And so after I left Eltham in the autumn of 1969 for Manchester I did regularly go back, but the arrival of my own family trips became less frequent and now the last time will have been a decade ago.

I still touch base, through family, friends, and of course social media, and over the years continue to write about the house in Well Hall, the Pleasance, the High Street and Crown Woods.

But it is all at a distance and I know I am an “expat” with my experiences pretty much frozen in time.  

That said Well Hall and Eltham still look familiar.  True there are the odd changes, but it ain’t that different from how I left it.

Not so Woolwich where the transformation has been so profound that I find it hard to recognise great chunks of the place.  

Street names may have stayed the same and the odd building is recognizable, but it is like looking through a dirty window.  Bits look vaguely familiar but not much.

And so the warning “never go home” has come through.

Not that I am going down the line that it is “all rubbish now”, or “not like the old days”.  Places change, and in the passage of half a century they change a lot.

All of which was brought home to me by a series of pictures our Elizabeth sent up to me yesterday after she and Colin had spent a weekend in Woolwich.

Their flight from the city was later than mine, but they too were just passing through.

So, for no other reason than I can, and because there will be others like me who found it difficult finding my way around, here are some of those pictures of the Woolwich I have lost.

Well not entirely there is that Wimpy Bar …….

Location; Woolwich

Pictures; Woolwich in December, 2023, from the collection of Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

Travels with a camera ……. a field …… a twisty lane and the village

Sometimes a picture delivers all you want.

2023

This is the view from the lane across Kent fields on a day which promises rain.

We are just a few minutes walk from the village of Great Mongeham which my wikpedia tells me “is a village and civil parish in the Dover District of east Kent, England, on the outskirts of Deal. 

Its name is derived from Mundelingham or village of Mundel. 

Parts of Great Mongeham's church, St Martin's, date back to the 13th century. In the 19th century it was restored by William Butterfield.

It may have been a settlement as long ago as the Bronze Age. 

When the site for the new primary school was being dug in February 1949 the body of a man and two fragments of food vessels were found. The man was in the crouched burial position used in the Bronze Age and one of the fragments was dated to about 1000 BC.

2019

Great Mongeham is close to the Roman road which ran from Dover to Richborough Castle. Archaeologists have discovered Roman pottery and evidence of cremation but we do not know if there was a permanent settlement here at that time”.*

It is home to our Elizabeth and Colin who share it with 760 other residents.  

Like Liz and Col I was born and grew up in London and I can see why they like living among fields, tractors and twisty lanes.

And that is it.

Pictures; the field from the lane, 2023 from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitspatrick, and courtesy of  Google Maps, 2019

* Great Mongeham, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mongeham

Deal’s own version of the internet …….. circa 1821

Now I am always pleasantly surprised at those little bits of history which challenge our 21st century obsession with high speed communication and the internet.

Because, here on the seafront, Deal had it all.

This is the Deal Time Ball, which stands atop a building which helped the Admiralty convey messages to the Fleet in a wave of a semaphore.

I say semaphore, but I am full prepared to be put right by Mr. Eric Trellis of Barnes whose chosen specialty is naval communication during the nineteenth century.

Leaving that aside, the tower carried a semaphore mast maintained by the Royal Navy, and from 1855 supported a time ball which fell at 1 pm triggered by a signal from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

Added to which the building is on the site of an earlier shutter telegraph, which from 1796 to 1814 allowed the Admiralty to send messages quickly from London to the Naval Yard at Deal.

Today the building houses, a series of display related to communication, semaphore and signaling, including interactive displays. *

And for those unlike Mr. Trellis who have an interest in the time ball it, is programmed to “drop every day at 1pm. Additionally, during the open season (1 April – 30 September) the ball drops hourly from 9am to 5pm. The Timeball also drops at midnight on New Years’ Eve.  The drop cycle is as follows: At 5 minutes to the hour the ball goes half way up; at 3 minutes to the hour it goes to the top of the mast and drops on the hour. The drop cycle is automatic. The Timeball is controlled by the MSF Radio Time Signal transmitter located at Anthorn, in Cumbria”.

The picture was taken by our Elizabeth and Colin on one of their regular visits to Deal.

All of which is straightforward, but left me with a little mystery, because the last picture in the collection is this one also on the sea front.

The mystery is not the installation but the Canadian national flag fluttering in the breeze on the right.

But like all these things, someone will put me right

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Deal Time Ball Display, http://www.dealtimeball.co.uk/visit-us

The Regent Cinema Deal ……….. and a lesson in long distance writing

Now, it is a simple but well observed observation that you don’t have to live in Deal to write about its cinema …………. although I concede it helps.

This is the Regent Cinema on Victoria Parade.

Our Liz and Colin came across it recently, took the picture and sent it up to me, 288 miles away, or if you choose to fly, just 219 miles or 353 kilometres.  At which point I have to confess I have no idea why it is shorter by plane, but there you are it is.

As for the cinema, it has had a chequered life.  It opened as the Pavilion Theatre on July 28th, 1928, at the height of the holiday season and was owned by Deal Council.  But bookings for live performances became difficult and it was converted into a cinema, showing its first film on July 13th, 1933.  This was the "King of the Ritz" starring Stanley Lupino.

I doubt that many in the cheap stalls on that first night would have known that during the conversion the stage was turned a full 25 degrees from the south end to the west which gave better sight lines. A cafe was provided in a room to the left of the entrance doors and a new projection box and offices were built in a first-floor extension over the front of the building.

It closed in 1963, exchanging cinema images for bingo callers and remained a bingo club until it went dark in 2009.

Plans to reopen it as a cinema in 204 stalled because of objections by the Highways Committee, but there has been popular support for its reopening, and earlier in the year the council announced it had no plans to oppose its reopening. **

That was in February, and plans may now be reaching a speedy conclusion for the return of the silver screen.
Or not and that is where living 288 miles away can be a problem.  So, while it was easy to obtain the picture, and equally easy to track the Regent’s history and the subsequent story of the attempts to reopen it, all of which were done online, I have no idea of the outcome, but someone will.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Regent Cinema, Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

* Regent Cinema, Victoria Parade, Deal, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/32928

** Deal Town Council raise no objections to Regent cinema plans
KENT TRAVEL NEWS, Eleanor Perkins, eperkins@thekmgroup.co.uk, February 08, 2019
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/council-support-plans-for-long-awaited-cinema-198521/

Down in Deal ………… with a camera …… a sky line and some boats

Now, my guide book tells me that “Deal is a town in Kent, which lies on the border of the North Sea and the English Channel, eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate”. *

I also know that “it is a former fishing, mining and garrison town. 

Close to Deal is Walmer, a possible location for Julius Caesar's first arrival in Britain.

Deal became a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1278 and grew into the busiest port in England; today it is a seaside resort, its quaint streets and houses are a reminder of its history along with many ancient buildings and monuments.

In 1968, Middle Street was the first Conservation Area in Kent. 

The coast of France is approximately twenty-five miles from the town and is visible on clear days. 

The Tudor Deal Castle, commissioned by King Henry VIII, has a rose floor plan”.

And that is enough for me.

Despite growing up just over an hour away, I only visited the place recently and in the short time we were there never did the place justice.

Which just leaves me these three photographs from our Elizabeth and Colin.

I could go on about the sky, the expanse of water, and the boats, but the pictures do it better.

My favourites are the one of the boats, but as a historian I had the include the castle.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Deal Kent, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal,_Kent

When the present becomes the past ...........

Now I am not a great fan of those revamped pubs which have been altered and themed.

This usually means just placing a few old photographs on the wall which may or may not be connected to the pub and adding the odd bit of period “stuff” ranging from an early 20th century sewing machine, scrubbing board or rusty enamelled sign for a long gone product.

But then Andy came up with this which he found in “in the Erskine Arms, Conwy”, and knew there was a story.

I remember Craven A cigarettes, and assumed they had gone the way of other brands like Senior Service, Consulate and Woodbines .

But according to my Wikipedia, not so.*

"Craven A is a British brand of cigarette, currently manufactured by British American Tobacco under some of its subsidiaries.  

The cigarette brand is named after the third Earl of Craven.

After the end of World War I, the cigarette market resumed its normal competitive spirit with the Carreras Tobacco Company once more well to the fore. Bernhard Baron, a director of Carreras, knew that to compete successfully his product had to be better than his competitors' and in 1921 Carreras launched Craven A, a brand that became a household name in over 120 countries with the slogan "Will Not Affect Your Throat". 

It was the first machine-made cork-tipped cigarette."*

There is more, but mindful that you don’t lift other people’s research I will just leave you to follow the link.

Not that I think our cigarette dispenser is now in use, leaving me to assume its role is purely decorative.

And reminds me that there is anecdotal evidence that some doctors placed cigarette machines in their waiting rooms in the 1930s, while no newsagents worth their News of The World would forgo placing similar machines outside their shops.

Leaving me just to reflect that I think I will do a bit more research on famous brands which have now faded from the scene.  

After all I grew up in a house where mother smoked and often chose new brands like Guards, and those menthol flavoured Consulate which fascinated me.

And in the case of Consulate lasted into this century.

Happily, I never took up smoking and was very happy when the habit was banned from public spaces, but that is another story.

But I still like catching sight of those old machines which somehow survive in the odd places.

Location; Erskine Arms, Conwy

Picture; Craven A in Conwy, 2022, from the collection of Andy Robertson, the forgotten machine in Deal, 2016, courtesy of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Craven A, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craven_A

Just how many accidents can a sea side pier have in its life time?

Now I thought I had finished the Deal series, but no, I was wrong, because yesterday our Colin and Elizabeth sent me this picture.

Most residents and visitors to Deal will I guess give the plaque only a glance. 

After all, if you are local you will know the story of the accident-prone pier, and if you’re not, the story is just  background to what is "a significant local landmark and public amenity offering excellent views of Deal sea front.

It is internationally recognised as an angling venue and features a glass-walled café-bar at the end of the pier".* 

But armed with the plaque, a tourist information board and Dover Council’s account, I can reveal that the pier has had a chequred history.

The construction of the first pier began in 1838, but suffered from cash flow problems, and was opened unfinished, before being destroyed in 1857 by a large storm.

The second was completed in 1864, but seemed to attract ships caught up in storms, with the barque Merle hitting the pier in 1873, the schooner Alliance, in 1884, and a Dutch vessel called the Nora which in 1940,  after repeatedly bashing the pier in a storm, finally went right through it, bringing down 200 feet of ironwork.*

And soon after this last encounter with a rogue ship the pier was blown up by the army.

There is a happy ending, involving a new pier, but that is another story for another time.

In the meantime, you could just follow the link and read the full official story from Dover Council what happened next in 1954.*

Location; Deal

Pictures; at the pier in Deal, 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

*History Diamond Pier, Dover District Council, https://www.dover.gov.uk/Leisure-Culture-Tourism/Leisure-Facilities/Deal-Pier/History.aspx

Of lifeboats and shingle .............

This will I think be the last of the short series on Deal.

I say that but I have every expectation that our Elizabeth and Colin who live just outside the town, will be back with their camera, and soon I shall have more pictures to write about.

But for now, it’s the Walmer Lifeboat which sits in its 1870s building looking out from the shoreline.

The lifeboat station was established in 1830 and apart from a short break between 1912-1927, it had ben saving those in peril o the sea for one hundred and eighty-nine years.

During that time there have been stories of saved seamen and awards for the teams that risk their lives to save others.

And that just leaves me with the shot of the beach.

I am prepared to be corrected but the picture shows that broad expanse of shingle, which unlike sand is not as nice to sit on.

Location; Deal

Pictures, Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April ……… part 5

Somewhere there will be a book which records all those bits of seaside architecture the rest of us take for granted.

Now, I bet there are plenty of images of the iconic buildings from Blackpool Tower to a host of 19th and early twentieth century cast iron piers.

But I wonder how many of those mid twentieth century seaside structures make it into the books.  I doubt many do. 

And if they are photographed hey will be in the form of a holiday snap or one destined for the official tourist guide.

So here is the one in Deal taken by our Liz and Colin earlier in the month.

I don’t have a date, or a name, but someone will, and I hope they make a comment.

In the meantime, I think it is a wonderful example of its type.

Location; Deal

Picture; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April ……… part 4

So, any trip to Deal, just has to include a walk beside the sea.

And if you are going to do that you had best add a few pictures, which is just what our Elizabeth and Colin did last week.

The sun shone, there wasn’t a rain cloud in the sky and while it was a tad cool, it was a perfect day to see the sea, along with the bits that are left along the shore line.

In this case it included a few beached boats and of course those huts.

I did wonder how much they might be going for, but wisely decided it would be a price too far.

Location; Deal



Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April

Now, it always pays to wander off the main roads when you have a few hours to spare, and just let the streets and your curiosity do the rest.

Dolphin Street, 2019

And so it was last week when our Liz and Colin wandered into Deal, which is not far from where they live.

They know the place well, but there is always something new to see.

So, taking a turn off from The Marina which is the wide road that runs along the shore line, they plunged down a narrow side street, and came on Middle Street which runs from Oak Street to North Street, and is equally narrow.

It was saved from demolition in 1964 when it was the subject of a grand town plan, which happily was shelved due to popular outcry.

The Ship, Middle Street, 2019

And I can see why there was a public campaign to keep it.  Many of the properties date back to the 17th and 18th centuries and look the part of any period scene.

That said these quaint houses and the narrow streets off Middle Street were once neither so quaint or so picturesque, having once been a dangerous place, where poverty and crime were bedfellows and more than a few murders occurred, including that of a young naval ensign murdered by the landlord of the Ship Inn  for being cheeky to his wife.

So notorious was the murder, that the Ship Inn which dates from 1764 briefly changed its name to the Seagull.

Not that any of that racy past was on offer when Liz and Colin meandered along Middle Street, taking in both the Ship Inn and Dolphin Street which leads back to The Marina.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

The Vending machine .......... nu 2...... lost and forgotten in Deal

Now here is another one of those bits of street furniture we all took for granted.

There was a time when the cigarette machine could be found almost everywhere.

But now I doubt that there are many left.

So much so that recently I was asked whether I could remember the machine that stood opposite the Seymour, and while the answer was yes I couldn’t offer up a date for its disappearance.

And I suppose that is the point about street furniture.

They are so part of our everyday lives and so taken for granted that we no longer see them let own clock when they vanish.

I don’t know when this one in Deal High Street was abandoned or why but given that neither of the properties on either side is now a shop I am guessing it will be a long time ago.

Today of course you can still come across and use vending machines but they are big, brash and usually dispense products which cost an arm and a leg.

Look closely and you can pick out that the charge for a packet of cigarettes was 30p compared to £9 today.

All of which may help date our machine as well as offering up a lesson on the price of things.

So as a way of celebrating their passing the challenge is to find and display a vending machine near you.

There are no prizes save the gratification of knowing you will have shared your vending machine with the world.

Location; Deal Kent







Picture; cigarette vending machine, 2016, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Boring pictures after the lock down …. no. 7.... pebbles, more pebbles and even more pebbles ..... Deal

So, as we edge to a relaxation of lock down, the new series is launched.

Boring pictures after the lock down, invites everyone who is out and about to offer up their own photograph. *

The only qualifications are that it should be by you and be boring.

And I think Colin and Elizabeth hit the brief ............not only have they managed to get three very boring pictures, but they caught the beech at a moment of supreme self distancing, with not a visitor to be seen.

The added bonus was a bit of Colin's thumb and the club house.

To which I have included this exciting piece of information from the Guide to Deal Beach.

 "The long pebble beach at Deal is punctuated by the pier which dates back to the 1950s. 

Whilst it might not be the most attractive pier it is long and features a cafe and fishing decks at the end.

The beach at Deal is an interesting spot for a stroll. Some way to the south of the pier fishing boats are pulled up on the beach and a little further along is Deal Castle.

Backing on to the charming historic town of Deal there are no shortage of amenities".**


Location; Deal

Pictures; Pebbles at Deal and a clubhouse, 2020, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Boring pictures after the lockdown, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Boring%20pictures%20after%20the%20lockdown

**Deal Beach, https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-east-england/kent/deal.htm

Sunrise over Kent

An occasional series on all things sunrise.

Today in Kent from the camera of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Location; Kent


Picture; Kent sunrise, 2018 from the collection Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick