first hand observations, real-time accounts, experiential
A second trip to the tower with my boyfriend James.
A second trip to the tower with my boyfriend James.
Sunday, 6 December 2015
RESEARCH - PEOPLE
SAINT MICHAEL
http://pl.static.z-dn.net/files/d0f/f8e0db1ac251cf5171c807936ea1c0e8.jpg
Saint Michael, whom the original chapel was dedicated to.
"Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts." The only 'archangel' of the Bible.
ABBOT MARMADUKE HUBY
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSbIHupbOaYMnoThGbb23aXrOANXuOEjoGtKY7xPgr4LoqvfhL6
(1495 -1526) Abbot of Fountains. Built the Chapel of Saint Michael de Mont.
His initials 'MH' inscribed on the doorway (originally on the wall inside the chapel)
JOHN AISLABIE
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/JohnAislabie.jpg/200px-JohnAislabie.jpg
John Aislabie, the man who reconstructed the tower in 1718. He also built a water garden and follies around the ruins of Fountains Abbey.
WILFRED OWEN
http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/35ebda007ebb53cf51ecea35e93de64a61bdc00f.jpg
Famous war poet, posted to Ripon. He passed the tower and commented on its beauty.
My Grandad
I asked my grandad what he knew about How Hill:
'there wo' a loada squatters in there once want there? No roof ont'top eitha. And yno when you go down from there to Fountains, is there still them travellers parked there? Been there years. Never moved. Think they own that land now, squatters rights n all that. If you stay there long enough they just let you av it dunt the?'
'wo there anyone up there when you went up? there's that farmer that owns the field next to it and he's a right queer lad, him. I used to work near there n go across field n he'd shout at us yellin THA'S MY GATE, MY GATE. Right queer lad he wos'
A Man I Met Walking
I stopped a man who was walking back down from How Hill, who had been taking photos of the tower. He was in a rush and I felt very awkward asking him about the tower when he probably just wanted to find some peace up there.
He said he didn't really know anything about it, but that he lived in Ripon and often came up there.
I think it's so odd that people in Ripon know very little or nothing about the tower.
WHO OWNS IT NOW?
James commented that 'people never smile and say hello when they pass on the street, so why do they do that on a country lane?'
http://pl.static.z-dn.net/files/d0f/f8e0db1ac251cf5171c807936ea1c0e8.jpg
Saint Michael, whom the original chapel was dedicated to.
"Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts." The only 'archangel' of the Bible.
ABBOT MARMADUKE HUBY
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSbIHupbOaYMnoThGbb23aXrOANXuOEjoGtKY7xPgr4LoqvfhL6
(1495 -1526) Abbot of Fountains. Built the Chapel of Saint Michael de Mont.
His initials 'MH' inscribed on the doorway (originally on the wall inside the chapel)
JOHN AISLABIE
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/JohnAislabie.jpg/200px-JohnAislabie.jpg
John Aislabie, the man who reconstructed the tower in 1718. He also built a water garden and follies around the ruins of Fountains Abbey.
WILFRED OWEN
http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/35ebda007ebb53cf51ecea35e93de64a61bdc00f.jpg
Famous war poet, posted to Ripon. He passed the tower and commented on its beauty.
My Grandad
I asked my grandad what he knew about How Hill:
'there wo' a loada squatters in there once want there? No roof ont'top eitha. And yno when you go down from there to Fountains, is there still them travellers parked there? Been there years. Never moved. Think they own that land now, squatters rights n all that. If you stay there long enough they just let you av it dunt the?'
'wo there anyone up there when you went up? there's that farmer that owns the field next to it and he's a right queer lad, him. I used to work near there n go across field n he'd shout at us yellin THA'S MY GATE, MY GATE. Right queer lad he wos'
A Man I Met Walking
I stopped a man who was walking back down from How Hill, who had been taking photos of the tower. He was in a rush and I felt very awkward asking him about the tower when he probably just wanted to find some peace up there.
He said he didn't really know anything about it, but that he lived in Ripon and often came up there.
I think it's so odd that people in Ripon know very little or nothing about the tower.
WHO OWNS IT NOW?
James commented that 'people never smile and say hello when they pass on the street, so why do they do that on a country lane?'
RESEARCH - OBSERVATIONS
drawing, writing, photos in response to what you can see/smell/hear/touch/taste
Long, winding country roads. A stench of sheep muck and cow pat.
Follow Whitcliffe lane until you see it.
A beautiful sunrise over the fields. The dark is ominous in this remote land, but the sunrise brings a suggestion of day.
I can't feel my hands. So cold. Gloves on.
Fences. Private land.
I ate a pear here.
It was just ripe enough. Did you know that pears ripen from the inside?
We can't go over it
we can't go under it
OH NO! WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT.
Birds and pheasants and squirrels and rabbits.
These things are my savior. Stiles and public bridleways.
More pottery finds! Must get these dated.
RESEARCH - FACTS
Archive at Ripon Library
Much closer to home was St Michael de Monte, a small oratory built about 1200 by the monks of Fountains Abbey on what we now know as How Hill, near Fountains Abbey. The chapel always had a light burning in the tower to guide pilgrims through the dense forest that once stretched for miles around. The present church-like building is really a folly put up by John Aislabie of Studley Royal. In the eighteenth century the tower was sometimes used for wild gambling parties. It is now in the more sedate care of the National Trust.
So next time you climb a hill to see the view, remember that you are in a long line of worshippers, mystics, warriors, gardeners and travellers, all of whom had their own vision of those impressive heights.
Several names:
How Hill (Tower)
Mickelhow
Michael How
Herleshow / Erlesholt
Chapel of Saint Michael de Monte
Several lives:
|
This hill, which rises in a conical form to the height of 622 feet above the level of the sea, and forms a remarkable object at a distance of more than twenty miles, is worthy of a visit from those whose time is not limited, and would consider themselves repaid by an almost boundless view from the great plain of York. It was anciently called Herleshow, as probably from being the place where the Saxon Earl of the County held his Court, as from its early possession of one who bore the name of Herle.
The monks of Fountains had on top of this hill a Chapel dedicated to St. Michael, which from an inscription walled into the present little tower, erected by Mr. Aislabie, in 1718, appears to have been rebuild or repaired by Abbot Huby, between 1494 and 1526, SOLI DEO HONOR M.H. ET GLORIA.
Raine, John Richard Walbran James. (2013). pp. 86-7. A Guide to Ripon, Fountains Abbey, Harrogate, Bolton Priory, and Several. London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1875)
The English Counties Delineated, Volume 2 By Thomas Moule
Much closer to home was St Michael de Monte, a small oratory built about 1200 by the monks of Fountains Abbey on what we now know as How Hill, near Fountains Abbey. The chapel always had a light burning in the tower to guide pilgrims through the dense forest that once stretched for miles around. The present church-like building is really a folly put up by John Aislabie of Studley Royal. In the eighteenth century the tower was sometimes used for wild gambling parties. It is now in the more sedate care of the National Trust.
So next time you climb a hill to see the view, remember that you are in a long line of worshippers, mystics, warriors, gardeners and travellers, all of whom had their own vision of those impressive heights.
Thursday, 3 December 2015
The Visual Journalist Continued
http://www.nationaltrustholidays.org.uk/dynamic/images/image7815-3.jpg
http://www.heritage-explorer.co.uk/web/he/searchdetail.aspx?id=7241
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/636742
Wilfred Owen
I knew that Wilfred Owen, a famous war poet, had been posted in Ripon and lived there for some time in an attic. While researching How Hill tower, I found a reference to this tower in Owen's biography:
Reseraching How Hill, I've seen several references to villages which no longer exist. 'Ninevah, Herleshow, Erlsholt'. What happened to them?
Deserted Medieval Villages
http://www.medievalhistories.com/deserted-medieval-villages-england/
http://imfromyorkshire.com/5-lost-yorkshire-places/
http://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1019382
Lost Villages
As much as I hate that there is no information on these subjects, that I cannot find a straightforward answer to my question, I am enjoying having to delve deeper and to truly rummage for the information.
Focus for this adventure:
Lost
forgotten
Quiet
Lived Many Lives
The Visual Journalist
WARNING: THIS IS A REFERENCE FOR MYSELF AND WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYONE ELSE. IT IS A LIST OF LINKS AND NONSENSICAL THOUGHTS.
Ripon is beautiful.
Ripon is beautiful.
My home town. Why go anywhere else when I have all this history on my doorstep?
I enjoy walking and rustic woodland. I want to go on an adventure!
Step out of the town and into the wilderness.
There are no trains in Ripon, so I will rely on buses and my trusty feet.
Ideas & Places:
History of the Horn blower tradition. Speak to horn blowers.
Cathedral and the underground crypt.
Fountains Abbey / Studley Royal
Spa Gardens
Leper Chapel
But there is still so much that I don't know…
Places near Ripon that I've never been to.
Nearby Villages/Parishes:
Grewelthrorpe
Galphay
Masham
Richmond
How to Get There:
http://getdown.org.uk/bus/bus/138.htm
What's in Grewelthorpe:
Hackfall woods
http://www.hackfall.org.uk/Photographs/old-photos
The History of Galphay:
Named 'Gallows Fields'
Connection with my street, named Gallows Hill after 300 hung
http://nidderdaleaonb.org.uk/Documents/WitchOfWoods_web.pdf
The Witch of the Woods House… Been renovated! Grr
http://www.aislabiewalk.org.uk/route.html
http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mediafile/100048013/aislabie-walk-leaflet.pdf
http://www.fabulousfollies.net/aldfield.html
http://www.riponcivicsociety.org.uk/newsstory.php?ID=16&PHPSESSID=1logpk453hj6vmp090kntk84g0
Mother Shipton's Cave
Witch History
Is is practical to walk this in a day?
Start early, get the bus home? ONLY ONE BUS
How Hill Tower
How Hill Tower
I asked a friend of mine who is really interested in urban exploration whether he knew of any untold stories and hidden places around Ripon. He told me of How Hill tower, which has 'lived many lives' and is 'strangely desolate despite its closeness to the city'.
http://pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=51891
1 hour 20 minutes to walk
https://plus.google.com/s/Erlesholt
The hill with the village of Erlesholt (now deserted)
lost village of Ninevah
http://pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=51891
1 hour 20 minutes to walk
https://plus.google.com/s/Erlesholt
The hill with the village of Erlesholt (now deserted)
lost village of Ninevah
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Mr Benn
The same character, completely transformed by a costume!
Mr Benn was created by David Mckee and I wanted to revisit this childhood classic in search of how I could use outfits to create stories and characters. Mckee hasn't just invented these costumes - they need to be identifiable to the young child audience as a specific occupation, e.g. 'chef' or 'astronaut'.
There has obviously been some research into the costumes that Mr Benn wears.
The costume design and historical information is what gives Mr Benn a firm grounding and makes the stories exciting.
'that was very influential, that feeling of the back streets and the cobbles, on the drawing of Mr Benn in the early books. And even the costume shop; there was a second-hand shop – it wasn’t a costume shop – between the Barbican and the art college, so we passed it all the time. There were always lots of things in the window which never seem to change, and very dusty. And there was no interest in selling if you asked the price. And we always thought, this must be a front for something, because there was no idea of money, rather like the costume shop in Mr Benn.'
-David Mckee (3 March, 2009, at the Illustration Cupboard)
Yes, the idea of trying on a costume and going to a fantasy world is abstract, but the real-life costumes, jobs and experiences are what make these scenes realistic (this is not the right word…. not realistic at all! But based in the real world. Believable as far as cartoons go…).
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