Spring repairs

Two renovation projects for the winter / spring. The first is complete - a new section of wall to protect the inside bank of the moat. The second is new roof tiles on the west end of the house. This is underway now and should be finished in May. The tiles are a pale Cotswold stone. I asked whether we were going to put the yoghurt / cow manure mix used on the church spire stone to encourage lichen growth and to make the tiles as quickly as possible blend with the older ones. However we can't do that up here - apparently the magic mixture would lead to an acidic run-off from the tiles onto the lead roof with possible corrosive damage resulting. So, we'll have to be patient and will soon have a glaring new west roof, for a good five years or so until it mellows and weathers.

Here are the tiles, sitting down by the battlements, biggest on the left (which go at the bottom), smallest on the right (for the top). Patiently waiting their turn to do a couple of hundred years of sentry duty. They reminded me of Anthony Gormley's Field (see here)

Batman and Robin visit Broughton Castle!

On Wednesday 19 November 2008 Batman and Robin came to Broughton Castle in their Bat Mobile!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? (Am I talking about the right super hero? -No!) Is it the real Batman and Robin? No!

It was some of the teachers, pupils and parents of local Frank Wise School (Banbury) filming part their Christmas 2008 show - which was premiered at the local Banbury Cinema in December.

Hornton ironstone at Broughton

Reading about Hornton stone, the stone used at Broughton.

It is from Hornton village about 6 miles away just up by Edgehill and the Warwickshire border.

Alec Clifton-Taylor in his 1972 "The Pattern of English Building" writes of it thus

"This beautiful stone, understandably beloved of sculptors as well as formerly for building, is unusual, inasmuch as deep brown, tawny yellow, greenish and greyish-blue tints can be combined within a single block."

He goes on ...

"Only six or seven miles away from Hornton is Broughton Castle, one of the most lovable country houses in England, and almost without peer for the subtle beauty of its colour. The gabled walls are a mixture of grey and gold, grey-green and golden-green, and almost everything in between! Lichens add, here and there a gently mottled texture which is quite inimitable." Hornton is a Liassic ironstone. "All ironstones darken on exposure to the weather, since the particles of iron are soon oxidised to produce rust; this often yields richly satisfying hues."

Here is a 'richly satisfying hue' in the mirrored picture above. I took it on a simple little camera one evening in February last year from the park.

and just for comparison, a couple of showing how dramatically the stone changes - first on a grey autumn day, and then on a bright mid-summer's day.

"My yew fence of England. Who can stand against thee?"

March saw the return of the Pickwick Pepperpots to Broughton.

This is a Midlands-based longbow only archers club. About 80 bowmen (?) archers (?) - I'm not sure of the correct term - participated, firing at various 'marks' around the park.

One mark placed very close to the moat resulted in the loss of numerous arrows into the murky depths. As in 2007 the event finished with shooting at a target in the park from the roof of the Gatehouse.

Beautiful to watch, and strangely, to listen to; the noise of the bow releasing the arrow, and the arrow flights whistling through the air together. Even with just 80 archers you wouldn't have fancied your chances within a 30 foot radius of the target. Imagine 5,000 longbows at Agincourt firing 10 arrows a minute. Ouch. Some of the Pickwick Pepperpots have published rather good footage of the event on YouTube. The photo above was actually from the rather sunnier visit in 2007.

On a grisly grey cool Sunday (April 20th) the Castle hosted a Dragon Boat race organised by Banbury Rotary and raising funds for the Banbury Young Homeless.

The races, and a dance in a marquee in the park the night before raised fantastic sums for the Banbury Young Homeless. Lots of fun had by all.

Only the sun was missing. Hopefully not too traumatic for the carp and perch and Cayuga ducks who I imagine took refuge over on the opposite side of the moat.

So, Old Subtlety returns. Perhaps another posting sooner than in 24 months :-)

You learn something everyday

A pillow mound.

I think it is possible to make out this earthwork in the Park at Broughton from these pictures that I took at the weekend. Anyway it is a mound, about 30 feet by 8 feet, (the dog gives it scale).

Pillow mounds are part of the normal agricultural landscape from the middle ages and later. This one may be 16th century.

A pillow mound is for rabbit farming. You build up a false mound for your rabbits to make a warren in, and surround it with a trench. What sort of fence you used to keep the rabbits in I don't know.

This is just one of a number of unusual bumps and ditches in the park, but next time you walk your dog here (which, by the way, you are welcome to do) you'll know what this one is.