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O, To Be In England...

catseye said:
This boggles my brain. So they make an art installation of something that looks as if it should be there anyway?

I'm just going out with the dog to create my art installation 'two sticks and an inadvertently dropped dog poo bag'. I reckon it will pull in the crowds.
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I hope that if the bag is full the dog gets some credit?
 
Well, I quite like it - it would make a great garden shed.

It's the living quarters section of a scrapped Thames dredger, and - although I think not anymore - was once the artist's studio; I think you could actually even visit, if you could work out how to get on board.

Although I very much doubt anyone would argue that the ship itself was worthy of preservation, I do think it's pretty cool that at least part of it exists, and am not sure why it's any more offensive than the bits and pieces you'll find in the Transport or Science Museums. And unlike many installations it is entirely relevant to its context, dredgers having been an essential element in the creation and maintenance of the Thames as we now know it - both in its present form, and as a historical entity.

I once - some years ago - encountered the structure on a misty autumn morning, when maybe half a dozen cormorants were roosting on the top rails. The slow reveal out of the mist of those sinuous, somehow primordial profiles, perched atop the hazy form of the boat, was incredibly atmospheric.

EDIT:

Here we go - there's some history of the thing on Diamond Geezer's eclectic all things London blog.

Be warned though - if you have an interest in things London, then like Rob Baker's Another Nickel in the Machine, once you've dipped in, it might be a couple of days before you surface again.
 
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On Saturday, quite a warm day made for hard hiking, nevertheless I walked 17 miles across the South Downs from Bedhampton to Petersfield, Hampshire. The secluded archways of a bridge carrying a lane over the railway were somehow evocative, having an almost fairy-tale quality:
20230610_085549.jpg

20230610_085708.jpg

Much later on, on Chalton Down, I came across this fine Bronze Age bowl barrow. I walked around it clockwise; nothing happened.
20230610_133025.jpg

A while after that and I was in Chalton churchyard, notable for its fine Neo-Gothic mausoleum, complete with grotesques that look like they ought to be in a Hammer Horror film. First a photo of the mausoleum that I took a few years ago at a different time of year:
Clarke_Jervoise_mausoleum,_Chalton_03.jpg

And now some of the grotesques:
20230610_143102.jpg

20230610_143144.jpg

20230610_143239.jpg

After crossing the Downs, I dropped down towards, Buriton, under another railway bridge, where two creepy chalk silhouettes were struggling to escape from the brickwork - I moved on, briskly, before they could break free:
20230610_162408.jpg
 
SimonBurchell said:
...The secluded archways of a bridge carrying a lane over the railway were somehow evocative, having an almost fairy-tale quality...
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Those first two images reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on - then I realised it was the utterly unconnected in any way at all outer portion of the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate Cemetery:

View_of_Egyptian_Avenue_in_Highgate_West_Cemetery_(geograph_6549226).jpg


Maybe if the London and South Western had built burial accommodation for the discerning departed.
 
SimonBurchell said:
On Saturday, quite a warm day made for hard hiking, nevertheless I walked 17 miles across the South Downs from Bedhampton to Petersfield, Hampshire. The secluded archways of a bridge carrying a lane over the railway were somehow evocative, having an almost fairy-tale quality:
View attachment 67069
View attachment 67070
Much later on, on Chalton Down, I came across this fine Bronze Age bowl barrow. I walked around it clockwise; nothing happened.
View attachment 67071
A while after that and I was in Chalton churchyard, notable for its fine Neo-Gothic mausoleum, complete with grotesques that look like they ought to be in a Hammer Horror film. First a photo of the mausoleum that I took a few years ago at a different time of year:
View attachment 67072
And now some of the grotesques:
View attachment 67073
View attachment 67074
View attachment 67075
After crossing the Downs, I dropped down towards, Buriton, under another railway bridge, where two creepy chalk silhouettes were struggling to escape from the brickwork - I moved on, briskly, before they could break free:
View attachment 67076
Click to expand...
And an unusual warning sign here Simon on Kiln Lane, of a sort I've never seen before;
Buriton.jpg
 
Floyd1 said:
And an unusual warning sign here Simon on Kiln Lane, of a sort I've never seen before;
View attachment 67089
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Almost looks home-made! I didn't see that, however, since I used a footpath down off the Downs onto South Lane. Spooky Chalk Silhouette Bridge is about 200 meters further south along the railway line:
Buriton.png
 
SimonBurchell said:
Almost looks home-made! I didn't see that, however, since I used a footpath down off the Downs onto South Lane. Spooky Chalk Silhouette Bridge is about 200 meters further south along the railway line:
View attachment 67091
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Right. I wondered where it was that you'd crossed under.

All these thousands of railway bridges that were built in just a few years, many of them now not needed, fascinates me. At least these ones are still being used.
 
Floyd1 said:
Right. I wondered where it was that you'd crossed under.

All these thousands of railway bridges that were built in just a few years, many of them now not needed, fascinates me. At least these ones are still being used.
Click to expand...
Yes, not just railways that are now long gone, but also canals that are long gone. This shows a now-pointless bridge, that once ran over a railway line outside Alton, Hampshire (between Chawton and Farringdon). The bridge itself, the times I walked under it a few years ago, had the public footpath running along under the bridge, and a farm track running from a farm into a field crossing over the bridge, literally going nowhere - on the OS map now, it looks like they've put another footpath across over the bridge, so not quite as pointless as before, but even so:
Bridge_to_nowhere,_Chawton,_Hampshire_01.jpg

And the next one is an old canal bridge over the long-gone Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, in Yapton, West Sussex. It goes over a cul-de-sac on a housing estate, and carries a footpath:
Old_Canal_Bridge,_Yapton_03.jpg
 
SimonBurchell said:
Yes, not just railways that are now long gone, but also canals that are long gone. This shows a now-pointless bridge, that once ran over a railway line outside Alton, Hampshire (between Chawton and Farringdon). The bridge itself, the times I walked under it a few years ago, had the public footpath running along under the bridge, and a farm track running from a farm into a field crossing over the bridge, literally going nowhere - on the OS map now, it looks like they've put another footpath across over the bridge, so not quite as pointless as before, but even so:
View attachment 67092
And the next one is an old canal bridge over the long-gone Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, in Yapton, West Sussex. It goes over a cul-de-sac on a housing estate, and carries a footpath:
View attachment 67093
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Lovely.
And just think, especially concerning those old canal bridges- everything would have arrived on horse and cart- bricks/mortar/men/provisions/cider. The men would have probably had to travel a good distance just to get to the job in many cases.
 
SimonBurchell said:
On Saturday, quite a warm day made for hard hiking, nevertheless I walked 17 miles across the South Downs from Bedhampton to Petersfield, Hampshire. The secluded archways of a bridge carrying a lane over the railway were somehow evocative, having an almost fairy-tale quality:
View attachment 67069
View attachment 67070
Much later on, on Chalton Down, I came across this fine Bronze Age bowl barrow. I walked around it clockwise; nothing happened.
View attachment 67071
A while after that and I was in Chalton churchyard, notable for its fine Neo-Gothic mausoleum, complete with grotesques that look like they ought to be in a Hammer Horror film. First a photo of the mausoleum that I took a few years ago at a different time of year:
View attachment 67072
And now some of the grotesques:
View attachment 67073
View attachment 67074
View attachment 67075
After crossing the Downs, I dropped down towards, Buriton, under another railway bridge, where two creepy chalk silhouettes were struggling to escape from the brickwork - I moved on, briskly, before they could break free:
View attachment 67076
Click to expand...
Fabulous - looks like a great walk. 17 miles in heat is pretty good going. Great pics, and following ones too.
 
A lot of old railway and canal bridges over disused lines and canals are coming under scrutiny by landowners and local councils etc for either 'infilling' (as per your pic above, Simon) or demolition.
The problem is that they pretty much all have some special purpose other than the original intent, for crossing the line/canal.
Some connect communities, some have been turned into walking paths, some offer shelter for wildlife such as bats etc, and also they have architectural and historical significance.
There is a preservation society that you can join that is in the process of identifying bridges most at risk and ensuring that they are preserved/protected.
I can't remember what the society is named but I expect you could find it if you looked it up.

Floyd1 said:
an unusual warning sign here
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Anyhoo, Buriton is a 'parish' and as such will have a 'parish council' which will take on additional responsibilities within their 'patch', often relating to land use. It is quite likely that locals mentioned to the parish council that they were concerned about traffic through the village but the Local Council didn't consider it necessary to put up any signage, so the parish council did instead.
1686925137931.png
 
You may not think that Skirmett is one of the prettiest villages sitting on the Bucks/Oxon border but you would be wrong as it is, but my photographic skill have been compromised by the damnable heat today. Running along the bottom of the valley is the Hamble Brook (currently dried up) that served the needs of the Iron Age, Roman, Saxon (locals haven't progressed further) settlements there, whilst the road is wide enough in places for two pack horses to pass each other at a trot.
The building with a white frontage is a Pub, separated from the dig field by a wooden fence - but I wasn't visiting the Pub today as I'm a responsible detectorist and I also had Afternoon Teas (the first this year) at my Village Hall lined up from 3pm.
Heck that fence was difficult to negotiate in wellies but I had help from some charming overseas tourists who had arrived on a coach and simply swallowed the village up. After a lemonade & lime and half of bitter(shandy), I made it home in time for a shower and then ham, cucumber and fish paste sandwiches, scone and cream and a huge wedge of coffee walnut cake. I bought cake to take back with me as it was all for charity - three half-cakes or maybe three and a half cakes, the shandy caught up with me and I got confused - will check fridge. Oh and I 'recovered' (stole from the Archeologists) some coins so all round had a good day.

Skirmett_1279a.jpg
 
CharmerKamelion said:
Did it ever stop being the 80s? Not in my head, that's for sure.


Did someone say Angel Delight? Butterscotch flavour for me, please mmmmmmm yum yum!
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MrsF and I were talking about some horrible 'pizzas' we both remember from that time.
They were small, very basic affairs that never seemed to cook properly, tasted like cardboard and always ended up giving you a bad stomach.
 
Floyd1 said:
MrsF and I were talking about some horrible 'pizzas' we both remember from that time.
They were small, very basic affairs that never seemed to cook properly, tasted like cardboard and always ended up giving you a bad stomach.
Click to expand...
Are you sure you didn't cook them on the base....
 
Floyd1 said:
MrsF and I were talking about some horrible 'pizzas' we both remember from that time.
They were small, very basic affairs that never seemed to cook properly, tasted like cardboard and always ended up giving you a bad stomach.
Click to expand...
Sounds like Findus French Bread frozen pizzas. Which werent really pizzas.
 
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