New Shute House

New Shute House is a late Palladian country house built between 1785 and 1789 by Sir John de la Pole, 6th Baronet (1757–1799) and is situated within the grounds of Old Shute House, in the parish of Shute, near Axminster, East Devon. It was given Grade II* listing on 8 May 1967. It was vacated by the Pole family in 1926 and was let between 1933 and 1974 to a girls' school. In 1974 it was sold by the family to a developer who converted it, together with stables and outbuildings, into 8 freehold apartments. It remains in private ownership and the main block has now been converted back into a single residence from the two vertically divided apartments created in 1974.
History.
The builder's 5 times great-grandfather William Pole Esquire (1515–1587), MP, had purchased Old Shute House in 1560 and had acquired a 1,200 year lease of the surrounding estate in 1562.
The old house had been built in 1380 and had been substantially enlarged in the Tudor period and by William Pole's son Sir William Pole (1561–1635), the Antiquary. The 6th baronet, having determined to purchase the freehold of the Shute estate from the Petre family, which was completed in 1787, clearly considered the old house to be old-fashioned, and perhaps encouraged by his wife Anne Templer, whose father had just built Stover House in 1777 at Teigngrace near Newton Abbot, he decided to demolish half of it and build a new Palladian house about 1/2 a mile to the south. The demolition was carried out in 1785. The contemporary historiam Polwhele wrote in about 1806:
"Sir John William de la Pole lately destroyed a great part of a very old seate within the manor of Shute, called Shute House. He has now finished another upon a larger scale. New Shute House, begun in 1787, is distant from the old mansion two furlongs south east. It is pleasantly situated under Shute Hill. The aspect is nearly south by east. It is a beautiful three quarter view in front with a very handsonme lawn. The English Channel is distant about four miles".
The decision to build was certainly a hasty one as a field of growing corn was cut down to lay the foundations. The family moved to temporary lodging at Colyton House in nearby Colyton where they remained for two years. That part at least of the ancient mansion has survived is unusual, as often in the case of 18th. century re-builds the new house was built on the exact site of the old, which was either completely demolished or incorporated beyond recognition into the new structure. Clearly the old site was considered unsuitable, perhaps being too close to the village and parish church of Shute, and whilst the mediaeval house may have been sited with its defensibility as a prime criterion, the new site was more spectacular and had views to the sea.
Architect.
The identity of the architect as Thomas Parlby, the uncle of Lady Anne Pole and business partner of her father the self made magnate James Templer, was first discovered by Maureen Turner in her 1999 MA dissertation. The identity had eluded both Pevsner and Bridie, the principal historian of the two buildings. Pevsner had written "One would like to know the architect of this handsome late Palladian composition of 1787". Whilst at Antony House in Cornwall researching the Pole family Turner inspected closely the roll of paper held in the right hand of Sir John Pole the builder in his portrait, and discovered thereon drawn a partial plan of the new house with the following words written beneath: "Plan of Shute House built by Sir John William De la Pole Bt. July 1787, T. Parlby Esqr. Archt." Thomas Parlby (1727–1802) was of humble origins, the son of John Parlby of Chatham, Kent or possibly from Gravesend. He was for all of his adult life one of a trio of business partners with John Line and James Templer (1722–1782), in the business of constructing dockyards, generally under government contract.
James Templer.
James Templer 1722–1782) had married Mary Parlby (d.1784), his partner's sister, and his daughter was thus the future Lady Anne Pole. Templer was a self-made magnate. He was born in Exeter of a humble family, the son of Thomas Templer a brazier. He was orphaned young, whereupon his elder brother apprenticed him to John Bickley, a carpenter or architect of Exeter. He broke his indenture and set off for India where he made a fortune, either from government building contracts or possibly from dealing in silver bullion, before returning to England aged 23. He settled at Rotherhithe, Kent, where he obtained a government contract to re-build the dockyard with his partners John Line and Thomas Parlby. He married Mary Parlby (d.1784), the sister of his business partner and daughter of John Parlby of Chatham, Kent. He obtained with his partners in about 1760 the contract to rebuild Plymouth docks, for which he used granite from Haytor, and moved to Devon. In 1763 he obtained a grant of arms from the College of Arms, and in 1765 purchased the manor of Teignrace and Stover Lodge, which in 1780 he re-built in grander form on a nearby site. He died in 1782 and is commemorated by a monument in Teignrace Church, rebuilt in 1786 by his sons. Both Line and Parlby settled in Devon close to Templer, and both likewise each acquired a great country house and estate. John Line purchased Lindridge House, Bishopsteignton, which on his death he bequeathed to Templer's younger son and his own godson Henry Line Templer (d.1818), from whose heirs it was purchased by his elder brother Rev. John Templer (d.1832), and where Lady Anne Pole ended her days nursing her brother, as her mural monument in Shute Church states.
Thomas Parlby.
Thomas Parlby (1727–1802) was described in his obituary in the Gentleman's Magaziner as "Master Mason of HM Docks".
Parlby married in 1748 Lydia Martyn. He resided at Stone Hall, Stonehouse, in Plymouth, "the big house overlooking Stonehouse Pool". He rebuilt the old chapel at Stonehouse in 1787 and his 1802 monument, by Peter Rouw of London (who also made the monuments to Sir John Pole and his wife Lady Anne in Shute Church), was situated in the new church, apparently destroyed by World War II bombing. Templer and Parlby were the government contractors who rebuilt Plymouth Dockyard in 1763, and nearly doubled it in size by levelling the hill to the south and replacing all the buildings except the officers' accommodation. One of these docks is still known as "Parlby Dock". The same partnership also built between 1779–85 in the classical style the Royal Marine Barracks on Durnford Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth, which still survive on three sides of a courtyard now closed by 19th-century additions, described by Copper Plate Magazine as " a fine pile of buildings". Parlby also in a smaller commission rebuilt the kitchens at Saltram House after the fire of 1778, "a fine lofty room with a coved ceiling". Parlby had the following progeny:
Cecil St John Hall Parlby (b. 1912) still owned Manadon in 1937, and was also lord of the manors of Weston Peverell and Sampford Spiney. His brother John Reginald Hall Parlby (b. 1916) in 1937 lived at Stonehouse, Bishop's Hill, Taunton.
Construction.
The house was built using labour from distant Plymouth, as an invoice dated 1798 from a builder of that city named John Bellman reveals. The travelling costs of various workmen between Plymouth and Shute were also charged. These men were therefore probably favoured tradesmen used before by Parlby, as more local Exeter labour appears not to have been used.
Description.
The house consists of a central stuccoed block of three floors with a basement divided into five bays, with a flanking pavilion of two stories in four bays, to either side connected by low flanking quadrant walls. In the centre of the front is a large classical pedimented portico fronted by four Ionic columns. The flanking walls screen the service wings behind. The rear elevation has on either side full-height semi-circular bays. The interior contains much Adam style decorative plasterwork, apparently the work of a certain Mr Powell referred to in the invoice from the builder Bellman, and ornamental fittings. Robert Adam did much work for the Parkers at Saltram House near Plymouth between 1768–72 and 1779–82. The Poles are likely to have been guests at their neighbours at this time, but in any case as they also spent much time in London at their house in Bedford Square, they would have been familiar with Adam's work in London and elsewhere. The north-east pavilion contains a theatre of circa 1900. The top floor housed the servants' quarters. The kitchens were originally situated in the left hand pavilion, later converted into a theatre. A large Palladian style stables block is situated around a semi-circular courtyard, several hundred yards from the house, now converted into several separate residences. It had stabling for twelve horses and accommodation for grooms.
Interior.
The front door opens into a vestibule or hall 15 ft wide which runs to the rear wall of the house. To the left is the Library, in which was painted the portrait by Thomas Beach of Sir John Pole, in which the portico is visible through the window. It contained originally a large Sheraton book-case 11 ft wide and 10 ft high. Further back on the left-hand side beyond a small parlour or smoking room and service staircase lobby, is the Drawing room, 35 ft in length, with full-width bay window in its rear wall, giving extensive views towards the sea. The plasterwork by Bellman on the ceiling of the bay shows the signs of the Zodiac arranged as a semi-circle, with at the centre the Pole coat of arms. The hall is crossed from the drawing room to reach the slightly longer Dining room (40 * 23 ft, 15 ft high), also with full width bay window and containing Corinthian columns. In the Dining Room was hung the famous and immensely valuable life-size portrait of Lady Anne Pole by Romney, and the matching one of her husband. At the front of the house on the right-hand side is the Breakfast Room, as shown on the plan held in his hand in the portrait of Sir John Pole. The main staircase, of shallow-stepped cantilever design without visible support, made from Portland stone, is situated at the rear of the hall and runs around three walls, the rear wall of the house and the two side walls of the hall. On the first floor landing is a large stained glass window displaying the Pole crest. The present house retains most of the original fittings and decorative plasterwork.
Grounds.
The site of New Shute House is sloping from the front to the back of the house, which allows for an uninterrupted view of the distant sea. The Poles may have been influenced by the landscaping at Mount Edgecumbe House near Plymouth, Saltram and Killerton House. Pole employed John Veitch, Sir Thomas Acland's head gardener at Killerton, as his landscape designer, who contracted in 1790 to complete the works, which included the making of new roads and fences, by 29 September 1794. Pole planted a large number of young trees, including 1,000 larch and 950 Spruce, as an invoice from the firm Gould Smith dated November 1797 records. Veitch also made the new road to Shute village beyond the Elizabethan Shute Gatehouse ("the Old Lodge") and onward to the road leading to "Shute Piers", about one mile away. The contract specifies: "Toward the lodge...let the road be sunk three feet deeper than the ground is at present as it passes between the Old House and the Church to give more room under the Lodge and also to produce ground for forming the plantation each side intended to cover the said Old House, stables and the churchyard; also to form a plantation ground by raising it up for planting against the walls on each side of the lodge so as when planted and grown-up the said lodge may only appear between the said plantations". Bridie had noted in her work that the lower windows of the gatehouse were now below ground level, but had not ascertained the reason.
References.
Sources


St Michael and All Angels Church, Hawkshead

St Michael and All Angels Church is in the village of Hawkshead, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of four local parishes to form the Benefice of Hawkshead with Low Wray and Sawrey and Rusland and Satterthwaite. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Hyde and Pevsner, in the "Buildings of England" series, describe it as being "one of the best Lake District churches".
History.
A chapel existed on the site in the 12th century, which was extended to the length of the present church in about 1300. The north and south aisles were added in 1500. In 1578 its status was raised from being a chapelry that of a parish; credit for this has been given to Edwin Sandys, who was born in the village, and who became Archbishop of York. The roof of the nave was raised in 1585, and the clerestory was created. In about 1793 a vestry and hearse house were built. In 1680 James Addison, from the village of Hornby in the Lune Valley, was commissioned to clean the interior walls of the church, to paint 26 biblical texts with decorative borders, and to paint borders round the pillars and arcades. These were repainted in 1711–12 by William Mackerath, who added a list of churchwardens, and a text in local dialect near the pulpit. These were restored in 1875 by William Bolton. Between 1875 and the end of the century, rendering was removed from the exterior of the church, and battlements and pinnacles were added to the tower. A south porch was added in 1935. In 1965 a new organ was installed, which allowed the creation of a chapel dedicated to St James.
Architecture.
Exterior.
The church is constructed in rubble stone with a slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave and chancel without any division, north and south aisles and chapels, a northwest vestry, a south porch, and a west tower. On the west side of the tower is a doorway with a two-light window above. On the south side is a small window and a clock face. The bell openings are louvred with straight heads, and the parapet is embattled with corner pinnacles. The vestry has three-light mullioned windows, and along the side of the north aisle are similar windows. The north (Sandys) chapel has a three-light east window, a five-light north window and a doorway above which are the Sandys arms and the date 1578. On each side of the clerestory are four three-light windows. The east window of the chancel has five lights containing Perpendicular tracery. Along the side of the south aisle are three windows of two and three lights. On the side of the south chapel are a doorway converted into a window, and a two-light window; its east window has three lights.
Interior.
The interior of the church is thickly whitewashed. The five-bay arcades consist of segmental arches carried on round piers, without capitals or bases. The wall paintings are still present. In the north chapel is the chest tomb dated 1578 of the parents of Archbishop Sandys, with recumbent effigies. On the west wall of the church are elaborate monuments moved from St Dionis Backchurch, London, when it was demolished in 1878. The stained glass in the east window dated 1894 is by Hardman, and in the windows on the south side of the church, dating from between 1884 and 1901, are by H. W. Lonsdale. The two-manual pipe organ by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool was installed in 1965, replacing an earlier organ. There is a ring of eight bells. Five of these were cast in 1765 by James Harrison I, one dating from 1810 is possibly by John Stevenson, and the other two were cast by John Taylor in 1958.
External features.
In the churchyard is a sundial carrying a plate dated 1693, which is listed at Grade II.


McLoughlin Promenade

The McLoughlin Promenade is a scenic pathway located on Singer Hill Bluff, on the southeast bank of the Willamette River overlooking Oregon City in the U.S. state of Oregon.
It was constructed 1936–1939 on land once inhabited by the Molala and other indigenous peoples. Named after Oregon pioneer John McLoughlin who donated his personal real estate for the purpose of a city promenade, the design and implementation of it was part of a joint public works effort between Oregon and the United States government. The pathway courses above Oregon City and features the Grand Staircase and the man-made Singer Creek Falls. Lighting was added by the local Kiwanis club in 1972, and the Lee Kelly "Moontrap" bas-relief addition at the bottom of the falls was sponsored by the Rotary Club in 2011.
John McLoughlin.
Canadian citizen John McLoughlin was empowered in 1824 to act as Chief Factor of the Columbia District for the Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon Country, a region that was jointly occupied by the British, Canadians and Americans. Recognized by the 1957 Oregon Legislative Assembly as "the father of Oregon", McLoughlin built Fort Vancouver and was instrumental in boosting both the lumber industry and the fur trading economy. The state of Oregon estimates that he established approximately 20 trading posts.
According to the National Park Service, Singer Hill Bluff had been inhabited by various Native American tribes, predominately the Molala (or Molalla) people, several thousand years before the arrival of the settlers of European ancestry. McLoughlin platted the town of Oregon City on and below the bluff in 1842. After the United States and Great Britain signed the 1846 Oregon Treaty establishing the US-Canadian boundary at the 49th parallel, he resigned from the Hudson's Bay Company and retired to Oregon City. McLoughlin became a United States citizen and mayor of the city in 1851, donating a strip of his personal land on Singer Hill Bluff to be used as a city promenade. He died in 1857.
Construction and maintenance.
The linear McLoughlin Promenade is composed of the natural features on Singer Hill Bluff, and the man-made structures created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) 1936–1939. Oregon's State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) was purposed to provide assistance for the unemployed, and the WPA was a government jobs creation program during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that included historic preservation, programs in the arts, and building or improving infrastructure such as parks. The promenade project was proposed by SERA as a joint venture between the two.
City Manager John L. Franzen, a civil engineer educated at Washington State University, oversaw the implementation of the WPA projects within the city. He was the designer of the promenade. The predominate feature of the promenade is a scenic wide and long pedestrian pathway paved with stone and concrete. Approximately above Oregon City, it courses the Singer Hill Bluff strip between Tumwater Drive on the south end, and the Oregon City Municipal Elevator on the north end. The side of the pathway that overlooks the city features 1,400 linear feet of basalt barrier walls and posts of varying heights.
The north end of the pathway adjoins the Grand Staircase, which was constructed along Singer Hill Trail, a route used by these indigenous peoples as they traveled to and from the Willamette River. One flight down, the staircase veers two opposing directions. The east leg turns towards an illuminated pedestrian underpass, after which that direction of the staircase rises two flights to the McLoughlin House historic site. On the west side of this juncture, Singer Creek is channeled through the staircase to the man-made Singer Creek Falls designed by Franzen. The water flows over wide concrete slabs, down the bluff towards the river. The west leg of the staircase leads towards city sidewalks and the municipal elevator.
When a new elevator was installed and moved slightly in 1955, the Grand Staircase was reconfigured accordingly. Oregon City's Kiwanis club performed maintenance on the promenade in 1969 clearing overgrowth, and they installed lighting in 1972. It underwent restoration of stone and concrete between 2004 and 2010.
NRHP and miscellaneous information.
The promenade's designer J. L. Franzen served as Oregon City's manager for two decades before being hired as Salem City Manager, a post he held until his retirement nine and a half years later.
In 2011, the local Rotary Club celebrated its own 75th anniversary in Oregon City by commissioning Oregon sculptor Lee Kelly to create the "Moontrap" bas-relief at the base of Singer Creek Falls.
McLoughlin Promenade was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 2014.


Godsbanen

Godsbanen is a cultural centre in central Aarhus, Denmark since 2012. The site and most of the buildings are a former goods station, known as ""Aarhus Godsbanegård" (Aarhus Goods Station), which was in use from 1923 to 2000. It is located at the end of a broad sidetrack to the central railway yard of Aarhus. In December 2010, Realdania announced that the area would be gradually transformed into a modern city district, through a collaborative project with Aarhus Municipality. Apart from the new cultural centre of Godsbanen, there are plans to build several buildings and institutions along the former railway yard, including a new school of architecture.
History.

Originally, the goods station was situated at Aarhus Central Station, on the site now occupied by the Aarhus Bus Station.
In the 1890s, it was proposed to move the goods yard to Mølleengen. The plans for the move became part of the city planning in 1896 and 1898, but a full 27 years went by before they were executed. As the project was very costly, it led to extended discussions in both the city council and the national parliament, the latter being reluctant to provide funding for the project.
Only after a law was passed in 1917, covering relocation of the shunting yard and the goods station to Mølleengen near the Aarhus River, were the plans put into practice. In 1919, a new city plan was adopted and in 1920 work on the new goods station, known as "Aarhus Godsbanegård"" (Aarhus Goods Station), in Skovgaardsgade was able to start. Owing to difficult soil conditions, extensive piling work had to be carried out, including 1,150,000 m3 of landfill which was moved by hand. In addition, a portion of the river was moved further north, and 3,000 fir trunks were pounded in to a depth of 20 meters as foundations for the facility's new buildings. The engineer responsible for the foundation work was track manager Thorvald Engqvist.
The goods station's main building was designed in a Neo-Baroque style by architect Heinrich Wenck and built in 1920-22 after a design phase that had begun in 1918. It was one of Wenck's last works as DSB's chief architect. The two-storey building is 15 bays long and is crowned by a hipped roof with a lantern and four ridge turrets together with a copper-clad spire topped by a Baroque onion dome. The facade is divided into lesenes. It is built of red brick and roofed with red tiles. The ventilation hoods and the flashing around the dormers are also in copper.
Perpendicular to the main building are two warehouses, originally on either side of a yard where the tracks came to a blind end. This was where the loading and unloading of the incoming and outgoing freight trains took place. In 1972 and 1984, the yard between the warehouses was transformed into a building connecting the warehouses. In 1925, the shunting yard was inaugurated together with the goods station.
Most buildings in the area have high preservation status in the Aarhus municipal atlas.
Cultural centre.
Beginning in 2009, the former goods station was renovated, the two warehouses was rebuilt and refurnished, and a new building was constructed in between. The new and old buildings now house the cultural centre of Godsbanen, opening on 30 March 2012, and organize a host of cultural arrangements and facilitates everyday cultural engagement for the citizens of Aarhus and surrounding suburbs. This includes theatre, dancing, music, film, artwork, printing, workshops, festivals and business networking. Since the opening of the centre, there has been a restaurant and café, at the center of the new building, but it has changed owners and concept several times. The former restaurant of Thorvalds (named after the original goods station's first manager Thorvald Engqvist) took over from Aarhus Folkekøkken (Aarhus Civic Kitchen) and is now replaced by Spiselauget. With slightly varying concepts, the restaurants has always focussed on sustainability and organic, seasonal and local produce.
Surroundings.
The decommissioned railway lines leading up to the former freight station, has been unused for many years, but along with the construction of the Godsbanen cultural centre, independent cultural actors were allowed by the municipality to move in. This led to the do-it-yourself village of Institut for (X), a recycling station, and other time limited cultural and social projects sprouting in the area since 2009. The deal is that while no rent is paid, settlements and activities should give way for future construction projects in the area. Along with the new Godsbanen cultural centre, this whole area was unofficially dubbed Aarhus K ("K" for "Kultur" or Culture in Danish) as a kind of new cultural district for the city.
Institut for (X) is a self-governed cultural commune for small independent businesses and cultural projects. Here cafés, nightclubs, workshops, repair shops, skateboarding, urban farming, alternative construction and living quarters have emerged as a creative amalgam. Since 2019, when new construction in the area took of, much of Institut for (X) has been demolished, but the commune and organisation was so popular that plans for a more permanent future in the area is scheduled.
Future projects.
New building projects at Godsbanen includes several major education institutions, commercial functions and private, youth and social housing.
Aarhus School of Architecture's new building is the first time ever a school of architecture is going to be built in Denmark. The Danish Building & Property Agency. The international competition was launched by The Danish Building & Property Agency and Aarhus School of Architecture with the assistance of the Danish Architects’ Association and with funding from Realdania.
Æggepakkeriet (The Egg Packery), is a new residencial highrise project with a mix of small creative shops and business premises at ground level. The project is a repurposing of a former egg packery in combination with three new buildings, all designed by Sleth Architects.
Aarhus Produktionsskole (Aarhus Production School) was scheduled to start construction of a 3,000m2 new production school on 1 January 2017. Due to a national restructuring of all Danish productions schools into Forberedende Grunduddannelse (FGU), the construction was postponed. Pluskontoret Arkitekter is responsible for building advisory for Aarhus Production School.
Godsbanekollegiet is a youth housing project by Kollegiekontoret in cooperation with Arbejdernes Andelsboligforening (AAB). For the part of Kollegiekontoret the project consists of an international student youth housing with 120-150 inhabitants. A competition has been completed for the project in 2016 with the support of the Ministry of Housing. Aarhus City Council handles the local plan for the project in autumn 2018 and construction is planned in the period 2019-21.


Metochion

A metochion or metochi ( or ; ) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or autonomous church to another. The term is also used to refer to a parish representation (or dependency) of a monastery or a patriarch.
Ecclesiastical Embassy Church.
In the former case, the local territorial church grants a plot of land or a church building for the use of the foreign church being represented, and the location is then considered to belong canonically to the foreign church. Services held there are often in the language appropriate to the church being represented, and the congregation is often made up of immigrants or visitors from the nation associated with that church. Typically, a "metochion" presence on the territory of an autocephalous church is limited to only a few parishes at most.
Dependency of a monastery.
In the case of a monastic "metochion", such a parish church is a dependency of a particular monastic community, perhaps receiving clergy from that community or other forms of support. During the Byzantine era, a monastic "metochion" may have been property granted to a monastery for income purposes.
"Metochion" is currently employed, as well, to refer to a dependent monastery, skete, kellion or monastic society that is being given the blessing and support to develop into an autonomous monastery, skete, kellion or society. For an example, "Wawasinno Ki'chi Wa Mali'i Waabanowigaan"—the "Hesychastic Society of the Most Holy Mary"—is a Canadian Orthodox hesychastic society founded for (but not to be exclusively of) Aboriginal Orthodox, and which is classified as a metochion of the Monastic Society of St. Silouan the Athonite (OCA, Archdiocese of Canada).


Iglesia de Santa Leocadia, Toledo

The Iglesia de Santa Leocadia is a church located in Toledo, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The Toledan tradition maintains that this church is built on the site of the house where Saint Leocadia of Toledo was born, to which would belong a small underground room, where it is affirmed that it made prayer. This cave corresponds to the crypt located next to the right pillar of the presbytery, and is covered with a plaster crossery vault, which can be dated in the first half of the 16th century. In the tower and in the facade of the church are preserved, embedded, some fragments of reliefs in Visigothic style.
It dates back to the 11th Century, but the oldest remains of its construction date from the 13th Century. The only remaining Mudéjar elements are the tower, part of the entrance and the apse. The present appearance is due to the changes at the end of the 18th century, ordered by the queen Maria Luisa of Parma, wife of Carlos IV, a devout follower of the saint.
The parish is mentioned in documents from the middle of the 12th century, with the denomination of "Santa Leocadia within Toledo", to differentiate it from another church, with the same name, "next to the alcázar", built in the place where the saint was in prison, and the basilica outside the walls, known as Cristo de la Vega, where she was buried. Both the present church and the tower respond, in their older parts, to the Toledan Mudéjar of the end of the 13th century, which leads to think that existed another previous building, of which have not been remains. There are only references to think that the primitive arrangement was that of an isolated building, separated of the convento de Santo Domingo el Antiguo by a street that was suppressed, in times of Alfonso X of Castile, when extending that convent.


Iglesia de los Santos Justo y Pastor, Toledo

The Iglesia de los Santos Justo y Pastor, popularly known as Iglesia de San Justo, is a church located in the city of Toledo (Castile-La Mancha, Spain). It was founded after the city was taken by King Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 13th century. The city underwent transformations between the 14th and 18th centuries. This is a religious temple under the invocation of the holy children Justus and Pastor.
History.
Throughout the 14th century, the church underwent multiple rounds of reconstruction. Included was the preservation of the chapel of Corpus Christi (next to the Main chapel), which is constructed of a rectangular stay, a cover of wood and rich decoration in azulejos. The remains of the Mudéjar apse, built in brick and with the decoration of blind arches, are also considered to be part of the reconstruction done in the 14th century. However, they may correspond to earlier work, as indicated from their external rig configuration.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, three chapels with ribbed vaults were added, which open to the nave of the epistle. One of them, dedicated to the Virgen de la Esperanza, includes a remarkable Plateresque fence.
In the 17th century, the temple was again altered, with the central nave losing its previous Mudéjar character. According to traces and conditions noted by Juan Bautista Monegro, the brick octo-sided pillars that delineated the central nave of the previous church were replaced in 1612 with two pillars, each with a pair of identical attached half-columns and composed of granite from the Las Ventas con Peña Aguilera's quarries.
During the 18th century, the transformation of the temple was completed through plastering, pictorial decoration of the interior elevations, execution of the lateral naves' ceilings and finalization of the exterior. The unique entryway is posed as a tower-portal, something unusual in Toledan architecture. The portal is thus placed in the lower part of the temple tower, which stands out from the temple's main floor. The portal (altarpiece type) is raised in a body, which entails effective access between pilasters and a penthouse with niche, arranged to house the titular saints' sculptures. The exterior elevations, except for the Mudéjar apse, have a reddish plaster, under which is seen, in some parts, another imitation plaster of brick.


Galaxy SOHO

Galaxy SOHO () is an urban complex building located in Beijing, China. Built between 2009 and 2012, it is the first of two buildings designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid located in Beijing, along with Wangjing SOHO.
The building is located in the southwest corner of Chaoyangmen Bridge in the Second Ring Road of Beijing. The complex features a curvilinear design consisting of four asymmetric continuous structures. It covers an area of 330,000 m2. The parametric design of the building was inspired by classical Chinese courtyards. The complex offers shops, offices and entertainment facilities.
Design.
The Galaxy Soho building comprises four main domed structures, fused together by bridges and platforms between curving floor plates to create a fluid environment that surrounds a series of public courtyards and a larger central "canyon." Zaha Hadid described the structure as "a reinventing of the classical Chinese courtyard which generates an immersive, enveloping experience at the Heart of Beijing." According to Zaha Hadid, the design is meant to "respond to the varied contextual relationships and dynamic conditions of Beijing." The exterior of the building is clad in aluminium and stone while the interior features glass, terrazzo, stainless steel and glass reinforced gypsum. The complex incorporates a cooled roofing system that minimizes the effects of microclimates caused by sustainable architectural strategies.
There are 18 floors in total. The lower three levels of Galaxy SOHO house public facilities for retail and entertainment. The levels immediately above, from the fourth floor to the fifteenth, provide office spaces for businesses. The top three levels are dedicated to bars, restaurants and cafes that offer views along Beijing.
The building is connected to the city's subway system.
Awards.
In 2013, Galaxy SOHO was nominated for the Lubetkin Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The nomination drew criticism from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Centre, which stated that the development had “caused great damage to the preservation of the old Beijing streetscape, the original urban plan, the traditional hutong and courtyard houses, the landscape formation, and the style and colour scheme of Beijing’s unique vernacular architecture.”


Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation

The Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the oldest synagogue in Indianapolis.
History.
The congregation was founded in 1856 and erected its first synagogue building in 1858 "in Judah’s Block (East Washington Street), opposite the Court House." This early building was replaced with the Market Street Temple in 1868 and the Tenth Street Temple in 1899. The Tenth Street Temple, by the architecture firm of Vonnegut and Bohn, was a domed building in an eclectic Neoclassical style. Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise led the congregation at that time. The congregation's current building at 6501 North Meridian Street was completed in 1958.
Rabbi Maurice Davis was known for his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
Rabbi Murray Saltzman (1967 to 1978) was also known for his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
Rabbi Jonathan Stein, who was Senior Rabbi at the synagogue, is now Senior Rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila on New York City's Upper East Side.
Rabbi Brett Krichiver is the current Senior Rabbi.


Polebridge Ranger Station Historic District

The Polebridge Ranger Station in Glacier National Park was the first administrative area in the park, predating the park's establishment. The ranger station was destroyed by fire, leaving the residence.
The historic district originally comprised five cabins, a barn, oil house, a woodshed converted to a checking station, garage, generator house, fire cache, washhouse, and the Strissel Residence, moved to the site in 1975. Many of the other structures were moved to the site in 1955. The fire cache was built at the site in 1927, with a greater level of detailing than was usual in such structures. The 1927 log barn was a significant existing structure.
The only survivors of the 1988 Red Bench Fire were the checking station and the ranger station residence. The residence is a log structure, built in 1922.


Malmesbury Market Cross

Malmesbury Market Cross is a Grade I listed, late 15th century structure in the town of Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England.
Description.
The market cross stands in the centre of the town, at the north end of the High Street. It was built c.1490, possibly using limestone salvaged from the recently ruined part of Malmesbury Abbey, which then began just across the market square from the cross. An elaborately carved octagonal structure of the Perpendicular Period, it is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in England, and was made a Grade I listed building in 1949. A carving in relief of the Crucifixion and figures of several saints have survived the Reformation on the open lantern, although the lower niches for figures are now empty. Inside there is a lierne vaulted roof with carved bosses, springing from a central column with stone seating around it. There is a low wall or bench across all the outside arches except two. The building is over 40 ft. high, and today is nicknamed "the Birdcage", because of its appearance, and still serves to shelter market traders by day and as a meeting point at night.
It was described by John Leland, who visited Malmesbury in 1542, as follows:
Malmesbyri hath a good quik [lively] market kept every Saturday. There is a right fair and costeley peace of worke in the market place made all of stone and curiusly voultid for poore market folkes to stande dry when rayne cummith. Ther be 8 great pillers and 8 open arches: and the work is 8 square: one great piller in the midle berith up the voulte. The men of the toun made this peace of work "in hominum memoria" [within living memory].
The cross was renovated in about 1800 at the expense of John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk, and subsequently repaired in 1909–12 and 1949–50. In 1879–80, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (in its third year of existence) sent two council members who drew up a report of the repairs needed for Lord Northwick, who owned the cross, but it is not clear what was done. One pinnacle knocked off by a heavy goods vehicle in recent years is in the Athelstan Museum in the town.
Related structures.
An even more elaborate covered market cross in a similar style is the Chichester Cross; Ipswich once had another, in a lighter Renaissance style, but this survives only in old prints.


French Church (Bucharest)

The French Church of the Sacred Heart () is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 3 Gheorghe Demetriade Street, Bucharest, Romania. It is classified as a historic monument by the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
In the spring of 1906, Monsignor Vladimir Ghika, working with Sister Elisabeta Pucci, whom he had called from Thessaloniki, began work on a building for the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul on land donated by Maria Pâcleanu. In 1922, work began on the Saint Vincent de Paul Sanatorium, inside of which there was a chapel where masses were held until 1930. Additionally, there was a chapel in Pâcleanu's adjacent residence. In 1930, next to the sanatorium's eastern wall, the Daughters of Charity built the parish church, with the altar facing north.
On November 12, 1946, the C. I. Parhon Endocrinology Institute was established in the building of the sanatorium. Thus, the area retained a charitable focus, but the church was closed in 1957, a decade into the Communist regime; all charitable activity "by superiors for the poor, orphans and the sick" had been outlawed. On rare occasions, services were held for foreign delegations passing through the country. On December 1, 1991, following the collapse of Communism, the church was reopened and the parish re-established. In 2004, fifty years after he died a political prisoner in Jilava prison, a statue depicting Ghika was placed on a square near the church. As of 2009, the parish has nearly 2000 members, and services are regularly held in Romanian, French, English, Latin and Arabic.
The church is in the style of a basilica, with three naves preceded by a small vestibule. The central nave is 6 m wide and has a slightly vaulted ceiling. The others are lower, have flat ceilings, are 3 m wide and are each separated by four square-shaped pillars with Byzantine-style capitals. An extension of the central nave, marked by an arch, features the apse, which has stained-glass windows and a horizontal ceiling. The choir is above the entry into the nave, and there is a small organ to the right of the entrance. Light comes in through large, rectangular windows adorned in stained glass with floral Art Nouveau motifs. The walls and ceilings are painted without decoration. Fourteen bas-relief panels on the walls depict the Stations of the Cross.
The exterior is painted simply, in white. The roof has two slopes and is covered in terracotta tiles. Above the roof, behind the entrance facade, there is a small tower with square sides. This has four small, open three-lobed arches, and sharp-angled pediments on each side. On top is a cross and a Gallic rooster. The vestibule is lower, also has a two-sloped roof, and a rounded door. It is located on the southern side before the main facade and provides entry into the church. On either side are two niches surrounded by multiple arches in relief.


Christuskirche, Rome

The Christuskirche is a Lutheran Evangelical church in Rome. It was built between 1910 and 1922 under direction of architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten, who also responsible for the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin.
On 11 December 1983, Pope John Paul II visited the church and participated in an ecumenical service, the first papal visit ever to a Lutheran church. The visit took place 500 years after the birth of Martin Luther, the German Augustinian monk and Protestant Reformer.
On January 14, 2015, Swedish actress Anita Ekberg's funeral Mass was held at Christuskirche.


Ham House

Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was completed by 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan courtier and Knight Marshal to James I, but came to prominence during the 1670s as the home of Elizabeth (Murray) Maitland, the Duchess of Lauderdale and Countess of Dysart and her second husband John Maitland, the Duke of Lauderdale. The house retains many original Jacobean features and furnishings and is claimed by the National Trust to be "unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power." The house is designated on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building and has been an Accredited Museum since 2015. Its park and formal gardens are listed at Grade II* by Historic England in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In 1948, the house was donated to the National Trust by Sir Lyonel Tollemache and his son Major (Cecil) Lyonel Tollemache.
History.
Early years.
In the early 17th century the manors of Ham and Petersham were bestowed by James I on his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.
The house was completed in 1610 by Sir Thomas Vavasour, Knight Marshal to James I. It originally comprised an H-plan layout consisting of nine bays and three storeys. The Thames-side location was ideal for Vavasour, allowing him to move between the courts at Richmond, Hampton, London and Windsor as his role required.
Prince Henry died in 1612, and the lands passed to James' second son, Charles, several years prior to his coronation in 1625. After Vavasour's death in 1620, the house was granted to John Ramsay, 1st Earl of Holderness until his death in 1626.
William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart.
In 1626, Ham House was leased to William Murray, courtier, close childhood friend and alleged whipping boy of Charles I. Murray's initial lease was for 39 years and, in 1631, a further 14 years were added. When Gregory Cole, a neighbouring landowner, had to sell his property in Petersham as part of the enclosure of Richmond Park in 1637, he made over the remaining leases on his land to Murray. Shortly afterwards William and his wife Katherine (or Catherine) engaged the services of skilled craftsmen, including the artist Franz Cleyn, to commence improvements on the house as befitting a Lord of the Manors of Ham and Petersham. He extended the Great Hall and added an arch that leads to the ornate cantilever staircase to create a processional route for guests as they approached the dining room on the first floor. He remodelled the Long Gallery and added the adjoining Green Closet that was influenced by Charles I’s own “Cabbonett Room” at Whitehall Palace, to which Murray had donated two pieces.
In 1640 William was also granted a lease on the Manor of Canbury (Kingston) but in the run-up to civil war in 1641 he signed over the house to Katherine and his four daughters, appointing trustees to safeguard the estate for them. The principal of these was Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin, a relative of his wife and an important Scottish Presbyterian, Parliamentarian supporter and ally of the Puritan party in London.
In 1643, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, the house and estates were sequestrated, but persistent appeals by Katherine regained them in 1646 on payment of a £500 fine.
Katherine skilfully defended ownership of the house throughout the Civil War and Commonwealth, and it remained in the family's possession despite Murray's close ties with the Royalist cause. Katherine died at Ham on 18 July 1649 (Charles I had been executed on 30 January of the same year). The Parliamentarians sold off much of the Royal Estate, including the Manors of Ham and Petersham. These, including Ham House, were bought for £1,131.18s on 13 May 1650 by William Adams, the steward acting on behalf of Murray's eldest daughter, Elizabeth and her husband Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Baronet of Helmingham Hall, Suffolk. Ham House became Elizabeth and Lionel's primary residence, as Murray was predominantly exiled in France.
Elizabeth (née Murray: 2nd Countess of Dysart) and Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Baronet of Helmingham Hall.
Elizabeth continued her parents' political support of the Royalist cause and she and her husband became members of the Sealed Knot. Between 1649 and 1661, Elizabeth bore eleven children, five of whom survived to adulthood; Lionel, Thomas, William, Elizabeth and Catherine. Elizabeth and Lionel made few substantial changes to the house during this busy time. On the Restoration in 1660, Charles II rewarded Elizabeth with a pension of £800 for life and, whilst many of the Parliamentarian sales of Royal lands were put aside, Elizabeth retained the titles to the Manors of Ham and Petersham. In addition, in about 1665, following William's death, Lionel was granted freehold of of land in Ham and Petersham including that surrounding the house and a 61-year lease of of demesne lands. The grant was made in trust to Robert Murray for the daughters of the, then, late Earl of Dysart, "in consideration of the service done by the late Earl of Dysart and his Daughter, and of the losses sustained by them by the enclosure of the New Park." Lionel died in 1668, leaving his Ham and Petersham estate to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale.
Elizabeth became associated with John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale. In 1671 Lauderdale was granted by Letters patent full freehold rights to the Manors of Ham and Petersham and the 289 acres of leased land. In 1672 Elizabeth and Lauderdale were married, and, with Lauderdale's part in the CABAL, the family remained close to the heart of court intrigue.
The couple made extensive changes to the house from 1673. Elizabeth consulted her cousin, William Bruce, and Maitland commissioned William Samwell, extending the house into the south part of the "H", making it "double pile", two rooms deep, across its breadth.
The eldest daughter of Elizabeth and Lionel, also named Elizabeth (1659–1735), married Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll in Edinburgh in 1678. Their first child, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, was born at Ham House in 1680; their second son, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll was born in the same room a few years later.
On Lauderdale's death in 1682 he left the Ham and Petersham property to Elizabeth, thereby securing the estate for the Tollemache dynasty. However, Elizabeth also inherited her husband's debts including mortgages on his former properties in England and Scotland and her latter years were marred by financial dispute with her brother-in-law, Charles. Even the intervention of the newly crowned James II failed to reconcile them and the matter was finally settled in her favour in the Scottish courts in 1688. Whilst this may have suppressed Elizabeth's lavish lifestyle, she went on to make further alterations to the house at Ham, opening the Hall ceiling and creating the Round Gallery in about 1690. Elizabeth Maitland continued to live at Ham House until her death in 1698.
Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Earl of Dysart.
Elizabeth and Lionel Tollemache's eldest son and heir, Lionel, became 3rd Earl of Dysart on his mother's death and inherited Ham House, the adjoining estates and the manors of Ham and Petersham. Already the owner of his father's estates in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, he had also acquired in Cheshire through his marriage in 1680 to Grace, daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, 3rd Baronet. He only spent short periods at Ham, apparently did little for the upkeep of the house though kept the garden well. He did use his wealth to pay off the interest on the outstanding mortgages but was not considered generous, even with his immediate family. His only son, Lionel, predeceased him in 1712 and on his death in 1727 he was succeeded as Earl of Dysart by his grandson, also named Lionel.
Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart.
Lionel Tollemache was only 18 years old when he became the 4th Earl of Dysart and head of the family. Shortly after returning from the Grand Tour in 1729 he married Grace Carteret, the 16-year-old daughter of John Carteret 2nd Earl Granville, and began repairing and commissioning new furniture for his properties at Ham and at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk. Ham House had been largely neglected since the death of Elizabeth, so in 1730 he ordered a structural survey of the building which revealed significant problems, especially on the north front. Repairs however did not begin until the 1740s. At the front of the house an ‘Advance’ which extended two stories above a porch over the main entrance had become detached from the wall and was in danger of pulling down the roof. It was removed completely and the stone re-used for repairs to the first and second floors. The canted bays on the projections at each end of the house were rebuilt as deeper three window bays, with corresponding alterations made to the bays on the south front. Significant repairs were also made to the roof, where old unfashionable red tiles on the outer pitches were replaced with slate and reused for repairs to the inner pitches where they would not be visible.
Much new furniture was commissioned but the 4th Earl seems to have been committed to preserving existing artefacts, making repairs to fixtures from the Lauderdale period where necessary. The house would certainly have been sumptuously furnished in the mid-18th century. He made three significant changes to the interior of the house itself: the Queen’s Bedchamber on the first floor became the principal drawing room with furniture and tapestries supplied by the London upholsterer and textile producer William Bradshaw; the Volury on the ground floor became another drawing room with the addition of tapestries and its distinctive X-framed seat furniture; and in the Dining Room the marble floor was replaced with marquetry, with matching gilded leather panels on the walls.
Of their sixteen children only seven lived to maturity. Three of the five sons died in the pursuit of their naval careers. The Countess died in 1755 aged 42 and the Earl in 1770 aged 61. He was survived by Lionel, Lord Huntingtower, Wilbraham, and three daughters Jane, Louisa and Frances.
Lionel Tollemache, 5th Earl of Dysart.
Lionel Tollemache, 5th Earl of Dysart succeeded to the title on his father's death. Despite spending on the house, the 4th Earl had kept his own son short of money during his lifetime and he had consequently married without his father's consent. His wife, Charlotte, was the youngest illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, second son of Robert Walpole and niece of Horace Walpole who lived near to Ham across the Thames at Strawberry Hill.
The 5th Earl refused to allow any change or renovation to Ham House or Helmingham Hall. By contrast he had two other properties in Northamptonshire and Cheshire completely destroyed. Charlotte died, childless, in 1789 and although Lionel remarried he remained without an heir. When this became apparent, the families of his surviving sisters, Louisa and Jane, reverted to the family name of Tollemache in anticipation of potential succession. On his death in 1799 his brother, Wilbraham became the 6th Earl of Dysart.
Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart.
Wilbraham was aged 60 when he inherited the title. One of his first acts was to buy the rights of the Manor of Kingston/Canbury from George Hardinge, extending the Dysarts' property south into Kingston. He had the wall that separated Ham House from the river demolished and replaced by a ha-ha, leaving the gates free-standing. Coade stone pineapples were added to decorate the balustrades and John Bacon's iconic statue of the river god, pictured here, also in Coade stone, dates from this period. Several busts of Roman emperors were relocated from the demolished walls to niches cut into the front of the house. Further restoration of the old furniture also took place as well as addition of Jacobean reproductions. The Dysarts also became patrons of John Constable at this time. Wilbraham's wife died in 1804 and, devastated, he moved away, close to the estate in Cheshire. Wilbraham died, childless, in 1821, aged 82.
Louisa Tollemache, 7th Countess of Dysart.
Of the 4th Earl's children, only the eldest daughter, Lady Louisa, by then widow of MP John Manners, still survived. Already heiress to Manners' at Buckminster Park, Louisa inherited the title and estates at Ham at the age of 76. The remaining Tollemache estates were bequeathed to the heirs of Lady Jane. Louisa continued the patronage of John Constable who was a frequent and welcome visitor to Ham. Increasingly infirm and blind in old age, Louisa lived to the age of 95, dying in 1840.
Lionel Tollemache, 8th Earl of Dysart.
Louisa's eldest son, William, had predeceased her in 1833. His eldest son, Lionel William John Tollemache, inherited the title and became the 8th Earl of Dysart. Lionel preferred to live in London and invited his brothers, Frederick and Algernon Gray Tollemache, to manage the estates and Ham and Buckminster. Lionel became increasingly reclusive and eccentric. Lionel's only son, William, a controversial figure, amassed great debts guaranteed by the expectation of inheriting the family fortune, however, he, too, predeceased his father who subsequently bequeathed the estates to his grandson, William John Manners Tollemache, with his brothers, Frederick and Algernon with Charles Hanbury-Tracy acting as trustees for 21 years to 1899. Following the 8th Earl's death in 1878, his son's creditors brought an action in the High Court against the Tollemache family who had to pay a sum of £70,000 to avoid forfeiting much of the Ham estate.
William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart.
In his autobiography, Augustus Hare recounts a visit to Ham House in 1879 describing the dilapidation and disrepair contrasting with the evident treasures the house still contained. However, shortly after the 8th Earl's death, the 9th Earl, with agreement from the trustees, undertook extensive renovation of the house and its contents and, by 1885 it was fit to host social activities again, notably a garden party to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. In 1890 Ada Sudeley published her 570 page book "Ham House, Belonging to the Earl of Dysart".
On 23 September 1899, full control of the Tollemache estates at Ham and Buckminster was transferred from trustees to 9th Earl, William John Manners Tollemache, then aged about 40, in accordance with his grandfather's will.
By the early 1900s the Dysarts had installed electricity and central heating at the house along with other modern gadgets including, in the Duchess's basement bathroom, a bath with jets and even a wave machine.
The 9th Earl travelled widely, rode despite blindness, invested successfully in the stock market and whilst eccentric and difficult, nonetheless was hospitable and supportive of the local community. His cantankerous nature proved too much for his wife who left him in the early 1900s but he lived on with other family members at Ham for many years. In the 1920s and 1930s he employed a staff of up to 20 including a chauffeur for his four cars including a Lanchester and Rolls Royce. When he died in 1935 he left investments worth £4,800,000 but had no direct heir. He was the last Earl of Dysart to live at the house.
Sir Lyonel Tollemache, 4th Baronet of Hanby Hall.
The inheritance passed to the Earl's elder sisters' families. His niece, Wynefrede, daughter of his sister Agnes, inherited the earldom. Wynefrede's cousin, Lyonell, at the age of 81, inherited the baronetcy and the estates at Ham and Buckminster. He and his middle-aged son, Cecil Lyonel Newcomen Tollemache lived at the house, but the lack of available staff during the war added to the difficulty of maintaining it. The nearby aircraft factory was a target for bombing raids and the house and grounds suffered some minor damage. Many of the house's contents were removed to the country for safety. Most of the family papers were deposited in Chancery Lane but, whilst they survived the Blitz, they suffered significant water damage from fire hoses. Thought for some time to have been lost, many papers were subsequently recovered from the Ham House stables in 1953, though many were in poor condition as a result.
National Trust.
In 1943, Sir Lyonel invited the National Trust's first Historic Buildings Secretary, James Lees-Milne, to visit the house. Lees-Milne recorded both the melancholy state of the house and grounds but, even though it was devoid of its contents, he could immediately see the splendour of the underlying building and grounds. In 1948, Sir Lyonell and his son donated the house and its grounds to the Trust. The stables and other outlying buildings were sold privately and much of the remaining estate sold at auction in 1949.
The National Trust at first transferred ownership of Ham House to the state on a long lease to the Ministry of Works. The contents of the house were purchased by the government who entrusted them to the Victoria and Albert Museum. By 1950, the house was open to the public and a series of research and restoration works since undertaken, restoring and reproducing much of the house's former splendour. The government relinquished its lease in 1990, and the compensation was used to form a fund to help contribute towards maintenance.
Interiors and collections.
Introduction.
Ham House is unusual in retaining much of its original 17th century interior decoration, offering a rare experience of the style of the courts of Charles I and Charles II. The original house was altered and redecorated for William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart in the late 1630s, creating a new grand staircase and picture closet. As a result of his close association with King Charles I, he was able to employ the finest craftsmen working for the Crown. These included the artist Franz Cleyn, decorator and designer at the Mortlake Tapestry Works, whose overdoor inset paintings and ceiling of the Green Closet are said to be the only surviving examples of his interior decoration. He has also been credited with coordinating the new decorative scheme for William Murray. The finely modelled ceilings created by plaster craftsman Joseph Kinsman are also thought to be his only surviving work.
From 1672/73, the house was enlarged for William’s daughter Elizabeth, who with her second husband the 1st Duke of Lauderdale commissioned the lavishly decorated rooms in the style of the Restoration court of Charles II. Much of this original decor survives in the enfilade of rooms on the south side of the house, with ceilings painted by Antonio Verrio, marble and scagliola fireplace surrounds, overdoor paintings and richly gilded carving. The rooms display fine collections of 17th century paintings, portraits and miniatures in addition to the cabinets, tapestries and furniture.
The Great Staircase.
The Great Staircase, described as “remarkable” and “apparently without a close parallel in the British Isles”, was created for William Murray at the east end of the Great Hall in 1638‒39 as part of a series of improvements to the house which reflected his increasing status at Court. These included richly decorated State Apartments, a portrait gallery and picture closet. An ornately carved archway marks the entrance from the Great Hall to the stairs, which were designed not only as a means of gaining the upper floors but to serve as a grand processional route to the State Apartments on the first floor. The cantilever staircase rises over three floors above a square stairwell. The balustrade is composed of boldly hand-carved pierced wooden panels depicting trophies of war. Each panel is different, and displays different carvings on each side suggesting the imperial splendour of arms and armour, including a set of horse armour. The wide range of arms includes field guns with cannon balls and barrels of gunpowder, swords, shields, quivers of arrows and halberds. Dolphins, elephant heads, dragons and other fantastical creatures also appear on the dado panelling, together with military drums and trumpets. The martial theme of these panels is interspersed with drops of relief carvings of bay leaves, richly carved newel posts topped with baskets of fruit designed to carry candles or candelabras, and miniature swags decorating the outer string. Originally gilded and grained to resemble walnut, in the 19th century the balustrade and other woodwork were picked out in bronze, traces of which survive. “There is no other architectural wood carving on this scale and of such sophistication surviving from the late 1630s.”
A collection of 17th century copies of Old Master paintings in their original carved frames hangs on the staircase wall. Two were copied from originals in the collection of King Charles I, "Venus with Mercury and Cupid (The School of Love)" by Correggio at the base of the stairs (the original in the National Gallery, London), and on the first floor landing a copy of "The Venus Del Pardo (Venus and a Satyr)" by Titian (the original in the Louvre, Paris).
Paintings.
Ham House contains a fine collection of artworks amassed and retained by generations of the Murray and Tollemache families. Portrait and painting highlights include the following.
The Great Hall.
"Charlotte Walpole, Countess of Dysart (1738–1789)", by Sir Joshua Reynolds was exhibited at The Royal Academy in 1775.
John Constable, a family friend, was commissioned to make copies of two family portraits: "Anna Maria Lewis, Countess of Dysart (1745–1804)" as Miranda, painted in 1823 after Joshua Reynolds and "Lady Louisa Tollemache, Countess of Dysart (1745–1840)", painted in 1823–25 after John Hoppner.
Hanging side by side are John Vanderbank’s portraits of "Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart (1708–1770)" painted in 1730 and of his wife "Lady Grace Carteret, Countess of Dysart (1713–1755)", signed and dated 1737.
The Great Staircase.
Copies of Old Masters, which were in Charles I’s collection and made at the king’s behest for William Murray, hang in original 17th century carved frames. They include "Diana and Acteon" (after Titian) and "Venus and a Satyr" ("The Venus del Pardo", after Titian) both attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (Michael Cross), and "Venus with Mercury and Cupid (The School of Love)" after an original by Correggio.
The Round Gallery.
"John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale and Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart and Duchess of Lauderdale" painted c. 1675 by Sir Peter Lely, as well as Lely’s final portrait of Elizabeth, painted c. 1680.
The Long Gallery.
"Sir John Maitland, 1st Baron Maitland of Thirlestane (1543–1595), aged 44" attributed to Adrian Vanson. In late 2016 an X-ray revealed a concealed, unfinished portrait of a woman “whose appearance indicates she is likely to be Mary, Queen of Scots”. The portrait is inscribed with the date 1589, two years after her execution. “The unfinished portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots ... shows that portraits of the queen were being copied and presumably displayed in Scotland around the time of her execution, a highly contentious and potentially dangerous thing to be seen doing.”
"King Charles I (1600–1649)" by Sir Anthony van Dyck. In recognition of their friendship this painting in its frame was given by Charles I in 1638/39 to William Murray. In the 1638/39 Memorandum of pictures bought by the King from Van Dyck: 'Le Roi vestu de noir' given to 'Monsr Morre' [Murray] by the King, 'avec sa mollure' [in this very frame]'.
Of the 15 portraits by Sir Peter Lely in Ham House, 11 are hung in the Long Gallery. These include "Elizabeth Murray with a Black Servant", "John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale (1616–1682) in Garter Robes", and "Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh KG (1630–1673) in Garter Robes". The latter two were painted in the 1670s.
"Colonel The Hon. John Russell (1620–1681)" by John Michael Wright is signed and dated 1659.
Picture frames at Ham House date from the 17th century and its Long Gallery portraits are a showcase of elaborately carved, gilded frames in the auricular style (literally 'of the ear'). Two frames date from the 1630s, "Charles I" and "Henrietta Maria". Later frames, for instance on the portraits of "Elizabeth Murray with a Black Servant" and "Lady Margaret Murray, Lady Maynard" are in a similar auricular style with straight sight edges. From the 1660s and 1670s there was a further development of the auricular style where the frames have a shield centred at top and a grotesque mask at bottom. These frames, referred to as Sunderland frames, are distinguished by their irregular sight edges. They take their name from the 2nd Earl of Sunderland, many of whose pictures at Althorp are framed in this style. In no other English frame type does the sight edge cut into the space of the picture in such an irregular way. There are examples of Sunderland frames on the portraits of "John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale (1616–1682) in Garter Robes" and "Colonel The Hon. John Russell (1620–1681)".
The Green Closet.
In the 1630s the Green Closet was specifically designed by William Murray to display miniatures and small paintings. Today it contains 87 items including "Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603)" painted c. 1590 by Nicholas Hilliard and "A Man consumed by Flames" painted c. 1610 by Isaac Oliver.
The Private Closet.
"Catherine Bruce, Mrs William Murray (d. 1649)" by John Hoskins the Elder is a watercolour on vellum in an ebony travelling case, signed and dated 1638.
The White Closet.
"Ham House from the South" (1675–79) by Hendrick Danckerts depicts a finely dressed couple (possibly the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale) in front of the south front and formal gardens, and was set into the chimneypiece in the White Closet shortly after the building was completed.
The Duchess’s Bedchamber.
"Elizabeth Murray (1626–1698)" painted by Sir Peter Lely in 1648, the year of her marriage to Lionel Tollemache.
A set of four overdoor maritime paintings by Willem van de Velde the Younger, signed and dated 1673, including "Calm: An English Frigate at Anchor Firing a Salute".
The Back Parlour.
"Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart (1626–1698), with her First Husband, Sir Lionel Tollemache (1624–1669), and her Sister, Margaret Murray, Lady Maynard (c. 1638–1682)" painted c. 1648 by Joan Carlile.
Garden and grounds.
The formal listed avenues leading to the house from the A307 are formed by more than 250 trees stretching east from the house to the arched gate house at Petersham, and south across the open expanse of Ham Common where it is flanked by a pair of more modest gatehouses. A third avenue to the west of the house no longer exists, whilst the view to and from the Thames completes the principal approaches to the house.
From the initial survey drawings produced by Robert Smythson and son in 1609 it is clear that the garden design was considered as important as that of the house and that the two were intended to be in harmony. The original design shows the house set within a range of walled gardens, each with different formal designs, as well as an orchard and vegetable garden. However, uncertainty remains as to how much of the original design was actually realised. Nevertheless, the plans illustrate the influence of French garden design of the time, with its emphasis on visual effects and perspectives.
The 1671 plans for the renovation undertaken by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, which have been attributed to John Slezer and Jan Wyck, demonstrate the continued importance of the garden design, with many features that can be experienced today such as the Orangery, the Cherry Garden, the Wilderness and eight grass squares (plats) on the south side of the house. Both the private apartments for the Duke and Duchess and the State Apartments added to the South Front of the house were designed to overlook the formal gardens, an innovation that was highly commended by contemporaries. John Evelyn remarked favourably on the garden design observed during his 1678 visit, noting “...the Parterres, Flower Gardens, Orangeries, Growves, Avenues, Courts, Statues, Perspectives, Fountaines, Aviaries…”. The Duchess also commissioned a set of iron gates for the north entrance to the property, which remain in place today.
The 3rd and 4th Earls of Dysart who subsequently inherited the estate maintained the formal garden features into the 18th century, while also planting avenues of trees in the wider vicinity. After inheriting the estate in 1799, the 6th Earl opened the north front of the property to the river and installed the Coade stone statue of the River God at the front of the house. He also created the sunken ha-ha which runs along the north entrance of the property. Louisa Manners, 7th Countess of Dysart, inherited the estate upon her brother’s death and was acquainted with the artist John Constable, who completed a sketch of Ham House from the south gardens during a visit in 1835.
By 1972, the gardens had become significantly overgrown – large bay trees at the front blocked the view of the busts in their niches, the south lawn had reverted to a single large expanse of grass and the Wilderness was overgrown with rhododendrons and sycamore trees. Work to restore the 17th century design to the eastern and southern parts of the garden began in 1975. In 1974, an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled "The Destruction of the Country House" had included a model of Ham House with its gardens shown according to the 1672 plans created by Ms. Lucy (Henderson) Askew. This model illustrated the details of the 17th-century design in terms of both layout and plant selection and was used to garner support for the restoration project. By 1977, the grass plats and the structure of the Wilderness to the south of the house were re-established. The 1675 painting by Henry Danckaerts showing the Duke and Duchess in the south gardens was used to guide the restoration of the furniture and statues now in place.
In approaching the restoration of the “cherry garden” on the east side of the house, there was less documentary evidence available to guide the design. A set of diagonally-set parterres outlined by box hedges and cones were planted with lavender, with the whole garden being enclosed by tunnel arbours and double yew hedges. However, later archaeological studies completed in the 1980s indicated no evidence of formal gardens in this area prior to the 20th century. Despite this finding, the National Trust’s Gardens Panel decided not to remove the garden, but rather allow it to remain so long as visitors to the property were clearly informed of its origins.
The focus of garden restoration since 2000 has been the walled garden to the west of the house, to restore its use as a supply of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers. The produce is used in the Orangery cafe, while the flowers are used to decorate the house. The garden itself is also used as an exhibition space, with information about tulip varieties and the range of edible flowers.
In film and television.
The property is a popular period location for film and television productions, on account of its 17th- and 18th- century architecture, interiors and gardens. The house has also featured in documentary TV and radio.
Access.
The house can be reached by public transport, being in Transport for London travel zone 4; from Richmond station (London) the 65 bus service serves Petersham Road and the 371 bus service serves Sandy Lane. These routes terminate near Kingston station.
There is a free council car park north-west of the house, next to the Thames. Hammerton's Ferry, to the north-east, links to a playground between Orleans House Gallery and Marble Hill House below Twickenham's central embankment. The house is accessible to pedestrians and cyclists via Thames Path national trail.


Revel General Store

The Revel General Store is a historic commercial building at the southwest corner of Arkansas Highway 260 and Woodruff County Road 17 in Revel, Arkansas. It is a small single-story vernacular wood-frame structure, finished in its original weatherboard siding, and sporting a false parapet in front of a gabled roof. Built in 1908, it is the only commercial building in the hamlet, served as its general store until about 1975.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.


James Robert Rhind

James Robert Rhind, architect, was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1854 and trained as an architect in his father's local practice.
He was successful in the architectural competition for new libraries to be constructed in Glasgow following Andrew Carnegie’s gift of £100,000 to the city in 1901. His designs were selected for 7 libraries, allowing him to demonstrate his individual interpretation of Edwardian Baroque architecture.
Rhind’s libraries were all built with locally quarried sandstone, which blended in with the existing tenement neighbourhoods. His landmark buildings were greatly enhanced by his liberal use of columns, domes and sculpted features. Many of the façades were decorated with stone and bronze statues by the noted Glasgow sculptor, William Kellock Brown.
Rhind retained his base in Inverness while he temporarily occupied offices in Glasgow city centre during the construction of the new Carnegie libraries. In Scotland the Carnegie libraries were typically built of stone. In the rest of the British Isles there was much more use of brick. The drawings of the Carnegie libraries designed by architect James Robert Rhind are in the Strathclyde Archives, Glasgow.
Works.
Rhind's best known buildings in the north of Scotland are the Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch and the Crown Church, Inverness.


Mount Harkness Fire Lookout

The Mount Harkness Fire Lookout, on Mount Harkness in Lassen Volcanic National Park, in Plumas County, California near Mineral, California, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
It was built in 1931 to a "classic rustic NPS design". It has a cab with a log catwalk and railings, upon a stone tower.
It is at elevation and is staffed and open during the summer.
It is one of fewer than 40 operating National Park Service (NPS) fire lookouts in 2019.


New Amsterdam Theatre

The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City, off Times Square. It was built in 1902–1903 and was designed by the architecture firm of Henry Hertz and Hugh Tallant. The Roof Garden, where more risqué productions were presented, and which no longer exists, was added in 1904, designed by the same firm. The remainder of the building was utilized for offices.
From 1913 to 1927, the theatre was the home of the "Ziegfeld Follies", whose producer, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., maintained an office in the building, and operated a nightclub on the roof. "George White's Scandals" and Eva LeGallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre were subsequent tenants. It was used as a movie theatre beginning in 1937, closed in 1985, and was leased by The Walt Disney Company and renovated by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer in 1995–97 to be the flagship for Disney Theatrical Productions presentations on Broadway.
Both the Beaux-Arts exterior and the Art Nouveau interior of the building are New York City landmarks, having been designated in 1979. In addition, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Along with the Hudson and Lyceum Theatres, also built in 1903, the New Amsterdam is one of the oldest surviving Broadway venues.
Construction and original run.
The Beaux-Arts facade of the New Amsterdam is a narrow slice which leads to the theatre's interior, the first concrete example of architectural Art Nouveau in New York. The building was constructed in 1902–03 by the partnership of impresarios A.L. Erlanger and Marcus Klaw, and was designed by architects Herts & Tallant. Decoration was carried out by an extensive team of painters and sculptors that included George Gray Barnard, Robert Blum, the brothers Neumark, George Daniel M. Peixotto, Roland Hinton Perry and Albert Beck Wenzell. At the time of construction, it was the largest theatre in New York, with a seating capacity of 1,702.
The theatre opened October 23, 1903 with a production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". For many years, it hosted the "Ziegfeld Follies", showcasing such talents as Fanny Brice, Bert Williams, Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, W.C. Fields, Marilyn Miller, Van and Schenck, Helen Morgan, Sophie Tucker, Eaton siblings and silent film star Olive Thomas whose ghost supposedly haunts the theatre.
A racier sister show of the "Follies", the "Midnight Frolics", played in the New Amsterdam's Roof Garden theatre. The New Amsterdam was the scene of Marilyn Miller's greatest triumphs in the musicals "Sally" (1920) and "Sunny", which opened in September 1925 co-starring Clifton Webb as Harold Wendell-Wendell and ran for three seasons. But the theatre also hosted serious productions, and in June 1927 Basil Rathbone appeared there as Cassius in "Julius Caesar".
The premiere of the Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach scored "Roberta" starring Bob Hope, George Murphy, Fay Templeton and Lyda Roberti opened at the New Amsterdam November 18, 1933.
Restoration.
The Great Depression did much harm to the legitimate-theatre business, and in 1936 the New Amsterdam closed. It reopened on a limited basis in 1937 but was soon converted to a movie theatre. The New York City Industrial Development Corporation raised a bond issue to purchase the property in 1982 and retained title while responsibility for development and bond payment rested with the Nederlander Organization. In 1984, the Empire State Development Corporation and New York City Economic Development Corporation purchased the property. After having spent on the property, Nederlander announced in 1990 that it did not consider restoration of the property to be economically feasible; thereafter in 1992, a settlement was reached where the New York State Urban Development Corporation would take ownership and begin "structural stabilization" immediately through the 42nd Street Development Project.
During its years as a movie theatre, the Roof Garden was used as a rehearsal space for a number of shows, including the original Broadway productions of "My Fair Lady", "Gypsy" and "Camelot". In 1936, the theatre staged its last play, Sigmund Romberg's "Forbidden Melody", until Disney control.
Disney Theatrical Productions signed a 49-year revenue-based lease for the property in May 1995, with Disney Development restoring the building. The theatre, which had recently been used as a filming location for the movie "Vanya on 42nd Street", was dilapidated; it would take several years, and millions of dollars, to restore it to its original use and grandeur. The roof garden remained closed when inspectors discovered that it could not meet modern building codes.
The New Amsterdam was officially reopened on April 2, 1997. In November 1997, after the premiere of the film "Hercules" and a limited engagement of a concert version of "King David", Disney's stage version of "The Lion King" opened. On June 4, 2006, "The Lion King" closed in The New Amsterdam Theatre, moving two blocks uptown to the Minskoff Theatre on June 13, 2006. "Mary Poppins" began previews at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 16, 2006 and opened on November 16, 2006, where it continued to run until March 3, 2013. The theatre was renovated to accommodate Disney's "Aladdin", which was mounted in the theatre in 2014.
In 2008, The Roof Garden and 42nd Street office tower were renovated to become the home offices for Disney Theatrical Productions.
Box office record.
"Aladdin" broke the house record at the New Amsterdam Theatre for the week ending August 10, 2014, with a gross of $1,602,785. "Aladdin" also holds the current record for the New Amsterdam Theatre, grossing $2,584,549 over nine performances for the week ending December 30, 2018. The previous record of $1,587,992.50 was set by "Mary Poppins" for the week ending December 30, 2007.
Events.
The New Amsterdam has also hosted events benefitting "Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS", including the annual Easter Bonnet Competition, until the event moved to the Minskoff Theatre. The New Amsterdam is now home to BC/EFA's annual Red Bucket Follies (formerly known as Gypsy of the Year Competition), the fall/winter sister event to the Easter Bonnet. In recent years, the benefit's honored guest had been centenarian Doris Eaton Travis, who originally performed on the New Amsterdam stage in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1919".
In 1999, the Backstreet Boys televised a concert for Disney Channel called "Backstreet Boys In Concert" from the New Amsterdam Theatre. It was a prelude to their 1999-2000 Into the Millennium Tour.
References.
Notes
Further reading


Ballard Estate

The Ballard Estate business district is situated in the financial district of Fort. Located between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Fort in South Mumbai, it hosts the offices of shipping companies and the headquarters of the Mumbai Port Trust at the Port House. It has the Reliance Centre, many mid-priced hotels and a noted Irani cafe," Britannia".
Overview.
The Bombay Port Trust reclaimed of land at Ballard Estate between 1914 and 1918, using material excavated from the Alexandra Docks for filling. Ballard Estate was named for Colonel J. A. Ballard, a founder of Mumbai Port Trust, which constructed the port and Ballard Pier. George Wittet designed the buildings for the business district, imposing a uniformity of style and design through the use of European Renaissance facades. As it is built in the Edwardian neoclassical architecture, it has a "London feel" to it and is often referred to as "London-like" by the locals.
A plan to relieve congestion, conserve the structures and enliven the historic area under the auspices of the Heritage Conservation Committee has been proposed.


Didymoteicho Fortress

The Didymoteicho Fortress or Castle (), is an ancient and medieval hilltop citadel complex in the town of Didymoteicho, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. It has been an important landmark since ancient times due to the strong fortification surrounding it. The castle is accompanied by several myths, one of the most famous is that of the Forty Arches, and is where Charles XII, King of Sweden, is said to have been imprisoned by the Turks.
Location.
Located on the hilltop, strategically placed, due in-part to its strategic location overlooking both the town of Didymoteicho, the Erythropotamos River and the road to Constantinople, it is one of the most important Byzantine-era castles in Thrace and the Balkans.
History.
According to the 6th-century historian Procopius, the reconstruction of the walls of Didymoteicho took place during the reign of Justinian I. The castle experienced several long sieges, and as a result The walls were subsequently strengthened during the reign of Constantine V in 751.
In 1206, the fortress (known as Demotika) was besieged by Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan, who took advantage of the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire. The fortress was later occupied by the Latin Empire. In 1303, with the re-establishment of Byzantine rule, master builder Constantine Tarchaneiotes strengthened the fortifications. This is supported by Topography of building materials and methods that suggest the occupation by Byzantine forces continued into the later period of the empire.
In October 1352, during the Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357, John V Palaiologos, with military support from Serbia commanded by Gradislav Borilović, engaged John VI Kantakouzenos (with backing from Orhan I, the Ottoman bey). The two armies met in an open field close to the fortress walls. The more numerous Ottomans defeated the Serbs, and Kantakouzenos retained the power, while Palaiologos fled to Venetian-controlled Tenedos. According to Kantakouzenos about 7,000 Serbs fell at the battle (deemed exaggerated), while Nikephoros Gregoras (1295–1360) gave the number as 4,000. The battle was the first major engagement of the Ottomans on European soil, and made Stefan Dušan realize the major growing threat of the Ottomans to Eastern Europe. By 1361, the fortress had fallen to the Ottomans.
In a cave next to the 19th-century Cathedral of Saint Athanasios Charles XII, King of Sweden, is said to have been kept under house arrest by the Ottomans. During the Ottoman rule, the structures were not adequately preserved, and by 1848 the fortress was in a ruinous state sustaining severe damage from various incursions as well as those provoked by the Russians who occupied the city in the course of the two Russo-Turkish wars in 1828–29 and 1877–78.
On the evening 10 August 2020 firefighters where called to deal with a large blaze that had broken out within the castle. At around 20:30 Local residents reported smoke and flames emanating from the fortress complex. Over 20 firefighters with 17 vehicles where at the scene to extinguish the fire, that had engulfed an area of 8 acres It was reported that both the Cathedral of Saint Athanasios and Armenian Church had been in real danger of being lost. However only dry vegetation was burned, in part thanks to the good coordination and quick response from firefighters and local volunteers, something Mayor Romylos Hatzigiannoglou, emphasized in his message to those involved. The cause of the fire has not been precisely determined and is being investigated by the fire service.
Description.
The castle is preserved at its longest length, its Byzantine walls are long and reach a height of 12 meters, with 24 towers in total, some of which bear monograms of Byzantine personalities or decorative and symbolic patterns.
The two central gates of the fortress, known as the Kale Gates, are flanked by five-sided towers dating to the Justinian refurbishment. The West gate facing Erythropotamos river remains intact and contains a smaller gate next to a tower with pointed arches and a court added in the early Ottoman times. Inside the castle there are scattered carved caves which were used as parts of houses. There are a number of Post-Byzantine building within the walls, notably the church of Aghia Aikaterini comprising tombs, the cathedral of Aghios Athanasios (1834), and the church of the Christ (1846).
Current state.
Today, 24 towers and post-Byzantine buildings are preserved within the Castle.


Linton Apartments

Linton Apartments (also known as Le Linton) is an apartment building in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1509 Sherbrooke Street West in the Golden Square Mile neighbourhood of Montreal.
Le Linton was designed by Samuel Arnold Finley and David Jerome Spence. Its construction began in 1907 and the building was completed in 1908. It has 10 floors and is 31.63 metres tall. The building is considered to be of beaux-arts architecture. Its facade is made of terracotta and the ornamentation is made of baked clay.
History.
Montreal's largest apartment building upon completion, the Linton appealed to well-to-do tenants as a substitute for a large house requiring servants, which were becoming increasingly difficult to find, at the time. The building offered such services as a dry cleaner and caterer, and featured such then-modern amenities as an elevator, central heating, electric doorbell, telephone switchboard and dumbwaiter.


Czech Baroque architecture

Czech Baroque architecture refers to the architectural period of the 17th and 18th century in Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia, which comprised the Crown of Bohemia and today constitute the Czech Republic.
The Baroque style also changed the character of the Czech countryside (churches and chapels in Czech countryside are mostly Baroque). Czech Baroque architecture is considered to be a unique part of the European cultural heritage thanks to its extensiveness and extraordinariness. In the first third of the 18th century the Czech lands (especially Bohemia) were one of the leading artistic centers of the Baroque style. In Bohemia there was completed in a very original way the development of the Radical Baroque style created in Italy by Francesco Borromini and Guarino Guarini. The leading architects of the Czech High Baroque style (also called Radical Baroque of Bohemia) were Christoph Dientzenhofer, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel.
The spread of the Baroque style in the Crown of Bohemia was coupled with the victory of the Catholic Church during the Thirty Years' War when the Catholic Church became the only legal church in the Kingdom of Bohemia (from 1627) and Margraviate of Moravia (from 1628). The heyday of Baroque style in the Czech lands can be seen in the early 18th century.
Many of the Baroque architects who worked, lived and often also died in the Czech lands came from different countries or were of foreign origin, mainly Italian, some came also from Bavaria, Austria or France.
From Late Renaissance and Mannerism to Early Baroque.
The Baroque style penetrated Bohemia in the first half of the 17th century. Prague was one of the main centers of Mannerist art (a late Renaissance style, foreseeing early Baroque) under Rudolph II (1576–1611). At the end of his reign and during the reign of his brother Mathias (1611–1619) there were built some late Renaissance or Mannerist buildings with Early Baroque elements in Prague. But it is hard to distinguish between the Mannerist style and the Early Baroque style because there is no clear break, therefore some scholars consider these buildings to be Early Baroque while others consider them to be Mannerist.
Among these transitional buildings is the Italian chapel consecrated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, adjoining the former Jesuit college called Clementinum built in 1590-1600 for Italians residing in Prague, designed by the Italian O. Mascarino. Although it is a Late Renaissance or Mannerist chapel, it is very important for Czech Baroque architecture because of its elliptical ground plan which is much more typical for Baroque architecture than for the rational Renaissance style.
The Matthias Gate of the Prague Castle, built before 1614 probably by Giovanni Maria Filippi is traditionally designated the first Baroque structure in Prague.
Early Baroque.
The clear Baroque style came to the Crown of Bohemia during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) when it finally replaced the Renaissance style. The Baroque style, coming from Catholic Italy, was strongly supported by the rich Catholic aristocracy and the Catholic church, which became the only legal church after 1627.
The architects of early Baroque in the Czech lands were foreigners, mostly Italians.
The first Baroque palace in Prague and probably also the first in Central Europe was built in 1621–1630 for a Czech nobleman, general of the imperial army in the Thirty Years' War, Albrecht von Wallenstein. Wallenstein Palace (Czech: "Valdštejnský palác") was designed and built by Italian architects Giovanni Pieroni and Andrea Spezza and was inspired by the newest Italian architecture of its time but the influence of Mannerism can also be seen.
The Church of Our Lady Victorious in the Lesser Town of Prague is considered to be the first Baroque church in Prague. It was built probably by Giovanni Maria Filippi in 1611–13 for Lutherans in the late Renaissance style. In the 1620s the church became Catholic and was rebuilt in the early Baroque style. The new Baroque facade was completed in 1644.
Very important architect of the early Baroque style in Prague was Carlo Lurago, who came from Italy and worked for the Jesuits. He started to rebuild the Clementinum and the older Renaissance Church of the Holy Savior in the Old Town, and for the Jesuits he built St. Ignatius Church on Charles Square in the New Town and the Church in Březnice. He built the Humprecht Chateau in 1666-1668 with an interesting elliptical ground floor. Another Italian architect who settled in the Czech lands was Francesco Carrati, who designed the Černín Palace in Prague.
In the early Baroque style was renovated the residence of the archbishops of Olomouc in Kroměříž by Italian-Swiss architect Filiberto Lucchese and then by Italian Giovanni Pietro Tencalla. The Kroměříž Archbishop's Palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Jean Baptiste Mathey was an important French architect who worked in the Crown of Bohemia. His works include the Church of St. Francis Seraph in the Old Town of Prague and Troja Palace, built near Prague for count of Sternberg. He also rebuilt the Archbishop's Palace in Prague. His works prefigure the High Baroque style in the Czech lands.
High Baroque.
The High Baroque period in the Czech lands begins around the year 1690 and lasts to the mid-18th century. The architects of this time were mostly born in Bohemia or Moravia but often were of foreign origin. The most significant architects of this period were Christoph Dientzenhofer, who came to Bohemia from Bavaria and lived in Prague, and his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. They are known for their style called "radical Baroque", which was inspired by examples from northern Italy, particularly by the works of Guarino Guarini, and which seeks to express movement. It is characterized by the curvature of walls and intersection of oval spaces. Together, father and son Dientzenhofer built in 1702–1715 and 1737–1751 the St. Nicholas Church in the Lesser Town of Prague, due to its architecture one of the most important Baroque churches in Europe.
Other important high Baroque architects in the Crown of Bohemia were Giovanni Battista Alliprandi, born in Italy, worked mainly for aristocracy, František Maxmilián Kaňka and Jan Santini Aichel. Significant are mainly Santinis pilgrimage churches Basilica Virgin Mary in Křtiny an St. John of Nepomuk in Žďár and the convent church in Rajhrad.
One of the most precious high Baroque secular buildings in Prague is the Clam-Gallas Palace built in 1714-1718 by famous Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach who also designed Baroque rebuilding of Vranov nad Dyjí Chateau in Moravia or a fountain in Brno.
In Prague there are also fine high Baroque terraced palace gardens below the Prague Castle in the Malá Strana of Prague: Ledebur Garden, Small and Great Palffy Gardens, Kolowrat and Small Fürstenberg Gardens. Another important terraced garden in the Malá Strana district is the Vrtba Garden.
In 1714–1754 the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc was built by Wenzel Render and other citizens of Olomouc. It too is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Baroque Gothic.
The Baroque Gothic style is a unique strand of Czech High Baroque art which connects the Bohemian Radical Baroque style with Gothic elements. The creator and main representative of this style was the Bohemian architect Jan Santini Aichel.
The Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk built in 1720s in this style by Jan Santini Aichel can be found on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Late Baroque and Rococo.
The late Baroque style was usual in the Crown of Bohemia during the reign of queen Maria Theresa (1740–1780). In that time the Rococo style occurred, which is very similar to Baroque but differs from it by its ornamental decoration. During her rule the Neoclassical style came to the Czech lands and after her death replaced the Baroque style.
The examples of the late Baroque architecture (with Rococo elements) in Prague are the Archbishop's Palace or the Goltz-Kinsky Palace on the Old Town Square. In the style of Baroque Classicism the New Royal Palace of the Prague Castle was rebuilt by the Viennese architect Nicolo Pacassi in the second half of the 18th century.