Recent Snippets of Information

Some items of information get lost amongst the larger articles, so I am adding these snippets of information to the home page with links where appropriate.

**Notice of Email Disruption**

I have been suffering a number of email outages, so if you have emailed me in the last few days from 28/07/2010 to 30/07/2010, you may want to send it again if you haven't heard from me.

A Very Small Detail [Added: 03/07/2010]

Sometimes the smallest details can reveal a great deal about the period of use, one such very small bit of evidence recurs on repeated occasions in the form of a humble roofing nail. The Hall was generally slated in Westmoreland blue slate, but the less important areas, i.e. not the main residence, stables, servants quarters etc. were slated with welsh blue slate. Not as decorative but certainly more durable and better for precise thickness control. When the stables block was demolished in the late 60's, some concerned individuals took the opportunity to stack the old slates for re-use in the future, in the forty odd years since they have grown into the landscape, but are useful from time to time when something can be built using these excellent building materials! However from time to time the hole pierced through the slate for the nail to fasten the material to the roof battens, when it was stripped retained the copper nail. (Copper because it does not corrode.) On close inspection the said nails are monogrammed by the manufacturer, in this case; HW. How impressive is it that a humble nail was so highly treasured that they marked each one with the manufacturers emblem, or initials, I wonder what HW stands for?

Parlington Army Camp WW2 [Added: 22/06/2010]

I continue to receive new bits of information from my various readers and recently was sent the header picture of the Army Camp at Parlington, which was morphed into the Secondary school for Aberford in the 1950's. A larger pop-up version is available by clicking on the image. Some key points to notice:
• The Cock Beck is using the northern arch of the bridge, indicative that the bridge was constructed to accommodate the overspill from the mill through the main and southern arches.
• The tennis courts are still in existence, and are to be refurbished soon by the Parish Council.
• On the far right can be seen parts of Aberford Church House, used as the officers quarters during the war.
• Parlington Drive is in the bottom left of the picture, an old coach or charabanc is visible in the corner of the picture.
• The area was demolished after the school was taken out of service, and eventually in the nineteen nineties a small housing estate Parlington villas was built on the site.

Contact me about Parlington School and Former Army Camp

If you have any recollections of the old school and photographs please contact me as I would love to discover more about the place. Thanks to Sandra and John Ackroyd for this picture.

Podcast about Aberford [Added: 26/05/2010]

A local resident of Aberford who died in the early 1980's took the trouble to explain what he remembered of the place from his early years. The story starts from around the end of the Boer War, when he recalled the torch lit procession to Hook Moor to commemorate the victory by the Empire! His story was recorded on audio tape and has been digitalised by me with some enhancements to improve the vocal quality.

To listen to the first podcast click here
To listen to the second podcast click here
To listen to the third podcast click here

Duel 1807 [Added: 16/05/2010]

(From The Hull Packet (Yorkshire, England),Tuesday, June 9, 1807) A duel took place on Monday morning last, a few miles from York, between Mr. Mellish and the Hon. Martin Hawke, in which Mr Mellish was wounded, but it is understood not dangerously. They are both in the interest of Lord Milton. - Sir Thomas Gascoigne's son [Tom, later killed in a riding accident see here] was second to Mr Hawke; and Mr. Lee to Mr. Mellish.

The Duelist Martin Hawke

Looking at one of the characters involved in the duel, the Hon Martin Hawke, for whom Tom Gascoigne seconded, it was easy to identify him, he was the grandson of Admiral Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke of Towton born in 1705; there is a pub in Boston Spa, called the Admiral Hawke, and the Gascoigne family owned the Spa in the village! The admirals son, Martin Bladen Hawke, 2nd Baron Hawke of Towton was the father of the dueler. His father had married Cassandra Turner, and Martin was their fourth child. Confusingly Cassandra Turner was not related to Mary Turner the wife of Sir Charles Turner, who after the death of her first husband married Sir Thomas Gascoigne, and was the mother of Tom Gascoigne! Her daughter born to her first marriage to Sir Charles Turner, Mary, married Richard Oliver and following the death of Sir Thomas Gascoigne in 1810 her husband inherited the Gascoigne estates, with a lifetime interest. Martin Blaiden Edward Hawke was born in 1777 and died in 1839, so he was 30 years old at the time of the duel. I wonder what the duel was over!

A Bit of History about the Hawke Dynasty

The 1st Baron Hawke, was sent to Minorca after the debacle created by Admiral John Byng. From Wikipedia: Hawke was sent to replace Admiral John Byng as commander in the Mediterranean in 1756. Byng had been unable to relieve Minorca following the Battle of Minorca and he was sent back to Britain where he was tried and executed. Almost as soon as Minorca had fallen in June 1756, the French fleet had withdrawn to Toulon in case they were attacked by Hawke. Once he arrived off Minorca, Hawke found that the island had surrendered and there was little he could do to reverse this. He decided not to land the troops he had brought with him from Gibraltar. Hawke then spent three months cruising off Minorca and Marseille before returning home where he gave evidence against Byng. He was subsequently criticised by some supporters of Byng, for not having blockaded either Minorca or Toulon.
Later in 1770 Hawke, in his role as First Lord of the Admiralty, mobilised the Royal Navy to re-establish British rule over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. See details on wikipedia here.

Sudan Expedition 1855 [Added: 02/05/2010]

The reception which Captain Gascoigne had at Garforth yesterday on his return from the Soudan [Sudan] was very enthusiastic. Captain Gascoigne, who was formerly an officer in the Horse Guards, is the son of Colonel Gascoigne of Parlington Park. He went to the Sudan in a civil capacity, but on his arrival became attached to the staff of Colonel Burnaby... Read the full article about Captain Gascoigne here

The Fish Fountain [Added: 09/04/2010]

One of the first pictures to come to light when I began the research into Parlington Hall was a view from the south east corner of the gardens towards the Conservatory and Drawing Room. The photograph came courtesy of the Garforth Historical Society but the origin was unknown, in the foreground of the photograph is a rocky outcrop in the centre of a pathway with a curved piece of stone protruding from the top. The item was identified on the 1908 ordnance map and indicated as a fountain. Only last year did the full story become clear about its fate. Visit the article in the Artefacts Section here

The Spirit of Lotherton [Added: 16/03/2010]

A book about the twentieth century Gascoignes and their chauffeur, Bill Burlingham, was launched today at the local pub in Saxton, The Greyhound. Bill who was the second chauffeur after Louis Hawkett (details here), is in his 95th year and still lives on the Lotherton Estate. If you would like a copy of the book by local historians Pauline Robson and Martin Tarpey, please contact Pauline here, it's a snip at £5.00 and has 117 pages, making it only four pence per page!

An incident recorded in Chapter 8 of the book was very poignant to me, it goes as follows: "Bill was concerned when the Colonel (Frederick Richard Trench-Gascoigne) replaced his car with a powerful V8 Ford, because he thought the car was far too fast for his elderly employer. He was proved right when the Colonel with Bill in the passenger seat, drove the new car to Parlington. He drove too fast through the avenue of trees leading to the Triumphal Arch, lost control, hit a tree and severely damaged the car."

Shooting Party [Added: 17/02/2010]

There are a number of panorama photographs on the site which are in the picture section, however another use of a panorama picture is to set in context the location of an incident, whilst a normal photograph may display the location it is often difficult to place it to other known objects, the pop-up window from this link available by clicking here will reveal a landscape in the vicinity of the tragic shooting accident of 1885 which is set out in an article in the Odd Tales Section here. If you roll over the image a prominent feature from each of the five areas will be highlighted!

The Triumphal Arch [Added: 15/02/2010]

The Triumphal Arch, designed by Thomas Leverton is the lasting monument to the final Gascoigne, Sir Thomas Eighth Bart. who died without heir in 1810. These long winter months have been the gestation period for a truly realistic virtual version of the structure, carefully created by Pip my eldest daughter. She has slaved long hours into the night to create this delightful scene, stylized to represent how it might have been after it was completed in about 1785. Because it is created in 3D it can be reproduced at any size, but the landscape is partly made up of some of my photos, so they are the limiting factor in creating a printed version, but we are hoping to produce a gicleé print of A2 width (17"), copies of this will be available shortly on www.parlington.biz In the meantime you can view a larger version in a pop-up window, by clicking here

Parlington During WW1

Following the talk on Parlington I gave at Lotherton Hall on 31st October 2009, one of the visitors has uncovered from her family archive a photograph of Parlington Hall taken in 1914. Mrs. Gillian Roberts sent me a copy of the picture, and I am really pleased that this new discovery increases our understanding of the activities at the old place in the early years of the twentieth century. To add a silver lining to the find some of the people in the picture are identified in a key plan which accompanied the photograph.

The four people gathered to the right in the picture are from right to left Mr T. H. Prater [Agent for the Gascoigne Estates]; Mrs F. R. T. Trench-Gascoigne; Mrs Cameron [Later married to Leeds City Engineer]; Mrs. G. H. Walker [Mother of Air Chief Marshall Sir 'Gus' Walker (retired 1975) he was famed for bombing the German Battle Cruiser the Scharnhorst in Brest harbour]. Moving to the centre of the picture, the soldier being taken on stretcher from the makeshift horse-drawn 'ambulance' and the three St. John's Ambulance Brigade [Barkston Ash Division] are not known. The two nurses looking towards the wounded soldier being carried from the cart, to the right Mrs. T. B. Ellison [Lady Supt. SJAB of Garforth the grandmother of the Mrs Roberts who has contributed the photograph] and next Miss Lydia Dent [Rose Court, Garforth] Unfortunately the remaining figures are not identified.

The picture makes it clear that Parlington was also used like Lotherton as a military hospital. However the picture shows the arrival of new casulties. [See new note at the end of this paragraph, titled Skyrack Article August 16th 1915] Clearly a photo opportunity, but is most definitely taken in the summer months, whereas contemporary records indicate the Lotherton received the first casualties in November 1914. From: Leeds in the Great War, by William Herbert Scott "Their beneficent work at Lotherton Hall started on November 21st, 1914, eighteen beds being provided until July, 1916, when the number was increased to thirty-five, with the result that a hundred men found accommodation and treatment here in the six weeks immediately following. When the hospital closed on March 28th, 1919, 655 patients had been treated."

Skyrack Article from August 16th 1915 [Added: 03/01/2010]

The following article from the Skyrack casts light on the photograph and the presence of wounded troops at Parlington.

The Aberford and District Volunteer Training Corps paraded on Monday for a field day and inspection by Colonel F. R. T. T. Gascoigne, of Lotherton Hall. The company paraded at 11.00 a.m. Under the command of Platoon Commandant Childe, in the absence of Commander T. H. Prater, who was unable to be present owing to the serious illness of Mrs Prater. The number of members of the Corps on parade was about 60, and all wore the official brassard. The men went through various drills and formations preparatory to a march through the village. Lunch was partaken of in the spacious drawing-room at Parlington Hall, and afterwards toasts were drunk to the King, to the Commandant, and to Mr Miller, the instructer. At 2.30 p.m. The men were lined up for inspection by Colonel Gascoigne, who afterwards took the salute. The men went through their evolutions in very smart style, eliciting expressions of approval from the colonel, who in a short address, said he should be doing less than his duty if he did not offer them a word of congratulation on the result of the afternoon's parade. It showed that their heart was in their work, and that they understood that it was their duty to do their utmost towards the defence of their country, if the occasion demanded. He stated that great credit was due to the instructors and officers for the efficiency of the corps, and he was very grateful for the honour of inspecting them. Afterwards the corps were entertained to tea at the invitation of Mrs Gascoigne and Mrs Prater, and others present, in addition to the volunteers, were Mr Lund (Becca Hall), Mrs E O. Simpson (Hazlewood Castle), Col. And Mrs Gascoigne, Mrs Miller and children, and the nurses and wounded soldiers from Lotherton Hospital. After tea a vote of thanks was given to Mrs Gascoigne and Mrs Prater, and the proceedings terminated after a very enjoyable day.

The article is good evidence that the photograph is of a similar event as described in the newspaper, but if the date of the photograph is correct, it would have preceded the date Lotherton became a hospital. This suggests that the date may be wrong, perhaps recorded some years after the occasion and the year was confused. However it provides a good explanation for the wounded soldiers being brought to Parlington.

Location of the Photograph

The picture, is taken on the lawn in front of the south elevation, the grass is very well kept and the hall itself has the look of a well used old house. Strikingly there are two other patients, leaning out of an upper window of the drawing room block, no doubt acknowledging the arrival of more casualties from the western front. The hall photo directly after this paragraph is from a similar angle, the red square indicates the approximate view taken in the 1914 picture.

It is poignant that only a week before the receipt of the ambulance/hospital photograph the picture below was discovered, showing the same drawing room in the final stages of demolition.

The Last picture of Parlington? [Added: 8/11/2009]

I am indebted to David Teal who uncovered an article in the Skyrack Express about the final throws of Parlington in March 1961, I am equally pleased that my research, which pointed to the decline of the old hall as a gradual process is vindicated by his discovery. The photographs of 1952 taken by the National Monuments Record, photographer Herbert Felton, clearly show the hall in its final stages, but they have concluded that because it was being demolished, that it happened at that time, whereas my research led me to believe it was merely another stage in its long descent into oblivion. The above photograph shows the last lump of the Drawing Room still standing in March 1961.

The photograph is looking east towards Aberford, and still extant at that time is one of the glorious Cedars of Lebanon which dominated the garden. This tree was beyond the conservatory and can be seen in the view beyond the window, in the only interior shot of Parlington painted by Nancy Raynor in 1852. The significance of this picture cannot be underestimated as it clearly shows the massive masonry which made up the back wall of the Drawing Room. This would have been part of the external wall of the hall before it was extended in 1800 to create the Drawing Room. The masonry shows an opening to the left of the wall which accessed the stairway behind the Drawing Room, this formed a part of the earlier structure, perhaps dating as far back as the sixteenth century. Recent finds of painted wall finishings validate the existence of this early structure.

The details from the Skyrack article have been added to the Clippings Section here.

The Auction of 1964 [Added: 5/11/2009]

The Parlington Estate was sold on 2nd of October 1964 at the direction of Mrs Yvonne Studd-Trench-Gascoigne, if you would like to see the extent of the sale visit the first hall page, at the foot of the paragraph titled: "360 Years as a Family Home: Left to ROT, for another 55 Years." This is a must for anyone who bought a property in Aberford, after that date, maybe your house was amongst the sale.

Parlington in the news, in days gone-bye. [Added: 28/10/2009]

Recent research into local newspapers has uncovered a wealth of previously unknown aspects of Parlington, originally I added these in the sections I though appropriate, but I now have so many I have decided to group general items into one new section, called "Clippings". This has forced me to make some changes to the navigation, so the Contact button and also the link to the Parlington blog site are now grouped in the far right column.

The Gascoigne Collieries in Garforth [Added: 21/10/2009]

A new section titled Mines has been added to the site, over time I hope to include a considerable amount of information about the collieries. Parlington Hall was a major beneficiary of the profits from the mining activity, therefore it seems appropriate to include here some of the history.

Fatal Colliery Accident At Garforth Colliery
The Leeds Mercury, Thursday, August 20, 1896
A shocking accident occurred yesterday morning at the Sisters' Pit belonging to the Garforth Colliery Company, by which John Wardle Allison (45) lost his life. Allinson was employed at the pit as a shaftman, and about a quarter to five o'clock he and a pit joiner named John Coates were descending in the cage, taking with them a wooden trap door. The door projected over the side of the cage and about twenty yards from the bottom of the shaft it caught the landing stage leading to a pumping engine. Before the cage could be raised sufficiently to allow the door to be released the latter fell down and knocked Allinson out of the cage, he was precipitated to the bottom of the shaft and was killed instantly. This was the third serious incident that occurred in the Sisters Pit in three years, the two earlier accounts can be found in the mines section.

Parlington Talk at Lotherton Hall [Added: 11/09/2009]

I am giving a talk at Lotherton Hall on Saturday 31st October, 2:00-3:00 pm, it is open to all comers and is advertised at Lotherton and on their web site. The talk is a computer based 'slide' show, dealing with the uncovering and discovery of the demolished mansion house of the Gascoigne family and tracks what has been unearthed, literally in some cases, in recent years. Included are some unique photographs taken in the nineteenth century, that have provided new insights into the hall! There is also the ongoing mini exhibition of Parlington artefacts on the first floor landing in the display cases at Lotherton Hall.

Country Life Magazine [Added: 04/09/2009]

The latest copy of Country Life [September 2nd 2009] carries a response to a reader's enquiry about a painting of Parlington Hall. I have added the article on the Blog site as it is topical, but sadly it offers some false information.

CAUTION to POACHERS and OTHERS [Added: 19/07/2009]

From an advertisment placed in the Leeds Mercury, Saturday, August 26th 1820:- Whereas the Woods, Plantations and Grounds, within several Manors of Sherbourn [Sherburn in Elmet], Saxton, Aberford, Parlington, Barwick with Scholes, Sturton, and Garforth, belonging to R.O.GASCOIGNE, Esq. Having of late Years been much injured by Depredations committed by Poachers and Others;

This is therefore to give Notice,

That Mr. Gascoigne has been under the painful necessity of placing SPRING-GUNS and MAN TRAPS in the above named woods, Plantations, and Grounds. It is therefore earnestly requested that no Qualified Persons will sport within the said Manors without his consent, and as proper Persons are appointed to look after the Game, all Trespassers will be prosecuted to the utmost rigour of the Law.

Lakeside Bazaar [Added: 17/07/2009]

Garforth Church New Organ Fund -
Arrangements are being made for a fancy bazaar in connection with this fund, to be held, by kind permission of Colonel and Mrs Gascoigne, in the grounds at Parlington Lake, at the latter end of this month. The bazaar will be held in marquees, at the lake side.
from The Leeds Mercury,Tuesday, June 10, 1873.

An article in the same paper in August of 1873 about the Aberford Horticultural Society event, also at the lake is featured in detail here in the estate section. If other articles can be found about the usage of the lake as a venue for local events, it will demonstrate that the locale was a popular venue, not just with the Gascoigne family and friends but also with the wider general public from the neibourhood, abeit at the behest of the Gascoignes.

Barnbow, the residence of the Gascoigne Family before Parlington.

An article from the Leeds Mercury dated February 4th 1888 sets out the fact that houses in the county of Yorkshire were recorded in the Ordnanace Survey where a date of establishment was indicated.

A "W.P.B." of London wrote:- I believe it is not generally known that the surveyors for the Ordnance survey maps (6in. scale) made notes of dated houses. This does not appear to have been done systematically, more's the pity, but according to the taste of the officer in charge of the surveying party. some officers seem to have kept a look out for dates; others have evidently taken no notice of them. However, there are a good many recorded altogether, and we must be thaknful for small mercies. I send a list of those houses in the West Riding noted in the maps as having dates. The survey was made in 1845-50, and time and the modern "improver" (so-called) have already between them removed some of those dates to my own knowledge, and I fear many others also must be lost.

I think it would be very desirable to place on record at once all dates on houses earlier than the present century. Yorkshire is especially rich in such. In almost every town and village you may see houses with dates on them, many of them seventeenth century. I feel sure that there are very few readers of the Weekly Supplement who could not contribute to such a list, and I sincerely hope it will be taken up.

A list of some forty-eight houses were scheduled by the writer as having been recorded by a Captain Tucker, he continued ...to whom great praise is due for thus rescuing these interesting facts from the chance of oblivion.

Map No. 204 Barnbow Hall Date 1677

No mention is made of Parlngton Hall, despite the fact that it had been acquired by the Gascoignes in 1545, the earliest in the list was Hazelwood Hall (Castle) dated 1286 also map 204. Another old property listed is Kiddall Hall 1400 again on map 204.

Benchmarks

The previous paragraphs draw a similarity to a more recent practice of the Ordnanace Survey; that is the disbandonment of the benchmark system sited on prominent structures all across the UK, in favour of a satellite based system. There is one such benchmark on the eastern end of the Dark Arch, on the facing archway on the northern side, about eighteen inches above the ground level. If we run out of power we may come to regret this practice!