March in Denham – part 2

Rickmansworth is just up the road from Denham so we went there a couple of times because the walking was reasonably flat and mud free. Here we are in the Rose Garden close to the centre of ‘Ricky’. The lion statue used to be part of the war memorial for ‘The Great War’ it was moved here in 1978. Sue waiting for me to finish off a geocache.

   

It was rather chilly whilst in Denham and on one of the evenings we had forgotten to bring the washing in. It doesn’t show up very well, but the shirts are frozen solid.

There are a lot of watery features around Rickmansworth in the way lakes, rivers and a canal.

This photo shows me dipping my toes into Ruislip Lido (I wasn’t going to take my wellies off!).

Sue standing next to a lock on the Grand Union Canal.

   

The Grand Union Canal

   

Ham House, south of Richmond is a Stuart mansion by the banks of the Thames. It has remained virtually unchanged for 400 years and is recognised for its superb collection of textiles, furniture and art which have remained in the house for centuries. Largely the vision of Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart, who was deeply embroiled in the politics of the English Civil War and subsequent restoration of the monarchy. Ham House and garden is an unusually complete survival of the 17th century. It is reputed to be one of the most haunted houses in Britain.

Ham House – the front

First floor interior

 

Parts of the house were used in the filming of Anna Karenina starring Kiera Knightley.

The formal gardens

 

Ham House – rear garden

Sue in the formal garden

 

After our visit to Ham House we went for a walk along the Thames into Richmond. It was quite a muddy walk as there had been no sunshine to dry the towpath out. It was a Saturday afternoon so Richmond was very busy. We had a short walk around and Sue did a little window shopping from the inside. We went to an art gallery which was part of the Council Offices. We were very impressed with the variety of work on display.

Richmond Bridge

Art work

    

On our last day on site we had a visit from Pam (Sue’s sister) and Richard. As you can see it was very, very chilly. We had lunch at the caravan and then walked to the nearby café at Denham Aerodrome for coffee and cake. 

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Oldie Photos

Pam and Richard in 1975

 

Sue, Stuart and Smokey (the Cole family labrador)

Sue and Stuart at Pam and Richard’s wedding.

     

March in Denham

We went to Wyatt’s Covert, Caravan Club Site for two weeks in early March.  The site is well sited for visits to Uxbridge (shops – no comment!), London and it is only 20 minutes from Sue’s sister. I would normally write something about the history of Denham, but there is not a lot to say. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, it has a church which dates back to the 12th Century and it has/had many well known people living there – Sir John Mills, Cilla Black, Roger Moore, Robert Lindsay ……

Sir John Mills house in Denham

Gates to Denham Place

        

The Old Cottage

House with painted gable

      

We travelled into London for a day and visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, Bomber Command Memorial and Westminster Cathedral.

We spent quite a while in the fashion exhibition at the V&A – it’s large and so we went around twice to make sure we hadn’t missed anything.

 

I liked these metalwork exhibits which were in other parts of the museum.

   

After our visit to the V&A we travelled a short distance to RAF Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park London. The memorial commemorates the aircrews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War.

 The Cathedral site was originally known as Bulinga Fen and formed part of the marsh around Westminster. It was reclaimed by the Benedictine monks who were the builders and owners of Westminster Abbey, and subsequently used as a market and fairground.
In the 17th century a part of the land was sold by the Abbey for the construction of a prison which was demolished and replaced by an enlarged prison complex in 1834. The site was acquired by the Catholic Church in 1884.
The Cathedral was designed in the Early Christian Byzantine style by the Victorian architect John Francis Bentley. The foundation stone was laid in 1895 and the fabric of the building was completed eight years later.

On a cold, dull day we visited Osterley Park, Hounslow. There were very few visitors and on arrival we were offered a lift to the house in the electric buggy – he was looking bored so we thought we would do him a favour!
Many of the National Trust houses are now opening earlier in the season and for longer during the day. Having spoken to a few volunteers this is putting pressure on them, if they can’t attract more people to help.

Sue at the electric buggy

Lamp on the stairwell

      

In the 16th century, Sir Thomas Gresham, financier and adviser to Elizabeth I, began amassing land at Osterley. In 1565 he built a house here in a very similar location to the one you will see today. In 1713, the Osterley estate was acquired by the Child family and in the 1760s they commissioned Robert Adam to remodel it. A banking family with a house in central London, they used Osterley as a country villa for entertaining. Osterley remained in family ownership, used on occasions by the Jerseys or leased out,until the 9th Earl of Jersey gave it to the National Trust in 1949.

Osterley Park – the façade

Maggie and Andy came for an evening meal after work one day. It was lovely to see them. Sue did a slow cooker meal followed by steam puddings and cream. Heating up the baked potatoes managed to over burden the microwave which stopped working halfway through microwaving the potatoes. It came back on later – so the steam (microwaved) puddings could be heated up.

 

Oldie Photos

1965 - Stuart hitching around Northern France. Outside Blois Chateau

1974 - Italy Sue surveying some remains