Photoclubalpha

... Witley Court.

This Worcestershire stately home was ruined by a fire in the early part of the 20th century and then pretty much abandoned (except for the attached chapel). English Heritage have been smartening up the ruins in recent years, especially the extensive grounds. Last weekend (2nd January) had some beautiful sunshine and blue skies and so I went to tkae some shots of the buildings and their surroundings.

All taken with A700 and Tam 17-50.







C&C welcome

... a few more

... finally some of the grounds, with frozen lake

Very nice series, Birma. I really like the shots. That building and its surrounding have a special appeal, but I can't explain.
The colors are great.
In the 4th shot, in the background, I notice a Lebanese Cedar tree (Cedrus libani), am I right?

great pics birma, i must visit that place is it open to the public

Excellent photos Birma. All of them!

Thanks to Doc, Gio67 and David for your comments.

Dr. Harout wrote: That building and its surrounding have a special appeal, but I can't explain.

It is interesting that you say that. I have always been fascinated by this ruin. When I first visited it as a boy it was in a very ruinous state and much of it was fenced off for saftey reasons. It could be quite spooky, even in broad daylight. I think ruins can have a special appeal. I'm not normally a big fan of stately homes but this ones keeps drawing me back. The large fountain (I posted some pictures in an earlier thread) is especially interesting for me.

Dr. Harout wrote: In the 4th shot, in the background, I notice a Lebanese Cedar tree (Cedrus libani), am I right?

I'm sure you're right - I will have to check when I go back. I think it was common for the gardens of grand houses to be planted with species collected from all over the world and so there are probably some interesting botantical specimens amongst the local flora

gio67 wrote:i must visit that place is it open to the public

It is well worth it. It is an Enlgish Heritage site, see http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/serv ... =nav.16927. I've become a member just so I can visit as many times as I like.

Does need some repair. however the grounds look superb, who takes care of them?
Must cost quite a bit to maintain!

Amazing that this was someone's home once. Looks more like a palace. You got some good shots and I can imagine how fascinating it is to walk around there. I bet with some dramatic, cloudy skies or a foggy day you could also get some great shots. Can you go inside too?

Beautifully executed series.
Thanks for posting.

The splendor of a bygone era...well almost, I think those mansions were actually a small community (so to speak) in themselves, great subject matter Birma. Looks like quite a bit has been dismantled (unstable perhaps?) to be re-erected at a later time maybe. Funny thing, it looks like the fountain hasn't actually frozen yet, but the lake has..
I enjoyed those Birma, I don't get to see anything like that here, we might have the odd stately mansion, manor house, but their all down south, very far from where I live.
Greg

Great shots Birma, As Greg says, this type of architecture, and the history that accompanies it are absent from the Australian landscape. The original (European) inhabitants of Australia would have arrived here as the consequence of stealing a loaf of bread, or something similar, from a place like the one in your photos a mere 150 or so years ago. Not that we Antipodeans don't derive a fairly significant amount of pride out of that fact.

Anyway, and by way of comparison, here is an Australian stately home in need of some minor repairs too!

Thanks all for your kind words.

WestCoast wrote:England’s architecture is a photographer’s dream. I have fond memories of Windsor, Nottingham and the Lake District from way back when.

I guess you're right - we are lucky to have some very interesting topics for pictures spread around the place, that we can take for granted. Up to now architecture hasn't been a big photographic interest for me, but now I have my membership set up I'll certainly be going back .

david antony wrote:Does need some repair. however the grounds look superb, who takes care of them?
Must cost quite a bit to maintain!

It is looked after by English Heritage http://www.english-heritage.org.uk. It is a very large site with the formal gardens and woodland / park landscapes. They seem to be continuing to spend money on the location so I assume it is doing well. The fabric of the place seem stable and I don't think they have plans to do anyomore to that, but they are trying to recreate the original formal gardens - lots of fussy little hedges etc. I will wait to be convinced . The large fountain there is apparently an amazing spectacle when working and they have lots of events in the summer with this as a centre piece. I may risk the crowds to see it in action, and of course take some pictures.

bakubo wrote:Amazing that this was someone's home once. Looks more like a palace. You got some good shots and I can imagine how fascinating it is to walk around there. I bet with some dramatic, cloudy skies or a foggy day you could also get some great shots. Can you go inside too?

You can walk around the ground floor of most of the ruins and they have information boards with old pictures set up so that you can see what the rooms' functions were and what they would have looked like. I will try to experiment with some internal shots on the next visit.

Greg Beetham wrote:Funny thing, it looks like the fountain hasn't actually frozen yet, but the lake has..

It looked like they keep some water running through the fountain at a low pressure, I suppose to stop it freezing up and bursting pipes.

BruceKingston wrote:Anyway, and by way of comparison, here is an Australian stately home in need of some minor repairs too!

Nice comparison Bruce. I expect the real distinction in our ancestors is that those of us in the UK are the descendents of those who didn't get caught .

Bruce, the first fleet was in 1787, incredible really, when you consider that Cpt. J Cook did his reccy in 1770 only 17 years beforehand. Alas my lot on both sides can't lay claim to any bread stealers in the family tree...they all bought tickets....dull as dishwater really.
Greg

Just everyone remember that it wasn't the Australian (well Kiwi actually) who said that!!