Piggeries, Pottery Fakeries and Parliamentary Trickeries - A Strange History of Peasholm Park.
The Manor of Northstead is a former Medieval Estate in North Yorkshire. The Manor House no longer exists and it's ruins lie bellow Peasholm Park Lake . This ruin, or rather its title is still essential to the running of Parliament.
The ancient title of the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is still an active seat in parliament and used since the 18th century as a 'sinecure post'. It is a post that has no responsibilities which given to dignitaries who have been 'disqualified' from parliament rather than allowing them to resign, as Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons are forbidden to resign. The current Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is David Cameron. Past dignitaries include David Milliband, Gerry Adams and Robert Kilroy Silk.
During the English Civil War people living in Scarborough were granted shelter at Peasholm by Sir Richard Cholmeley who owned the Manor during the siege by Parliamentary forces of Scarborough Castle. The Manor House fell into disrepair after the Civil War and occupied as an outhouse by Sir Cholmeley's shepherds until the Manor House collapsed all together in the 1800's. A 'sinecure post' is also known as a 'Shepherding Post', the Crown Stewart Bailiff still has a moral role towards the 'souls on the Manor'.
In the early 1900's the area had become known as Tuckers fields which were a muddy depression of piggeries and allotments around a barren mound known as Peasholm Hill, although previously known as Bunker Hill. Peasholm Beck is part of the towns Parish Boundary and the derelict buildings where though to play a part of the towns northern defenses as magazine stores, as so the name ‘Bunker Hill’. The hill had very few trees but had streams and springs running either side of it down towards Peasholm Gap to meet the sea from Columbus Ravine and Wilsons Wood , now Peasholm Glen.
Harry W Smith, one of the best civil engineers in the country had impressed the borough with his new parks and gardens on South Cliff and was given the task of developing land on the Northside. Harry W Smith decided to make gardens as an 'Oriental’ flavored ‘paradise', which were pretty hip for a little fishing town in the 1900's. Smith bought the borough, authentic Chinese sculptures from a Mr Colonel Twentyman, who also had already built an Oriental and Italian garden in Kirby Misperton, after buying the manor estate in 1903. This is area is now Flamingo Land. Mr Colonel Twentyman had wanted authentic oriental gardens for his gardens in the village of Kirby Misperton and had hired skilled craftsmen from China to help him achieve his design. It was these skilled craftsmen who sculpted the statues that are now in Peasholm Park. There is an authentic stone shrine near to the first bridge of the boating lake in Peasholm Park. This shrine has carvings of the Water Rabbit from the Chinese Zodiac. When the Chinese craftsmen made the sculptures in Kirby Misterpton in 1903, that particular year was the Chinese year of the Water Rabbit. I think its very appropriate that this shrine now stands by a water course that is also an ancient boundary line.
Harry W Smith had made his decision to base the gardens in Scarborough on the popular Thomas Minton Willow Pottery Design and the story in the design is featured in the layout of the park. (Look up the story of the willow pattern on the internet). Unfortunately, Thomas Minton had altered the original pattern and added features to his design which didn't appear on the original imported Chinese plates he had been influenced by. He added a bridge and trees the which influenced Harry W Smith to add a bridge and trees to the park. The story of the willow pattern was invented to help sell more plates in London and is English and not Chinese in origin.
Coincidentally according to the legend of the Willow Design, the young lovers were the killed in the pagoda which was then set on fire by the Mandarins assassins. The gods looked favourably upon the lovers and transformed them into birds. Some of the out buildings in the park were originally aviaries for oriental birds and Peasholm Pagoda has been set on fire on more than one occasion as a result of antisocial behaviour rather than the Mandarin’s assassins. Regarding the blue and white Willowware design, the end of the Willow Story reads, 'Forever are flying together Across my Willow Ware Plate'. The famous Naval Battle re-enactment that takes place in the park during the summer months is a re-enactment of the Battle of the River Plate.
Peasholm Park is one of the top ten public parks in the UK.
DavWhiteArt.com
The Manor of Northstead is a former Medieval Estate in North Yorkshire. The Manor House no longer exists and it's ruins lie bellow Peasholm Park Lake . This ruin, or rather its title is still essential to the running of Parliament.
The ancient title of the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is still an active seat in parliament and used since the 18th century as a 'sinecure post'. It is a post that has no responsibilities which given to dignitaries who have been 'disqualified' from parliament rather than allowing them to resign, as Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons are forbidden to resign. The current Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is David Cameron. Past dignitaries include David Milliband, Gerry Adams and Robert Kilroy Silk.
During the English Civil War people living in Scarborough were granted shelter at Peasholm by Sir Richard Cholmeley who owned the Manor during the siege by Parliamentary forces of Scarborough Castle. The Manor House fell into disrepair after the Civil War and occupied as an outhouse by Sir Cholmeley's shepherds until the Manor House collapsed all together in the 1800's. A 'sinecure post' is also known as a 'Shepherding Post', the Crown Stewart Bailiff still has a moral role towards the 'souls on the Manor'.
In the early 1900's the area had become known as Tuckers fields which were a muddy depression of piggeries and allotments around a barren mound known as Peasholm Hill, although previously known as Bunker Hill. Peasholm Beck is part of the towns Parish Boundary and the derelict buildings where though to play a part of the towns northern defenses as magazine stores, as so the name ‘Bunker Hill’. The hill had very few trees but had streams and springs running either side of it down towards Peasholm Gap to meet the sea from Columbus Ravine and Wilsons Wood , now Peasholm Glen.
Harry W Smith, one of the best civil engineers in the country had impressed the borough with his new parks and gardens on South Cliff and was given the task of developing land on the Northside. Harry W Smith decided to make gardens as an 'Oriental’ flavored ‘paradise', which were pretty hip for a little fishing town in the 1900's. Smith bought the borough, authentic Chinese sculptures from a Mr Colonel Twentyman, who also had already built an Oriental and Italian garden in Kirby Misperton, after buying the manor estate in 1903. This is area is now Flamingo Land. Mr Colonel Twentyman had wanted authentic oriental gardens for his gardens in the village of Kirby Misperton and had hired skilled craftsmen from China to help him achieve his design. It was these skilled craftsmen who sculpted the statues that are now in Peasholm Park. There is an authentic stone shrine near to the first bridge of the boating lake in Peasholm Park. This shrine has carvings of the Water Rabbit from the Chinese Zodiac. When the Chinese craftsmen made the sculptures in Kirby Misterpton in 1903, that particular year was the Chinese year of the Water Rabbit. I think its very appropriate that this shrine now stands by a water course that is also an ancient boundary line.
Harry W Smith had made his decision to base the gardens in Scarborough on the popular Thomas Minton Willow Pottery Design and the story in the design is featured in the layout of the park. (Look up the story of the willow pattern on the internet). Unfortunately, Thomas Minton had altered the original pattern and added features to his design which didn't appear on the original imported Chinese plates he had been influenced by. He added a bridge and trees the which influenced Harry W Smith to add a bridge and trees to the park. The story of the willow pattern was invented to help sell more plates in London and is English and not Chinese in origin.
Coincidentally according to the legend of the Willow Design, the young lovers were the killed in the pagoda which was then set on fire by the Mandarins assassins. The gods looked favourably upon the lovers and transformed them into birds. Some of the out buildings in the park were originally aviaries for oriental birds and Peasholm Pagoda has been set on fire on more than one occasion as a result of antisocial behaviour rather than the Mandarin’s assassins. Regarding the blue and white Willowware design, the end of the Willow Story reads, 'Forever are flying together Across my Willow Ware Plate'. The famous Naval Battle re-enactment that takes place in the park during the summer months is a re-enactment of the Battle of the River Plate.
Peasholm Park is one of the top ten public parks in the UK.
DavWhiteArt.com
