Parsing

theory and practise.

From today I will blog some bits and bobs found over the years.
You will find all kind of adds or parts of books .
Consider it a springcleaning.

Dutch Disappointment

This article we received from the writer Athur Percival.

The article is in pdf which this blog cannot handle .

So the photographs will be sadly missed .32 men of Honfleur under Pierre de Breze in 1457 and thus carved a memorable scar on theface of Sandwich history.3

David G Jephcott


Military Historian


References:


William Boys, History of Sandwich in Kent (1792)


William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy, Vol 1, Chapter 11 (1898)


Dorothy Gardiner, Historic Haven: the Story of Sandwich (1954)


William Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent, 1570


DUTCH DISAPPOINTMENT?


Sandwich, guidebook writers often say, is like a Dutch town. Well, yes and no. Yes, in the


sense that from across the levels from the distance there’s a distinct resemblance. With


its two prominent church towers, and its core still encompassed by medieval defences,


it could be mistaken for one of those gorgeous ancient towns you see in Holland. Come


closer along the road from Ramsgate, half-close your eyes, and you could almost dignify


the tower of St Peter’s with the onion-shaped Dutch-type cupola that some imaginative


illustrators have given it.


But, although it may seem sacrilegious to say so, walk about the town and the ‘Dutch’


vision crumbles. Where are all those crow-step, tumbled and curly gables which are twoa-


penny in towns in the Netherlands? There are hardly any. Admittedly, Manwood Court’s


crow-steps (Fig 1) make a striking impression as you arrive by road from Canterbury, but


where are all the others? There are tumbled gables on Fishergate, there’s a curly gable on


the south side of St Peter’s (Fig 2), and there’s the ‘Old Dutch House’ in King Street (Fig 3),


although it doesn’t look terribly Dutch. Mind you, it does have a curly gable at the back.


FIG 1: Manwood Court’s crow-stepped gables


Photographs: Arthur Percival unless otherwise


indicated


FIG 2: South vestry at St Peter’s church FIG 3: The Old Dutch House,


King Street


3⁹ See The Sandwich Society Journal, Vol 2, No 6, for a full account of the 1457 attack.


33


Dutch bricks? Well, they figure in a handful of properties, but no more. Yes, a house at the


Bay sports curly gables but this is a Cape Dutch job done in the Twentieth century when


Kent-born Sir Herbert Baker (1862-1946) brought the style to Britain - and Cape Dutch,


although related to East Kent ‘Dutch’, is another story.


What a disappointment for visitors looking for the flavour of Holland! There are many


more curly gables in Deal than in Sandwich, as there once were in Ramsgate.


But wait. Perhaps in Sandwich there used to be more? Yes, indeed there were, although


still not enough to give the impression of a Low Countries town. There were three fine


ones on the south side of the Cattle Market (Fig 4), but they have gone. There was also


one by the Guildhall itself, which was used to house smaller animals on market days. It


was a late Victorian building and reflected the then wave of interest among architects


and builders in reviving the East Kent Dutch style (Fig 5).


Still, there never were that many buildings in what we would recognise as a ‘Dutch style’.


All perhaps a bit odd, given that after its harbour had started silting up the town was


given a new lease of life by Protestant refugees (‘strangers’) from the Low Countries, and


that these constituted a substantial ethnic minority. Is there an explanation?


Let’s look at the historical, architectural and topographical background first. To begin


with, the term ‘Dutch’ can be misleading. The refugees came from the whole of the


Netherlands which, in the Sixteenth century, consisted of most of present-day Holland


and Belgium and a chunk of north-eastern France. This had been a possession of the


Dukes of Burgundy from 1385 but became one of Spain when Charles, Duke of Burgundy,


became King of Spain in 1516.


Serious Catholic persecution of Netherlandish Protestants began in 1550 when the


Inquisition was imposed. Although refugees may have begun to arrive in Sandwich


FIG 4: Shaped gables on the south side of the Cattlemarket,


later demolished.


Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Sandwich


Guildhall Archives


FIG 5: Cattle market showing Dutch gabled animal shed to


the right.


Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Ray Dean,


from his Collection


34


earlier, they were officially authorised to settle in the town in 1561. They formed their


own church in the following year, and by 1564 Norwich was trying to lure some of them


away. Their skills were much in demand.


What about their building skills, though?


Many came from towns almost as tightpacked


as Sandwich. Their forebears, like


Sandwich people, had built timber-framed


houses but timber was in shorter supply


in much of the Netherlands than it was


in Kent, and brick (and to a lesser extent


dressed stone) took its place earlier than it


did here (Fig 6).


The practice was to build almost all town houses with their gables facing the street.


Netherlanders liked individuality so, rather than build plain gables, they put up


ornamental ones. At first these were crow-steps, in a style common to much of northwest


Europe, including Scotland and parts of the English east coast. Or, if crow-steps


were too expensive, you could settle for a tumbled gable with muizetanden (mouseteeth


formed by courses of bricks laid at right-angles to the gable-pitch). But then the


Spanish influence kicked in, and Renaissance scrolls and other motifs were added to


create a more exotic outline. In Dutch these were known as halsgevels. These were often


busy with pilasters, string courses, swags and ornamental ovals.


You couldn’t afford these? Then you settled for a simple curvilinear, or ‘shaped’, gable


with the distinctive curly outline we associate with ‘Dutch’ gables in East Kent. Later on,


and finally, the halsgevel was made bolder by eliminating all but one or two of the steps


and string-courses and building the pilasters uninterruptedly from the base to the top of


the gable. This was the baroque gable.


Because so much of the Netherlands is low-lying, and soils are often alluvial, the builders


of these houses took no chances. Instead of waiting for subsidence and then repairing the


resulting damage at great expense, they installed tie-bars (ankers) to clamp walls to beams


from the very start. In keeping with the refined quality of facades, these were of elegant


profile, unlike their crude English counterparts. Soon it dawned on builders that tie-bars need


not be plain. They could also be decorative (sierankers) or informative, or both. Decorative


ones could have scrolls at top and foot. Informative ones could carry the date of the


building (jaartalankers), or the initials of the owner, or both, again beautifully executed.


Prime local examples of jaartalankers are those that date Manwood Court (the former


Sir Roger Manwood Grammar School) to 1564. The building itself is like a hybrid


Netherlandish-English manor house, with crow-step gables from the Low Countries and


hood moulds from England over the first-floor windows.


FIG 6: Models showing the evolution of the Netherlandish


gable


35


Because the soils around Sandwich were similar to those in the low-lying parts of the


Netherlands, and ideal for market gardening, some of the refugees who arrived in the town


took up this line of business. Others doubtless then branched out into larger-scale farming.


Perhaps now it begins to become clear why the town lacks a more prominent architectural


legacy of the Netherlandish settlement that took place here. The settlers had their work


cut out to establish themselves in their new surroundings. This took time. Once they had


set down firm roots, towards the end of the Sixteenth century, they had little need and


hardly any opportunity to build new properties. Most of the town’s houses were then of


recent, or fairly recent, vintage and did not need redeveloping. And in a place so densely


built up, there were few empty building plots. Presumably it was only where there were


really ancient, tumble-down properties that new Netherlandish-style houses, such as


those in the Cattle Market, got built.


In scale and finish these did not match the models they emulated. About one of the


reasons for this we can be sure. Although Dutch bricks were being imported, the builders


- probably Kentish - chose to work with the bricks with which they were familiar. These


were larger than their Netherlandish counterparts so detailing could not be as refined.


As a result East Kent’s ‘Dutch’ houses and gables have a kind of hearty English flavour -


they are bolder, and simpler. And if the builders put up two storeys rather than three or


four, this was probably simply because this was all that need dictated.


Thus it is that Sandwich’s real Netherlandish heritage is not in the town itself but in


villages close by - Ash-next-Sandwich, Minster, Wingham, Woodnesborough and Worth,


for example. Indeed it also radiates from it - up the Stour valley as far as Chilham, in the


Little Stour valley, in the Wantsum valley at Sarre and St Nicholas-at-Wade, at Reading


Street in St Peter’s (Broadstairs) and in villages behind Deal like Great Mongeham and


Ripple (Fig 7). Beyond, there was a fine example in Faversham and another two in nearby


Oare, of which one survives.


These ‘Dutch’ houses are one of the main features that distinguish the extreme east of


Kent from the rest of the county. They have an exotic flavour that reminds us that it


is the part of England closest to the Continent. There must be around two hundred of


them in all, yet though many are prominent in their setting they have never attracted the


attention they deserve, and have never been seen as a ‘family’ by guidebook writers.


Fortunately most have been well cared for by successive owners, but if you are observant


you will notice a few curly gables which have been ignominiously shaved down. You


can usually recognise them because what remains bears other traces of Netherlandish


influence, like decorative or informative tie-bars, string-courses which once linked


steps in the gable, or blind oval recesses which do humble duty for the more elaborate


Netherlandish prototypes.


36


If only to complete the Sandwich settlers’ story, it is worth illustrating some of these


houses. A word of warning, first. Some vernacular architectural historians argue that they


have little to do with refugees from the Netherlands but are simply examples of ‘artisan


mannerism’, typified by elaborate brickwork based on Netherlandish prototypes, which


they say became popular in the early Seventeenth century. This is an argument that can


be persuasive but the jury is still out on it.


The fact is that many or most ‘artisan mannerist’ buildings are on, or close to, England’s


east coast, or easily reached from it by river. You will find them in Suffolk, Norfolk, and as


far up as Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There were a few fine examples close to the Thames in the


London area. In the delightful North Yorkshire village of Cawood, on the Ouse between


Selby and York, you will see several, looking almost as though they had strayed from


the Sandwich area. In some cases the houses may have been put up by Netherlandish


immigrants, or their children or grandchildren; in others, by merchants and skippers


trading with the Netherlands. The well-known, and very striking, ‘Dutch’ houses on The


Strand at Topsham in Devon certainly owe their origin to trade links.


A clinching argument in the case of the ‘Dutch’ houses around Sandwich is that most


have (or had) not only curly gables but such other features as sierankers or jaartalankers


FIG 7: Map showing the influence of Netherlandish vernacular architecture in East Kent


Map reproduced with kind permission of Arthur Percival


37


and blind oval recesses which were simply not features of contemporary native design.


Only the Netherlanders had the helpful habit of dating many of their buildings. Would


that the Brits had too, but perhaps they felt that after fifty years or so a dated house


would seem exactly that - dated - to prospective buyers.


Let’s begin our short tour with the one house in Sandwich that calls itself ‘Dutch’ - the


Old Dutch House in King Street. As already noted, the street facade doesn’t look terribly


Dutch, although it’s undoubtedly exotic, with lots of busy brick detail. It becomes


intelligible only when it is analysed. Four brick pilasters feature prominently. Just below


the eaves they tail off anti-climactically in wedge-shaped caps. No-one can be certain,


but it looks very much as though they once ‘supported’ a curly gable, as similar pilasters


still do at Tudor Manor, Wingham Well.


The facade is symmetrical, and at either end on the ground floor are keystoned arches


whose inspiration is probably Netherlandish. There are similar, but shallower, relieving


arches over the two ground-floor windows. In spaces that would otherwise be blank at


either end of the first floor front, and in its middle, are curious decorations contrived out


of small bricks, perhaps from Holland. These look very much like a Kentish bricklayer’s


ingenious but rather clumsy attempt to reproduce details from a Netherlandish facade.


You can picture him having been shown a rough sketch and trying to copy what he


saw. Some similar details appeared on a house (now a shop) near the station in Preston


Street, Faversham but though the building still stands, its front has been progressively


butchered over the last hundred years.


A house in Delf Street (Fig 8), which was nearly


opposite the present cinema and seems to


have been demolished in the 1930s to make


way for a Co-op store (now car showrooms),


looks as though it had gabled Netherlandish


detailing: certainly it sported sierankers. The


complex facade of The Pellicane in the High


Street still has some detailing which may be


Netherlandish in inspiration.


Perhaps the most convincingly Netherlandsinspired


building close to Sandwich is School


Farm at Guilton (Figs 9-10), at the western end of the original A256 through Ash-next-


Sandwich. From the distance its gables look really exotic. This is because although the


designer could not run to the frills of Low Countries prototypes and was working in


bigger Kentish bricks, he tried to reproduce the characteristic gable outlines by giving


them bulbous contours. He added two tiers of pilasters, supported by string courses, and


incorporated jaartalankers to date his little masterpiece to 1691.


FIG 8: Dutch influence on house in Delf Street


Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Sandwich


Guildhall Archive


38


Not to leave a job half-done, he gave the neat little porch a curly gable, complete with


blind oval recess and sieranker (decorative tie-bar). At this late date the client could not


possibly have been a first-generation immigrant. Perhaps it was a great-grandson or


great-grand-daughter who cherished their Netherlandish roots. After all, most folk of


Continental Protestant descent are still conscious of their antecedents; there wouldn’t


be a thriving Huguenot Society otherwise.


It’s worth noting that in this case the gables don’t face the street, as they would have done


in the Netherlands and did in the case of the Sandwich examples that have been lost, but


are at right-angles to it, on the flanks walls. This way, in their particular setting they are


more conspicuous - no point in taking so much trouble if they were not far-seen.


Nearby, but secluded, is Poulton Manor, Woodnesborough (Figs 11-12). Here a timber-framed


house was transformed by the addition of two large brick wings, with bold curvilinear


gables at both ends of each, not to mention another pilastered gable over the new entrance.


Despite the clash of materials and styles the design outcome is hugely appealing.


FIG 10: Two tiers of pilasters on gable end of


Guilton School Farm


FIG 9: Guilton School Farm, Ash


FIG 11: Rear view, Poulton Farm, Woodnesborough FIG 12: Front view, Poulton Farm, Woodnesborough


39


Tudor Manor at Wingham Well (Figs 13 and 14) has already been mentioned. With its


giant pilasters supporting a curly gable, it comes closest in East Kent to baroque gabled


prototypes in the Netherlands. Winklandoaks Farm at Ripple was probably of similar type


but, if so, has lost its gable. Still in Wingham, along the Staple road are Letterbox Cottages


(Fig 15). No curly gables now but just look at the eastern one. It has a pediment, betraying


that it once had one which has since been shaved down to save on upkeep costs.


Further along the Canterbury road, at Littlebourne, are several curvilinear-gabled


buildings. Most prominent, at the junction with The Green, is the Anchor Inn, with its


gable perhaps designed to attract travellers’ attention. On The Green itself is a picturesque


row of cottages (Figs 16 and 17) with a curly gable at either end, though the one on the


north is now obscured by a Victorian house. (It’s quite common for gables to suffer this


fate: just wander around Middle Street and its many tributaries in Deal, and you will see


several which are now barely visible.)


FIG 13: Tudor Manor, Wingham Well


FIG 14: Gable end at


Tudor Manor,


Wingham Well


FIG 15: Gable end at Letterbox Cottages,


Staple Road, Wingham


FIG 16: Row of cottages on The Green at Littlebourne


FIG 17: South gable meets garage roof at the end


of the row of cottages on The Green


40


The Old Vicarage in Nargate Street (Fig 18) has a curly gable which is double-pedimented, like


those on The Green, but this time there’s also room for a blind oval recess in its apex. There is a


similar recess at the top of one of the chimneys, and a curly-gabled two-storey porch.


The list could go on and on but there is not space


for it here. Suffice it finally to mention Hode Farm at


Patrixbourne (Figs 19 and 20), which sports not just


a curly gable (dated 1674) but also a splendid crowstep


one, perhaps a little older.


One disappointment perhaps is that the East Kent ‘Dutch’


style is not still a feature of the local vernacular. Here in


England in the aftermath of the Modern Movement


architects are wary of designing what their colleagues


might denounce as nostalgic ‘fakes’. Not so in Holland,


where traditional-style buildings are still put up.


In East Kent the Netherlandish influence first began


to be noticed in the late Nineteenth century and the


outcome was that in places like Ickham, Faversham,


Sandwich and Wingham, a few ‘repro’ curly gables


appeared. In Margate the trustees of Draper’s


Almshouses gamely insisted that they appear on new


ranges to match those on the original (1709) one. But


after this - nothing, except recently for a new shop in


The Parade at Canterbury and the addition of curly


gables to a pair of Victorian cottages at Graveney.


It was the late Sir Patrick Abercrombie who inspired


this writer’s interest, stretching back over forty years,


in East Kent’s ‘Dutch’ heritage. In his [Sir Patrick’s] great


1920s pioneering structure plan for the coalfield he


pinpointed it as a topic worth further study. Having


secured his blessing, I dutifully ‘collected’ as many


examples as I could, and looked at the Netherlandish


influence further afield.


However, what I have never had time to do is correlate


the physical evidence with the documentary. In at least


some cases, hopefully, the original title deeds of the


properties concerned will have survived. These could


make rewarding reading. Since they prove title to land,


rather than the structures on it, they seldom record


FIG 18: Gable end of The Old Vicarage,


Nargate Street, Littlebourne


FIG 20: Crow-stepped gable at Hode Farm


FIG 19: Curly gable, dated 1674, at


Hode Farm, Patrixbourne


41


when properties were built, rebuilt or remodelled. They do, however, certainly contain


information about owners and often about tenants and, by implication, may reveal when


important changes took place, referring for example to a ‘new-built messuage’. Is any


Journal reader game for some intensive, but important and rewarding, research?⁴1


Arthur Percival MBE MA DLitt


Honorary Director of the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, Faversham and former Sandwich resident


A SIGN OF THE TIMES: CORPORATE GRAFFITI?


You may not have noticed the deterioration of the streets in Sandwich; the methods and


means to bring about this apparent attack on our environment are a part of the faceless


corporate machine that shapes our modern existences. I am talking about the use of


yellow paint and tin-plate signs. I am talking about the growth of ‘corporate graffiti’. If it


didn’t say ‘Bus Stop’ in metre high yellow lettering on the road would you know where the


bus stop was placed? I am sure you would. There is a discrete sign on a pole adjacent to


the pavement where you are standing stating the same in sensible sized writing. We seem


to live in an age now that dictates how we are to live our lives according to a corporate


machine. This machine fails to credit humans with the intelligence to understand issues


or to determine when or not to do something so it puts up big bright signs and lays down


yellow paint saying things like ‘Don’t park here’, ‘No waiting’, ‘Stop’ and ‘Have you paid and


displayed’. Are we now such a simple race of beings that we cannot make decisions for


ourselves? Or is the world becoming more like a dictatorial ‘big brother’ conglomerate


that is curtailing our freedom to do as we wish? I think it is a combination of both.


Our beloved Sandwich, an ancient Cinque port and town of great heritage, is slowly


succumbing to this ‘corporate graffiti’. We have buildings that are mentioned in countless


chronicles and books recounting our town’s great historical and architectural features


yet we allow gaudy yellow lines and tin-plate signs to be painted and erected directly


outside visually sensitive properties. Every year some more yellow lines and tin-plate


signs appear as some new legislation or Government policy comes into force. And


nobody notices or if they do they don’t object because, like street lights and ‘phone


boxes, people think they must be there for a purpose, but are they?


There is obviously a need for some signs to tell us that the building we are parking


outside is a Fire Station or Hospital so it is best to keep the area clear but is there really


a need for yellow and white hatching on the quayside, and other places, which just


constitute a muddled mess and a muddled message? Do we even know what a lot of


these signs and lines mean? Well if we are driving a motor vehicle we should because we


would have to have studied the Highway Code. It quite clearly states where we should


and should not park our vehicles, something on which we should have been tested.


41 If so, contact the Editor!

Exeter hundred years ago

While in office as Mayor of Exeter we read about Charles James Vlieland  in 1912.
for example.
In January 
Mayor's Dinner to Recorder at Exeter at 5 January Mayor's Dinner to Recorder at Exeter The Right Worshipful the Mayor (Mr J Vheland) gave the customary dinner the Recorder (Mr. J. Alderman Foote X.C). the Guildhall on Monday. Among also present were the Mayoress (Mrs. W tend). Miss Vlieland,

12 Pretty Fancy Dresses at Exeter Civic Ball
In February
2 Exeter Cricket Club Concert
In March

In April

Opening of Rougemont The Mayor (Mr. C. J. Vlieland), accompanied by the Mayoress, and by the Sheriff (Mr. T. Pring) d Mrs. Pring, the members of the City Council, and other representative bodies, assembled the grounds at 10 o'clock. a brief speech the Mayor traced,
on the 10 th Sessions Dinner at Exeter Guildhall

16th  EXETER CART HORSE PARADE

26 th EXETER DIOCESAN MISSION

27 th Devonshire Association's Visit to Exeter

Mayor (Dr. C. J. Vlieland) presided, and there were also present the Mayoress, the Sheriff (Mr. T. C. Pring) and Mrs. Pring, Archdeacon of Exeter (the Yen. P. A. Sanders), Monsignor Gaudy, Rev. E. Reid, Principal and Mrs. Clayden, Mr. and Mrs.


In May

In June
21th DR. VLIELAND'S POSITION Meeting of the insurance Committee The preliminary meeting be attended by those, members the Provisional Insurance for tho City

A TITANIC ECHO C. J. Vlieland), Q.M.S. Dyer (father of the deceased), Miss Vlieland, Mrs. T. LoramView article

25 th The Wedding of Miss Phoebe Vlieland, daughter of the Right Worshipful theMayor and Mayoress of Exeter, is to take place at Exeter Cathedral on the 25th

In July

in August

An Out of Work at Exeter Police Court
rk at Exeter Police Court The Mayor (Dr. C. J. Vlieland) presided at the Exeter City Police Court yesterday other Justices being . 11. Yeo and Mr C c' Rowe. Only cue case was down for hearing -respectably droned young man described as a  labourer 

In September

24 Mayor of Exeter at St. Pancras Church
(the Mayor's official residence while in office} is situate, and it is hut fitting that the Mayor should from year year visit the venerable shrine St. Pancras. On this occasion the Mayor (Dr. Vlieland) was accompanied the Sheriff (Mr. T C. Aldermen


In October

KING'S HALL, EXETER
3 HALL, EXETER Opening Ceremony by the Mayor THE WHITE CITY Yesterday was a- red-letter day for the parish of Emmanuel, St. Thomas, for at noon the Mayor of Exeter, Dr. C. J. Vlieland, old and highly esteemed friend the district, declared open the ne
In November
Mrs. Vlieland from the civic chair. They have undoubtedly endeared j themselves to citizens, aud made life-long friends.

MAYOR'S BANQUET Presentation of Past - Mayor's Jewel The Usual banquet to the newly-electecMayor of Exeter (Mr. H. W. Michelinore was given at the Rougeniont Hotel, Satur clay evening. The Ex-Mayor (Dr. C. J. Vlieland) pre sided, and was supported

retiring Mayor and Mrs. Vlieland In the past they had had great Mayors, good Mayors, and cleverMayors but their retiring Mayor had combined all those qualities—(hear, hear). He had done and said everything that should have been said and done
In December

Sat 21 Dec 1912 Art in Exeter



.

Alice Vlieland Center

The Alice Vlieland center opened in 1920 

Medals

British Journal of nursing  Oct 12 , 1912

Rougemont House -Lodge

Rougemont House -Lodge 

Built in 1769 by John Patch, a surgeon at the Devon and Exeter Hospital, or possibly his father, Rougemont House is situated just outside the entrance to Rougemont Castle on part of the moat and defences of the castle. The house was a simple affair, with the front facing the Castle entrance. Some of the windows are still blanked off, indicating the house originated during the levying of the window tax which, surprisingly, was not repealed until 1851. The surrounding grounds were landscaped, in the 1790's, by Thomas Patch, John Patch's son.
Wine and wool

The wine merchant, and partner in the Exwick woollen mill of Banfill and Granger, Edmund Granger leased the house in 1787, and purchased it in 1798 from the Duchy of Cornwall. It was modernised in 1810, by adding the two ground floor, bow fronted bays, transforming into a Regency rather than Georgian house. The iron balcony was made by the firm of 'Iron' Sam Kingdon. He also built a Tuscan style entrance porch and then added stucco (rendered cement to you and me) to the walls.

Granger was advised by William Jackson, a local architect, painter and musician. A storm on 13th January 1828, blew down a tree in the garden, that was large enough to be mentioned in the Flying Post. Granger's widow, Mary, died in the house on 4th February 1846, at the age of 87.
MP for Exeter

Grottos, rockeries and paths were added by the MP, Richard Somers-Gard in the middle of the century. He was also the guiding light for building the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. After his death, his widow opened the gardens in the 1870s to the public. After the death of Mrs Somer-Gard the house came into the possession of Miss Phoebe Outhwaite, who left £60,000 in her will to her sister Miss Outhwaite. In 1899, an incident occurred when a stranger gained entrance to the house claiming he was the legal owner. The butler sent the gardener to find a policemen, and two constables were called. The man, a Mr Northcote from Woolwich Arsenal, was a former resident of Exeter. He was meekly led away to the police station. The police surgeon was called and the man was committed to Digby Asylum. The report then revealed that his sister was also an inmate at Digby.

In December 1911, the Rougemont Estate was put up for sale by Messrs Wilson and Gray for the owner. The property was withdrawn when the bidding reached £10,400 for the whole and £7,300 for the house and grounds.
The Council takes over

In 1912, the City Council stepped in and purchased the grounds, the house and Northernhay Gardens. It has served as a school, and a temporary library after the main library was burnt out in the May 1942 blitz. Twelve rooms continued to be used until the completion of the new library in 1965.

The house was handed over to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum for their architecture and archeology department, with their conservation unit located in the basement from 1968. The Devon Folklore Register was also based at Rougemont House Museum during the 1980's. From 1978, it became the costume museum as part of RAMM–the exhibits were arranged as a series of rooms, each displaying costumes from a particular historic period, while two rooms were devoted to an extensive history and samples of Honiton lace. The Connections Discovery Centre was also run by the museum from the house, but it is currently is closed.

An Adam style marble fireplace of circa 1820, from the old St John's Hospital School that was lost in the blitz, was removed from the ruins and installed in the drawing room of the house. A mosaic floor excavated from a house in Catherine Street, after the war, was relocated into Rougemont House, along with other Roman finds.

There was a second Rougemont House in Heavitree.

Rougemont House

Mayor Vlieland opening Rougemont House to the public in 1912. Courtesy the Westcountry Studies Library.

Rougemont House, circa 1914.

Hundred years Rougemont Gardens

Thursday 4 April 1912 Western Times

In 1768 these grounds were leased by the Duke of Cornwall, afterwards George IV., to Dr. John Patch, one of the honorary surgeons to the Devon & Exeter Hospital, who built the mansion still standing. In 1793 the grounds were sold by the Duke of Cornwall to Edmund Granger, Esq., a prominent merchant of the city, and later they came into the possession of R. Somers Gard, Esq., M.P. for the city from 1857 to 1865, and the donor of part of the land on which the Museum now stands. His arms, with those of his wife, are in a window in the hall of the house. The last occupant of the house was Miss Outhwaite, a descendant of Mr. Gard. The grounds were purchased from her legatee by the City Council for £10,000. A portion of the grounds belonged to the City prior to Mr. Gard's occupation.

This garden incorporates major historic features - the Roman city wall and bank, and the bank and ditches of William the Conqueror's Castle.
Ro

Rougemont Bedding display

It is the site of one of England's most dramatic 12th-century sieges. Rougemont House was built in 1769 by John Patch, a surgeon at the Devon and Exeter Hospital, on a site that had formerly been part of the moat and defences for the Norman castle. The landscaping and the planting belong to the late 18th century, first by Thomas Patch of Rougemont House (died 1787), developed by his successor, Edmund Granger, on the advice of William Jackson, a local architect, painter and musician. The grounds were bought by the city in 1912. Northernhay House was later demolished and the gardens of Rougemont House were linked to Northernhay Gardens.

Victorian writers called it 'a perfect sylvan retreat', 'a gem set in the heart of Exeter'.

The Gardens Rougemont

Steps have recently been taken to protect and nurture some of the large mature trees, and as with the adjacent Northernhay Gardens the Council continues to focus on improving biodiversity at the site. The garden is close to the city centre and provides an ideal location for lunches and a place for peace and quiet. Access is via Castle Street and the gardens are located behind the Library. The gardens are open from dawn till dusk.
Wikipedia on Rougemont gardens

Reginald Vincent Peel

captain of Olympic

Plate

This plate is in the Vlieland family for years .

It has a bird and crown and a gold F in script on the front.
That is what Gilly told me already in 2000 .
Looking at the picture 12 years later  I still have not found anything else .

It was made of Hard Paste Porcelain. It is either Chinese export or more probably French. The French were trying to copy the Chinese original at this time so it is hard to tell. It is either late 1780s or early 1790s. The decoration is French, hand painted and is a pattern of sprigs typical of this period in France, later being copied at English works.
Is it Delft or is it Quimper or is it English.?
Who can tell us more .
Gran always insisted that “Catherine, JNV mother was the daughter of a French Count De Verie and that the plate was from that line of the family.

sister

This blog is al about family.
So today when everybody talks about the Titanic we take you to her sister the Olympic.

The reason is that the captain of this ship was named Reginald Vincent Peel .

He succeeded Captain Smith when he became master of the Titanic.

Maybe related in the distance he is related to our Reginald Peel .
Captain Reginald Vincent Peel was born 25 Aug 1875 BEBINGTON, CHESTER, ENGLAND as son of Lionel  and Mary Peel .
This Lionel Peel was born 14 May 1846 Shenstone ,Stafford ,England as son of Edmund and Lucy Peel

RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic.

part of the interior of the Olympic can be founs on board Celebrity´s Millenium.

Unlike her ill-fated younger sisters, Olympic served a long and illustrious career (1911 to 1935), including service as a troopship during World War I, earning the nickname "Old Reliable." She was the largest ocean liner in the world for two periods in 1911–13, interrupted only by the brief career of the slightly larger Titanic.[2]

Olympic's first major mishap occurred on 20 September 1911, when she collided with a British warship, HMS Hawke off the Isle of Wight. Although the incident resulted in the flooding of two of her compartments and a twisted propeller shaft, Olympic was able to return to Southampton under her own power.

At the subsequent inquiry the Royal Navy blamed Olympic for the incident, alleging that her large displacement generated a suction that pulled Hawke into her side.[7][8] In command during this incident was Captain Edward Smith, who was lost at sea a year later onboard Titanic. One crew member, Violet Jessop, survived not only the collision with the Hawke but also the later sinking of Titanic and the 1916 sinking of Britannic, the third ship of the class.[9]

The Hawke incident was a financial disaster for Olympic's operator, and keeping her out of revenue service made matters worse. Olympic returned to Belfast, and to speed up her repair, Harland and Wolff was forced to delay Titanic's completion in order to use her propeller shaft forOlympic. In February 1912, Olympic lost a propeller blade, and once again returned to her builder for repairs. To get her back to service as soon as possible, Harland & Wolff again had to pull resources from Titanic, delaying her maiden voyage from 20 March 1912 to 10 April 1912.[10]

More about Olympic 

Monsieur et Madame

Saturday 12 January 1833 Norfolk Chronicle -
THE FRENCH LANGUAGE Taught Moderate Terms,
MONS. VLIELAND,
ST. GILES' BROAD STREET,
ON a Plan by which/Pupils will be able in a
much Shorter Time to Write and Speak
correctly, than by following the usual methods.
The Italian and German Languages
taught means either the French
OR the English Language.
N. B.—Monsieur Vlieland will resume his attend
ance, and Madame Vlieland will be happy to receive
her Pupils on January 23rd..
This add from 1833 is a great find ! Thanks Ray !
It tells us that Madame Vlieland which means Sarah Heath was a teacher as well .

Saturday 14 July 1838 Norfolk Chronicle -
FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS SUPPLIED WITH GOVERNESSES AND TEACHERS

And the name is monsieur  Vieland .

Johanna Wilhelmina 6

And so we recognised one of the voyages of Jan Vlieland .

We heard  the story from one of the passengers Benjamin Silliman

You can read the ebook with the complete story and it is amazing what 

he describes of his voyage in 1805.

More on the Johanna Wilhelmina 

Johanna Wilhelmina 5

Johnanna Wilhelmina 4

Johanna Wilhelmina 3

happy easter

from French Chit chat  By J.N.Vlieland

The Sicilian Vespers (1282 - 1302)

How do you pronounce "Cicero"?

If you mispronounced it in Sicily in 1282, you'd have been in serious trouble! Why, you may be asking. Well, it's a long and complicated part of Sicilian history, but to cut a long story short, Cicero was the word Sicilians used to unmask their French (Angevin) enemies during the Sicilian Vespers, one of the island's most well-known historical events. It all started on Easter Monday as the bells were ringing out, calling the faithful to Vespers. An insult from a French soldier directed at a Sicilian lady was the straw that broke the camel's back. Since 1266, in fact, the Angevin French had been ruling Sicily with an iron rod, imposing high taxes and generally insulting and mistreating the local population at will.

As rioting broke out in the streets of Palermo, the French were massacred in their hundreds. News quickly travelled around the island and the revolt became evermore widespread until the entire island became practically free of Angevin rule.

The last stagglers of the Angevin army were given shelter in the Castle of Sperlinga by the townsfolk. They lasted a year. Testament to this kindness is testified to by a phrase engraved into the walls: "Quod Siculis placuit sola Sperlinga negavit" (Sperlinga alone refused what pleased the Sicilians).

On hearing the news, the King of Naples, and therefore Sicily, Charles of Anjou, was furious. War was announced and the Sicilians, not having an army of their own appealed to various sponsors for protection.

They made rather a bad miscalculation by asking the Pope for aid - his reply, so it is said, was to excommunicate the entire island. Eventually, however, after the inevitable twists and turns, plots and counterplots, the Sicilians turned to Peter III, King of Aragon, who accepted to take Sicily into his kingdom and launch a war against the Angevin Kings of Naples that would last 20 years. And so started 400 years of

Spanish domination in Sicily.


More history of Sicily > >

Johanna Wilhelmina continues