Layer Marney's Heritage and Wildlife

We awoke to a (typically) grey Bank Holiday Monday, so decided to visit somewhere new, namely the Tudor tower at Layer Marney in Essex. We received a lovely welcome from members of the sheep community! I'm wondering if this is a Soay, or possibly a Soay-cross.



I cropped this photo as the bottom tier was simply a row of cars, but I feel the picture gives a reasonable first impression of the property, an incomplete Tudor palace built by Henry, Lord Marney, who held the influential post of Lord Privy Seal in the 1520s during the reign of Henry VIII. You begin to realise just how influential a man he was from the words on his tomb in the church,

'Henry, First Lord Marney, Sheriff of Essex, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Executore of the Countess of Richmond, Privy Councillor to Henry VIII, Captain of the King's Bodyguard, Fought Battle of Spurs 1513 Knight of the Garter, Lord Privy Seal: 1522, Baron Lord Marney: 1523, Died in London May 24, 1523, Buried here at Layer Marney.'

The grandiose tower overlooks the river Blackwater and Essex coast. It was a shame there was so little sunshine as the view would have been much enhanced.

The tower (with its 99 steps) was a most imposing edifice.




The photo above was taken from the rear of the building, while we were exploring the flower beds ...

There were a couple of beehives in the grounds ...

... and the orange flowers on this huge plant were proving popular with the inhabitants - and also, I note, with a small green-headed insect. I asked David to stand by the plant (two pictures up) to give a sense of scale.



The bees were also busily at work on what I think is Verbena Bonariensis ...



There were some beautiful roses to set off the Tudor architecture ...





We noticed the quotation from John's Gospel (chapter 7) on the farmyard drinking trough. It seemed slightly strange, though, given that the verse addresses humans, rather than animals. It probably served as an encouragement to the farm workers who would have passed this way in the course of their work. My musings on the subject of inscriptions on water troughs and the like sent me to Google, where I found some interesting information about The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. 

We wandered round the pond, hoping there might be dragonflies since I have seen so few this year.



We failed to see any, but I noticed this emerald damselfly, which a kind iSpot enthusiast has confirmed as a Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes (Chalcolestes) viridis). It is a male; and from the coloration, apparently, it can only be L. viridis or L. barbarous. I am told that the pale pterostigma spots on the wings and the shape of the inferior rear appendages identify this as L. viridis. I am intrigued why one side of the thorax is gold and the other green.

If you walk down this long path from the tower, you can make your way towards the church, which is dedicated to St Mary ...

 

 ... passing the small Tudor-style knot garden en route.

When I was young, in the days before brass rubbing became a questionable activity on account of the damage rendered to the old brass figures, I would sometimes set off on my bike (having gained permission for the rubbing from the vicar or warden), with paper, masking tape, black heelball and gold, silver or bronze sticks of 'astral'. This is a bit of an aside, but you might enjoy a look at some of the past and present brasses of the month on the Monumental Brass Society's website. The figures in many of the brasses looked much like the effigies in the church here, right down (literally) to the guardian animal at the feet.

Look at those mournful eyes ... and we loved the way in which the hinge on the armour has been rendered. 

I thought you might like a couple of human faces, too, in the next couple of pictures ...

The upright creature above is a apparently a leopard.

What intrigued us about the face of Henry, 1st Lord Marney, in the photo above was the way in which the strands of hair had been made (just look at the honeycomb-like pattern where the hair ends): it reminded me, just a little, of trying to make millefiori beads out of coloured strips of Fimo!

There was some colourful stained glass, which was particularly cheering on a grey Bank Holiday afternoon. I like the use of the complementary colours - yellow and purple; red and green. I wonder why the top right flower head is white.

Most of the walls were white, but our eyes alighted on a wall painting of St Christopher.

It dates from pre-Reformation days, and was covered up for safety and only rediscovered in much later times. I did not pay much attention to it until I noticed the water around the figure's legs. It was full of characterful sea creatures ...



... such as this rather seal-like fish (or fish-like seal?). The figure had a sea serpent or eel around one of his ankles ...



 ... but what pleased me most was this little seahorse:



It was drawn so simply, and yet I felt it captured the very essence of these delicate creatures. I wonder whether this piece of sculpture on the roof of the tower building might also be a seahorse. What do you think?



We passed the roses on our way to find a welcome slice of malteaser cake and a pot of Earl Grey.

We took a last look around, noting the chimneys ...

... and the early signs of autumn. I like rosehips, but not in August!

Once again we had few butterflies to report. We saw one rather camouflaged Meadow Brown near the chickens ...

Our biggest surprise of the day was finding this Magpie moth tucked in a groove in the marble effigy in the church. This slender insect, which was either dead or asleep (probably dead, I fear), was ironically a 'lifer' for both of us, if this birding term can be applied to insects! I only wish the photo had come out better ...

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 7: Butterflies at Belton House, Near Grantham

Belton House is in the care of the National Trust. We broke our journey here for tea on the way up and for lunch on our journey south. The gardeners have taken care with their planting schemes, resulting in a good show of butterflies. I was particularly pleased to see Small Tortoiseshells as we have hardly found any 'red' varieties in our neck of the woods this summer, as those of you who read this blog regularly will know. But Small Torties were not the only ones taking advantage of the lavender beds... 

We usually see plenty of Meadow Browns (below), but at least we saw two on this occasion. 

It was terrific to see a pair of Green-veined Whites ...

... and another Small Tortoiseshell. 

This young Fallow Deer stag bounded over in our direction while we were eating our picnic lunch, adding a moment of excitement to the last lap of our holiday. 

In the hot weather it was a delight to amble around the fountain to the Orangery behind...

... where there was a small but rather lovely exhibition of items relating to Florence Woolward (1854-1936), an artist and botanical illustrator.

I'm afraid I have run very behind with these holiday posts since we have now been home for over a month! I hope you have found something of interest along the way.

I am sad to report that 'red' butterflies still seem very few and far between in our area. I have never seen so few Peacocks or Red Admirals in a summer. However, we were out and about here in Suffolk this afternoon and encountered about five Graylings, a species we seldom find, so that gave us a little boost ...

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 6: Puffin Quest at RSPB Bempton Cliffs

You might well be wondering why the first bird in a post with the word 'Puffin' in the title is a ... Guillemot! Having posted a few photos of the Black Guillemot or Tystie a few days ago, it seemed only right, in the name of balance, to post an 'ordinary' Guillemot, too. Seen in this pose, there is something very 'Penguin' about these seabirds.

We were on the last lap of our holiday by this stage, and enjoying bright sunshine at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast. There were Razorbills ...

... flapping about ...

... and long rows of Gannets and Guillemots along the chalk cliff face.

Many of the birds were with their mates, though it was the tail end of the nesting season.

Every so often a Gannet would soar past us.

Suddenly my eyes alerted on a pair of distinctive orange feet which simply had to belong to a Puffin!

There were not many Puffins to be seen, and I guess this was due to the fact that their numbers are down generally and in this part of the world; and also due to the fact that some would have reared their Pufflings by this stage and headed back out to sea. There is a fascinating RSPB post here about counting Puffins.

There may not have been many,
but the ones we saw delighted us, as they always do.

Puffins will always be the showstealers for me, but I love to see the cliffs filled with a healthy mix of seabirds. The photo below shows a Gannet surrounded by Kittiwakes.

Scarborough is not far up the coast, 

and after an excellent Italian meal on the harbourside, 

we looked up at the castle ...

and across to the sunlit cliffs ...

... as the sun set over the water.