Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: dentstudent on 29/06/2007 07:55:22
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As you may know, I live in the Black Forest in Germany, so mine is a bit easy! Black Forest gateau, or localy, Schwarzwald Kirshtorte. We also have cuckoo clocks, Black Forest smoked hams and Clean-air spa's for R&R. We have the Rhine valley with its wine production, and the Danube rises on the eastern side.
I've not yet found any famous characters from the area, but I'm still looking!
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canton, ohio... home of the pro football hall of fame and such interesting characters as william mckinley, marilyn manson, macy grey, and, well... me! lol. just kidding
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oh... and until recently, the hoover plant
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_County,_California
Humboldt County, California
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Humboldt County, California
Seal of Humboldt County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting Humboldt County
Location in the state of California
Map of the USA highlighting California
California's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded 1853
Seat Eureka
Humboldt County is a county located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific Ocean. As of the 2000 census, the county had a population of 126,518. The county seat is Eureka.
We are Known for our beautiful location Redwood Forests, avenue of the Giants and lumber Industry is big here also! We have a number of different native American tribes... Home of the Kenetic Sculptor Race and the amazing Hobart Brown.. world renown artist extraordinary..and home of William Mc kinleys Statue! Home Of Del 'Arte theater of Art and many other lovely cultural events.. LOL !
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The late Queen Mother was born a few miles from here, in Kings Walden.
Hatfield House, also a few miles from here, used to be a royal palace, and was where Queen Elisabeth I, when she was still a princess, and during the reign of her her sister Mary, was interned (the old house is just a ruin, but there is a newer Jacobian house alongside it now).
The only significant feature of Harpenden itself is Rothamstead Agricultural Research centre. Harpenden was just a small agricultural village, with this one manor house (that was to form the nucleus of the research centre) until the coming of the railway station.
About 4 miles to the south, we have St. Albans. St. Albans was about a day's travel out of London in the days before the railway and motor car, and situated along the old Roman road, Watling street, that lead from London to North Wales. It was therefore always a significant waypoint for travellers from London, and an important market town. In the valley at the lower end of the town you have the ruins of the old Roman settlement of Verulamium, while up on the hill you have the Abbey that formed the nucleus of the medieval market town, and continues to be the focus of the town.
Further to the west, we have Ivinghoe Beacon, which is the start of the Ridgeway, which was part of a series of prehistoric trails, in this case leading all the way to Overton Hill, near Avebury (itself famous for its neolithic stone circles) in Wiltshire, some 85 miles.
Four miles to the north, you have the town of Luton. This used to be a famous hat making town (mad as a hatter they all were), obtaining straw from the hats from the agricultural land around, including from the farms in Harpenden. Then it became a centre for motor manufacturing, with the building of the Vauxhall motor car production, which would later become incorporated into the General Motors group. Now that too has gone the way of much motor manufacturing. The only thing Luton is now famous for is its airport, made famous by Lorraine Chase in the advert for Campari.
Back to Hatfield, it used to have an old de Havilland Aircraft Company, later part of Hawker Siddley and later yet to be incorporated into BAe (the factory is now defunct). The de Havilland Comet racing aircraft was built there in the 1930's, and there used to be a Comet pub near the site until it was redeveloped about 10 years ago, but the model of the de Havilland Comet that used to stand outside of the pub is now suspended within the confines of the shopping centre that was built as part of the redevelopment.
A little bit closer (only about 6 miles away), but also to the east from here, we have Ayot St Lawrence, which from 1906 until his death in 1950 was the home of the playwright George Bernard Shaw.
Harpenden itself used to be home to the comedian Eric Morecambe (born John Eric Bartholomew), but his home, unlike that of George Bernard Shaw, has not been opened to the public (but then, Wikipedia notes about 19 notable residents, past and present, for Harpenden alone, let alone the nearby villages).
Closer in to London (some would argue that since it is within the confines of the M25, it might be regarded as now being part of Greater London, although still technically part of Hertfordshire) you have the Elstree Film Studios.
About 20 miles to the east we have Letchworth, which considers itself the world's first Garden City, built in 1903 on the utopian principles of an Anglo-American called Ebenezer Howard. Later, the same utopian ideas would lead to the building of Welwyn Garden City (just a few miles south of Letchworth), and even influence the construction of Milton Keynes after WWII, just about 35 miles north of here - famous for its concrete cows.
I am sure that with a little time I can think up a lot more trivia concerning the surrounding area.
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The 1st battle of the English Civil War took place about 4 miles from where I live.
Just a little way south is Oxford with its famous university. King Charles I based himself at Oxford for a while during the Civil War.
We also have Blenheim Palace.
In the other direction is Stratford-upon-Avon which is where Shakespeare used to put on his make-up and is home to the famous Anne Hathaway's cottage.
But the most famous thing about this area is that I live here! [:D]
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The 1st battle of the English Civil War took place about 4 miles from where I live.
I understand we had a couple of battles in the wars of the roses around here.
But the most famous thing about this area is that I live here! [:D]
I try to keep a low profile, so there is nothing famous, or even infamous, about my living here - so few people realise that I do [:D]
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ASBO's and inbreeding!
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OK, seriously
Introduction
Thorne became a permanent settlement in the Anglo-Saxon period about thirteen centuries ago, but we know from the finds of flint tools and weapons that Neolithic people used this land; as also did the people from the Bronze and Iron ages from finds still been found in the peat diggings on the moors, that people from the bronze and iron age also used the land. Ever since then the population has grown, changing and evolving from year to year into the environment that we recognise today.
Our Anglo-Saxon forbears were originally pagans but around the seventh and eighth centuries Christianity became the commonly accepted religion of the local people and a wooden church was built in Hatfield. The Viking age of the ninth and tenth centuries brought a temporary return of paganism to parts of this area. Thorne, being in the area of the Danelaw, would see the merging of the Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures in a melting pot lasting for over two hundred years. At the end of this time Christianity had triumphed and such settlements as Thorne had made good progress in opening up the land for agricultural purposes along the ridge on which Thorne stands.
Organisation
With the Norman Conquest came real organisation and the lord of the manor of Thorne was William de Warren, who was the builder of Conisborough Castle, his local headquarters. It was at this time in the late 11th century that the Normans built the Motte and Bailey castle known now as Peel Hill. This was followed a few years later by a stone church built next to the castle. The stone used for both these buildings was magnesian limestone which was quarried from nearby Sprotborough and was transported to Thorne by boat on the River Don. The castle was later demolished around the 17th century but the same stone used can be found around Thorne in its walls, such as Fieldside House.
It is important to keep in mind that the first cultivated land is now occupied by the town centre and that the houses were clustered around what is now Church Street and the Market Place; and so it remained for the rest of Medieval period. The whole area, especially to the east, was swamped land and marshes, totally unsuitable for a stable community to live on. This land was like this as far as the Ouse and the Trent. This fact probably contributed to the abnormal farming system in Thorne. At this time it seems that most places used a three field agricultural system, whereas the farmers in Thorne used a two field system; the North field and the South field.
The Local People
In 1263 the Manor of Thorne was seized into the King's hands, and early in the 14th century William Gumbald held the land. During the first years of Edward III's reign, John de Mowbray was in temporary possession, but the manor reverted back to the Warrenns. In 1335 John de Warrenn granted 30 acres of cornland at Thorne to Robert Browne at 10 shillings a year rent.
In the reign of Richard II the Poll Tax gives us an idea of the population. We can tell that there were 172 people above the age of 16, of whom one mercer and one chapman both paid twelve pence, one taylor six pence and all the rest, both men and women at four pence. This figure would put the total at about 200 people which is not small when considering the extreme isolation of the place at that time.
This isolation was to serve Thorne well during the time of the Black Death and numerous periods of famine which struck the kingdom, for no severe check to a steady growth of population is observable during the later period of the middle ages.
The fact that Thorne was part of the royal hunting Chace of Hatfield must have influenced the lives of the inhabitants quite a lot. There were Keepers situated all around the village, of which one station was occupied by a Chief Regarder of the Chace. Quite a number of local men would be employed by the officers of the royal hunting ground, and the families of these employees were to emerge in the later part of the seventeenth century as important and influential members of the community. Their names would appear on the various market charters, the commissions and as trustees to charities.
The Parish and Peel Hill Castle
About a mile to the south-east of the church was a large expanse of water called the Bradmere, and the same distance to the west was another stretch of water separating Thorne and Hatfield. It was while crossing this latter water in boats that a funeral party was lost in 1326. The corpse and several mourners were cast into the water, and the bodies of about twelve people were recovered some days later. As a result of the tragedy the Abbot of St. Mary's in York was petitioned and granted that Thorne church be rebuilt and made a parish church so that the dead could be buried at Thorne instead of Hatfield.
During the sixteenth century the castle at Thorne was used as a prison for offenders of the law against poaching the royal game. Prisoners were then taken to York for trial. The area must have contained quite vast numbers of deer, for as late 1609 several hundred were rounded up near Tudworth for the pleasure of Prince Henry, eldest son of James I; who had been urged to see the game by Sir Robin Portington, Chief Regarder of Thorne who lived at Tudworth Hall.
Drainage of the Wetlands and Agriculture
The way of life of the people of this area was to suffer a drastic change during the 1600's. Agriculture had been of secondary importance and few could imagine any difference because of the thousands of acres of wetlands. However, Cornelius Vermuyden, a dutch drainage engineer, persuaded the king that he could drain the land and make valuable farm land out of it. Between 1626 and the Civil War period the engineer and his foreign workers performed prodigious feats of drainage using what we would recognise today as primitive tools. They were also under constant harassment by the inhabitants of Thorne who did not want the job doing in the first place. Vermuyden lived in Thorne in the Old Hall on Queen Street while constructing the Ashfield Bank. The Dutchman's financial backers abroad encouraged the settlement on the reclaimed lands, and hundreds came over from Holland, Belgium and some from France to live here.
Although many serious floodings happened after the drainage and a series of writs against the Participants were fought out in court, the value of the land had increased and brought new hope for agriculture, so that today the value of the vast farmland far outstrips any other industrial or natural asset in the local area.
Farming really came into its own during the next two centuries, with constant attention to drainage dikes and the construction of more and more waterways and sluices. More farm houses were built and also town houses as prosperity increased.
Transport and Modern Life
The River Don shipping trade was expanding and Thorne Quay or Waterside had its own ship building yards and the population grew. Ships sailed to York, Hull, London and even the continent. There were warehouses and inns, rope and sailmaking businesses and many more. With the construction of the canal in the 1790's trade increased even more and shipyards started to be constructed on the canal and not just the rivers.
As late as 1800 most traffic between the towns and villages was waterborne, but new Turnpike roads were being built between Bawtry, Selby and Doncaster. During the enclosure of the common lands at this time, the appearance of the town and surrounding country changed. The several huge gates which kept the animals from straying into the town and precincts were taken down, and the commons were split up for more farming; also more dwellings and businesses were built in the town, in places which we now know as South Common etc.
In the middle of the nineteenth century the railways came to Thorne, making travel and the transport of goods quicker than ever. The mail coaches became obsolete and stage coaches no longer carried people from Doncaster. The river trade also began to die with the new railways.
Schools were built and the town council began running the affairs of the town instead of the Churchwardens and the Overseers of the Poor; there was still an active Poor house or Workhouse well into the 20th century, standing on the site of the first one built in 1763.
The opening of Thorne Colliery brought an influx of people from several parts of Britain and Moorends village was built to house them. Between the wars parts of the old town fields were taken up by the building of council estates, such as that of the Willow Estate and the estates adjacent to North Eastern Road.
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This is my little corner of the world, the amazing, the wonderful, the fantastic city that is Bristol
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We have a few bits and pieces over here [;)]
We have to thank Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed the Great Western Railway between Bristol and London, two pioneering Bristol-built steamships, the SS Great Britain and SS Great Western, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
And we have a Concorde [;)]
Like most places we have a lot of history, so have a gander if you like at what wiki has on us [:D]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol%2C_UK
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Bristol also has the distinction of being the city responsible for time zones.
I can't remember who it was (it may have been Brunel himself), but someone wondered about train schedules. Bristol is a couple of minutes behind London so noon comes later. If the train driver's watch was set to London time then the train would be late leaving Bristol. I can't remember the exact details.
I'll look it up & post a link.
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Cool, I did not know that [:)]
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VERY COOL you Guys.. The history there is marvelous.. and George you make me laugh! LOL
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Bristol is also famous for being the place mentioned the most in Carry On films! [:D]
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Bristol is also famous for being the place mentioned the most in Carry On films! [:D]
Really!! [:D] Will have to watch some carry on films again then [;)]
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Bristol is also famous for being the place mentioned the most in Carry On films! [:D]
Really!! [:D] Will have to watch some carry on films again then [;)]
Mainly in connection with Barbara Windsor's Bristol Cities [;D]
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Bristol is also famous for being the place mentioned the most in Carry On films! [:D]
Really!! [:D] Will have to watch some carry on films again then [;)]
Mainly in connection with Barbara Windsor's Bristol Cities [;D]
Ah, I see [;)]
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WHAT ARE CARRY ON FILMS?
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Karen - they were a whole series of films made during the 60s & 70s. They were comedies famous for innuendoes and, in their day, were considered somewhat risque.
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I bet they were funny! Sounds kind of cool to me!