Monday 28 March 2011

More of the Same

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

In my last post I had an interesting comment from Merry Weather because she had taken the time to visit my link about the Gibb's Family, who had founded Tyntesfield. She said that the stately home had been founded by bird poo! She was right. All the Gibbs' money had come from seagull poo, known locally as guano, imported from South America and all of the estate grounds were fertilised with it.
It makes a change finding a wealthy family whose money hadn't been made from the slave trade. Bird Poo is so much more acceptable and I like that idea very much. They used natural resources and were very much *greener* than we would have imagined.

You can see that the Camelias are still thriving! I took photos of other coloured Camelias but noticed that most of them had Audrey's thumb next to the bloom because she did insist on holding the flower head in the right position for me. You might remember from my last post that I went to Tyntesfield with my friend, Audrey and my son, Sam.


This must have been a very busy courtyard at one time
and to the left of this photo there was quite a sturdy but small rusted cage against a wall. I wonder what type of creature was cooped up in that unhappy environment? The Victorians were not noted for their kindness to wild animals. I imagine it to be some kind of exotic cat or a bear or possibly a chimpanzee.
I couldn't find a reference to this cage in any of the literature that was provided by the National Trust who own the estate now. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it.



Was this the way to a possible dungeon, I wonder? Well, I wasn't going down there to find out. However, it does look dank and dark.

These articles were left in what must have been the servants' quarters. That boiler was obviously used for washing the clothes. My mother had a slightly more modern one when I was a child.

I love taking photos through little hidey-holes like this one in the picture below.

Hope you enjoyed another taste of Tyntesfield Estate.







22 comments:

Sueann said...

Seagull poo huh? Fascinating!
Such a beautiful estate Maggie. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Hugs
SueAnn

I_am_Tulsa said...

heehee..bird poo...can't stop chuckling...

Maggie, thank you for the smile on my face now! By the way, I am taking a trip to Oxford in July, would you by any chance have any recommendations?

Formerly known as Frau said...

Interesting fact...bird poo! Love the hidey holes also...great shots! Have a wonderful Monday!

Clare Dunn said...

Too funny...great side note!
These pictures are wonderful...
xoxoxo, cd

mrsnesbitt said...

Bird poo eh? Now that was a pure moment of genious!

Akelamalu said...

I suppose that proves the old saying

'Where there's muck there's brass' eh? ;)

Rose said...

To think you could make a fortune from bird poo!:) A lovely place--the last photo is a great shot, Maggie.

Irene said...

I wonder who shoveled all that poo for them. I'm sure that was a very unhealthy occupation.Those poor native people probably didn't get paid a lot for doing that. Really think about how that fortune was made.

Moannie said...

Akelamalu said it, and I have a distant memory of reading that as a fact-about the Guano gathering.

Celia said...

Lovely poo estate. I really enjoy your photos, it's lets me wander through and imagine what life might have been like for the people who lived there. Both the owners,the servants, imagine doing laundry for a place like that in those little boilers. Did they peep at visitors through those little holes?

Jeni said...

Maggie - You do have a very good eye for catching interesting photos -like the last one on your post. Really nifty! Do you ever contribute or sell your photos to newspapers or other publications in your region? I would think that they might be interested in some of the shots you have that are a bit off the beaten track as photos go because you generally get some really good ones, ya know.

Anonymous said...

Ah - such a gorgeous place. Love the window in that last shot.

Mimi said...

That's great info about the bird poo! When we had the rabbit, we used his poo to fertlise our flowers, and they did well.
Love these 2nd lot of photos, Maggie, thanks for sharing them.
I too love to take photos through peepholes!

secret agent woman said...

I just love the fragrance of camelias and gardenias. Heavenly!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

What fun to read your last two posts and take this trip with you. I thank you.

Wisewebwoman said...

Thanks for this most lovely tour Maggie, I love old houses and histories.
XO
WWW

Anonymous said...

That dungeon looks fab! I'd have been straight down there with a camcorder and my paranormal devices, lol.

We have plenty bird poo here; if you count hen's poo you can fertilise a field with it!!

CJ xx

Alyson | New England Living said...

Oh, how I miss visiting beautiful British estates! I adored living in the UK as a teen. Beautiful photos!

I am wondering how they harvested bird poo...hmmm

Glenda said...

Thank you for letting us see this trough your camera lens. I feel like I'm traveling to far off places just sitting at my computer screen.

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

It certainly looks worth a visit Maggie. Husband and I were given National Trust membership for Christmas so may well take a look later on in the year. Lovely and interesting pictures. A x

B.T.Bear (esq.) said...

Hallo! Remember me?! Hehe! I luvd the bit abowt the poo!

RiverPoet said...

Happy Easter, Maggie - D