Monday 21 May 2007

Even the Normans loved Richmond - # 114

The Normans conquered England in 1066, and very quickly built a royal summer palace in Richmond (a nice "out of town" riverside retreat in those days). The palace stood there from the early 1100s until it burnt down more than 500 years later in the early 1600s! The house was greatly enjoyed by Henry V111 and Elizabeth 1 who died there. Here is part of the old wall alongside Old Palace Lane.

10 comments:

  1. Love this photo of the old brick wall and the fresh new flowers. You have a good eye!

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  2. This is a nice photo, a nice combination.

    Hey, wheat or barley, I've put a couple of links on my blog (in the comments section, after your comment). Could you check them out and see if you still vote for barley?

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  3. If those bricks could talk or if you could somehow rub them and get a picture of Henry and Elizabeth. You could retire in splendor yourself.

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  4. I love that wall. The contrast of old bricks and fresh blooming things is absolutely fascinating!

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  5. Off topic: dude, did you just lump the Swiss with the Germans over at my site?! I have French and Italian speaking Swiss friends, not to mention my Schwyzerdüütsch spouse, who would beat the awns off you with ears of rye!! :-)

    Alright, the reason I came over again is to say that I went out this afternoon to the fields, and I think I agree with you that it's not wheat. However, have you considered rye?! Roggenbrot (rye bread) is quite popular here. I'll post some related photos the next couple of days. And sorry for hijacking your post for my nefarious purposes.

    One last thing: you'll have to explain tomorrow what "seed treatment" means.

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  6. I really like vine crawlers, such as these! And your chocolates in the previous post are making my mouth water... are any dark chocolate (plain chocolate)??

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  7. Do you think that the plant is aware of the historic place where it is growing? (Somehow, the flowers look a bit proud. Anyhow they are beautiful and in perfect contrast to the wall.)

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  8. I really like your blog. Great pictures complimented by an interesting historical insight. I've just started blogging about Richmond myself and found your site really fascinating. Think I walked past this wall on the way to the White Swan just the otherday!

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  9. Is that more wisteria?

    (Only kidding - even I can recognise it now..)

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  10. Those flowers are gorgeous. I always prefer creeping plants to regular stand-up straight shrubs.

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