Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Baltimore – Washington Monument

    Located in the Mount Vernon area of Baltimore, this column and statue was the first substantial monument to George Washington. It was designed by Robert Mills who also designed the Washington Monument in the country’s capital. Work started on the monument in 1815 and was completed in 1829, with a time capsule added which was discovered in 2015. It was originally meant to be built in a more urban area of the city, but it was built in the suburbs as some residents complained that it might fall over onto their houses.

    When I was in Baltimore a few years ago the column was closed to the public whilst urgent repairs took place. It re-opened in 2015 to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary since work started to build it, with the cost of the project coming to a not inconsiderable $6.5 million. There are 227 steps to the top of the monument and when I finally get back to Baltimore, I might try and climb them…..

  • Baltimore – The Walters Art Museum (Colosseum by Giovanni Paolo Panini)

    Thanks again to the Walters Art Museum policy on having photos of their exhibits available to download, I’m again using their version rather than my considerably less sharp photo. The painting by Giovanni Paolo Panini is more favourable to the Colosseum and to the Arch of Constantine than they deserve, made more attractive for the purposes of the artwork. The artwork was painted in 1747, in the middle of the artist’s career.

    The museum, keen to give the provenance of every artwork, notes the history of the ownership of this painting:

    “Tyrwhitt-Drake, Shardeloes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire [date and mode of acquisition unknown]

    Agnew, London [date and mode of acquisition unknown]

    David Koetser, London and New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown];

    Walters Art Museum, 1954, by purchase.”

    The first owner, Tyrwhitt-Drake, was from the family descended from Sir Francis Drake and it was purchased for their country home in Buckinghamshire. I imagine that it was collected as part of some grand tour of Europe by a younger member of the family. Agnew and Koetser are art dealers, so I assume that the family later needed the money and wanted to sell this painting.

  • Fakenham – Aldiss (Heritage Trail 6)

    Part of the Fakenham Heritage Trail, this is number 6, the former Aldiss store which unfortunately burnt down in 2014. The fire was caused by an electrical issue and it destroyed the department store which had been built in the early twentieth century. Aldiss had already moved out of the store to another location in Fakenham and the building was being used by The Original Factory Store, who have since moved back into the newly built replacement premises.

    I hadn’t previously paid much attention to this arch, which goes through from the market place to Fakenham Church. But, as the signage notes, it was built over at some stage by Stewardson for his printing business.

    And the same passageway coming from the direction of the church. Fortunately, the church wasn’t damaged during the fire, although there were some initial fears that the fire might spread.

  • Fakenham – Heritage Trail

    I was bemused yesterday, although that’s certainly not for the first time…. I noticed that there were numerous heritage numbers and maps in Fakenham which I was sure I hadn’t seen before. It transpired that I hadn’t, they were installed in early 2019 and are encouraging people to discover the history of the town.

    The project was funded by the European Union, which is marvellous, and it’s a nicely put together trail. Unfortunately I only noticed it before I was leaving Fakenham, but I will go around the rest of it next time I’m in the town.

    In an article in the Fakenham Times, it was reported that:

    “Fakenham Town Council has received an EU grant of £33,500, as well £8,000 from North Norfolk District Council’s Big Society Fund, to produce the Fakenham Heritage Trail, along with town council funding.

    The trail will lead people on a tour of 29 of the town’s most iconic sites and will also include two town maps, one by Fakenham Library and one by the town sign, with plans to landscape the area by the library in order to improve the entrance to the town centre.”

    I’ve seen a lot of projects such as this across Europe, and it’s excellent to see that Fakenham also took a similar initiative.

  • Peterborough – Brewery Tap

    I’ve managed to miss visiting the Brewery Tap during my previous visits to Peterborough, but it seemed well reviewed and worth trying. They stock beers predominantly from Oakham Ales and the pub is also known for its Thai food, which did look rather tempting. It was formerly an employment exchange and CAMRA note that the building was recently nearly demolished.

    I asked if there were any dark beers on, but there weren’t. I didn’t have huge expectations of that given it’s the height of summer, but I went for Citra which I’ve had before. It was at the appropriate temperature and it tasted well kept, but I was surprised at how lacking in taste it was. Personally, I thought the brewery notes of the beer having a “pungent grapefruit, lychee and gooseberry aroma” as perhaps just a little aspirational. Citra hops are a bit of a US thing, and my experience of similar beers there is that they have a much punchier citrus flavour and a more refreshing taste.

    Anyway, back to the Brewery Tap. It was pretty much empty when I visited, which is a shame as it’s a sizeable venue and the lunch menu looked interesting and creative. The staff were all friendly and helpful, with the pub being clean and well presented.

    Being honest, it all felt a little tired and behind the times, but it was comfortable and clean. The food seems really well reviewed and it seemed a shame that their pub was pretty much empty, but perhaps it’s a lot busier in the evenings. Certainly a good location though for a larger group as it’s spacious and everything seemed organised. I only discovered later on that there is a discount for CAMRA members and also a reduced price beer of the month.

  • Baltimore – The Walters Art Museum

    The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is one of the few museums around the world which has placed into the public domain photos of nearly every major item in their collection. This seems to me a wonderful gesture which is in keeping with the aim of a museum, which is to promote and share knowledge.

    And, as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve gone further and made a real effort to detail the provenance of items in their collection. This isn’t a unique policy, but it should be much more common in my view. So, visitors to the museum can discover not just more about a particular item, but also how it came to be in the collection of a Baltimore institution.

    I visited the museum in the summer of 2015 and the museum was so clearly laid out, with friendly staff, that I remember much of my visit. There is also no admission charge, a decision made in 2006, to try and enable as many people to visit as possible. Out of all the museums and galleries that I’ve visited, this remains one of my favourites.

  • Baltimore – The Walters Art Museum (Pilgrimage Flask)

    Using the Walters Art Museum photo rather than own, this fascinating little item is a pilgrimage flask, which was worn around the neck of those going on pilgrimages across Europe. It was originally filled with holy water from the Shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. There aren’t many of these which survive in such good condition, and to someone, this would have likely been one of the most important things that they owned.

  • Baltimore – The Walters Art Museum (Cat Mummy)

    Cats were bred near to temple sites and they were mummified as a gift to the Gods. The cats were mummified on an industrial scale and sadly a vast number were destroyed during the nineteenth century. In Liverpool in 1890, a consignment of 180,000 mummified cats were sold as fertiliser.

    The museum’s photo of its cat is of course somewhat better than mine…. This cat was carefully and tightly wrapped in linen and when the museum x-rayed it they discovered that “its neck was intact, with the forelegs pressed down against the body and hind legs folded together”.

  • Baltimore – George Peabody Library

    I couldn’t possibly not go to somewhere known as the ‘Cathedral of Books’. The George Peabody Library is one of the better known libraries in the United States because of its design and elegance. The building was completed in 1878, having been designed by Edmund George Lind.

    Unfortunately my photos aren’t of a particularly good quality, but they give an impression of the design and scale of the library.

    I never tire of looking at shelves full of books, a glorious sight, even though these are somewhat damaged. I doubt they’re accessed enough to justify the costs of repair or rebinding though.

    This book was published in 1861 and is the catalogue of the books which the library had proposed to buy. The opening of the library was a little delayed due to the American Civil War, but the hopes of having such a grand library in Baltimore didn’t diminish during the wait. Even by 1863 the first librarian, John G. Morris, had purchased over 2,000 books, although the book above had a list of 20,000 title, so he still had some way to go.

    Today the collection has over 300,000 books and is today part of the John Hopkins University who note that the library has “strengths in religion, British art, architecture, topography and history; American history, biography, and literature; Romance languages and literature; history of science; and geography, exploration, and travel”. Which isn’t a bad little collection of strengths.

    There’s no admission charge to enter the library, although it’s main purpose now appears to be just as a book store as there were no readers at all when I was there. The higher levels of the book stacks aren’t accessible to visitors, but it’s still a worthwhile visit just to be able to look inside the building.

  • Baltimore – Memorial to Firefighters

    This statue in honour of past, present and future firefighters is located outside the Fire Department Headquarters, near to Baltimore City Hall. Made of bronze it was placed here in 1990 and it was sculpted by Tylden Streett, an artist who was born in the city. Coincidentally, I was just Googling the sculptor and discovered that he died yesterday, at his home in Richmond, California.

    The statue was funded by the Baltimore City Fire Fighter’s Monument Committee, who raised $107,000 to construct the memorial. They got two different firemen to pose for the statue and it’s designed to look as though the fireman is gazing off into the distance, contemplating his role and the work that he does.