The Seaton family at Seaton Delaval Hall had their own chapel. It now acts as the Parish Curch of Our Lady, Delaval.

Entrance:-

Side:-

Other side:-

Interior. Lovely carved arch:-

Altar, behind another carved arch:-

Prince of Wales window. A Victorian stained glass window dedicated to Prince Arthur, elder brother of Henry VIII:-

Colonnade:-

Basement corridor:-

Wall of eyes and mirrors:-

So-called “Civil War” coat. This is of course a “Wars of the Three Kingdoms” coat:-

Hand puppet Kasparli, made by a World War 2 POW:-

China cabinet:-

Portraits of Henry VIII and Catharine Parr:-

The main room as you enter Seaton Delaval Hall has no ceiling having been devastated by a fire . Neither has the floor above  and you can see right up to the roof:-

The room itself was once grand, as can be observed from the statues in niches on the walls:-

And the fireplace:-

This spherical steel ball was hanging from the ceiling:-

The Delavals made most of their money from local coal deposits and this table displays that material under glass:-

The family’s maritime heritage is commemorated by this anchor:-

Plus this ship in a bottle:-

Seaton Delaval Hall is a stately home in Northumberland near the village of Seaton Sluice. It was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Admiral George Delaval in 1718 and is now owned by the National Trust.

The Hall:-

Side view:-

Courtyard:-

Entrance:-

Paintings of the historical Hall:-

Model of Hall frontage:-

Blanchland is the site of an old Abbey which nowadays acts as the local church.

Blanchland Abbey:-

Rear of Abbey:-

Blanchland’s War Memorial sits beside the Abbey’s entrance pathway:-

It commemorates the village’s Great War dead. Dedication and names with inscription, “All they had they gave.”:-

Blanchland is a village in Northumberland (just.) We visited it because it was featured in a book of picturesque British villages which we have. (Titled the AA Book of British Villages.) Its buildings are lovely, all built of stone.

The village’s focal point is a kind of square whose entrance is on the left below:-

The Square. Note The Lord Crewe Arms on the left:-

The Lord Crewe Arms:-

The Square:-

The Square’s entrance porch building houses the village shop:-

One of the buildings has a stream running under it:-

An old church:-

Castle from car park:-

Main building:-

Walls to left of above:-

Walls to right:-

Model in grounds:-

Holy Trinity Church is in the centre of St Andrews, in what is a kind of town square, two sides of which are pedestrianised. It is the traditional Parish Church for the town and was where John Knox helped to start the Scottish Reformation.

For some reason it was open when we were in the town in September 2024 so we took the chance to have a look around.

East window:-

Door and west window:

The pulpit is fairly elaborate and lit up from within:-

The wooden ceiling is also worth a look, containing several armorial crests:-

Blackwell is a house built in the Arts & Crafts style near Bowness-on-Wndermere in the Lake District. It was designed by Baillie Scott and erected between 1898 and 1900 as a holiday home for Manchetser brewer Edward Holt.

Being of that era it is not perhaps surprising that the house and some of its contents bear a similarity to the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh who was a contemporary.

House from car park:-

Outhouse (to right above):-

House from terrace, a stitch of two photos:-

Detail of roan pipe:-

Ulverston in Cumbria, is the nearest biggish town to Barrow-in-Furness, about ten and a half miles further north. It was the birthplace of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame. There is a Laurel and Hardy museum in the town which we didn’t visit and a statue of the pair in the town centre.

The statue stood outside this fairly impressive building:-

Just across the road was this building:-

The Tesco’s in the town was in a minor Art Deco style. Its upper windows are completely ruined:-

Detail:-