And so to the northernmost outposts of Nottinghamshire. Quite by accident I found myself on an old section of the Bawtry to Gainsborough road at a place remarkably called Drakeholes, and this pair of delightful, if somewhat forlorn, pair of lodges. Until recently they were apparently so overgrown they looked like they were constructed with architectural growths of ivy and other rampant vegetation. Now it's all been cleared away in anticipation of restoration, revealing the lodges as almost X-rays of buildings with the appearance of red brick both under the peeling stucco and in precariously revealed foundations. They once heralded a now lost driveway to Wiseton Hall, built in the early eighteenth century for the Acklom family but demolished and replaced by a smaller house in 1960. Equally remarkable is the fact that the foreground seen here is in fact the start of a tunnel on the Chesterfield Canal, which just to the north makes a sudden right-hand turn before decanting into the broad reaches of the River Trent at West Stockwith. A tiny brick tunnel entrance is just out of shot, adding another fascinating glimpse of an all but forgotten age.
Kelsale, Suffolk
2 days ago
11 comments:
I like the new looking birdhouse on the tree stump, I suppose that was restored first :)
Unusual looking wall/fence also...put together with mortar and with half-circle pieces on the top. I don't think I've seen one like this before.
That wall certainly is odd. In fact, the more I look at it all, the odder it becomes.
They're beautiful in their decay, and thank you for finding and recording them. But I do hope someone restores them soon. Vinogirl beat me to it with her comment about the birdhouse – the sheds look rather impressive too.
Reminds me of a WW1 battlefield photograph somehow - a backdrop to a group of exhausted Tommies.
Something of a shed collection in the background too. Speaking as a sheddist of course.
Is that carving on the front door of the lhs lodge? Looks interesting too, any chance of another pic????
These poor little lodges are listed grade II. There's an icehouse somewhere beyond the lodges - don't suppose it's in any better condition.
Isabella: I only had time for the one pic. unfortunately.
If this had been headed "Where's this then?" I would have guessed that it was a border crossing in Sub Saharan Africa. I can see why you stopped to photograph it.
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