York Association Newsletter

An Association of National Trust Members and Supporters

June 2019 Number 189 Contents Page Chair’s Letter 3 Membership 4 Mystery Tour 4 Social and Fundraising Events 5 Holidays 6 Day trips 8 Country walks 10 NT Yorkshire News 15 Day Trip Review 17 Holiday reviews 18 Dates for your Diary Back cover

Enclosed with this Newsletter are the AGM minutes, Holiday fliers and booking forms for Day Trips, Full Day Walks, and Social Activities (7 pages). Please contact the Newsletter editor if any of these are missing.

Chair: Catherine Brophy [email protected] 01904 331273 Secretary: Jean Haywood [email protected] 01904 702402 Treasurer: Valerie Laud [email protected] 01904 704600 Membership: Elinor Bailey [email protected] 01347 821262 Day Trips: Colin Sherwood [email protected] 01904 640915 Walks: Alison Rutter [email protected] 01904 703430 Holidays: Peter Drew [email protected] 01904 702285 Events: Christine Truman [email protected] 01937 541163 Talks: Roger King [email protected] 01904 761274 Newsletter: Catherine Brophy [email protected] 01904 331273

Publicity: Mererid Hunt [email protected] 01653 690992

Website: Mike Morrow [email protected] 01904 654546

Cover: The Menagerie Garden at Nostell Priory © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

2

Chair's Letter We are very grateful to Roger King for his sterling work leading the Association over the last four years. Roger is continuing as the Talks organiser and is also working on projects for the 50th anniversary next year.

Thanks also to Mike Morrow, our excellent Web Editor, who has greatly improved the YANT website and overseen the successful installation by a new provider. Do have a look - and see below for a reminder of how to log on.

We have received letters of thanks from the National Trust for the Association’s generous gift as a result of our fund raising activities. These included individual letters of appreciation from Goddards, Nostell Priory and Nunnington Hall. See Christine Truman’s Project’s Group report on page 6 for more details and we hope you will be able to support future fund raising events.

Both the Programme and Walks Groups are providing some fascinating activities for members over the next three months, which I am sure many of you will want to enjoy. Both of these groups would really appreciate the help of new committee members so I do hope we will be able to recruit some new volunteers for them.

Finally, please join us for our major fund raising event the “Summer Fair at St Crux” on Friday 28th June from 10am. We need both helpers and customers at this event so please do offer to help or pop in for a cup of tea and a delicious cake. I look forward to meeting you at many of these events throughout the summer. Catherine Brophy

Website Reminder

www.yant.org.uk

User Name is: member Password is: yantmember

3

Membership

We are very pleased to have welcomed the following new members to the Association in the last three months, bringing the total membership to 584. We look forward to meeting you all at some of the various events organised during the next few months. We will be arranging a coffee morning in September for new members who have joined since October 2018. Personal invitations will be sent out soon with the date and venue.

John and Catherine Cuckson Brenda Crohill Joanne Day Christine Harver Dennis & Anne Reaston Susan Roberts Anne Palmer Pam Smith Patricia Thornton Janet Cooper Marjorie Winn Joan Wakefield Stephen and Jacqueline Holman

Elinor Bailey, Membership Secretary

Mystery Tour

Tuesday 10th September

This year we will be approaching our destination by a route that you will almost certainly not know. We will have a break for coffee at around 11am and reach our lunch venue by approximately 1.15pm.

Cost £35. A booking form with details is enclosed.

Ingleby’s Coach leaves Memorial Gardens at 9.30am and Middlethorpe Drive at 9.45am. Return to York by 4.30pm approximately.

4

Social and Fundraising Events

Summer Fair at St Crux Friday 28th June from 10am

All offers of help are greatly appreciated, during the day, to help our most important fundraising event of the year. If you can help, even for an hour, with preparation and cleaning up or if you plan to bake for the event please contact

Christine Truman on 01937 541163

For books to donate and offers to help on the bookstall, contact Alison Rutter on 01904 703430

Scones and cakes can be delivered between 9am and 10am at St Crux on the day.

Presentation to Julia Guppy ©Colin Wright

5

Summer Garden Party at Goddards, Tadcaster Road, YO24 1GG on Tuesday August 6th at 2.30pm Join us to enjoy the house and gardens with a full afternoon tea. Tickets are limited to 50 places due to health & safety rules. Please note there is disabled parking only. The Coastliner and buses 4, 13 etc stop close by on Tadcaster Road. Booking form enclosed with this newsletter.

We had to cancel the March event with the Daytones Choir as too few tickets had been sold. We have decided to concentrate on organising events from May to November in future. We would appreciate any ideas members have for enjoyable fundraising activities.

The Projects Group has welcomed Joanne Day to the committee as the new Treasurer and Carole Wright is now the Secretary. The group organises events for members to enjoy which, at the same time, make a small profit to give to the local National Trust houses for particular projects. Each year we receive a wish list from which we select items to support. This year our donation will provide new garden terrace furniture at Goddards and new garden seating at Nunnington Hall as well as a bench for the Menagerie Garden at Nostell Priory. At the March AGM committee member Chris Adams presented a cheque for £6,500 to Julia Guppy of the National Trust.

Date for your diary: a History Wardrobe event on Friday 1st November on the theme of “All Creatures Great and Small”. Details and booking form with the September newsletter.

We do hope to see many of you at future events.

Christine Truman, Chairman Projects Group

Holidays

YANT Holidays 2019 and 2020. Places are still available on the remaining 2019 YANT holidays to Herefordshire (1 – 5 July), the Isle of Wight (10 – 14 August) and Denmark & Sweden (23 – 30 September).

6

Archaeologist Clive Warsop will be the guide for the Archaeology of Denmark & Sweden, one of Brightwater Holidays’ most popular archaeological tours with a host of attractions, from the sailing ship Vasa to the amazing centuries-old bog ‘bodies’. Michael Gill is the guide for Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight.

Looking ahead to 2020, Brightwater Holidays are offering the once-in-a- decade opportunity to witness the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria, during a holiday that combines the scenic delights of the Austrian Tyrol with this epic production depicting the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Brightwater’s tour departs 12 – 17 August 2020 with flights from London, or from Manchester at a supplement of £100 per person (transfers to Manchester Airport not included). Note that this does not clash with YANT’s proposed Rhône River Cruise, 22 – 29 August 2020. See the enclosed flier for further details.

Please contact Peter Drew on 01904 702285 or Andrew Sharples at Brightwater Holidays on 01334 845388, for further details.

Lake District Winter Break Thursday 5th to Friday 6th December inclusive 2019 Based at The Skiddaw Hotel, Keswick Including a performance of “A Christmas Carol” At Theatre by the Lake, Keswick On Friday enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, (included), at “The Macdonald Old England Hotel and Spa” beside Lake Windermere

Book with Brightwater Holidays on 01334 845388, See flier enclosed for more information

Peter Drew, YANT Tours Organiser

7

Day Trips Tuesday 9th July: Visit to Gorton Monastery and Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Manchester

This month we shall be visiting two interesting but very different buildings in Manchester, starting with the Church and Friary of St Francis, a 19th-century former Franciscan friary in Gorton. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867. Most of the building work was done by the friars themselves, with a brother acting as clerk of works. The church closed for worship in 1989 and fell into disrepair. It is a prominent and fascinating example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, and has had Grade II* listed status since 1963. It was designed by Edward Welby Pugin and is generally regarded as his masterpiece. His father, A.W.N. Pugin, promoted the revival of Gothic architecture and designed the interior of the Palace of Westminster and the tower housing Big Ben.

On arrival at the monastery at about 11.00 a.m., you will be given a 45 minute talk giving an insight into the life and work of the generations of friars who created and cherished this masterpiece of architectural and religious significance, plus the story of the rise, decline and fall of the monastery and its magnificent restoration . You will then have time to look around the monastery before a soup and sandwich lunch (included). The monastery is fully accessible. The coach will depart at 1.30 p.m.

It is a short drive to 84 Plymouth Grove now known as Elizabeth Gaskell's House. The Grade II* listed neo-classical villa was the residence of William and Elizabeth Gaskell from 1850 till their deaths in 1884 and 1865 respectively. Many of Mrs Gaskell’s books were written here. The house was built between 1835 and 1841 on the outer edge of the growing city. It was built as part of a new suburban development planned by Richard Lane and is a rare example of the elegant Regency-style villas once popular in Manchester. Although there are few furnishings that belonged to the Gaskells, the furniture in the house is all from that period. The chintz for the curtains and loose covers was printed from a 1850s design and the carpets have been specially woven, using Victorian patterns preserved by a mill in Halifax. The fireplaces, sourced locally, date from around 1840 when the

8 house was built. You will have a guided tour of the house, which is fully accessible with lifts to all floors. If time permits, you may be able to visit the garden, which has been planted to show the sort of garden that the Gaskells enjoyed. The choice of plants has been informed by references in Elizabeth’s letters and novels, as well as by Victorian garden history. You will be offered tea or coffee and a slice of cake in the tea room before the coach departs at 4.30 p.m. arriving back in York at about 6.30 p.m.

Ingleby’s coach will pick up at Memorial Gardens, Leeman Road, York at 8.45 a.m. and Middlethorpe Drive (end nearest Tesco Roundabout), Dringhouses at 9.00 a.m. The journey time is about two hours and will include a coffee and comfort stop. The cost of the trip is £36, which includes entrance, guided tour and lunch at the Monastery, entrance, guided tour and refreshment at Elizabeth Gaskell’s house, coach hire and driver’s gratuity.

Thursday 8th August 2019: Visit to Nostell Priory (National Trust Property)

This month we will be visiting another gem of God’s own country and one of the National Trust’s finest houses, Nostell Priory. The name commemorates an Augustinian priory founded in the early C12th on a site close to the present house. The last prior, Robert Ferrar, surrendered the Priory to Henry VIII in 1540 and the buildings and land were then granted to Dr Thomas Leigh one of the King’s appointed Visitors. Dr Leigh converted three ranges of the Priory buildings into a manor house known as Nostall Hall.

In 1650 the Winn family from Gwydir in North Wales bought the estate. They had made their fortune as textile merchants in London. George Wynne had been Draper to Queen Elizabeth I. Three generations of the family resided in the old manor house, but in the C18th Sir Rowland Winn, 4th Baronet, decided to abandon the old hall and build a modern house.

Sir Rowland had been on the Grand Tour and returned to England fired up with plans for his new mansion. He appointed a gentleman-architect from Beverley, Colonel James Moyser. He was an enthusiast for the work of Andrea Palladio and based the design of Nostell on Palladio’s Villa Mocenigo at Dolo. The building work was eventually overseen by James Paine, who made considerable alterations to the original scheme. Paine did not finish 9

the house as Sir Rowland Winn, 5th Baronet received a bequest and brought in his own architect, Robert Adam. Adam started work on the interior of the house employing craftsmen such as Antonio Zucchi, Joseph Rose and Thomas Chippendale. Chippendale was responsible for the complete furnishing of the house with over 100 pieces by him still remaining in the Priory. The furniture is particularly interesting as it varies in quality and style from expensive chinoiserie pieces to a chopping block in the kitchen.

The Winn family has continued to live in the house up to the present day although in 1953 the house, with its principal contents and Chippendale furniture, was given to the National Trust. On arrival at Nostell Priory, light refreshments will be served. This will be followed by a talk from one of the volunteer staff about the history of the house and family. There will then be a short break before lunch is served in a private room. Lunch will be soup, sandwiches, cakes and tea/coffee.

After lunch there will be an opportunity to visit the house on a free flow basis. This includes the exhibition on Chippendale “The Man and the Brand”. Nostell is blessed with a huge variety of landscapes and wildlife. There will be time to explore the newly created Kitchen Garden with its orchard of historic Yorkshire apple trees, vegetable patch and flowerbeds. The Menagerie House, designed by Robert Adam, is also worth a visit. This can be found in the parkland beyond the Middle Lake. There are further pleasure grounds and woods in the vicinity of the Lower Lake. There is a shop, second hand bookshop and café in the Courtyard. Any afternoon refreshments will be on an individual basis.

Please note that there is a short walk from the coach park up to the entrance to the house and stable block. There are stairs up to the 1st floor apartments in the house. The gardens and grounds are extensive although there are well laid out paths in most areas. Stout footwear is recommended.

Ingleby’s coach will pick up at Memorial Gardens, Leeman Road, York, at 9.30am, Middlethorpe Drive (end nearest to Tesco Roundabout) at 9.45am and Tadcaster Bus Station at 10.05am. The journey time to Nostell is about one hour. The coach will depart from Nostell at 4.00pm. Arrival time back in York will be around 5.15-5.30pm dependent upon traffic. 10

The cost of the trip is £30, which includes the coach hire, morning refreshments, talk, lunch and gratuities. Please do not forget to bring your National Trust Card with you.

Walks Group

Social Evening and Quiz Night

A very pleasant evening was enjoyed on 15 March at the New Earswick Bowls Club. Thanks to Roger King for acting as Quiz Master and pitching the questions at just the right level of difficulty.

The Walks Group will be handling the bookstall at St Crux on Friday 28 June. If you have any books to donate please contact Alison on [email protected] or leave a message on 01904 703430. We do need help on the day please so let Alison know if you can spare an hour or two.

Country Walks

Full-day walks with coach transport and afternoon tea.

NB. Walkers participate at their own risk and must be capable of completing the distance in open countryside over uneven ground, with some ascents and descents, in a variety of weather conditions. Suitable clothing and footwear must be worn and a packed lunch and drinks carried.

Saturday, 22nd June. CWP 2019/6. Whitby Distance 6.5 miles Leaders: Karen and Andy Burnard (07796 572813, 07505 293781, 01904 651218) Standard: Easy A walk from Whitby Harbour up to the cinder path along the route of the disused Whitby to Scarborough railway line to Stainsacre, and then on a field path via Robin Hood field and Beacon Hill, to join the Cleveland Way near the disused lighthouse, and Whitby Fog Signal station. The walk then continues along the Cleveland Way, with cliff edge views, to Whitby Abbey and church and down the famous 199 steps into the town to rejoin the coach at Whitby

11

Harbour. The climb up to the cinder path is gradual with a paved surface and seats for a rest; the cinder path itself is level. The path across the fields and the Cleveland Way may be muddy depending on the weather. There are a small number of kissing gates and stiles and care must be taken when crossing the A171 road when leaving Whitby and again near Stainsacre. There may be time to explore Whitby before the coach leaves for Hawsker where the WI will provide us with a high tea including a ham salad, trifle and cakes.

Please indicate any dietary requirements, e.g., a vegetarian option, on the booking form.

Ingleby’s coach leaves the Memorial Gardens, Leeman Road, at 9 am and Rawcliffe Bar Park and Ride at 9 15 am. Cost per head £22, which includes coach travel, tea and all gratuities. Please send the booking slip and payment to Celia Rutt at the address given on the booking form by Saturday 15 June. Later booking may be available by contacting Celia on 01904 627384.

Saturday 20th July . CWP 2019/7 Full day walk: A coastal walk from Cayton Bay to Hunmanby Gap – 8 miles Leader: Tony Brook (01904 703172) Standard: Moderate

Starting from Cayton Bay the walk follows the Cleveland Way along the coast to Filey Brigg and the Country Park where we will eat our lunch. There are lovely views out over Filey Bay and Flamborough from the cliff top. After lunch we will descend to Filey beach and do a mixture of beach and promenade walking as the tide will be out. There may be an opportunity to buy ice creams so bring your pocket money. There is a charge of 20p for the public toilets. Finally we will walk along the firm sand to Hunmanby Gap from where our coach will take us to Flamborough WI for a salad, trifle and puddings tea.

Ingleby’s coach will leave Memorial Gardens at 8 30 am and Rawcliffe Bar P&R at 8 45 am, returning to York by 7 pm. Cost of the trip to include coach and tea will be £22. Please use the booking form in the Newsletter or online to reach Celia Rutt by Saturday 13 July. Contact Celia on 01904 627384 for possible late bookings. 12

Saturday 21 September CWP 2019/8 – Yorkshire Dales: Gargrave & Leeds/Liverpool Canal Walk Leader urgently required. Help will be given with the recce. If you can help please contact Alison on [email protected] or 01904 703430.

This easy, flat walk with a few slight inclines and descents starts at the small, pretty village of Gargrave, between Skipton and Settle on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Following the Pennine Way we walk across undulating fields to the village of East Marton. The walk then joins the towpath of the Leeds/Liverpool canal, which takes us back to Gargrave where we will join the coach for the 20 minutes journey to Settle. A salad and cake tea will be prepared by member of St John’s Methodist Church.

Ingleby’s coach will leave Memorial Gardens at 8 30 am and Rawcliffe Bar P&R at 8 45 am. Return to York by 7 pm.

Cost of the trip to include coach, tea and gratuities is £22. Bookings by Saturday 14 September at the latest using the booking form with the Newsletter.

Circular half day walks using own transport.

Tuesday 11 June: Amble along the Pocklington Canal Leader: Angela De Muynck – approx. 4 miles, 2.5 hrs Standard: Easy This gentle walk starts at 10 am at Pocklington Canal Head which is 10 miles east of York along the A1079, YO42 1NW. Parking is available at the Canal Head and also on the opposite side of the road on Canal Lane, in front of the (now closed) Wellington Oak pub. There are toilets at the cafes at the previous roundabout near the garage and turning to Pocklington.

Following the towpath we will walk along this disused stretch of the canal in the direction of Coates Bridge. The canal is a site of Special Scientific Interest and is a haven for wild life. After about 75 minutes walking we will return to the Canal Head along the same path. Possible lunch venues are The Plough Inn at Allerthorpe or Langlands Garden Centre, which is 4 miles in the other direction and has a café for hot food and enormous slices of cake. 13

Thursday 11 July: Hovingham, grid ref SE668756. Distance 4.8 miles with a shorter option of 4.2. Leader: Sue Pearson (07702 455160 or 10904 412059) Standard: Easy Please meet and park in the public car park near the village hall in the centre of Hovingham for a 10 am start. An easy walk along farmland paths, stone tracks and minor roads, including the pretty village of Stonegrave, with its interesting church, (a shorter option misses out Stonegrave). Mostly flat, no stiles, but could be muddy in places. Lunch available afterwards in Hovingham at The Malt Shovel or the local bakery.

Thursday 15 August: 6.5 mile walk around Helmsley Leader: Dorothy Pope (07985 553523) This intermediate length circular walk starts at 10 30 am near the public toilets in the car park near Helmsley Castle. Parking in this car park will cost £5 so car sharing is advised. The walk climbs gradually up Ashdale with two short, steep descents into Beck Dale on good tracks. There is one stile on the route. Please bring a packed lunch and drink to be carried on the walk. There are plenty of tearooms in Helmsley for after the walk if required.

Tuesday 10 September: 4 mile walk Bishopthorpe to Acaster Malbis Leaders: Alison and Nigel Rutter (01904 703430) Standard: Easy This 4 mile easy walk starts at 10 15 am at the Social Club on Main Street, Bishopthorpe and, after following a short stretch of the Solar Way, crosses fields on good paths to Acaster Malbis. The return route follows the River Ouse back to Bishopthorpe, passing the Palace and old church ruins. There is some road walking.

Parking may be difficult in Bishopthorpe. The half-hourly No 11 bus – 9 40 am from the Railway Station – arrives in the village just before 10 am. There are numerous cafes and pubs for lunch.

Please park with consideration where roadside/village parking is involved. An administration charge of £1 will be collected on each short walk.

14

Suggestions for walks and offers to lead are always welcome, in particular from November onwards. The Walks Committee hope that you are enjoying our programme of short and full day walks. Sadly, unless we get more volunteers to join the committee and/or offers to lead walks, the Walks Group will be unable to continue. Several long-standing members of the Committee have retired this year and the Chairperson is also stepping down after 9 years in office.

We are sure that there are some of our regular walkers who would be able to bring fresh energy and ideas to the group to help it to continue. If you feel you would like to help in any way please contact Alison Rutter on 01904 703430 or 07523 944065 or [email protected] or me for a chat about what is involved in either leading a walk or being a committee member – or both on 01904 426188, 07905 257381 or [email protected]

Many thanks in anticipation.

Brenda Batty (Secretary)

News from the NT in Yorkshire

Beningbrough: Yorkshire! Achievement, Grit & Controversy Exhibition

This exhibition of sculpture, painting, photography and printmaking features over 25 well known Yorkshire achievers, game changers and nonconformists, and considers some of the typical character traits most associated with God’s Own County!

15

Benningbrough © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden “The Settlers Society”: Do you have any family history about them? The Vyner family, who owned Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal at the time, set up the Settlers Society in 1934. Commander Clare Vyner wanted to help boys from deprived areas in Tyneside to escape the poverty of the great depression. Boys aged 14-17 left their families and came to live in the camp to work the land where they were trained in a range of skills, from gardening and forestry to general estate work and domestic service, to help them find jobs in the future. If anyone has any family history about them the team at Fountains would be interested as so far they have found the families of only two of the 100 boys who were involved between 1934 and 1937. More information on the website, or ring 01756 643116.

Goddards House and Garden: “Find out Fridays: everything but the kitchen sink” on Fridays in June. An opportunity to learn more about special items from the Terry’s home which are not usually on display. No need to book.

Nunnington Hall: Birds and Beasts - David Cooke sculpture exhibition, Tuesday 25 June until 15 September, 10.30am – 5pm Presented within the Nunnington gardens, this special ceramic and bronze sculpture exhibition is inspired by animals, shapes and patterns of the natural 16 world. Each piece captures the quirky characteristics of the animal favouring reptiles and birds.

Day Trips Review

Brodsworth Hall - 12th April 2019 It was a lovely sunny day as Ingleby’s coach, driven by Darren, set off on our journey, arriving at Brodsworth Hall at around 10.00 am. It was possible on approach to see the very impressive Italianate house through the trees. We were met at the visitor centre by our guide Mark and divided into 2 groups. Originally supplied by Lapworth Brothers of London, most of the original furniture, carpets and curtains still survive; the interiors having been conserved as they would have been when lived in by various members of the Thellusson family.

Brodsworth is noted for its collection of paintings and sculptures, the most memorable of which are the greyhounds in the gardens and the horse paintings by the renowned horse painter James Ward. There is also a magnificent painting of Sabine Thellusson and her son Charles by Sir Thomas Lawrence in the dining room. The result of a complicated will leaving the house, eventually, to the original owner’s grandson, and then in trust for his daughter, created a situation similar to Jarndyce and Jarndyce in Dickens’ Bleak House.

Sylvia Grant-Dalton was the last owner to live at Brodsworth where she remained for 30 years, supported by only 3 members of staff. After her death in 1988 her daughter, Pamela Williams, gave the hall and gardens to English Heritage. Before joining our coach for our next venue, The Mansion House, Doncaster, there was time to explore the beautiful gardens and grounds surrounding Brodsworth. The Mansion House is a very imposing Georgian building in the centre of Doncaster. Our tour began in the large board-room where we were given a potted history of the house which was built in 1749 and is one of only 3 17

remaining mansion houses in the country. Many of the fine rooms are open to the public, and it is a popular venue for weddings and, in our case, afternoon tea. A wonderful array of sandwiches, cakes and tea were served to us with traditional Yorkshire hospitality. A very welcome meal much enjoyed by all. After tea we re-joined our coach and made our way back to York after an extremely enjoyable day’s outing. Janet Harper Holiday Reviews

Sorrento, Capri, the Amalfi Coast and Naples, 24th – 31st March

Our holiday began in the coastal town of Sorrento in southern Italy perched on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples. We explored the historic centre of this popular resort, a warren of narrow alleys that house a variety of small shops selling antiques, ceramics, lacework, marquetry and lemon products.

A winding road led us along the Amalfi coast, its many twists and turns offering stunning views of the sheer cliffs and rugged shoreline interspersed with small beaches and pastel coloured fishing villages. Arabic elements were to be found in the Villa Rufolo with its tropical terraced gardens, geometric flower beds and umbrella pines and the sea seemed to blend with the sky on the clifftop terrace of the Villa Cimbrone where the gardens contain many decorative features, such as fountains, nymphaea, statues, small temples and pavilions.

We sailed to the island of Capri visiting Villa San Michele, high above sea level with panoramic views of the town and its harbour where relics and works of art from ancient Egyptian and Classical Antiquity were to be found in the gardens. We explored a 13th century Carthusian monastery, the Certosa di San Giacomo, with its cloister of Roman marble columns, charterhouse including a pharmacy, a women’s church and accommodation for the monks and guests. The island was home to the famous singer and actress Gracie Fields and some of us visited her white marble tomb in the local cemetery.

A day was spent at Pompeii and Herculaneum both buried in volcanic ash and pumice following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The excavated

18 towns, which were largely preserved under the ash, provide a fascinating insight into the life of their inhabitants. We walked the ancient streets visiting the ruins of the houses, temples and shrines occasionally glimpsing the plaster casts made from the voids left by human bodies in the hardened ash.

We toured the Royal Palace of Caserta, a former royal residence and one of the largest Baroque palaces in the world, constructed in the 18th century and modelled on Versailles. The regimented parkland has a wide canal running along its central axis descending in levels from the horizon with fountains, cascades and statues from Classical Antiquity and a botanical garden called “The English Garden” for its elegant naturalistic taste.

In Naples we visited the National Archaeological Museum, which houses collections from Greek, Roman and Renaissance times including many artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the Chapel Sansevero, with its tomb monuments and sculptures including the emotive Veiled Christ, an 18th century masterpiece sculptured from a single block of marble showing the figure of Christ draped with a translucent veil.

Neapolitan painting, decorative art and ancient Roman sculptures were to be found in the Museum of Capodimonte, an art museum that was once a grand Bourbon palace. Our holiday concluded in the Catacombs of San Gennaro, a paleo-Christian burial and worship site carved out of tuff and porous rock dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries, the two level layout of this important holy site is vast.

An interesting and diverse itinerary, the spirit of friendliness and community in the group and the enthusiasm, knowledge and boundless energy of our intrepid guide Clive Warsop all made for an excellent holiday.

Anne Richardson

19

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

JUNE 11 Short Walk: Pocklington Canal 19 Day Trip: Trentham Gardens and Potteries Museum & Art Gallery 22 Full-day walk: Whitby 26 Drop-in lunch, Walmgate Ale House & Bistro from 12 noon 28 Summer Fair at St Crux, The Shambles, from 10am

JULY 1-5 Holiday: Hereford 9 Day Trip: Manchester 11 Short Walk: Hovingham 20 Full-day walk: Cayton Bay to Hunmanby Gap 31 Drop-in lunch, Walmgate Ale House & Bistro from 12 noon

AUGUST 6 Summer Garden Party at Goddards 8 Day Trip: Nostell Priory 15 Short Walk: Helmsley 10-14 Holiday: Isle of Wight 28 Drop-in lunch, Walmgate Ale House & Bistro from 12 noon

SEPTEMBER 10 Mystery Tour 10 Short Walk: Bishopthorpe 21 Full-day walk: Yorkshire Dales 23-30 Holiday: Denmark & Sweden

Please send contributions and photographs for the September Newsletter to Catherine Brophy [email protected] by Monday August 5th

Printed by Print Solutions, Audax Close, Clifton Moor, York, YO30 4RA. (01904 690090)