Notes from the Cellar Discovery

Coffee Cup, found in the excavations (2 pieces glued together)

The discovery of the cellar at Parlington prompted me to make the following notes at the time, 2005

He considered the options carefully, “How could it be? No one, and I mean nobody, could have been in here for around seventy or more years, not since the main entrance area was demolished when the Porte Cochère was moved to Lotherton Hall — it’s giving a tingling sensation down my neck, spooky!… Read the full article

Advertiser Mag :: 2020 #22

Bottles discovered in the Excavation of the Cellar

Following on from the previous episodes about the cellar discovery, I should like to resume with a brief story in a light hearted vein of my archaeological work. 

Continuing excavations in the gardens during a warm, sunny and settled early July 2005, the cellar being discovered, then the stone staircase down to it unearthed.… Read the full article

Advertiser Mag :: 2020 #21

Part Two

Cellar, looking back towards the stairway entrance

The destruction of Parlington Hall was not a single event. The hall was largely unoccupied sometime after the death of Colonel Frederick Trench-Gascoigne in 1905, his son Dick and new bride preferring the recently inherited Lotherton Hall. Dick, took the view that the property was really beyond saving.… Read the full article

Advertiser Mag :: 2019 #20

Excavation down to the Cellar beneath the Small Drawing Room

The majority of articles I have written on the topic of Parlington concern historical events,  references to lost heritage or details of the estate landscape and structures. However there is one event even though some fourteen years since, still affords me a moment to marvel at what occurred.… Read the full article

The Cellar is Consigned to History Again

My excavations that re-discovered the cellar in the summer of 2005 as documented here on the Parlington History site are being consigned to history AGAIN! Sadly, the location is being filled with cheap rubble and demolition waste, not even clean stone is being used. The stairway to the cellar built almost certainly in the 1730’s at the behest of Sir Edward Gascoigne, when he constructed the central block that would endure as Parlington’s main elevation for over 250 years, is being filled by Messrs Moron & Co!… Read the full article

Tutankhamun was not born in Swaffham!

Swaffham Cemetery

Cemetery Swaffham

This may seem an odd post title, but during my visit to London last weekend, whilst on route to the V & A Museum in South Kensington, I noticed a sign in the tube network which gave dates of various luminaries from the past and their birth places. There was the name of Howard Carter [1874-1939] the Egyptologist, famous for discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun on the 26th of November 1922.… Read the full article

Local Archaeologist Gets Involved

Wall Painting Fragment of Lime Plaster
I was recently introduced to a local archaeologist who lives in Aberford and we have since discussed some of my findings at Parlington, on Sunday this last weekend I showed her some pieces of the fragments of hand painted lime plaster discovered in the demolition rubble. They ares quite possibly seventeenth or early eighteenth century.… Read the full article

Spent Cartridges

Recent excavations in the area of the Dining Room at the old Hall have uncovered some spent 303 calibre cartridge cases. Thus far two have been unearthed, one in much better condition than the other, the picture below is of the two cartridges.

cartridgecases.jpg

The spent cartridges point to the occupation during World War Two of the Army at Parlington.… Read the full article

Stained Glass

The Gascoigne sisters were known for their interest in stained glass and the nearby Almshouses built in the early 1840’s at the behest of the two heiresses is a monument to both the skills of local stonemasons and the artistic talent of glaziers of the day. It is thought that the stained glass however is not the work of the sisters, but believed to have been commissioned by them.… Read the full article