Coombe Abbey

Even though we have lived in our area for many years we had never visited Coombe Abbey, but when a friend suggested I would like it there, we decided to go. I am so glad we did. We had a wonderful time. We walked the Heron's Way path which is about half of the grounds so another visit next week is eagerly anticipated.

We parked and then started walking. This is a view of the house. It was originally founded as an abbey in the 12th century but then it was surrendered to King Henry VII during the dissolution of the monasteries. In the 16th century the abbey was converted to a country house and now it operates as a hotel.

Another view of the house

We got to the bit of the lake which is opposite the house. Lots of ducks and geese and the children were enjoying feeding them seeds that had been purchased from the shop.

The house at the end of the lake

wonderful reflections

It must be nice staying in this hotel, not just the grandeur, but also having the park at one's disposal.

In the lake.

We moved on, over the bridge

entered a wooded area, looked up

and saw a host of tree-top adventures

We stayed for a while - it was fun watching what people were up to

but then moved on, keen to get away from the crowds - the schools were still out and this part of the park was quite busy

into the woods

lots of streams here

This was the Duck Decoy. Decoys are originally from Denmark and the word decoy comes from the Dutch eendekooi meaning duck cage. This decoy is made up of four arms or pipes. These arms would have been spanned by metal hoops, which supported a tunnel of netting with tall reed screens along the arm that hid the decoy man and his dog, which resembled a fox. The decoy man would send the dog between the screens. 

The ducks, thinking the dog was a fox, would swim towards it, to keep it in sight. Then the ducks were gradually lured down the arm until they would be scared into a net at the bottom and captured. In one year at Coombe 1,500 ducks were taken from the decoy.

This is a nice, long walk, and we would constantly come across water, either in the form of a lake, or a pond, or a stream - just lovely

a little water fall

it was a sunny day, so the reflections on the water were wonderful.

And then, such joy, we came across bluebells, lots of them

they're not fully out, but they will be in a week

I love bluebells woods. Every year at this time of year I visit as many woods as I can (we are about to go to one when I have finished typing this), I take lots of photographs, but the vibrancy, the sheer glory of the colour never comes out in my photographs. Well, never mind, I so enjoy them and that's what matters

This is a circular walk, on the edge of the park, so we came to a point where we could look out of the woods - flat countryside

another peep out of the park

We then came to a large area on our right that was fenced - it's the park's heronry.

Apparently, records on Coombe's heronry go back over 220 years. It supports 60% of Warwickshire's heron population, with an average of 55 pairs per year.

We sat in the bird hide for quite a while, hoping to see a heron, but no luck this time. Never mind, we will come back.

We moved on, and then I had a bit of a shock

There's quite a few of these around the park, forming a memorial trail where people can honour and remember their loved ones. Leaves that have been cast from one of Coombe's oak leaves get attached with the name of a loved one who has died

Kevin was a colleague of mine.

We continued walking, the lake on our right

we took this path for a while, because it looked interesting, but then, turned back and continued on our way

and very soon, we knew we had come back, full circle, to the end of our walk

 

Elisabeth Frink in London

Elisabeth Frink at Messum's, London.

An exhibition of some works by Elisabeth Frink to mark the 30th anniversary of her death in 1993, aged 62. Frink was a sculptor and printmaker. Her sculptures were built up from layers of broken and distressed plaster placed on top of a wire armature, which would then be cast in bronze. The subject matter of her work was men, horses and animals.

Horse and Rider, 1985, (bronze)

Goggle Head, 1967, (bronze)

The Goggle Head sculptures were made between 1967 and 1969. Rather than portraits, these are anonymous symbols of brutality and agents of death. The goggles offer the avoidance of eye contact and a sinister edge - the eyes, concealed, is a sign of malevolence. At the time of the Algerian war, Frink saw a photograph of a man called Oufkir who was held responsible for the death of the Algerian freedom fighter Ben Barka. The blank, thuggish face, given a sinister edge by impenetrable black spectacles, haunted Frink and her first Goggle Head appeared. She stated that 'The Goggle Heads are likenesses of stupid people, portraits of stupidity, cruelty and inhumanity. Brainless, nasty people. I think my first fully conscious comments on the world's inhumanity were the Goggle Heads'.

Heads, (bronze)

These three sculptures are part of the Tribute and In Memoriam heads and they represent the polar opposite of the Goggle Heads. They are the victims of acts of brutality or the martyrs to a cause; people who are prepared to risk their life for what they believe. Conversely, they can be seen to represent victims and martyrs. Whilst representing suffering, she also hoped they demonstrated the capacity for human survival. 

Small Warrior, 1956, (bronze)

This sculpture is part of a series Frink made which are inspired by her memories of WWII aviators returning from battle in damaged and broken aeroplanes to aerodromes near her childhood home. 

Baboon, 1985, (pencil on paper)

We left the gallery and later, as we were walking along New Bond Street, we came across

Horse and Rider, 1974, (bronze)

which I had seen many times before, but it seemed appropriate to include the sculpture in this post.

The work was commissioned for this site and was installed in 1975, mounted on a granite plinth. It is part of an edition of three; another cast is in Whichester, which I have also seen, and which you can see  here

A man, riding on a horse, naked and barefoot, without tack - no saddle, bridle or other riding equipment. The man's right hand rests on the horse's stylised mane, with his left hand resting on the horse's left flank. The horse is standing still on four legs, ready to walk. The figures of man and horse are slightly stylised, with lightly defined musculature; the horse has a short mane and tail. Both have their heads turned to their left, as if looking at something.

 The sculpture has been described by Frink as 'an ageless symbol of man and horse'.