We’ve been to the peculier of Masham. Delivering.
First we went to Hackfall (again) and among lots of other things we saw this elm pipe, water delivery – now in use as a bench (there are a couple of themes in this post). The hole in this pipe was bored by hand using a large (I would estimate 4 inch) spoon bit with a decently sized handle – I’d be going for about 5 foot long.
Like this:
I think the near end is the butt of one tapered pipe broken off inside the female end of the complete one. The other end is tapered where it fit into the next one along. If it was anything to do with me I’d be preserving this in a perhaps more sympathetic way than as a bench. We don’t really have elms big enough to make pipes from anymore, and I bet those spoon drills are hard to come by, not to mention chaps tough enough to turn ‘em, remember spoon bits have no leader and need to be pushed in all the way through. This one was about 5 foot long. This pipe must have been used to lead water to the restored fountain that works from a natural spring, but was off today.
The ramsons were out in force.
As was Jack by the Hedge, along with his pals, nettles and goose grass.
Apparently Jack i’th’hedge is a good substitute for garlic for those folk who don’t like their garlic too strong.
The violets were out too.
Did I mention it doesn’t cost anything to visit this wood and is in driving distance of home, and we were on our way to The Old Mill anyway? No aeroplanes involved.
One of the many pleasure features:
And another:
Feast your eyes on those masonry joints. This is how Coldstones Cut should have been executed, can’t they do this anymore?
Dead wood felled and lying to rot, also opening up a stream vista I know dead wood is a great conservation asset, but there were quite a few good straight-grained pieces of ash and oak that would have been great to work.
There was a great rough cut bench in Hackfall, loved it (watch out for forthcoming pale imitations!)
Hackfall is next to the village of Grewelthorpe – very easy on the eye:
Look at those Yorkshire corbels stopping the roof coping stones slipping off the eaves. The near-to roofs have them absent – watch out below! Chimneys in variety still in use.
In Masham, we noticed the primary school was still in a very old building, even though extended as recently as 1834:
Great, good to see an offset door and the old school bell.
Masham is just far enough away from everywhere else to have its own personality – like this part of Quaker Terrace:
Get those original Yorkshire sliding sashes – what other type of window is needed? Not sure whether this is a barber’s shop as the pole suggests, but it smelled like one.
The town is well worth visiting, and even had a vegetable shop. There is a very large market place where the Saturday market is held. I might also mention that there are both Theakston and Black Sheep brewery in Masham which has a thirsty population of only about 1,200 souls.
And at last we arrived to deliver the bench – here it is at The Old Mill (you can commission your own in my shop):
As a bonus there is an apotropaic daisy wheel on the window head (click on the image to enlarge) you don’t want the evil one in your mill now, do you?
You maybe can’t see but the arms are styled on sycamore seed wings, but the bench is all solid oak from Bolton Abbey. Phew, that was a lot of work, must sit down.
