Friday, June 10, 2016

Five on Friday

It's Friday so once again I'm joining in with  Amy at Love Made my Home for this week's Five on Friday. 

On Tuesday we needed to visit nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme.  It is a small market town just four miles from the city centre of Stoke-on-Trent and is quite a lively town because of its close proximity to Keele University.

After a wander aroud the  centre we went up to The Brampton which is in a lovely area of the town.


  There are some beautiful old trees along the roadside and in the park and of course the Borough of Newcastle Museum and Art Gallery. 


 There is a garden, pond and aviary in the grounds too. 
 

Below are five things I spotted whilst strolling around

 1.  The Universal Woman - of WW1,  based on a passage from Vera Brittain's autobiographical book Testament of Youth in which she describes a moment in time when she sat on a bench on The Brampton and pondered about how peaceful it was and hard to believe that men were fighting and being killed just over the channel.  I'm going to write more about this sculpture by Andrew Edwards and the Vera Brittain connection in my next post.

 2. Tom Brown Tivey (1892 - 1966)

He served with the 5th North Staffordshire Regiment and was awarded a Military Cross for bravery after he was wounded in 1917.  He did return from the war and worked as a lecturer at the North Staffordshire College of Building. He was also a novelist writing several 'who-done-it' books. The statue was carved from what remained of an old Horse Chestnut tree by local sculptor Anthony Hammond as a tribute to all those from the area who fought in WW1.

 3. The Russian Cannon
The cannon dates from 1840 and was captured at the end of the Crimean War c.1856.  It was presented by Samuel Christy MP to the Borough of Newcastle.
 
 4.  The Market Cross (part of)
 First erected in 1820 in front of the Guildhall in the town centre the column was moved to its present position in 1984 after repair work had been carried out

5.  Ceramic Mosaic 
Made by the children of the local Chesterton Primary school to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the second World War. 

Click on the link below to find other bloggers who are joining in with 


Have a lovely weekend everyone.

36 comments:

  1. Lovely five Rosie. The Bramptons looks like such a peaceful place. Love the statue from the tree and the ww1 lady in her sear. Have a great weekend. B x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The WW1 nurse is such a poignant image isn't it?:)

      Delete
  2. Now that looks like somewhere I should make the effort to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Museum is fascinating, small but lots of interesting collections, a proper town museum:)

      Delete
  3. I love that they built the statue because of Vera Brittain's book. In another like I planned to study Law at Keele, it looks as though I might of missed a trick. Lovely photos Rosie, have a great weekend xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did an OU summer school at Keele long before we ever dreamt of moving to this area. I've always loved Vera Brittain's book so it was great to see the statue:)

      Delete
  4. What a great informative 5 you've given us this week, the statues are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Magie glad you enjoyed the post:)

      Delete
  5. You found five wonderful things wandering around the park. I really love The Universal woman. Look forward to hearing more.

    Have a great weekend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sharon glad you enjoyed the post:)

      Delete
  6. Fantastic! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the Universal Woman. Have a good weekend. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll put a post together over the next day or two about the statue:)

      Delete
  7. The Bramptons look a lovely relaxing place to visit. I read Testament of Youth quite a few years ago so am looking forward to hearing more about the Universal Woman. Enjoy the weekend. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember reading the book some years ago after seeing the TV adaptation with Cheryl Campbell as Vera I re-read it again later:)

      Delete
  8. What a great place to visit. I too am looking forward to hearing more about the Universal woman.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the visit. I'll be writing more soon:)

      Delete
  9. Nice five, looking forward to hearing more about the Universal Woman.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely place to make a trip to. I love the mosaic that the primary children put together. Have a great weekend xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mosaic is fascinating isn't it? There are quite a few of these across the potteries done from shards of china by school pupils under the supervision of a local artist:)

      Delete
  11. Thank you for sharing these wonderful and informative pictures with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Elizabeth glad you enjoyed the photos:)

      Delete
  12. I like how the statue of Tom Brown Tivey was carved from the remains of an old tree. I love the Universal Woman too! Have a lovely weekend Rosie. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was good to save the tree in that way otherwise it would have been taken down completely. Hope you have a lovely weekend too:)

      Delete
  13. What interesting sculptures and objects and artworks. It was really interesting to see them and to read about them too. I will look forward to more! Thank you for taking part in Five On Friday. I hope you have a great weekend! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Amy, glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for continuing to organise Five on Friday:)

      Delete
  14. My OH was at Keele University in the 60s.I remember Keele village being very pretty and also going to the theatre in Newcastle.Is there still a theatre there?Should have explored the area more but when you are in love etc etc you don't do that!!!!LOh, to go back to those times.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there is a theatre Barbara its called the New Vic and is on Etruria road, it's a theatre in the round and puts on some interesting plays and concerts. Apparently the old theatre, when Peter Cheesman was there, was on Hartshill Road. I remember travelling by bus from Nottinghamshire to the old theatre to see a Shakespeare play with a class of other A level students - many years ago and before we ever dreamt of moving over here. I wonder if it is the old theatre you remember?:)

      Delete
  15. What an interesting 5. Loved the universal woman. Will look forward to your next post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the post. More coming soon:)

      Delete
  16. What an interesting post and great photos. The Brampton looks a lovely area to walk round and I would love to visit the museum :) Look forward to reading more about The Universal Woman. Have a lovely weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a lovely old fashioned town museum with a little bit of everything:)

      Delete
  17. What a lovely visit to Newcastle-under-Lyme and The Brampton. So much to see! It's armchair traveling for me and fun! Thank you and have a lovely week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the visit, hope you too have a lovely weekend:)

      Delete
  18. I've never been to Newcastle-under-Lyne, it looks as though it's well worth visiting. I really like the wooden carving of Tome Brown Tivey - nice to know that he survived WW1.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes, it is good he survived when I first saw the sculpture I assumed he had been killed until I read up about him. New castle has quite an ordinary town centre but has some beautful houses and the Museum is very interesting:)

    ReplyDelete