Stanley Kubrick and St. Albans
Several weeks ago, we biked down to St. Albans for their Saturday morning market. On the way, we passed a manor house:
I looked it up when we got home, and it's Childwickbury Manor. According to its Wikipedia page, American film directory Stanley Kubrick bought it in 1978, and lived there until his death in 1999. His widow lives there still, and gives art lessons.
That's St. Albans Cathedral in the distance..
We went up in the St. Albans clock tower while we were there.
Some interesting facts about the clock tower:
- It was finished by 1405
- Its bell was used during the Wars of the Roses in 1455
- During the Napoleonic wars, the roof was used as a semaphore station. "The shutter telegraph style semaphore was part of the 16 station London to Great Yarmouth line, along which a message could be sent within 5 minutes" (from Wikipedia). London and Great Yarmouth are about 130 miles apart.
- It is thought to be the only remaining medieval town belfry in England.
Lany
in reply to Dirk • •Do bikers ride with the traffic in England or facing it? Right side or left side of the road?
That's incredible that a 1405 clock tower is still structurally sound and open to the public! Accuracy must have been absolutely crucial for those semaphore operators, to relay a correct message through 16 stations in 5 minutes!
Dirk
in reply to Lany • •@Lany Bikers here ride with the traffic, at least that's what I've seen. We went back to St. Albans last weekend and the clock tower was encased in scaffolding, so they're working on it. But I don't think any structural work is being done; I think it is just regular upkeep.
The semaphore only worked during daylight hours, and if the weather was right, but still, it must have been an incredible step forward. They were probably saying to each other "Will wonders never cease?"