The church of St Peter, Maney on the edge of Sutton Coldfield dates from 1905 replacing an earlier iron church (not on the same site). The church was expanded in 1935 which is also when the tower was built. The church has a nave with north and south aisles and transepts. There is also a sanctuary under a five sided apse.
The church is built from red brick with a buff terracotta dressing.
The latest model kit project is a De Havilland Canada Beaver and it is now at the painting stage. Hopefully this will soon become the third completed project of the year (which isn't bad considering how long it took me to do the first this year!)
Visiting the last two stations on the Marston Vale Line i had yet to tick off has been an epic struggle this year, at the weekend i finally completed the line (in other words visiting every station) on the fourth attempt this year! The first attempt was foiled by a broken down train on the way to Bletchley, i managed to tick off Lidlington earlier in the year on a second trip.
That just left Millbrook. My first attempt was cancelled after trains were suspended on the line, so at the weekend i tried again... and trains were suspended again! This time i decided to just take the rail replacement bus, hopefully i can visit again by train some day in the future.
Millbrook station is in a nice location in the valley in Bedfordshire, the village of Marston Moretaine being a short walk away. You can see my photos here.
The village of Dunchurch is in the east of the county, south west of Rugby.
Dunchurch, then known as Don Cerce, was listed in the Domesday Book. The village was at the cross roads of two stage coach routes and three major roads, at one time there were twenty seven coaching inns in the village of which two survive today as inns. Amongst the people who stayed in Dunchurch were the Gunpowder plotters in 1605. They waited at a coaching inn for news of Guy Fawkes successful destruction of Parliament. The former inn is now known as Guy Fawkes House.
Dunchurch's location and transport links meant it was one of the most important settlements in eastern Warwickshire, though the coming of the railways saw Rugby eclipse it in size and importance.
The parish church dedicated to St Peter dates from 13th century but was rebuilt in the 14th century with little remaining of the original church apart from one of the chancel walls. The tower was added in the 15th.
The guild church of St Mary Aldermary in the City of London is probably named for being the oldest church dedicated to Mary in the city, though the current church dates from 1510. However, this was on the site of an older church dating from the Norman period.
The new church was financed by Sir Henry Keeble. however, when he died in 1519 the church was unfinished. Indeed, it was not completed until 1629! Unfortunately, the church was badly damaged a few decades later in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style.
The church has six bay aisles. It has a short chancel and a tower to the south west. The church is built from Portland stone.
Another General Post Office dialphone has joined the collection, and another 706L. This one is in cream and has a clear dial unlike my original black 706L, the dial also works on this phone too. A lovely looking telephone.
The village of Long Itchington is east of Leamington Spa in central Warwickshire.
The village takes it's name from the river Itchen which flows past it. The village has existed since Saxon times, it is said to have been the birthplace of Saint Wulfstan in 1012. The parish church has existed since the early Norman times. A Tudor house in the village was stayed at twice by Queen Elizabeth it is believed in the early 1570s.
To the south of the village was a cement works, a model village being built to house the workers. The cement works has now closed but quarrying continues at the site. The village has no railway station though once was a stop on the Weedon to Leamington Spa Line which closed to passengers in 1958.
Yesterday, i headed up to revisit Hartford which i have not been to for some time. My plan though was to walk the mile to Greenbank station and then take a short local train trip to a new Cheshire village. That village was Lostock Gralam. I didn't spend a lot of time there due to needing to get the train back to Greenbank but i saw the interesting church. You can see my photos here.
The parish church of St Peter in Elworth, near Sandbach in Cheshire was built in 1845-6, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott whose other work included St Pancras railway station! The church has a nave, chancel and a north porch. To the west is an open turret with one bell. The church has two small vestries.
The church has a stone exterior and a dark stained deal roof with oak mountings.
This is an attractive and light weight (i.e. mostly plastic) portable typewriter from the 1970s, the Adsit Graduate is in fact a product of Smith-Corona as it states on the back of the machine (see below). The typewriter is a British made and locally branded version of the Smith-Corona Corsair.
Unfortunately, the typewriter doesn't work that well. A number of the hammers get stuck including the one for the letter A which is awkward (especially as you can't even type the word). Externally, the typewriter looks to be overall in decent condition and apart from the issues lifted above seems to be largely mechanically sound, so it may be fixable.
Yesterday, i went to King's Sutton in Northamptonshire. I have been before, back in 2016 though that visit was marred by an angry dog that barked at me when i tried to enter the churchyard to look at the fine church of St Peter & St Paul! Luckily today the dog wasn't around, indeed the church was open so i could have a look inside. You can see my photos here.
The church of St Peter with St James is one of three medieval parish churches in the city of Nottingham. The original church was a wooden one built around 1100 but work on the current church began around 1180 after the wooden church was destroyed in a fire. Much of the surviving church however, dates from the 15th century.
The church has a nave with two aisles and clerestory. The church has a three bay chancel and a north transept. The west tower has a spire.
At the weekend i went to Acton Bridge in Cheshire, to see Acton Bridge! This is a rather fine swing bridge over the river Weaver. The village is also called Acton Bridge, as is the railway station. So, i visited all three Acton Bridges! You can see my photos of the bridge and Weaver here, and other Acton Bridge photos here.
This typewriter joined the collection in late 2022 and so far is the only Underwood machine in the collection. It is a nice looking machine in a pleasing white and beige colour, though does have an annoying case which makes it a chore to get the typewriter in and out of!
The typewriter has received a new ribbon (which was a slightly fiddly task) and types nicely, apart from the shift key which sometimes sticks.
Another typewriter has joined the collection, that makes thirty-four now, no news on when the first chimpanzees will arrive. The latest machine is this rather lovely Litton Imperial 220, a 1970s model that is in very good condition apart from the noticable scratch. The machine arrived without a ribbon but i fitted one of my spares and it types pretty well.
The parish church of All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough, Leicestershire dates from the 14th century (around 1330) and has a Perpendicular design in the Decorated Gothic style. The west tower was added in the 15th century, a memorial chapel is beneath it. The nave has aisles and transepts and also has a clerestory (another 15th century addition). The church has a 14th century chancel.
The church was much restored in the 19th century and is one of the largest English parish churches.
