Intriguing to say the least

A fine monument can be found at the lower end of South Avenue. It was erected in 1744 and, by that date, by William Wentworth, the son of Thomas. It was erected to the memory of Field Marshall John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll.

Today, it looked splendid in the brief winter sunshine that we enjoyed on the morning patrol. It is an elegant structure adorned by a statue of Minerva. It is quite my favourite spot. Not only because of the architectural contribution it makes, but because of who he was, his relationship to the Wentworths and the setting of all parties in the political spectrum he and Thomas inhabited.

The monument was the brightest point on a cold, wintry windy walk, during which very little stirred. Ian, my colleague and ornithologist, failed even to spot a crowd of rooks. Only the odd desultory crow flapped across the horizon. A few pigeon and a black headed gull added to the list. Even the deer were unseen, finding them, as we did, up by the house, waiting for the 1pm feed.
The Duke was William's father in law. His daughter, Lady Anne, the second of five, was 26 when she married William, who was 19 at the time. This did not get in the way of them of whirling the current London social scene. The Duke died in 1743, only two years after their marriage and the monument was commissioned and erected.

I can quite imagine Thomas spinning in his grave. Thomas died in 1739, two years before his son's marriage to Lady Anne. Thomas was a Jacobite supporter and indeed was Duke Of Strafford under the Jacobite peerage, two notches above the mere earldom he had under Queen Anne.

The Duke of Argyll led the government forces that crushed, in 1715, the Jacobite rebellion which led to his further promotion in the military and thus an end to any gains Thomas hoped to win under a possible James III.

It must have made an interesting few years in the Wentworth household. There is an irony as well. After ambassadorial duties in Berlin and at the Hague, Thomas, was one of Queen Anne's representatives at the Congress of Utrecht, which led to the Treaty of Utrecht - and there is another intrigue over his involvement.

An outcome of the treaty was that Britain gained Gibraltar and Menorca. Guess who was governor of Menorca almost as the ink dried on the treaty? Why, none other than the Duke of Argyll.

Foggy, foggy day

The snow had now gone, the ground was wet but solid and the red deer were now away foraging, leaving the fallow deer to occupy the patch of silage left the previous week for the red deer. For once they imitated the red deer and stayed put, not seeking the shelter of the nearby wood, so we were able to get quite close.
It is a fascinating place. Not only for the deer and the wildlife, which on such a foggy day, had not been keen to be in sight. We were walking, once again, in parkland which was being restored to its 18th century magnificence. This project will take time and the wild deer, aided by the domesticated red deer, were part of that process.

Eighteenth century plantations, removed by twentieth century open cast mining, have been replaced. Overgrown woodland, invading for the past century or two and which had blocked the views created three hundred years ago, have been cleared. These views beheld structures set up by the owners of the house in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

These were Thomas Wentworth and his son William. Their story is fascinating and is set against a rapid change in the monarchy involving invasion and a change of dynasty, political and religious divide and fear in the country, the creation of union with Scotland, played out over a European war and the creation of Great Britain as a leading European power.

Heady stuff, and all new to me. My school history education had a huge gap between the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the American War of Independence in the later 18th century. The stuff of here, in the late 17th and early 18th century, is, for me, quite new and extremely fascinating. And the fact it involves this family of Wentworth at the highest political and state level, makes the parkland I patrol the richer for it.
But any views, no matter how many trees have beeen removed, were impossible today. The patrol was quiet, with the fog deadening sound and diffusing its direction. If last week was to me the dead end of the year, then today was not showing anything to change that.

Remnants of the cold snap

Under normal circumstances, they tend to run away. But today, they were going nowhere. As I neared the mixed herd of deer, the cluster of fallow deer did seek sanctuary of the thin woodland, but the red deer stood their ground.

Their ground was brown with silage, the sweet sickly smell of which filled the cold air. No fresh food today to be grazed. And they stayed together. My passing caused only a glance.
The snow was frozen, solid and hard work to walk through. As I had almost sledged the car on black ice in getting here, I wondered why I was here. But the place was mine. There was no radio response, the shop was shut and displaying a notice to the effect that all was closed.

So I set off. I walked around the house and up to South Avenue. Then down to the Duke of Argyll, of which later (or visit the Wentworth Castle website - a link to which is at the top of the blog). There was a deal of shooting activity in the grounds nearby. Pheasants, who had survived to another day, were disturbed by my crunchy steps and took to a weary flight.
There was a bit of snow damage to slender trees, causing branches to hang down over the path, but no other evidence of snowfall damage. Enough now to return, uphill from the Rotunda and back to the house. Tiring steps, an excuse to stop, listen and look for any animal movement, of which there was none.


I suppose this was perhaps the most hidden and dead of days in the parkland. Evidence in the snow of wild mammal movement, but of them, not a thing was seen. The weather, apparently, was only partially the reason. Visiting the website, I read that the Parkland and Gardens were closed to visitors and volunteers on Thursday and Friday after my patrol. This was probably the case on Wednesday, when I was out.
But I showed willing and patrolled uninformed, and, as yet, un-uniformed. Almost a walking anagram. Next time the snow may be gone.

First of many

It was cold. Any other day and you would prefer the comfort and warmth of home. Sleet, a word that, to me, is a half way word. One that is dragged out, uncomfortably, unlike wind, fog, hail and rain which are more explosive and clearly state what is going on. But sleet.....cold, indefinite and miserable.

With the sleet, therefore, I had, for the first time, the whole estate to myself. No other soul had ventured out and the wild life had clearly decided the same. The deer were clinging to the edge of the estate near woodland or down the slope where they gained shelter from the wind. Only the sheep, with their full winter wool, favoured the higher ground where, at least, the ground was less wet.

Again, a heron croaked and took flight from the ground in Broom Royd plantation, almost exactly in the same spot as last time. This was the only wild life interruption to my tour. But I was the master of my own route, stopping occasionally to look and listen, and pleased to walk briskly when I wanted to and help stretch the muscles and lungs after the Festive lay off.

The investment in good water proofs was proving worthwhile and I was warm and dry and defied the weather which was trying to make anyone out in it feel chilled and damp. I was pleased the wind was dropping, for, although not particularly strong, it was pinching at the nose and lips.

Another first today was the use of the radio. We have to perform a radio check on setting out and inform whomsoever that we have returned. We had practised with the radios, how to use and how to communicate succinctly. It seems odd because you do not know to whom you are speaking or where in the grounds they are. Having used a mobile phone it should be easy, but it's not like a mobile phone because of the etiquette. 'Over' when expecting a reply and 'Out' when you are not and are hanging up. All new to me but I coped.

Next time, it will be a doddle