IRON HEART World Tour II 2011-2012 - Beatle Buster SBG

[Giles]

A few aerial shots to help you get your brains round the geograhy

[Beatle]

very cool …the Castle looks pretty even from the sky

[Giles]

This is the well in our garden.  It was built in about 1786 by an engineer called John Smeaton (he built the first Eddystone lighthouse), so he was an engineer of some repute.  He had been called in by the Navy to sort out a way of improving the beer that was supplied to the Navy based at Portsmouth.  At the time, we had 3 major Naval dockyards in England and the beer supplied to the Portsmouth ships was going bad, much qicker than from the other 2 dockyards (Chatham and Plymouth).  The well is 50 feet deep from ground level to the bottom, with the surface of the water being about 12 feet below ground level, the diamater of the thing is about 8 feet with a ledge (that is what the ladder is standing on in the pics) about 3 feet below the surface of the water.  When the brewery was going at full tilt, they could use all the water from the wll in one day - that is a shit load of beer.

From the ledge

One of my mad friends diving the well

[Chris]

@Giles:

A few aerial shots to help you get your brains round the geography

So there's a house virtually identical to yours right next door?

Great stuff, by the way.  More history lessons, please.

[Finn666]

^that`s only ONE big house…one part for Giles and Paula and the other is just for IH...

jk

[Giles]

Chris, yes.  The house and indeed the whole of the green was built in 1830.  Our house was built for the Superintendent of the victualling yard, Thomas Grant, the one next door was built for the Deputy Superintendent.  In 1816 Thomas Grant, who was then the store manager of the yard invented a way of mechanising the process of making ships biscuits (making the process 7 times more efficient), he was awarded £16,000 (approx $25,000) in lieu of a patent.  In today's money, that is a lot of loot.  He progressed to become the Superintendent, and in fact was Knighted for his services victualling the Navy at the Battle of Crimea…..

[STAN]

Mr G, nice update.
From  the picture i can see that Iron Heart's is well protect and  where my jeans come from.
That tank farm remind me of the  place I  work before  as a terminal production technician,  I used to measured the volume of wet produce inside .

[Giles]

An almost 360 of Flagstaff Green

[Seul]

Do you still use maps to now in what wing your are or have you moved on to GPS?..

[Giles]

Paula actually calls me on the phone sometimes when she is in a distant part of the house…................

[Seul]

When there are no more trains riding in between wings, you mean?..

[Giles]

Usually when she wants a cup of tea…...........

[bertoni]

@Giles:

An almost 360 of Flagstaff Green

With a gaff like that G, I think we need to start discussing price reductions for forum members

[Giles]

No, just this one (pic taken in the 1950's)

[deadendpro]

hey giles, in the overhead photo views of your house and the surrounding area, why is there that big black dot just there like BOOM in the top left corner?

Great great great posts too G-Man.

[madmonday]

good lord & you do up-keep on the grounds yourself??  no wonder you wear through denim like a hot knife through butter.

thanks for the great tour & history lesson.

giving me some ideas for my leg

[Giles]

@deadendpro:

hey giles, in the overhead photo views of your house and the surrounding area, why is there that big black dot just there like BOOM in the top left corner?

Dr Pat managed to sneak into all the photos….......

Actually, they were given to me by the company redeveloping the whold site and they doctored them with the dot, so they could not be used as is.....

[jimmy]

amazing piece of history you have there G. simply stunning.

those Fu@#@ wits jump that gate to rock your car?

[Giles]

Nope not, that gate.  That is the ceremonial gate to the old victualling yard.  I have another pair of gates behind the house…....

[Giles]

On the way up to London to watch the cricket…