Celtic Moment

Image taken on 2010-09-02 13:27:26.

A slideshow of my visit to the beautiful town of Arundel in West Sussex, England. This historic market town is situated on the River Arun and boasts some breathtaking views as you approach it from the surrounding countryside, taking in its famous castle, cathedral and parish church of St Nicholas. I visited the town with my grandad in June last year, (one of many visits I have made during my 36 years). We started by trekking up the very, very steep hill to St Nicholas’ church, a favourite place of mine to always visit. It was built in 1380 and looks out over the town. The churchyard is much like any other English country churchyard, excepting the rather emotive sight of a statue of Christ on the cross with the dramatic backdrop of Arundel Castle in the background. Then onto Arundel Castle, where we lunched in the grounds before entering the Fitzalan Chapel, which can be seen from the interior of St Nicholas’ church, but accessed from the castle grounds (hence a long walk!). The chapel is very fine with exquisite carvings, engravings and brasses. It has a quiet and eerie atmosphere, as befitting its age and function. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stabled his horses in the chapel during the English Civil War, when the Arundel Castle changed hands 3 times. Then we looked around the newly opened Earl’s gardens, which were full of delights for keen gardeners like myself and my grandad (that’s where I get it from.) There were some lovely views looking towards the Cathdral …

or will her album top the charts?

My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This gives me an interest in English History which is great fun to research. As I am a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren. I have always been interested in English History and arts and as a fan of London Icons I thought I would write an article about It’s famous Smithfield Market.

Meat has been bought and sold at Smithfield for over 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century.

Smithfield (also known as West Smithfield) is an area of the City of London in the ward of Farringdon Without. It is located in the north-west part of the City of London, and is mostly known for its centuries-old meat market, today the last surviving historical wholesale market in Central London. Smithfield has a bloody history of executions of heretics and political opponents, including major historical figures including the leader of the Peasant’s Revolt Wat Tyler and a long series of religious reformers and dissenters.

A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century. In 1174 the site was described by William Fitzstephen as:

“… a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk”.

The livestock market expanded over the centuries to meet the demands of the growing population of the City. In 1710, the market was surrounded by a wooden fence to keep the livestock within the market; and until its abolition, the gate house of Cloth Fair was protected by a chain (le cheyne) on market days. Daniel Defoe referred to the livestock market in 1726 as “without question, the greatest in the world”. and the available figures appear to support this claim. Between 1740 and 1750 the average yearly sales at Smithfield were reported to be around 74,000 cattle and 570,000 sheep. By the middle of the 19th century, in the course of a single year 220,000 head of cattle and 1,500,000 sheep would be “violently forced into an area of five acres, in the very heart of London, through its narrowest and most crowded thoroughfares”. The volume of cattle driven daily to Smithfield started to raise major concerns.

Today, the Smithfield area is dominated by the imposing, Grade II Listed covered market designed by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones in the second half of the 19th century. Some of the original market buildings were abandoned for decades and faced a threat of demolition, but they were saved as the result of a public inquiry and will be part of new urban development plans aimed at preserving the historical identity of this area.

Approximately 120,000 tons of produce pass through the market each year. As well as meat and poultry, products such as cheese, pies, and other delicatessen goods are available. Buyers including butchers, restaurateurs and caterers are able see the goods for themselves and drive away with what they have bought. Bargaining between buyers and sellers at Smithfield sets the guidelines for meat and poultry prices throughout the UK.

The market has recently undergone a £70 million refurbishment to equip it for the future and enable it to comply with modern hygiene standards. The ancient meat market has been transformed into the most modern in Europe, possibly even the world.

The process of change at Smithfield has not been restricted to the buildings alone, but has extended to the whole environment and working practices that had hardly changed in 130 years. The result has been the creation of a thoroughly modern temperature controlled environment inside a magnificent Grade II listed Victorian building.

My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History which is great fun to research.

I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions. At present I have written over 100 articles which I call “An Englishman’s Favourite Bits Of England” in various Volumes. Please visit my Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Com where I have listed all my articles to date.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

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With the rock bottomed economic conditions, the property markets around the Planet have nosedived today. However, the Irish property market has reacted to the economic slowdown in a different manner. The property investors really have no clue whether to invest in the Ireland Property Market as they are unaware of the future Irish property values. The Ireland property prices are the lowest since the past two decades and for the moment of truth, this is the right time for investing in Ireland properties. The very cheap pricing of the Property for sale Ireland is really good news for the investors and not for the property owners. The Ireland Property market is expected to re-gain its shape by the second half of 2009 and hence this will be the ideal time to buy the Property for sale Ireland.

Ireland was able to survive the toughest market conditions

You’d have noted that the Ireland property values didn’t fall beyond a certain limit while the other worldwide real estate and property markets hit the bottom of the turf. The main reason for this survival of the Ireland property market is that the land owners. where not forced to sell their properties even under the worst Global economic conditions. The Ireland home owners we able to get a steady income in the form of house/ property rent. It has to be noted that the Property to rent in Ireland are of high demand today. According to various market forecasts, the Ireland properties will be of very great value due to the opportunity to earn huge cash by renting them. With the Property to rent in Ireland becoming more and more popular worldwide, the value of the Ireland properties will be certainly increasing in the second half of 2009.

The Dublin property to get more demand

Almost 21% of the total population of Ireland lives in Dublin. The Dublin property prices are expected to rise by the mid of 2009 because, Dublin is the place where most of the industrial operations are going and hence the employees will prefer the place because of its close proximity to their work places. With almost half of Dublin already occupied by now, the demand fro Dublin property will reach it peak by the end of May 2009.

The Availability of new Houses

You will be well aware of the fact that more than 100,000 new homes where built in Ireland through the last decade. Various Ireland property market surveys indicate that the rate of building new homes has almost doubled by 2009. Hence there will be countless numbers of new homes available by the second half of 2009. This will be an excellent opportunity for the Ireland property buyers to choose the homes from a huge collection.

The above mentioned facts are the Ireland property market forecasts for the second half of 2009. According to this forecast, buying an Ireland property will be a wise investment today.

True Taste of Wales, Welsh food market hosted at St. Christopher’s Place 27th February 2009