Two great local by-election gains for the Lib Dems

As well as the parliamentary by-election in West Lancashire, there were five local contests yesterday. And two of them saw impressive gains for the Liberal Democrats. 

First the Battledown ward of Cheltenham Borough Council:

Battledown (Cheltenham) council by-election result:

LDEM: 52.0% (+12.9)
CON: 36.1% (-10.1)
GRN: 9.3% (+0.7)
LAB: 2.6% (-3.5)

Votes cast: 1,685

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.

— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) February 9, 2023

If the Lib Dems doing well in Cheltenham does not sound so surprising, a look at Andrew Teale's preview of yesterday's by-elections reveals that Battledown is a ward the Tories have held at least since 2002. This is seriously good news for us.

And then there is the Masham and Fountains ward of North Yorkshire council:

Masham and Fountains (North Yorkshire) council by-election result:

LDEM: 62.7% (+37.3)
CON: 37.3% (-7.0)

No Ind (-30.3) as prev.

Votes cast: 2,150

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.

— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) February 9, 2023

Local government is undergoing reorganisation in North Yorkshire, so there's only last May's result to compare yesterday with, but Andrew Tealedescribes this as "normally a safely Conservative area," so this is another worrying result for them.

The victorious Lib Dem is Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, the Countess of Swinton, who was also the Independent who polled 30 per cent of the vote last time. So you could say that this time she withdrew in her own favour,

Well done to everyone involved in these great victories. Meanwhile, Labour contrived to lose a seat to the Tories in North Wales yesterday.

Later. Fans of political trivia will be pleased to learn that Felicity Cunliffe-Lister's husband is the grandson of Willie Whitelaw.

The Station, Richmond

The Station - Richmond's former railway station. once the terminus of a branch line from Darlington - advertises itself as "the region's most exciting tourist destination":

beneath the sympathetically restored, high vaulted ceiling of this historic Victorian railway station sits a contemporary café bar and restaurant; a modern, two-screen cinema; an art gallery over two floors; a free heritage centre; and a collection of meeting rooms available for private hire. 

There is no visitor attraction quite like it. Pulling in 350,000 tourists a year and offering each and every one a unique experience, The Station is also home to six artisan food producers - open to the public and selling their produce. Visitors can buy from a medley of Yorkshire delights from a bakery, cheese-maker, micro brewery, ice-cream parlour, fudge house and honey-maker. 

The Station also runs a full programme of events throughout the year, including live music, literary festivals and seasonal food and craft fairs, and is a hive of activity among local residents, many of whom attend workshops in a wide range of subjects from jewellery-making, to painting, photography and creative writing. 

No wonder this innovative £2.7million not-for-profit community enterprise has attracted national attention and won several prestigious awards. Why not come and see for yourself?

I am not sure I would rank it as more exciting than Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, but The Station is well worth a visit and saved from an excess of worthiness by the presence of those cinemas.

Even so, I found the audio-visual presentations about the station's history (passenger services ended in 1969) the most interesting thing there. The ice cream is very good too.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Studley Royal

Just before the bus from York reaches Ripon it takes you past an incongruously large rural church. A little research proves it to be the Church of Christ the Consoler at Skelton-cum-Newby and there is a remarkable story behind it.

The church is a memorial to Frederick Vyner who, age 23, was captured and murdered by brigands in Greece in 1870. His mother raised money for his ransom, but when Frederick was killed she used it to
 to commission the architect William Burges to build the church.

That unspent ransom money also paid for the church of St Mary the Virgin at Studley Royal.

This magnificent church was a wholly unexpected pleasure at Fountains Abbey. As the guide book says:

Inside and outside, the St Mary's reflects the inspiration Burges found in medieval gothic buildings, from the studded metalwork of the great doors to the patterned encaustic tiles and mosaics of Christian images which cover the floor. 

The sanctuary is rich in gold and colour. Beneath the starry dome of Heaven, carved and painted angels soar above the lovely colours of the windows depicting Bible scenes/  The bronze door, the Virgin and Child is a gift from Burges to the church.

The church is the resting place of a notable Liberal politician: George Robinson, the first Marquess of Ripon.

You can look from this church down to the front of Ripon Cathedral. Legend has it that a farm far away on the horizon above the cathedral was also owned by the Vyners and was painted white so that it could be picked out when they were admiring the view.

Close to St Mary's stand Choristers' Cottage, also designed by Burges and evidence that there was originally a plan to have a permanent choir of men and boys here. Nearby you will find the obelisk which served as a focal point in this man-made landscape before the church was built in 1870.

Studeley Royal Water Gardens

This is a landscape of follies, statues and temples to the virtues. My guidebook says:

A path through the trees leads to the Surprise View - a treat for any unsuspecting visitor. William [Aislabie] created this path around 1755, but it was his daughter, Mrs Allanson, who, in the 1790s, put up a shelter with a sliding door, perhaps replacing an earlier covered seat. As visitors arrived, a servant would throw the door back, dramatically revealing the view.

More on the National Trust website.

The water mill at Fountains Abbey

When Fountains Abbey was dissolved its water mill continued working. By 1900 it was providing electric power for Fountains Hall. Today it is in the hands of the National Trust and open as interpretation centre while new way to harness the power of its millstream are sought.

Remarkably, you can the original doors of the abbey now serving as floorboards inside the mill. Henry VIII's commissars would be delighted.

Fountains Abbey

Today Fountains Abbey serves as the most wonderful folly you can imagine.

Britain's largest monastic ruin and most complete Cistercian abbey stands in the landscaped park of Studley Royal, another great house that belonged to the Aislabie family. The house itself suffered a serious fire in 1946 and was pulled down shortly afterwards, but its park and water garden are very much still there.

Some would see the dissolution of the monasteries as an advance of modernism  but more and more I see Henry VIII as Britain's answer to Stalin - at least when I am walking around abbey ruins.

Huby's Tower, seen in the photograph above, dominates most views of Fountains Abbey. But it was not built until the early 16th century, not long before the monks were driven out.

Fountains Hall

As the Ripon & District Light Railway was never built, I had to get the bus out to Fountains Abbey on my second day in the city. To my surprise, I was the only passenger both on the journey out and the journey back.

There is far more to see than just the Abbey at Fountains Abbey. This is Fountains Hall, built in the early 17th century with stone from the Abbey and at first in the hands of Stephen Proctor. A Protestant and one of the new men who prospered in Henry VIII's reign, he was unpopular with his neighbours whose sympathies, privately not publicly, were still Catholic.

Later in passed into the hands of one of those Catholic families and then into those of William Aislabie, restorer of Hawksmoor's Ripon obelisk.

In the 20th century the owners, the Vyner family, hoped to offer it as a rural retreat for the Duke and Duchess of York. But when Edward VIII abdicated the Duke of York became George VI and had quite enough houses already.

The Vyners finally left in 1979 and today Fountains Hall is owned by the National Trust.

Near the entrance you will find this memorial window to Elizabeth and Charles Vyner, who both died on active service in World War II while still teenagers:

WHEN YOU GO HOME TELL THEM OF US AND SAY
FOR YOUR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY