The following post (and two more to follow) are from a recent cruise to Bermuda which I took in mid April. The first entry is from a trolley tour around the West End of Bermuda near the Royal Naval Dockyard and Somerset Parish. Even though the weather was overcast, there were still some lovely coastal views.
Springton Manor Farm is part of the Chester County park system. Within its historic landscape of fenced fields, stone walls and misty morning vistas is a preserved patchwork of colonial plantation, Industrial Revolution era scientific farm, Victorian tenant farm, and gentleman’s country estate. The Manor House and Carriage House overlook 300 acres of centuries-old sugar maples, open pastures and Penn Oaks, which surround the lower pond. The Manor House is not open to the general public.
Initially part of a William Penn Manor, Springton Manor has been in agricultural use since the early 1700’s. On this demonstration farm, one can meet the animals and learn about Chester County’s farming history. The barn complex consists of the Great Barn, sheep shed, goat shed, a roost and equipment shed. You may see horses, donkeys, rabbits, calves, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and peacocks. The Family Farm Museum, located within the Great Barn, contains seasonal tools and apparatus used on Chester County farms from the 1700’s to the 1900’s.
This visit focuses on the exterior of the property and the manor house. I visited this property previously. You can view that post here. That post has views of the farm buildings. I intend to return earlier in the day to try to photograph some of the animals. which now seem to include llamas or alpacas.
The Duportail House in eastern Chester County is a frequent feature on this blog. Today we look at some of the Spring flowering trees on the grounds.
In 1740, a Welsh Quaker named John Havard, Jr. built a stone farmhouse on a large William Penn land grant in Chester County’s Great Valley. During the Continental Army’s encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-78, the Havard family played host to a guest from France, General Louis Lebègue Duportail. Recruited by Benjamin Franklin, Duportail served as the army’s Chief Engineer, designing fortifications at Valley Forge that could enable Washington’s troops to hold off a potential attack by the British army, which was encamped in nearby Philadelphia. The house is now used as an event venue, and the surrounding property is a park.
Waterloo Mills Preserve in Chester County is a property owned by the Brandywine Conservancy. On 170 acres, the site contains an 18th century village, mill race remnants, wildflower meadows, fertile marshes, mature woods and over a mile of the upper reaches of Darby Creek. Members of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art can walk the trails through the property. Stepping stones and a puncheon log allow visitors to ford small streams and Darby Creek. The property offers a variety of wildlife ranging from whitetail deer to turtles to migratory birds, as well as many varieties of plants.
The village of Waterloo Mills, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes an old gristmill, a barn, a wheelwright and blacksmith’s shop, and two houses. Here are some views of the outdoor sections of the property.
A few of the old mill and farm buildings in the Historic District remain.
The Willows Park has been featured on this blog before. It is a 47.5-acre estate purchased by Radnor Township in 1973 from the Zantzinger family. Situated at the end of a long, winding driveway is a three-story mansion. The mansion was built in 1910 by John Sinnott Jr. for his wife, and referred to as Rose Garland. The mansion and 47.5 acres that now make up the park were purchased by Clarence Geist in 1937 as a wedding present for his daughter. The estate was then called Maral Brook, which was a combination of their first names, Mary and her husband, Alfred Zantzinger. The site was renamed The Willows because of the beautiful willow trees that surround the property.
Little Darby Creek winds through the property and is dammed to form a small pond. I have been coming to the Willows for many years. The property has been a popular spot for birding, and migrating waterfowl can sometimes be seen on the pond. It is also a spot that has been stocked for the first day of trout season. Renovation work done to the pond quite a few years ago seems to have reduced the number of birds that use it and the nearby creek. Sadly, maintenance of the mansion and cottage is inadequate. The cottage no longer seems to be in use and is falling into disrepair. The mansion sat vacant for nearly a decade. It is currently being renovated and hosts limited events. It no longer appears to be available for weddings. It was once booked years in advance for weddings. It’s hard to understand why a financially productive property like this was allowed to sit vacant and fall into disrepair.
A short distance away, on Church Road, sits one of two distinctive stone “Dragon Tooth” bridges over Darby Creek. The other is near the intersection of Sugartown and Church Roads.
An interesting site along the Chester Valley Trail near Valley Forge is a great blue heron rookery. The site has been active now for several years, with birds arriving to nest in late February. The site is adjacent to two old quarries, and great blue herons can be seen flying over the nearby area.
It feels like the season is a bit late this year. However, the early bulbs and the forsythia are finally making an effort.
Below are some early Spring scenes from around Valley Forge.
The Willows Park Preserve in northwestern Delaware Country has been a popular spot for birding, fishing, picnicking and walking for decades. Built in 1910, the Willows Mansion is surrounded by 47.5 acres of public park with water, meadow, woodland and garden views. Closed for nearly a decade, the deteriorating mansion sits idle while park life carries on. However, efforts to restore the Mansion are ongoing. It was once a very popular wedding reception venue.
I made another stop that day at St. Davids Church, which lies mostly within Radnor Township, Delaware County. The parish is more than 300 years old. Toward the close of the seventeenth century, a hardy group of Welsh colonists settled in an area which became known as Radnor. In 1704, a 100-signature petition for Welsh prayer books and a Bible, but more particularly for a Welsh-speaking missionary, was dispatched to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London. Ten years later, in return for this long-awaited recognition, the settlers “heartily engaged themselves to build a handsome stone church,” to be named after the Patron Saint of Wales. The cornerstone was laid on May 9, 1715.
With the coming of the Revolution in the colonies, a rapidly swelling wave of resentment against the Church of England arose among the patriots of the congregation. A leader of this opposition was Anthony Wayne, later appointed major general of the American forces, who is buried in St. David’s historic churchyard. The church building provided shelter for soldiers of both sides.
So do these photos look unusable to you? (rhetorical question) I recently got a mirror lens – the Tamron 55BB 500mm F8 – to be exact. Many dislike mirror lenses because they can be finicky to work with due to the fixed F8 focal ratio, shallow depth of field, and long focal length. All of which makes getting focus and capturing sharp images challenging. These lenses also have very distinctive bokeh due to the obstruction from the secondary mirror. Can you see the “donuts” in these photos.
I quite like these photos. They remind me of old film photographs. As you can probably tell from this blog, I am not one who is too fussed about “tack sharp” as a photographer. If a photo is acceptably in focus, I’m good. I do have to say that this lens does really need daylight. Low light would require a tripod and long exposure times to compensate for the F8 aperture.
