Tyntesfield House, Wraxall, North Somerset. A magnificent example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture.

The original Regency building of 1813 was transformed in the 1860s by architect John Norton into a magnificent country house in Victorian Gothic Revival style.

Tyntesfield came into the possession of the Gibbs family in 1843.  It was around this time that the family's business venture in agricultural fertiliser and the shipment of guano from islands off Peru began to produce great wealth. The restructuring of the house started by William Gibbs was completed in 1864. It then remained the family home until the death of George Richard Lawley Gibbs, 2nd Lord Wraxall, in 2001 whereupon it was eventually bought by the National Trust.

The Tyntesfield Estate in Wraxall, North Somerset, only 10 minutes drive from the outskirts of Bristol, is one of the most popular National Trust properties I have visited.  However, there is ample and convenient car parking close to the restaurant and shop area - often a bit crowded.  Nevertheless, the estate is big enough to spend an afternoon wandering around in peace while enjoying the scenery and bucolic atmosphere and, of course, there is always the Victorian Gothic house to admire. 

The turrets, chimney pots and weathercocks of Tyntesfield House. 

Inside the house the Library and Main Hall are particularly impressive.   Several visits are required to appreciate fully all the wonders of the house, garden and park.

Syrian refugee crisis - "The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling..."

In recent weeks the letters columns of the Western Daily Press have been dominated by the Syrian refugee crisis.  The letter below was published in that paper on the 16th September 2015. 

Arab states fail to follow EU example.
In his recent letter Robert Readman asks how many refugees fleeing Syria have been offered shelter by wealthy Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia.

Apparently the five richest Gulf nations – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain – have taken none at all. Furthermore, the Daily Mail quotes Amnesty International’s head of refugee and migrant’s rights as saying: “The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling, in terms of actually showing compassion and sharing the responsibility of this crisis... It is a disgrace.”

David Cameron has pledged that this country will take in 20,000 Syrian refugees. Saudi Arabia is 16 times the size of England so could accommodate 320,000 refugees if its rulers followed our Prime Minister’s example – but it seems they do not have the will.

S.W.
English Democrats, Somerset

Welsh government, empowered by the British government, to give Cardiff Airport unfair financial advantage over its English neighbour.

I read in the Daily Telegraph an article by Liam Fox, Conservative MP for North Somerset, bemoaning the lack of a third runway at Heathrow and the consequent loss of £billions to the British economy. 

It is a pity Mr Fox  does not pay more attention to his own constituency where, according to Bristol Airport bosses, 1500 jobs may be lost together with  £843million annually from the West of England economy as a result of the Conservative policy of appeasing the Welsh and Scottish governments.

The following letter, published in the Bristol Evening Post (14th September 2015), from Clive Lavelle of the English Democrats further explains the issues.

Injustices we've been trying to highlight.

I READ with interest the feature in the Bristol Post about the threat to Bristol Airport’s future from a proposed reduction in Airport Passenger Duty in Wales.

Robert Sinclair ( right), CEO at Bristol Airport was reported as calling for a “level playing field”. His sentiments were echoed in an editorial “We say” comment.

The comment states, “Giving the Welsh government the right to set Air Passenger Duty would see Cardiff Airport gain an unfair advantage over Bristol Airport.”

What Mr Sinclair and the editorial fail to grasp is that the “right” to set Airport Passenger Duty has been granted to the Welsh government by the British government (there is no English government).

Furthermore, the funding that enables the Welsh government to exercise this “right” comes directly from the English taxpayer, through the Barnett Formula; money filched from the English, by the British and handed over to the Scots and Welsh to give them these advantages.

The English Democrats have been trying to highlight these injustices for many years, through your columns and in other ways.

Clive Lavelle

Weston-super-Mare English Democrats

Burrow Mump, near Burrowbridge, in South Somerset. Outpost of King Alfred's final redoubt in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Burrow Mump, near Burrowbridge and the confluence of the Rivers Tone and Parrett, was an eastern outpost of King Alfred the Great's fortress on the Isle of Athelney - the King's final redoubt in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Seen from the National Trust car park, just off the A361, Burrow Mump is certainly no Glastonbury Tor but a gentle climb to its 79 feet high summit is rewarded with some memorable panoramic views.


The ruined chapel dedicated to St Michael atop Burrow Mump.  On the south wall is a memorial plaque including the words: "That the men and women of Somerset who died serving their country in the Second World War may be remembered here in time to come."

To the north, 13 miles away across Sedgemoor, the upper slopes of Brent Knoll are visible, Glastonbury Tor can be seen to the east.  The Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel is conspicuous to the south, while  the Wellington Monument on the Blackdown Hills is discernible in the far south west.

Following the decisive Battle of Edington (Ethandune), King Alfred had the defeated Danish king baptised in the village of Aller which lies at the western foot of Aller Hill 2.5 miles south east of the Mump.  Edington, 6 miles north on the far side of the Polden Hills, is suggested by some historians to be "Ethandune", the site of Alfred's victory, rather than Edington in Wiltshire.  Being from Somerset, I am happy to support this theory!

The view south-east across Southlake Moor.  The western slopes of Aller Hill and the village of Aller are at the top left.  

In the neighbouring County of Devonshire, near Tiverton, is Knightshayes Court.

On a recent misty September morning I decided on a spin into Devonshire to visit Knightshayes Court.  Driving south on the M5, the top of the 175 feet high Wellington Monument was hidden in hazy low cloud.  However, having left the motorway at Junction 27 and continued a further 10 miles to Bolham via the A361 and A396, the sun was shining as I drove past the Lodge into the Knightshayes estate and up through the gently rising parkland towards the house. 

Once the family home of the Heathcoat-Amorys, this Victorian house is now owned by the National Trust.  It was designed in 1873 by the flamboyant William Burges for John Heathcoat-Amory who, in 1861, had inherited the lace manufacturing business of his grandfather John Heathcoat. The business had been moved to Tiverton after the factory in Loughborough was destroyed by Luddites in 1816.

Although Burges' exterior design was retained the interior was redesigned by John Dibblee Crace as Burges' plans proved too exotic for the Heathcoat-Amorys.  Even Crace's designs, completed in 1883, were not to the family's taste and many of them were covered up over time until the National Trust began a process of restoration.

The south front of Knightshayes.

After a visit to the Stable Café for a cup of tea and a tasty locally made sausage roll my wife and I strolled across to the house, enjoying the view of the parkland as we did so.  There seemed to be just as many people walking their dogs in the park as there were visitors to the house and garden.

The highlights, for me, of our meander through the house were the Library and the view from the Main Bedroom: from the window Sir John could see his factory in Tiverton.

Having bought two delicious ice-creams in the Conservatory tea-room we sat outside on the terrace in the sunshine and admired the view down through the parkland toward Tiverton.

The view south from the Terrace.

This was also the scene of a fatal air crash in the Second World War when an American fighter pilot, Second Lieutenant Albin P Zychowski serving with the 61st Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, was killed in his P47 Thunderbolt on May 1st 1945.  Knightshayes was at that time a combat rest home for the US 8th Air Force.  The National Trust souvenir guide book relates the sad tale: "Very near the end of the Second World War a tragedy took place.  It was the custom of departed occupants to return from their airfields in order to "buzz" the house, which meant flying up the park almost at tree height, to applause and cheers from the Terraces.  One pilot dared too much and lost his life performing this stunt, his plane hitting the tops of several trees.  The clearing away of the broken trees after the War was, more happily, the beginning of the Garden in the Wood."

The Terrace at Knightshayes Court.

There is too much on the Estate to experience in one day so our next visit will be to the exhibition in the Tennis Court which relates Knightshayes' role in both World Wars - it is open daily until November 15th.

BBC's Victoria Derbyshire hosts discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis. Was the invited panel unbalanced?

The September 3rd edition of the Victoria Derbyshire programme hosted a discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis.

It seemed to me that those in favour of allowing refugees into England outnumbered those with a different view by four to two.

Be that as it may, of the two against one argued for safe havens to be set up in or near Syria. The other, Steve Uncles of the English Democrats, quite rightly pointed out that England was already one of the most densely populated countries in the world while Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest and sixteen times the size of England, had taken in no refugees at all.

Moreover, the five richest Gulf Nations, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have taken no refugees at all.  An article by Jay Akbar in the Daily Mail quotes Amnesty International's Head of Refugee and Migrant's Rights as saying: "The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling, in terms of actually showing compassion and sharing the responsibility of this crisis... It is a disgrace."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3222405/How-six-wealthiest-Gulf-Nations-refused-single-Syrian-refugee.html

Our government has already spent £1billion, since 2012, to help refugees who have fled from Syria.  We in this country have "done our bit".  Perhaps the BBC should put its editorial spotlight on those countries which could do more - a lot more!