Sunday Picture Quiz Answers: July 20Drone shots reveal restoration of Harrogate’s Plumpton Rocks

Drone shots taken of Plumpton Rocks over the weekend reveal the newly restored site is looking better than ever.

The Grade II* listed visitor attraction reopened on Saturday after being closed to visitors for almost three years.

The site fell into disrepair towards the end of the last century before Historic England added it to the “Heritage at Risk Register” in 2012.

Since then Historic England has worked with the current owners and spent more than £400,000.

Plumpton Rocks closed again in October 2019 to do further work on the dam and bring it up to standard for the Reservoirs Act 1975, but covid further delayed the works.

Much of the work has been to restore the lake back to how it looked in the 18th century.

Credit – Darren Leeming

The owner of the site, Robert de Plumpton Hunter, told the Stray Ferret that he used artwork created by one of the most famous ever English painters to inspire the restoration.

Turner painted a watercolour of Plumpton Rocks in 1797 and more sketches of the site are stored at the Tate in London, which were used to inspire the refurbishment.

Mr Hunter said:

“You really got a feel of what the landscape looked like 200 years ago, and we were able to use those sketches to aid the restoration. If Turner turned up now he would absolutely recognise the landscape, that is special.”

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Plumpton Rocks to reopen next weekend after Turner inspired restoration

Plumpton Rocks will reopen to the public next weekend after several years of restoration works — which were aided by 200-year-old sketches by the famous landscape painter J M W Turner.

The Grade II* listed parkland and man-made lake fell into disrepair towards the end of the last century before Historic England added it to the “Heritage at Risk Register” in 2012.

Since then Historic England has worked with the current owners and spent more than £400,000.

The visitor attraction first closed for a major programme of repairs in 2013, which included works on the parkland, the dam and on the lake. It reopened three years later in 2016.

Plumpton Rocks closed again in October 2019 to do further work on the dam and bring it up to standard for the Reservoirs Act 1975, but covid further delayed the works.

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The owner of the site, Robert de Plumpton Hunter, said it will be “lovely to get it back open again”.

He said:

“It’s a great relief to see it done. It needed a bit of a refurb.

“The lake, which was silting up, would have been lost within 10 or 15 years.”

Mr Hunter was keen to restore the site, and the lake, to how they looked in the 1750s. But with no photos available, he was fortunate to draw on art created by one of the most famous ever English painters.

Turner painted a watercolour of Plumpton Rocks in 1797 and more sketches of the site are stored at the Tate in London, which were used to inspire the refurbishment.

Mr Hunter added:

“You really got a feel of what the landscape looked like 200 years ago, and we were able to use those sketches to aid the restoration. If Turner turned up now he would absolutely recognise the landscape, that is special.”

Plumpton Rocks will be open every Saturday and Sunday from September 3 from 11am to 6pm. There are plans to open it on more days in 2023. Dates will be announced on its website.

‘Plompton Rocks’ (1797-8) JMW Turner. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/D17202

 

 

The Witcher: First pictures of Harrogate district filming for major Netflix show

Two beauty spots in the Harrogate district are set to feature in the second series of a major Netflix show starring Henry Cavill as Geralt.

The Witcher, which has a cast and crew of around 250 people, was filmed at both Plumpton Rocks near Harrogate and Fountains Abbey near Ripon.

In the first series, most filming was done in countries such as Hungary, Austria and Spain. However, due to coronavirus restrictions Netflix had to look for locations in the UK.

In October last year, the Stray Ferret showed a picture taken by reader Jo McGregor at Fountains Abbey of a film crew in action. The National Trust would only say at the time it was a “major TV series”.

Ahead of the release of series two of the Witcher on Friday, the National Trust and the owner of Plumpton Rocks have now confirmed the details and released behind the scenes pictures.

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Justin Scully, general manager of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, said:

“It was great to see such an exciting amount of activity happening onsite last year. Filming for The Witcher was by far the largest scale filming we’ve ever had here.

“Our visitors really enjoyed seeing such a big production happening around the property and had fun guessing what was being filmed, which we had to keep confidential at the time.

“There was a huge amount of work that went on behind the scenes to make it all happen.

“We worked for months with the production team from Netflix as well as specialist filming conservators so that we could ensure the safety of visitors, staff and of course the abbey and water garden.”

The National Trust added that the location fees it received will be spent on essential work at Fountains Abbey.

Robert de Plumpton Hunter, who owns Plumpton Rocks and has spearheaded a major £700,000 renovation at the site over the last several years, told the Stray Ferret:

“Netflix brought a major crew for the Witcher to Plumpton Rocks, where they filmed for about two weeks.

“Particularly during coronavirus it was great for Harrogate’s economy. I am looking to forward to watching it.”

More pictures from behind the scenes:

A crew member uses a VFX ball to capture lighting information from the set within the ruins of Fountains Abbey. Photo: Netflix

An elaborate set and special effects light up the abbey ruins during a dramatic scene. Photo: Netflix

MyAnna Buring as Tissaia de Vries in the ruins of Fountains Abbey. Photo: Netflix

Netflix snow globe appears on Ripon Market Square

Ripon residents woke to a monstrous sight on Market Square this morning.

Alongside the 18th century obelisk, a modern-day fantasy creation of myth and mayhem from Netflix could be seen inside a giant snow globe.

The creature, with its multiple limbs, is making a one-day appearance in Ripon to mark the release on Friday of The Witcher season 2, part of which was filmed at nearby Fountains Abbey and Plumpton Rocks.

Netflix snow globe Ripon

The series, starring Henry Cavill, is an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s bestselling novels.

The globe, with its resident snow monster, is touring the UK and will only remain on Market Square until this evening.

The Witcher is based on a series of books and video games and features battles between humans, elves, witches, gnomes, and monsters.

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Snow globe from Netflix’s The Witcher to come to Ripon

Netflix will bring to Ripon a giant 18ft snow globe to promote the second series of The Witcher.

The fantasy series featuring Henry Cavill premieres on December 17 and part of it was filmed in our district at Fountain’s Abbey and Plumpton Rocks.

The globe, which has a monster from the show inside it, is on a tour of the UK and will be at Ripon Market Square on Monday.

The Witcher is based on a series of books and video games and features battles between humans, elves, witchers, gnomes, and monsters.

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Plumpton Rocks set for March opening after £700,000 restoration

Plumpton Rocks is finally set to open to the public in March 2022 after several years of restoration works and investment of £700,000.

When people visit the site near Harrogate they will notice improved paths and dam as well as plenty more spaces and historic buildings to explore.

They will also notice that it is open more often. Rather than just weekends, it will be open for around 250 days in the year.

Robert de Plumpton Hunter, who inherited Plumpton Rocks from his father in 2010, has overseen a major turnaround in the attraction’s outlook.

More areas are now open to explore.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“To have an opening date of March 2022 is a great relief. Plumpton Rocks is now truly a place worth shouting about.

“The help we have had has been revolutionary. I never thought in my wildest dreams that we could do all of this work.

“My family are well-connected to Plumpton Rocks, it feels like it is in my DNA. The place has a great history which we are now able to play up to.”

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A major catalyst for change came when Historic England added it to the “Heritage at Risk Register” in 2012.

In order to make much-needed improvements, Plumpton Rocks closed in 2013 for three years and in 2018 for two and a half years.

The time closed, as well as major investment from Mr Hunter, Historic England, Natural England and the Historic Houses Foundation has made a significant difference.

Not only did Historic England take Plumpton Rocks off its “Heritage at Risk Register” earlier this year  but it also now closely resembles the 18th century sketches of JMW Turner.

Plumpton Rocks restoration timeline

Harrogate’s Plumpton Rocks saved from ‘at-risk’ register

A site in Harrogate painted by JMW Turner has been removed from the Heritage at Risk Register after long-term renovation.

Today, Historic England has published its annual Heritage at Risk Register. Plumpton Rocks is one of 17 in Yorkshire to have been removed from the list.

Considered one of the finest 18th century landscapes in the North of England, it was twice painted by JMW Turner.

It has been closed to the public for several years but is due to reopen in 2022.

The register is the yearly health-check of England’s most valued historic places and those most at risk of being lost forever.

Plumpton Rocks is a Grade II* listed landscape designed in the mid-18th century. Local residents will recognise it for its large rock formations and man-made dam.

Over the years the site has declined, mainly due to the silting of the lake and overgrowing trees.

However, funding from numerous grants and the owner totalling more than £400,000 has allowed landscapers to restore the site to its former glory. The lake has been dredged, repairs have been made to the dam and work to manage the trees.

The site is now set to reopen in spring 2022 after closing for repairs in October 2019.

In future, it is hoped public access to the site can be improved and the local angling club have already volunteered to tackle invasive vegetation.

Trevor Mitchell, regional director for the North East and Yorkshire at Historic England said:

“The 17 sites saved this year in Yorkshire show what’s possible with strong partnerships investing together to secure public benefits. Agencies such as Natural England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England recognise the importance that historic places have for their local communities.

“It’s clear that restoring our heritage improves people’s lives.”

Over the past year Historic England has awarded £1.8 million in grants to historic places in Yorkshire, more than £800,000 of which came from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

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Harrogate district heritage sites ‘at risk’

The Heritage at Risk register highlights the plight of a further 15 historic buildings or places in the district:

  • Church of St Mary, Harlow Terrace, Harrogate – very bad
  • Temple of Victory in Flaxby – fair
  • Orangery at Ripley Castle – poor
  • Dob Park Lodge in Weston – poor
  • Church of St James in Baldersby – fair
  • Carved rocks on edge of Snowden Carr, Askwith – generally satisfactory
  • Henge monument at Hutton Conyers – extensive significant problems
  • Hutton Hall at Hutton Conyers – generally satisfactory
  • Round barrow at Hutton Conyers – generally unsatisfactory with significant localised problems
  • Medieval fishponds in Markington and Wallerthwaite – generally unsatisfactory with significant localised problems
  • Howe Hill motte and Bailey Castle at North Deighton – generally unsatisfactory with significant localised problems
  • Allerton Park at Allerton Castle – generally satisfactory
  • Swinton Castle at Swinton – generally satisfactory
  • Site of Battle of Boroughbridge – generally satisfactory
Plumpton Rocks to reopen in 2022 after several years of repairs

Plumpton Rocks is set reopen to the public in the spring of 2022 after several years of restoration works.

The Grade II* listed parkland and man-made lake fell into disrepair towards the end of the last century before Historic England added it to the “Heritage at Risk Register” in 2012.

Since then Historic England has worked with the current owners and pumped in more than £400,000.

The visitor attraction first closed for a major programme of repairs in 2013, which included works on the parkland, the dam and on the lake. It reopened three years later in 2016.

Plumpton Rocks closed again in October 2019 to do further work on the dam and bring it up to standard for the Reservoirs Act 1975.

However, the combination of extremely wet weather and heavy machinery forced the owners to pause the works until March 2020.

Coronavirus meant that the works were only able to restart in October 2020. Today the dam restoration is complete but remedial works remain for other areas of the site.

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Robert de Plumpton Hunter, who inherited Plumpton Rocks from his father in 2010, told the Stray Ferret:

“When we started work on the dam in October 2019 the conditions were horrific. It was supposed to take three months but the conditions were so desperate.

“So we got to December and we had not made much progress. We were doing more harm than good so we stopped to restart in March 2020 but that is when coronavirus hit.

“The dam works finished in January 2021 but we need to do more work on the paths and the parkland before we reopen.

“I only want to let people in when it’s safe with coronavirus and when it is looking as good as it can be.”

Hopefully that would mean no more works would be needed for the next 100 years, he added.

Plumpton Rocks restoration timeline