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User talk:Kokiri/WQA

Weird, two links show up in red... I've used copy & paste :-( Kokiri 18:30, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

By extrapolation, we have about SIXTY THOUSAND "real articles" in the English edition. That is awesome for less than three years of volunteer labor! I don't see why the fact that we also have many less mature entries is seen by some as detracting from that laudable achievement; cf Sturgeon's law... --Brion 19:18, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Wikipedia Quality Assessment
I've done a Wikipedia Quality Assessment. Kokiri 18:32, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Hi Kokiri, interesting survey. I fixed the links for you. Welcome back. Angela 20:23, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * An interesting read Kokiri. Thanks for taking the time to do that. More non-text media is probably something no-one is going to argue about. The other most major point you raise is the stubs issue. Stubs that _can_ grow but just haven't been written yet are great IMO. I am one (surely not) who gripes about stubs that _can not_ really grow because their domain is too small.. I think the needs of an encyclopedia reader would be better served by fewer, but longer, articles than the current trend as a point of 'policy' (meant in a vague sense!)... especially since we can redirect pages to particular parts of other pages using the ... syntax. NB I am aware the wiki is not paper and that we don't necessarily want to slavishly copy Britannica. Now someone can show me where this issue has been raised ten times before! Pete 22:22, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I note that when this topic was added to the pump it was not only without a heading (which was easily corrected) but was also marked as a minor edit (which I can't fix). So this edit is partly to bring the article to the attention of others who might have missed it because of this.

 * While I'm at it though, I'm not completely convinced of the methodology. My first impression is that there seem to be a lot of assumptions which the data itself contradicts. Is Peter III of Portugal really a stub, for example? It's marked as one now, possibly because of this survey. But what extra information should be added? I notice you say that Britannica has a short article. Is it significantly more complete than this one? It seems to me that this might be a classical case of an article that we want to keep despite its being very short.

 * If there's a problem with this article, it's that there seems to be some sort of battle over his name, Peter or Pedro. Andrewa 03:17, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I've now reworked the Peter III of Portugal article on the assumption that it's essentially complete. I think it is. I'd now like to remove the stub warning, which I see you put there yourself, Kokiri.

 * But I have added very little information, and what I have added is entirely duplicated in other articles that were already directly linked to from this one. I've just rephrased things. Andrewa 08:48, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Firstly, apologies for marking this as a minor edit. Secondly, I have mentioned in the introduction of the test that I don't consider it a good one myself. For example, as you might have noticed, I compiled the data rather quickly. As for the Peter III article, Britannica doesn't have more on him and I have removed the stub alert now. Please feel free to edit the assessment I've done (isn't this Wikipedia?). Maybe one day I'll do another one where I take more time. Kokiri 11:34, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Very nicely done. It is very easy to read. And wonderfully interesting. I have often been disappointed and frustrated at the frequency of Rambot articles that come up when using the Random function. Sometimes I get three in a row.

 * I wonder if you could try the assessment again someday utilizing a different way to obtain your data. Rather than use the Random page feature, maybe you could ask a small sample of people to list specific things they would be interested in reading about. Afterall, wikipedia serves human readers, not Randomizers :) Kingturtle 10:46, 27 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I agree, it's an interesting survey. An additional interesting stat might be the number of articles that link to an article. That would support your comment that some articles seem to exist to support just one other.168... 20:26, 27 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I've been thinking about the Peter III issue coming out of my attempt to assess Wikipedia's quality of the articles. My feeling is that many stubs shouldn't exist as there just isn't enough for an entry. However, there are stubs we want to keep, just like the Peter III of Portugal. What about having a boilerplate text such as Mini Article to show that this article may be very short, but it's sort of finished (as finished as a Wikipedia article gets)? After all, Britannica does have very short qarticles too. Kokiri 09:50, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I think this is an excellent idea, Kokiri. Stubs can be divided into 3 types: delete because of no real value, potential long articles, and whole short articles (non-stubs). A way of marking this last group so that they do not clutter up Cleanup and Votes for deletion would be a good thing. Bmills 09:59, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Kokiri/WQA


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Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" (Wiener Hofoper) in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera (built in 1636 inside the Hofburg). The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861.

The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the Vienna State Opera's orchestra. The building is also the home of the Vienna State Ballet, and it hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball during the carnival season.

Construction
The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the renowned Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka.

The Ministry of the Interior had commissioned a number of reports into the availability of certain building materials, with the result that stones long not seen in Vienna were used, such as Wöllersdorfer Stein, for plinths and free-standing, simply-divided buttresses, the famously hard stone from Kaisersteinbruch, whose colour was more appropriate than that of Kelheimerstein, for more lushly decorated parts. The somewhat coarser-grained Kelheimerstein (also known as Solnhof Plattenstein) was intended as the main stone to be used in the building of the opera house, but the necessary quantity was not deliverable. Breitenbrunner stone was suggested as a substitute for the Kelheimer stone, and stone from Jois was used as a cheaper alternative to the Kaiserstein. The staircases were constructed from polished Kaiserstein, while most of the rest of the interior was decorated with varieties of marble.

The decision was made to use dimension stone for the exterior of the building. Due to the monumental demand for stone, stone from Sóskút, widely used in Budapest, was also used. Three Viennese masonry companies were employed to supply enough masonry labour: Eduard Hauser (still in existence today), Anton Wasserburger and Moritz Pranter. The foundation stone was laid on 20 May 1863.

Public response
The building was, however, not very popular with the public. On the one hand, it did not seem as grand as the Heinrichshof, a private residence which was destroyed in World War II (and replaced in 1955 by the Opernringhof). Moreover, because the level of Ringstraße was raised by a metre in front of the opera house after its construction had begun, the latter was likened to "a sunken treasure chest" and, in analogy to the military disaster of 1866 (the Battle of Königgrätz), was deprecatingly referred to as "the 'Königgrätz' of architecture". Eduard van der Nüll committed suicide, and barely ten weeks later Sicardsburg died from tuberculosis so neither architect saw the completion of the building. The opening premiere was Don Giovanni, by Mozart, on 25 May 1869. Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) were present.

WW II bombing and redesign

Towards the end of World War II, on 12 March 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment. The auditorium and stage were destroyed by flames, as well as almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, however, remained intact including the foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room. The State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Vienna Volksoper.

Lengthy discussion took place about whether the opera house should be restored to its original state on its original site, or whether it should be completely demolished and rebuilt, either on the same location or on a different site. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild the opera house as it had been, and the main restoration experts involved were Ernst Kolb (1948–1952) and Udo Illig (1953–1956).

The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have a functioning opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern. The submissions had ranged from a complete restructuring of the auditorium to a replica of the original design; Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve good acoustics, wood was the favoured building material, on the advice of, among others, Arturo Toscanini. In addition, the number of seats in the parterre (stalls) was reduced, and the fourth gallery, which had been fitted with columns, was restructured so as not to need columns. The façade, entrance hall and the "Schwind" foyer were restored and remain in their original style.

In the meantime, the opera company, which had at first been performing in the Volksoper, had moved rehearsals and performances to Theater an der Wien, where, on 1 May 1945, after the liberation and re-independence of Austria from the Nazis, the first performances were given. In 1947, the company went on tour to London.

Due to the appalling conditions at Theater an der Wien, the opera company leadership tried to raise significant quantities of money to speed up reconstruction of the original opera house. Many private donations were made, as well as donations of building material from the Soviets, who were very interested in the rebuilding of the opera. The mayor of Vienna had receptacles placed in many sites around Vienna for people to donate coins only. In this way, everyone in Vienna could say they had participated in the reconstruction and feel pride in considering themselves part owners.

However, in 1949, there was only a temporary roof on the Staatsoper, as construction work continued. It was not until 5 November 1955, after the Austrian State Treaty, that the Staatsoper could be reopened with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, conducted by Karl Böhm. The American Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, was present. The state broadcaster ORF used the occasion to make its first live broadcast, at a time when there were only c. 800 televiewers in the whole of Austria. The new auditorium had a reduced capacity of about 2,276, including 567 standing room places. The ensemble, which had remained unified until the opening, crumbled in the following years, and slowly an international ensemble formed.

History of the Company After the Second World War
In 1945, the Wiener Mozart-Ensemble was formed, which put on world-renowned guest performances and became known particularly for its singing and playing culture. The Austrian conductor Josef Krips was the founder and mentor, who had only survived the Nazi era (given his Jewish heritage) thanks to luck and help from colleagues. At the end of the war, Krips started the renovation of the Staatoper, and was able to implement his aesthetic principles, including the departure from the Romantic Mozart ideal with a voluminous orchestral sound. Instead, qualities more associated with chamber music were featured, as well as a clearer, lighter sound, which would later come to be known as "typically Viennese". Singers who worked with Krips during this time were Erich Kunz, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Wilma Lipp, among others.

As early as 1947, the Mozart-Ensemble was playing guest performances at the Royal Opera House in London, with Mozart's Don Giovanni. Richard Tauber, who had fled from the Nazis, sang Don Ottavio; three months later he died, and was remembered for singing with "half a lung" in order to fulfil his dream, many other artists became associated with the Mozart-Ensemble, for example Karl Böhm, but their role was still greatly peripheral, in a straightforward or assisting role. This was the beginning of Krips' worldwide career, which would take him to the most prominent houses in the world. Until his death in 1974, Krips was regarded as one of the most important Maestri (conductors/music directors) of the Staatsoper.

On 1 July 1998, a historical broadcast took place, as Austria undertook its first presidency of the European Union. Fidelio was broadcast live from the Vienna State Opera to the 15 capital cities of the EU.

The company
The Vienna State Opera is closely linked to the Vienna Philharmonic, which is an incorporated society of its own, but whose members are recruited from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera.

The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas in a repertory system per year and ten ballet productions in more than 350 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. The Staatsoper employs over 1000 people. As of 2008, the annual operating budget of the Staatsoper was 100 million euros with slightly more than 50% as a state subsidy.

The company's 2019 production of Olga Neuwirth's opera Orlando marked the first production of an opera by a female composer in the history of the Vienna State Opera.

Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was one of the many conductors who have worked in Vienna. During his tenure (1897–1907), Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg and Selma Kurz, and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage decors with sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic, Jugendstil tastes. Mahler also introduced the practice of dimming the lighting in the theatre during performances, which was initially not appreciated by the audience. However, Mahler's reforms were maintained by his successors.

Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan introduced the practice of performing operas exclusively in their original language instead of being translated into German. He also strengthened the ensemble and regular principal singers and introduced the policy of predominantly engaging guest singers. He began a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, in which both productions and orchestrations were shared. This created an opening for the prominent members of the Viennese ensemble to appear in Milan, especially to perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss.

Ballet companies merge
At the beginning of the 2005–2006 season, the ballet companies of the Staatsoper and the Vienna Volksoper were merged under the direction of Gyula Harangozó, which led to a reduction in the number of performers in the resulting ensemble. This has resulted in an increase in the number of guest stars engaged to work in the ballet. The practice of combining the two ballet companies proved an artistic failure, and Harangozó left when his contract expired in 2010.

From the 2010–2011 season a new company was formed called Wiener Staatsballet, Vienna State Ballet, under the direction of former Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Manuel Legris. Legris eliminated Harangozós's policy of presenting nothing but traditional narrative ballets with guest artists in the leading roles, concentrated on establishing a strong in-house ensemble and restored evenings of mixed bill programs, featuring works of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, and many contemporary choreographers, as well as a reduced schedule of the classic ballets.

140th anniversary season
2009 marked the 140th anniversary of the Vienna Opera House. To celebrate this milestone an idea designed to reach out and embrace a new audience was conceived. A giant 50 sqm screen was placed on the side of the opera house facing Kärntner Straße. In four months live broadcasts of over 60 famous operas were transmitted in this way, including performances of Madama Butterfly, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. This successful venture brought a new wave of operatic excitement to the many tourists and locals who experienced this cultural event. During daytime the screen displays a replica of the Opera House's façade, as it obstructs a considerable part of the building, along with information about upcoming performances.

The opera house and children

The Vienna State Opera is particularly open to children: under Holender's direction (he has three children of his own), the opera house has become well known for its children's productions, which are performed in a tent on the roof of the Staatsoper. Recent examples include Peter Pan,  (The Dream Gobbler), Der 35. Mai (The 35th of May), C. F. E. Horneman's Aladdin, Bastien und Bastienne and Wagners Nibelungenring für Kinder (Wagner's Ring for children). In addition to this, there is a production of The Magic Flute every year for 9- and 10-year-olds, decorated like the Opernball.

The opera house also has an opera school for boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen, which takes place in the afternoons after regular school. The children are introduced to music theatre and the prospect of becoming opera singers. The company recruits singers for children's roles in its productions from this opera school. Twice every season there is a special matinée performance of the opera school. In 2006, the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, they performed a 20-minute miniature opera Der kleine Friedrich arranged from songs of Mozart by Janko Kastelic and Claudia Toman.

"Standing room only" audience
Eighty minutes before each performance, cheap standing room tickets are sold (€10). These are popular with all age groups, and now have an almost legendary regular clientele, which is merciless in showing its displeasure with a performance loudly and unambiguously, but is even louder in voicing approval.

Der Neue Merker
Every performance at the Vienna State Opera is reviewed by an independent company in the opera publication Der Neue Merker (The New Judge) which is printed in about 2000 copies. This is unusual in that most opera magazines prefer to concentrate on new productions and premieres. There is an online version parallel to the publication, which receives (as of March 2007) an average of 10,000 visitors a week, and therefore is one of the most successful German-language opera portals.

Opera ball
For many decades, the opera house has been the venue of the Vienna Opera Ball. It is an internationally renowned event, which takes place annually on the last Thursday in Fasching. Those in attendance often include visitors from around the world, especially prominent names in business and politics. The opera ball receives media coverage from a range of outlets.

The opera ball in 1968 was the occasion for a protest, at which the organisation was criticised for being "elite" (due to the high prices), "conceited" (due to the opulent display of wealth for the newspapers and cameras) and "reactionary" (for upholding an allegedly outdated culture). There was violence between the demonstrators and the police.

Safety curtain
"Safety Curtain" is an exhibition series conceived by the non-profit art initiative museum in progress, which has been transforming the safety curtain of the Vienna State Opera into a temporary exhibition space for contemporary art since 1998. A jury (Daniel Birnbaum and Hans-Ulrich Obrist) selects the artists whose works are attached to the safety curtain by means of magnets and are shown during the course of a season. Artists up to date: Pierre Alechinsky, Tauba Auerbach, John Baldessari, Matthew Barney, Thomas Bayrle, Tacita Dean, Cerith Wyn Evans, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney, Christine & Irene Hohenbüchler, Joan Jonas, Martha Jungwirth, Jeff Koons, Maria Lassnig, Oswald Oberhuber, Giulio Paolini, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Rosemarie Trockel, Cy Twombly, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Franz West.

Directors/General managers
In chronological order, the directors (or general managers) of the Staatsoper have been:

 * Franz von Dingelstedt (1867–70)
 * Johann von Herbeck (1870–75)
 * Franz von Jauner (1875–80)
 * Wilhelm Jahn (1881–97)
 * Gustav Mahler (1897–1907)
 * Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (first term, 1908–11)
 * Hans Gregor (1911–18)
 * Richard Strauss / Franz Schalk (1919–24)
 * Franz Schalk (1924–29)
 * Clemens Krauss (1929–34)
 * Felix von Weingartner (second term, 1935–36)
 * (1936–40)
 * Heinrich Karl Strohm (1940–41)
 * Lothar Müthel (1941–42)
 * Karl Böhm (first term, 1943–45)
 * Franz Salmhofer (1945–54)
 * Karl Böhm (second term, 1954–56)
 * Herbert von Karajan (1956–1964)
 * Egon Hilbert (1964–68)
 * Heinrich Reif-Gintl (1968–72)
 * Rudolf Gamsjäger (1972–76)
 * Egon Seefehlner (first term, 1976–82)
 * Lorin Maazel (1982–84)
 * Egon Seefehlner (second term, 1984–86)
 * Claus Helmut Drese (1986–91)
 * Eberhard Wächter (1991–92)
 * Ioan Holender (1992–2010)
 * Dominique Meyer (2010–2020)
 * Bogdan Roščić (2020–present)

Artistic/Music Directors

 * Richard Strauss (1919–1924)
 * Bruno Walter (1936–1938)
 * Claudio Abbado (1986–1991)
 * Seiji Ozawa (2002–2010)
 * Franz Welser-Möst (2010–2014)
 * Philippe Jordan (2020–present)

Singers

 * Theo Adam
 * Ain Anger
 * Giacomo Aragall
 * Agnes Baltsa
 * Polly Batic
 * Gabriela Beňačková
 * Ettore Bastianini
 * Piotr Beczała
 * Teresa Berganza
 * Walter Berry
 * Jussi Björling
 * Franco Bonisolli
 * Montserrat Caballé
 * Maria Callas
 * José Carreras
 * Enrico Caruso
 * Mimi Coertse
 * Franco Corelli
 * José Cura
 * Oskar Czerwenka
 * Giuseppe Di Stefano
 * Plácido Domingo (50th jubilee in May 2017)
 * Otto Edelmann
 * Anny Felbermayer
 * Juan Diego Flórez
 * Mirella Freni
 * Ferruccio Furlanetto
 * Elīna Garanča
 * Nicolai Gedda
 * Angela Gheorghiu
 * Nicolai Ghiaurov
 * Tito Gobbi
 * Edita Gruberová (40th jubilee in September 2008, 50th jubilee in June 2018)
 * Thomas Hampson
 * Hans Hotter
 * Gundula Janowitz
 * Maria Jeritza
 * Gwyneth Jones
 * Sena Jurinac
 * Vesselina Kasarova
 * Jonas Kaufmann
 * Angelika Kirchschlager
 * Alfredo Kraus
 * Elisabeth Kulman
 * Erich Kunz
 * Selma Kurz
 * Christa Ludwig (final operatic performance in Elektra, 1994)
 * Éva Marton
 * Anna Moffo
 * Anna Netrebko
 * Birgit Nilsson
 * Jessye Norman
 * Jarmila Novotná
 * Hasmik Papian
 * Luciano Pavarotti
 * Alfred Piccaver
 * Lucia Popp
 * Hermann Prey
 * Leontyne Price
 * Gianni Raimondi
 * Ruggero Raimondi
 * Maria Reining
 * Leonie Rysanek
 * Matti Salminen
 * Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
 * Renata Scotto
 * Cesare Siepi
 * Giulietta Simionato
 * Bo Skovhus
 * Nina Stemme
 * Michail Svetlev
 * Giuseppe Taddei
 * Martti Talvela
 * Richard Tauber
 * Renata Tebaldi
 * Bryn Terfel
 * Rolando Villazón
 * Eberhard Wächter
 * Otto Wiener
 * Fritz Wunderlich
 * Heinz Zednik

Conductors

 * Claudio Abbado
 * Kurt Adler
 * Gerd Albrecht
 * Ernest Ansermet
 * Leonard Bernstein
 * Karl Böhm
 * Semyon Bychkov
 * Riccardo Chailly
 * André Cluytens
 * Colin Davis
 * Victor de Sabata
 * Hubert Deutsch
 * Antal Doráti
 * Christoph von Dohnányi
 * Gustavo Dudamel
 * Wilhelm Furtwängler
 * John Eliot Gardiner
 * Daniele Gatti
 * Gianandrea Gavazzeni
 * Michael Gielen
 * Leopold Hager
 * Daniel Harding
 * Nikolaus Harnoncourt
 * Paul Hindemith
 * Heinrich Hollreiser`
 * Philippe Jordan
 * Carlos Kleiber
 * Erich Kleiber
 * Berislav Klobučar
 * Hans Knappertsbusch
 * Clemens Krauss
 * Josef Krips
 * Rafael Kubelík
 * Jan Latham-Koenig
 * Erich Leinsdorf
 * Lorin Maazel
 * Charles Mackerras
 * Ernst Märzendorfer
 * Zubin Mehta
 * Dimitri Mitropoulos
 * Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
 * Pierre Monteux
 * Rudolf Moralt
 * Lovro von Matačić
 * Riccardo Muti
 * Andris Nelsons
 * Roger Norrington
 * Daniel Oren
 * Antonio Pappano
 * John Pritchard
 * Simon Rattle
 * Hugo Reichenberger
 * Fritz Reiner
 * Hans Richter
 * Mario Rossi
 * Nello Santi
 * Michael Schønwandt
 * Leif Segerstam
 * Tullio Serafin
 * Giuseppe Sinopoli
 * Leonard Slatkin
 * Georg Solti
 * Horst Stein
 * Pinchas Steinberg
 * Igor Stravinsky
 * Otmar Suitner
 * Robert Stolz
 * Richard Strauss
 * Christian Thielemann
 * Arturo Toscanini
 * Silvio Varviso
 * Marcello Viotti
 * Antonino Votto
 * Bruno Walter
 * Felix Weingartner
 * Alberto Zedda

Directors, set designers, and costume designers
Opera title and year of debut at the Vienna State Opera in parentheses:

 * Gae Aulenti (Il viaggio a Reims, 1988)
 * Boleslaw Barlog (Salome, 1972)
 * Sven-Eric Bechtolf (Arabella, 2006)
 * Ruth Berghaus (Fierrabras, 1990)
 * Milena Canonero (Il trittico, 1979)
 * Robert Carsen (Jérusalem, 1995)
 * Giulio Chazalettes (Attila, 1980)
 * Luciano Damiani (Don Giovanni, 1967)
 * Dieter Dorn (Die Entführung aus dem Serail, 1979)
 * August Everding (Tristan und Isolde, 1967)
 * Piero Faggioni (Norma, 1977)
 * Jürgen Flimm (Der ferne Klang, 1991)
 * Götz Friedrich (Moses und Aron, 1973)
 * Ezio Frigerio, (Norma, 1977)
 * Josef Gielen (Madama Butterfly, 1957)
 * Peter J. Hall (Le nozze di Figaro, 1991)
 * Karl-Ernst Herrmann (Die Entführung aus dem Serail, 1989)
 * Václav Kašlík (Idomeneo, 1971)
 * Jorge Lavelli (Der Prozess, 1970)
 * Alfred Kirchner (Khovanchina, 1989)
 * Harry Kupfer (Die schwarze Maske, 1986)
 * Lotfi Mansouri (La fanciulla del west 1978)
 * Gian Carlo Menotti (La Cenerentola, 1981)
 * Jonathan Miller (Le nozze di Figaro, 1991)
 * Giancarlo del Monaco (La forza del destino, 1989)
 * Hans Neuenfels (Le Prophète, 1998)
 * Hermann Nitsch (Hérodiade, 1995)
 * Adrian Noble (Alcina, 2010)
 * Timothy O'Brien (Turandot, 1983)
 * Tom O'Horgan (Les Troyens, 1976)
 * Laurent Pelly (La fille du régiment, 2007)
 * Pier Luigi Pizzi (as stage designer: La forza del destino, 1974; as director: Don Carlo, 1989)
 * Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (Manon, 1971)
 * David Pountney (Rienzi, 1997)
 * Harold Prince (Turandot, 1983)
 * Gianni Quaranta (Samson et Dalila, 1988)
 * Günther Rennert (Il barbiere di Siviglia, 1966)
 * Luca Ronconi (Il viaggio a Reims, 1988)
 * Ken Russell (Faust, 1985)
 * Filippo Sanjust (Ariadne auf Naxos, 1976)
 * Johannes Schaaf (Idomeneo, 1987)
 * Otto Schenk (Jenůfa, 1964)
 * Yuval Sharon (Tri Sestri, 2016)
 * Franca Squarciapino (Norma, 1977)
 * Peter Stein (Simon Boccanegra, 2002)
 * Giorgio Strehler (Simon Boccanegra, 1984)
 * Josef Svoboda (Idomeneo, 1971)
 * István Szabó (Il trovatore, 1993)
 * Carl Toms, (Faust, 1985)
 * Luchino Visconti (Falstaff, 1966)
 * Antoine Vitez (Pelléas et Mélisande, 1988)
 * Wieland Wagner (Lohengrin, 1965)
 * Margarete Wallmann (Tosca, 1958)
 * Anthony Ward (Alcina, 2010)
 * Herbert Wernicke (I vespri siciliani, 1998)
 * Peter Wood (Macbeth, 1981)
 * Franco Zeffirelli (La bohème, 1964)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Vienna State Opera


text:
User:Kenny Moens

My Interests

 * Aviation: Airplanes, Air Traffic Control, Ballooning
 * Computer Science
 * Board Games: typically war game type
 * Astronomy
 * Cycling: I ride my own Racing bicycle across the country.

Wikipedia Friends

 * Wouter Lievens: studying colleague
 * Martin Domig: former colleague from IVAO

title: User:Kenny Moens


text:
Verwood

Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies 10 mi north of Bournemouth and 13 mi north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cross, and in 2014 had a population of 15,170 (according to Dorset County Council). Verwood is the largest town in Dorset without an upper school.

Early history
Verwood was originally recorded as Beau Bois (Norman French: "beautiful wood") in 1288, and it was not until 1329 that it got the name Verwood, which developed from Fairwood or The Fayrewood. Verwood is recorded as "Fairwod" (1329) and as "Fayrwod" (1436); this name has the meaning "fair wood" and the modern form shows the change of initial "f" to "v" characteristic of many Southwestern English dialects.

Pottery industry
The East Dorset pottery industry, known collectively as Verwood Pottery, thrived from early times on the clay soils of the neighbourhood which had ample firing material close at hand. The major production was of domestic earthenware although finer and more unusual pieces have been found from earlier times. In the latter days ornamental and novelty items were produced.

Until the end of their useful life, the methods of production had not varied from Roman times, all the processes being carried out with no mechanisation or electrification. For example, the clay was always trodden by foot and not mixed in a pug mill. The wheel was turned by an assistant with a pole or handle, and the kilns were wood-fired. For these reasons the Crossroads Pottery, then the last remaining in the area, attracted national and local newspaper attention in the early to mid-20th century.

The industry was not confined to a local sales base. Hawkers, or "higglers", took the wares for sale over a wide area of southern England. They were also exported abroad, especially to Newfoundland which had a thriving trade with the nearby port of Poole. Examples of Verwood pots can be seen at the Verwood Heathland Heritage Centre.

Remembrance of those that fell in war
The Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground is dedicated to those who fell in the World War I, and is owned by the Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground Trust. Members of the Verwood Town Council automatically become trustees. The Recreation Ground land was purchased by public subscription in 1920 and the parish council was to hold the land to the benefit of the inhabitants of the parish of Verwood for use as a public recreation ground. The Recreation Ground comprises an area big enough for a football pitch and several children's play areas. It is across the road from the Memorial Stone, and had a set of wrought iron gates with a plaque on them saying "Verwood Recreation Ground / In memory of those that fell in the Great War 1914-1918".

It is widely believed that the oak trees around the recreation ground were planted in remembrance of each local person who fell in the First World War (one tree per person). These trees each have tree preservation orders to protect them.

In 1955 a formal Committee of Trustees was set up with the intention of building a new village hall, to be called the "Memorial Hall" in remembrance of those locals who valiantly gave their lives in World War II and it was agreed that the new hall should be constructed at the Recreation Ground. The official opening of Verwood Memorial Hall took place on 9 May 1959. The Memorial Hall was extended during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year (1977). The hall has come under threat on a number of occasions, each time public pressure resisting its demolition.

The Memorial Stone is across the road from the Memorial Hall and the Memorial Recreation Ground. Two plaques on the front of the stone are dedicated to the gallant souls who died in both world wars

1980–present
Verwood's first supermarket opened in the 1980s. In 1985 the town was twinned with the French town Champtoceaux. In 1987 the population of Verwood reached 9,856. The Parish Council passed the necessary resolution to become a Town Council under provisions made in the 1972 Local Government Act. In 1992 the new Verwood Town Council offices were opened. Later that year, the town twinned with the German town Liederbach am Taunus. In 2001 the town's population reached 12,069. Verwood Heritage Centre was opened by Rt. Hon. Viscount Cranborne. The centre is used as a museum of local history and a coffee shop. In 2007 the Verwood Hub, a multi-purpose cinema and theatre, opened to the public.

By 2014 the town had a population of over 15,000 and the Verwood Town Plan, published that year, identified a number of priorities including providing residents with new facilities, such as a swimming pool and an upper school.

Politics and Government
Verwood is a part of the North Dorset constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Simon Hoare, a Conservative. At the last election, his wikipedia page says he had a majority of 24,301 (43.3%).

There has been a Parish or Town Council in Verwood since 1894 when it had a population of only 1,190.

Verwood Town Council, the elected body of the Town, consists of eighteen members representing the Civil Parish. There are four wards in the Civil Parish: Dewlands North Ward (two councillors), Dewlands South Ward (eight councillors), Stephen's Castle Ward (seven councillors) and Three Legged Cross Ward (one councillor). As a Council they meet eight times a year at the Council Offices and three times a year at the Village Hall, Three Legged Cross.

The Council operates with three sub-committees which each report to the full Council; the Finance & General Purposes Committee, the Planning Consultative Committee and the Amenities Committee.

Verwood is a ward of Dorset Council, and (since the 2019 election) is represented by three County Councillors - Toni Coombs (Conservative), Spencer Flower (Conservative, Leader of the Council) and Simon Gibson (Conservative).

Shopping and facilities
A country market which is open from 10:00 to 11:30 is held each Friday in the Memorial Hall. The market sells locally produced seasonal vegetables and fruit, plants and cut flowers, homemade cakes and jams and craft items.

The town has a number of shopping areas: primarily in the town centre. Eating establishments include an Italian restaurant, Indian restaurant and takeaway, cafe, fish and chip shop, kebab shop, and a Chinese take-away.

Verwood is home to the Hub, a community facility which opened in April 2007. The Hub houses the 300 seat Merryfield Theatre, a 100-seat hall and a number of other smaller rooms. These facilities are used for films, plays, concerts and many other activities and the rooms can be hired by various organisations. In the centre of the Hub is a bistro area, surrounded by art displays and various exhibitions.

Media and culture
Verwood is proud to boast three thriving brass bands. Verwood Concert Brass Principal Band, Verwood Town Band, and Verwood Community Band. As at 2022, Verwood Concert Brass is in the championship section in the West of England Region under the baton of Kevin Smith. The band became West of England 4th Section champions in 2005 and 2006. This resulted in two trips to the National Brass Band Finals of Great Britain in Harrogate where they finished 6th and 7th respectively. In September 2008 the band were placed second at the 3rd section national finals after winning the area championship in March, and made another 'Finals' appearance in 2009 in the 2nd section. They perform in many concerts in the local area including several performances at the Hub.

Verwood holds an annual carnival around the time of the Spring bank holiday. A thriving carnival committee ensures that all organisations and individuals in and around Verwood are able to participate in the annual carnival parade, typically including floats from Verwood Guides, Verwood Hillside First School, Verwood Youth Club The Hive, and the Verwood Pantomime Society. There are also marching bands, fire engines, individual displays and much more.

Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Rowridge TV transmitter.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent, Heart South, Greatest Hits Radio South, and Forest FM is a community radio station, broadcast from Verwood for listeners based in Dorset. It hosts Europe's longest-running Beatles themed radio show ('BeatlesandBeyond') on its regular schedules.

VerwoodToday is an interesting online local source of news

Viewpoint Magazine has been established for over thirty-five years and has its roots in Verwood. In April 2011 the magazine expanded into West Moors, Ashley Heath and St Ives. Its circulation has the potential to reach over 35,000 readers.

Sports and recreation

Verwood is home to Verwood Town F.C., a football club founded in 1920. They are based at Potterne Park and are currently members of Wessex League Premier Division.
 * Association football

Rossgarth Youth Football Club is one of the most successful clubs in the area and has several teams covering all age groups for boys and girls, up to adult level. Eddie Howe, the former AFC Bournemouth manager, is a former Rossgarth player.

Verwood Cricket Club has several teams in both Adult and Youth (Colt) leagues. Home games are played at Potterne Park.
 * Cricket

Verwood Bowling Club (green bowls) who play at Moorlands Road, have several men's and ladies' teams.
 * Lawn Bowls

Verwood is the home to Verwood Rugby Club, a relatively young and ambitious rugby club founded in 1994. The club's pitch is located at Potterne Park. Verwood RUFC are currently members of Dorset & Wilts Division 3 South League.
 * Rugby Union

Dorset Dockers Rugby Club have two teams, playing Barbarian-style rugby

 * Gym

Potterne Park play area provides the community with 12 acre of sporting provision including rugby, football, tennis, netball, cricket and a skate park.

Verwood also hosts three large family events: Verwood Carnival traditionally takes place on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, the Rustic Fayre on August Bank Holiday Monday, and Flameburst on the last Saturday in October.

Stephen's Castle and Stephen's Stone
Stephen’s Castle is an Iron Age barrow set in a SSSI site (site of special scientific interest), to the North of Verwood and at the top of an old sand and gravel quarry. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The barrow was excavated by archaeologists in 1828, where human remains dating back to the Iron Age were found.

The Stephen Stone is now well hidden amongst pine trees, surrounded by boggy ground. Located approximately 400m north-east from Stephen's Castle, legend has it that Stephen was a local tribal chief of great strength. He was supposed to have hurled the 'Stephen stone' half a mile into Ringwood Forest, no mean feat as the stone weighs around 3 tonnes. In 1220 Stephen's Stone was recorded as "LE HORESTONE" and there was a boundary point in this area so it could be a boundary stone.

The Stone is an ancient block of sandstone, placed in a seemingly random location deep in the woods. It is not a native sandstone and no other such stones have been found in the area. This type of object is known as a 'monolith' - a single massive stone or rock placed as a monument. Although it is now lying flat, it is thought to have originally stood upright so its height above the ground may have exceeded 10 feet. This being so, it would be one of the largest stones of this type ever to have stood in Dorset. The area is once meant to have been open heathland, with the view maybe extending as far as Hengistbury Head on the coast.

Lost for many years in the overgrown wilderness, only scattered references to the existence of such a stone were available. In 1841, an author recounted a 561-year-old testimony speaking of a large stone on the heathland of Verwood. In 1993, a prominent sacred site investigator named Peter Knight led a project to rediscover the stone. The site was then cleared in 1994 to allow public access.

Records suggest that many years ago, the local inhabitants regarded the stone with a sort of superstitious reverence and told long tales about the impossibility of removing it. There was meant to be a golden casket buried underneath the stone, and a belief that "if anyone attempted to remove it, a black bird of dire omen perched upon its top to scare the miscreants." Perhaps the 'golden casket' was in fact a metaphoric reference to powerful supernatural energies that may be accessible at this location. For whatever reason, warnings may have evolved to inform people not to misuse the site.

Road
The town effectively sits on the cross-roads of the B3081 and the B3072; connected to the A31 and A338 to the south-east via the B3081 and south to A31 at Ferndown via the B3072.

Public bus services
Morebus route X6 provides an hourly stopping service to Poole, as well as an express service to Ringwood and Bournemouth.

Rail
Verwood once had its own railway station, served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway. This was closed in 1964. The nearest stations to the town are: Christchurch 11.9 miles, Hinton Admiral 13.3 miles and Bournemouth 13.6 miles.

Education
Schooling in Verwood is based on the 3-tier system, although after first school and middle school pupils transfer to either Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne Minster or Ferndown Upper School.

There are 3 First schools, accommodating children aged from 4–9: Verwood CofE First, Hillside First and Trinity CofE First.

Emmanuel CofE Middle School takes children from the three First schools, at ages 9–13. The school is on the same campus as Verwood First School.

Plans to open an upper school in Verwood were discussed as part of the 2014 Verwood Town Plan.

Notable residents

 * Lee Camp – AFC Bournemouth player
 * Michael Giles – original drummer for King Crimson, had a home studio
 * Harold Gimblett - cricketer
 * Gordon Haskell – pop music vocalist, songwriter and bassist
 * Eddie Howe – AFC Bournemouth former manager and former player
 * Lionel Jeffries – actor, writer and director
 * Darren Kenny – Paralympic cyclist
 * Jessie Matthews – actress, singer and dancer
 * Buster Merryfield – actor
 * Sean O'Driscoll – first team coach Oldham Athletic FC and former AFC Bournemouth football player and manager
 * Tony Pulis – Football manager and former AFC Bournemouth football player and manager
 * Matt Tubbs – footballer
 * Adam Booth - Great Britain Youth International

Twin towns

 * 🇫🇷 Champtoceaux Comité cantonal de jumelage de Champtoceaux in the Maine-et-Loire département of France.
 * 🇩🇪 Liederbach am TaunusHomepage der Gemeinde Liederbach am Taunus in the Main-Taunus Kreis of Germany.

title: Verwood


text:
1950 United Kingdom general election

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first to be held after a full term of a majority Labour government. The general election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was also the first to be held following the abolition of plural voting and university constituencies. The government's lead over the Conservative Party shrank dramatically, and Labour was returned to power but with an overall majority significantly reduced from 146 to just 5. There was a 2.8% national swing towards the Conservatives, who gained 90 seats. Labour called another general election the following year, which the Conservative Party won, returning Churchill to government after six years in opposition.

Turnout increased to 83.9%, the highest turnout in a UK general election under universal suffrage, and representing an increase of more than 11% in comparison to 1945.

It was also the first general election to be covered on television, although no recording was made of the live broadcast, which was the standard practice at the time. Richard Dimbleby hosted the BBC coverage of the election, which he would later do again for the 1951, 1955, 1959 and the 1964 general elections. On this occasion, Dimbleby was joined in the BBC Alexandra Palace studios by R. B. McCallum, Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and author of The British General Election of 1945, and David Butler, research student of Nuffield College. The first election night programme ran from 10:45 pm until just after 1:00 am.

Background
Significant changes since the 1945 general election included the abolition of plural voting by the Representation of the People Act 1948, and a major reorganisation of constituencies by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. Eleven new English seats were created and six were abolished, and there were over 170 major alterations to constituencies across the country. Parliament was dissolved on 3 February 1950.

Campaign
The Conservatives, having recovered from their landslide election defeat in 1945, accepted most of the welfare state and nationalisation that had taken place under the Attlee government, which included the National Health Service and the mixed economy. The Tory manifesto, This Is The Road, accepted the new welfare state's foundations but focused on the loss of freedoms and aspirations since 1945. Churchill claimed Attlee had not "levelled up" but had actually "levelled down". The campaign essentially focused on the possible future nationalisation of other sectors and industries, which was supported by the Labour Party, and opposed by the Conservatives. The Liberals essentially viewed the struggle between the two parties on this issue as a class struggle.

One of the major election issues was the rationing still in effect on petrol, confectionery and meats over five years after the end of the war. The Conservative Party promised to phase out rationing while Labour campaigned for its continuation.

Analysis showed that Labour suffered huge losses of seats due to a "revolt of the suburbs", with substantial swings against them among Middle England voters in London, the Home Counties, Essex and Middlesex. The effects of the Labour government's austerity, and inflation had hit middle income voters hard. In particular, rationing of basic foods like bread and powdered egg were incredibly unpopular. While campaigning in Leicester, Attlee was met with "catcalls" and chants of "vermin" while Hugh Gaitskell sensed there was "a collection of grievances among the lower middle class and middle class" against Labour.

The Liberal Party fielded 475 candidates, more than at any general election since 1929. Liberal Party leader Clement Davies felt that the party had been at a disadvantage at the 1945 general election when they ran fewer candidates than needed to form a government. Davies arranged for the cost of running extra candidates to be offset by the party taking out insurance with Lloyd's of London against more than fifty candidates losing their deposits. In the event, the strategy only succeeded in causing a very marginal increase in the overall Liberal vote over the previous election (although it was still their best popular vote percentage since 1929); the number of votes per candidate declined sharply, resulting in them losing a further three seats from their already-disappointing 1945 showing. A total of 319 Liberal candidates lost their deposits, a record number until the 2015 general election, when candidates for the Liberal Democrats lost 335 deposits at the general election held in that year.

Results
Despite losing 78 seats, the Labour Party won an overall majority of 5 seats, down from 146 in the previous election, while their vote share slightly declined. The Conservatives saw a resurgence in their support, gaining an additional 90 seats and saw their vote share improve by more than 4%.

Prominent personalities entering Parliament in this election included Edward Heath (Bexley), Jo Grimond (Orkney and Shetland), Enoch Powell (Wolverhampton South West), Reginald Maudling (Barnet) and Iain Macleod (Enfield West).

Scottish politician Willie Gallacher lost his West Fife seat to Labour; he was the last MP in Parliament for the Communist Party of Great Britain.

The election began the fractionalization of the Labour Party into Bevanite and Gaitskellite factions after Hugh Gaitskell blamed Aneurin Bevan for their party's disappointing performance, leading to a growing rift between the two.

 * }

Manifestos

 * This is the Road: The Conservative and Unionist Party's Policy, 1950 Conservative Party manifesto
 * Let Us Win Through Together: A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation, 1950 Labour Party manifesto
 * No Easy Way: Britain's Problems and the Liberal Answers, 1950 Liberal Party manifesto

title: 1950 United Kingdom general election


text:
National Liberal Party

National Liberal Party may refer to:

Active parties

 * National Liberal Party (El Salvador)
 * National Liberal Party (Lebanon)
 * National Liberal Party (Moldova)
 * National Liberal Party (Romania)
 * National Liberal Party (UK, 1999)

Defunct parties

 * National Liberal Party (Australia)
 * National Liberal Party (Bermuda)
 * National Liberal Party (Bulgaria)
 * National Liberal Party (Denmark)
 * National Liberal Party (Estonia)
 * National Liberal Party (Germany), 1867–1918
 * National Liberal Party (Hawaii)
 * National Liberal Party (Hungary)
 * National Liberal Party (Kingdom of Bohemia), known as Young Czech Party, 1874–1918
 * National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875), a dissolved party in Romania
 * National Liberal Party-Brătianu, Romania, 1930–1938
 * National Liberal Party–Tătărescu, Romania, 1944–1950
 * National Liberal Party (UK, 1922), 1922–1923, led by David Lloyd George, merged with UK Liberal Party
 * National Liberal Party (UK, 1931), 1931–1968, merged with UK Conservative Party
 * National Liberal Party – the Third Way, see Third Way (UK organisation)

title: National Liberal Party


text:
User:Paradox2

Human-Truth Paradox

I am interested in philosophical studies, works of greek philosophers (such as Aristotle, Socrates, Plato), and eastern philosophy incuding the works of Confucius. I am also interesting in network security and other computer-related topics.

Articles to which I have contributed:
 * IPv6

title: User:Paradox2


text:
Ottery St Mary

Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about 10 mi east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fairmile, Alfington, Tipton St John, Wiggaton, and (until 2017) West Hill, had a population of 7,692. The population of the urban area alone at the 2011 census was 4,898.

There are two electoral wards in Ottery (Rural and Town). The total population of both wards, including the adjacent civil parish of Aylesbeare, at the 2011 census was 9,022.

The town as it now stands has several independent shops, mainly in Mill Street, Silver Street and Yonder Street. An area known as 'The Square', is the heart of Ottery St Mary. There are pubs, restaurants, and coffee and tea rooms. Ottery provides services, employment, and a wide range of shopping for local residents and visitors from nearby villages and towns.

History
Ottery is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Otri' and 'Otrei'. 'Oteri Sancte Marie' is first mentioned in 1242. The town takes its name from the River Otter (named after the animal) on which it stands. The town belonged to the church of St Mary in Rouen in 1086, hence 'St Mary'.

Archaeological excavations in 2014, in advance of a housing development at Island Farm, uncovered a medieval longhouse dating to AD.1250–1350.

Ottery's notable buildings include the Tumbling Weir and St Mary's church. The town is the site of The King's School, formerly a grammar school but now a comprehensive school, founded in 1545 by Henry VIII, and of Ottery St Mary Primary School. The Old Town Hall now accommodates the local heritage museum.

The Chanter's House is a Grade II listed building. The Listing summary states: "Dates from the days of the College but little trace of antiquity remains, mainly enclosed by large brick outer additions by Butterfield including a 3rd storey, extending also above the C18 ... The C17 centre is the former Heath's Court ..." It dates from the 17th century, incorporating parts of the former Precentor's house, known as Heath's Court. In 1645, Oliver Cromwell held a convention in the house's dining room, and Thomas Fairfax stayed at the house from October to December in that year. The building served as the headmaster's lodging for the King's School. Samuel Taylor Coleridge grew up here after his father, Rev. John Coleridge, moved there after being appointed headmaster and vicar of St Mary's Church in 1769. The property remained in the Coleridge family until 2006, when it was sold to Max Norris who completed a major renovation over five years.

A report in June 2020 describes The Chanter's House as having ten bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and a library (built by Coleridge) with 22,000 books, purchased with the property in 2006. The grounds include a "walled gardens, stables, tennis court, a Victorian palm house and an aviary, as well as over 21 acres of gardens, woodland and streams ... [as well as] a lodge and a coach house." A news item states that the library includes "diaries, notes and collections of poems, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Church

The parish church of St Mary's has been referred to as "a miniature Exeter Cathedral". Like the cathedral it is cruciform in plan, with transepts formed by towers.

Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as "lying large and low like a tired beast". It is 163 ft long, and the towers are 71 ft high. It was consecrated in 1260, at which time the manor and patronage of the church belonged to Rouen Cathedral, as it had from before the Norman invasion. Pevsner assumed that the tower-transepts and the outer walls of the chancel date back to 1260, and that the towers were built in imitation of those at Exeter.

In 1335 John Grandisson, (1327–69), Bishop of Exeter, bought the manor and advowson from Rouen, and two years later converted the church into a collegiate foundation with forty members. He rebuilt much of the church, and the present nave, chancel, aisles and Lady chapel date from this time. The nave is of five bays, and the chancel, unusually long in proportion, is of six, with vestry chapels to the north and south.

The church is noted for its painted ceiling and early 16th-century fan vaulted aisle, the Dorset Aisle, designed and commissioned by Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, whose first husband was Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset.

The building was restored in 1850 by architect William Butterfield. His alterations included lowering the floor level of the transepts, crossing and western part of the chancel to that of the nave, and making the east end, designed for the needs of the collegiate foundation, more suitable for parochial use.

The church houses the Ottery St Mary Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest surviving mechanical clocks in the country. It is generally attributed to Bishop Grandisson and follows Ptolemaic cosmology placing the Earth at the centre of the solar system. The church has ten misericords dating from the building of the church in 1350, five showing the arms of Bishop John de Grandisson. The church interior also has two medieval carved stone green men. There is a small stone plaque commemorating the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was born here on 21 October 1772, in the south churchyard wall. Other interesting features include the tombs of Otho de Grandisson and his wife, the altar screen, sedilia, and a wooden eagle given by Bishop Grandisson.

Ottery St Mary parish registers, which begin in 1601, are held in the Devon Record Office.

This is a Grade I listed building, one of 107 Listed sites in the area. The summary provides this information: "Consecrated by Bishop Bronescombe in 1260. Altered and added to by Bishop Grandison circa 1330. Mainly Early English ... 2 towers above transepts .... The interior was restored drastically mid C19 by Butterfield and others". The work in the 1300s included "rebuilding of the nave, and addition of the Lady Chapel at the east end and two chantry chapels either side of the chancel" according to a reliable source. Other renovations were completed circa 1520: "principally expansion of the north nave aisle, complete with elaborate, fan-vaulted ceiling and pendant bosses".

Schools
The town's primary schools are West Hill Primary School which was established in 1876 and now has around 210 pupils, and Ottery St Mary Primary School with around 356 pupils.

The King's School, located on the outskirts of the town, was established as a choir school by Bishop John Grandisson in 1335, but was replaced by a grammar school by Henry VIII in 1545. It became a comprehensive school in 1982 and is now a government-endowed Sports College with access to facilities shared by the public – namely the LED Sports Centre. The school has 1,100 students and 80 teachers.

Tar Barrels
The town typically stages annual events around Guy Fawkes Night when, in a tradition dating from the 17th century, barrels soaked in tar are set alight, and carried aloft through parts of the town by residents.

The festivities begin in the early evening with children's, youths' and women's events, culminating in the men's event when a total of 17 barrels are lit outside each of the four public houses in the town. (Originally there were 12 public houses in the town). The barrels, increasing in size up to 30 kg, are carried through the town centre, often packed with onlookers, in an exhilarating and risky spectacle. Only those born in the town, or who have lived there for most of their lives, may carry a barrel. Generations of the same family have been known to compete across the years and it is thought that the event may have originated as a means of warding off evil spirits, similar to other British fire festivals, around the time of Halloween. In recent years the event has been jeopardised by the need for increasing public liability insurance coverage. Nevertheless, the event continues and the town of 7,000 people increases to well over 10,000. During the event all roads in and out of Ottery are closed for safety reasons with diversions in place.

On 30 October 2008 the annual event was threatened by a severe hailstorm, which hit East Devon shortly after midnight, with the Fire Service describing the situation in the Ottery St Mary area as "absolute chaos". The storm led to serious flooding in the town, caused mainly by storm drains becoming clogged with hailstones. Roads became blocked and the Coastguard service was required to airlift some people to safety. The flooding also caused problems on the Millennium Green, where the annual bonfire and fairground were being constructed in preparation for 5 November celebrations. One of the owners of the fairground said that the builders working there were "lucky to be alive". The clear-up operation was entirely successful, however, and both the carnival procession and the Tar Barrels and bonfire night celebrations went ahead as planned.

In 2009, the Factory Barrel was sabotaged by a visitor who threw an aerosol can into the barrel. The can exploded in the heat and 12 spectators required treatment for burns. In an unrelated incident, the roof of the old fire station burned down on the night of the 2009 tar barrels.

In 2020, the tar barrel event was cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pixie Day
Pixie Day is an old tradition which takes place annually in June. The day commemorates a legend of pixies being banished from the town to local caves known as the 'Pixie's Parlour'.

The Pixie Day legend originates from the early days of Christianity, when a local bishop decided to build a church in Otteri (Ottery St. Mary), and commissioned a set of bells to come from Wales, and to be escorted by monks on their journey.

On hearing of this, the pixies were worried, as they knew that once the bells were installed it would be the death knell of their rule over the land. So they cast a spell over the monks to redirect them from the road to Otteri to the road leading them to the cliff's edge at Sidmouth. Just as the monks were about to fall over the cliff, one of the monks stubbed his toe on a rock and said "God bless my soul" and the spell was said to be broken.

The bells were then brought to Otteri and installed. However, the pixies' spell was not completely broken; each year on a day in June the 'pixies' come out and capture the town's bell ringers and imprison them in Pixies' Parlour to be rescued by the Vicar of Ottery St Mary. This legend is re-enacted each year by the Cub and Brownie groups of Ottery St Mary, with a specially constructed Pixie's Parlour in the Town Square (the original Pixie's Parlour can be found along the banks of the River Otter).

Old Ottregians Society
An inhabitant of Ottery St Mary is known as an "Ottregian". One Sunday afternoon in 1898 six young men from Ottery, who were then living in London, met on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, and resolved to form a Society to promote good fellowship among Ottery people wherever they may be. So was founded the Old Ottregians Society, which took as its motto Floreat Ottregia ("May Ottery Flourish"). The Old Ottregians society still exists (1997).

Old Ottery song
Another tradition in Ottery that continues today is the daily playing of the Old Ottery song. At eight o'clock, midday and four o'clock each day, the church of Ottery plays the Old Ottery song after the peal of the church bells. Tradition has it that the funerals of Old Ottregians always take place at 12.00 noon, with the funeral service commencing immediately following the playing of the Old Ottery song: The words are as follows ('kine' are cattle): "Sweet-breathing kine, / The old grey Church, / The curfew tolling slow, / The glory of the Western Sky, / The warm red earth below. // O! Ottery dear! O! Ottery fair! My heart goes out to thee, Thou art my home, wher'er I roam, The West! The West for me!"

John Coke's ghost
Within St Mary's Church, a colourful effigy of a soldier named John Coke can be found in a niche. He is said to have been murdered by a younger brother in 1632, and therefore tradition avers that his spirit steps down from the alcove and wanders about the church interior.

Media Appearance
A season 3 episode of the BBC radio comedy series Cabin Pressure features Ottery St Mary.

Great fire
On 25 May 1866 a great fire occurred in Ottery. A newspaper report from the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette dated Friday, 1 June 1866, is summarized by historian J. Harris as follows:

"The fire started about noon and the raged through the homes and shops of about a quarter of the town, reducing everything to ashes. The fire started on Jesu Street where the charity schools formerly stood. At first some people believed that the fire had been started by children playing with matches, but subsequent investigation has now proved this to be incorrect. It appears that the fire was started by a woman burning rubbish and papers in her cottage fireplace on Thursday. The fire smouldered and eventually burned through the wall to the school next door. It was eventually discovered at the top of the staircase in the schoolroom, near the cottage chimney around noon on Friday. It then spread very rapidly. Within hours one hundred houses had been destroyed, and 500 people rendered homeless – 10% of the population. A great part of the town extending westwards from the school to the silk factory in Mill Street was reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins."

Air crash
One evening in July 1980, a disaster was narrowly averted when an aircraft on approach to Exeter Airport crash-landed on the outskirts of town, in a field immediately south of the Salston Hotel. The aircraft, an Alidair Vickers Viscount turboprop, flying 62 passengers from Santander in Spain to Exeter was 11 miles short of the runway over a wooded area on East Hill, just before the town, when it ran out of fuel and all four engines stopped.

The pilot, who knew the area, was able to bank left and glide over the town's southern edge and make a wheels-up crash-landing in a field. The aircraft was put down at 19.53 hours, in daylight, near St Saviours' Bridge, in a small grassy valley studded with trees. The 27-year-old aircraft was written off in the crash. The only casualties were two sheep.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the accident had been primarily caused by the crew's mistaken belief that there was sufficient fuel on board to complete the flight. The aircraft's unreliable fuel gauges, the company's pilots' method of establishing total fuel quantity, and the imprecise company instructions regarding the use of dipsticks were also considered to be major contributory factors. Meter indications on the refuelling vehicle at Santander, which could not have accurately reflected the quantity of fuel delivered, were also considered to have been a probable contributory factor.

The accident investigation report concluded, however, that the aircraft commander's handling of the emergency once the aircraft's four engines stopped had been skilful and assured. Had he not acted in the way he did, there could have been a considerable loss of life of both aircraft passengers and residents of the town. One of the propellers from the aircraft was later donated by the airline to the town to be auctioned for charity.

The town still lies under the flightpath for Exeter International Airport.

Historic estates
There are several historic estates within the parish of Ottery, including:
 * Cadhay
 * Thorne
 * Knightstone

Notable people

 * Frederick Coleridge, cricketer and clergyman
 * Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the Romantic poet, was born here on 21 October 1772. His father, the Reverend John Coleridge, was a vicar; the family lived at The Chanter's House when John Coleridge was headmaster of the King's School.
 * Edward Davy (1806 – 1885), English physician, scientist, and inventor, born here
 * Sir Ernest Satow, a diplomat, spent his retirement (1906–29) here at a house called Beaumont, which still stands. Sir Ernest was buried in the churchyard; there is a commemorative plaque to him in the church.
 * Hugh Whitby, cricketer and schoolmaster
 * Claire Wright, politician
 * Stuart Hogg, Scottish rugby union captain resides in the town

Sport and leisure
The Non-League football club, Ottery St Mary A.F.C. plays at Washbrook Meadows.

The Colin Tooze Sports Centre is located opposite the King's School and the Move Forward Gym is located in Finnimore Trading Estate.

From 1968 to 1974, Ottery had a folk club that met regularly every week in the town's London Inn with singers such as Cyril Tawney and other local artists appearing, as well a number of local singers. The club was listed in the EFDSS list of local rural folk clubs.

Transport
Until 1967 the town was served by Ottery St Mary railway station, which was closed under the Beeching Axe. The line ran from Sidmouth Junction (renamed as Feniton in 1971) on the main line from Exeter to Waterloo to the north of Ottery, and to Sidmouth and Exmouth to the south. The line split just south of Tipton St John, near the Bowd Inn. Both routes closed in March 1967. For many years the path of the railway, with the rails removed, remained in place, with evidence of the railway gates at places such as north of Cadhay Bridge. The closest railway station to Ottery St Mary is now at Feniton, approximately 3 miles away.

Twin towns

 * 🇫🇷 Pont-l'Évêque, France (Since 1977)
 * 🇩🇪 Ilsfeld, Germany (Since 2003)

title: Ottery St Mary


text:
Ottery

Ottery may refer to:

 * Ottery, Cape Town
 * Ottery Hundred, Devon, England
 * Ottery St Mary
 * Ottery St Mary A.F.C.
 * Ottery St Mary astronomical clock
 * Ottery St Mary railway station
 * The King's School, Ottery St Mary
 * River Ottery, Cornwall, England
 * Upottery, Devon, England

title: Ottery


text:
Broccoflower

Broccoflower is either of two edible plants of the species Brassica oleracea with light green heads. The edible portion is the immature flower head (inflorescence) of the plant.

Broccoli and cauliflower are different cultivars of the same species, and as such are fully cross compatible by hand pollination or natural pollinators. There are two forms of Brassica oleracea that may be referred to as broccoflower, both of which are considered cultivars of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) because they have inflorescent meristems rather than flower buds when harvested. One is shaped like regular cauliflower, the other has pointed, conical, spiraling clusters of florets. They share a curd color that is a similar hue to that of broccoli.

Green cauliflower
The first form of broccoflower has the physical attributes of a white cauliflower, but the curd color is lime-green. There are several cultivars of green cauliflower on the market, with the first release being 'Green Ball' with parentage of both broccoli and cauliflower. The California firm Tanimura & Antle trademarked the word "Broccoflower" for the green cauliflower they market.

Romanesco broccoli

The second form is Romanesco broccoli, which is characterised by the striking and unusual fractal patterns of its flower head. It has a yellow or vibrant green curd color.

title: Broccoflower


text:
John Pond

John Pond FRS (1767 – 7 September 1836) was an English astronomer who became the sixth Astronomer Royal, serving from 1811 to 1835.

Biography
Pond was born in London and, although the year of his birth is known, the records indicating the day and month have been lost to posterity. Pond's father made a fortune as a London merchant, enabling young John to enter Trinity College, Cambridge in 1784 at the age of sixteen. He took no degree, however, as his course was being interrupted by severe pulmonary attacks which compelled a long residence abroad. He was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1794, but his poor health prompted him to withdraw.

Work
In 1800 Pond settled at Westbury near Bristol, and began to determine star-places with a fine altitude and azimuth circle of 2+1/2 ft in diameter by Edward Troughton. His demonstration in 1806 of a change of form in the Greenwich mural quadrant led to the introduction of astronomical circles at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and to his own appointment as its head. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on 26 February 1807. That same year he married and set up residence in London.

In 1811 Pond succeeded Nevil Maskelyne as Astronomer Royal. During an administration of nearly twenty-five years, he effected a reform of practical astronomy in England comparable to that brought about by Friedrich Bessel in Germany. In 1821 he began to employ the method of observation by reflection and in 1825 devised means of combining two mural circles in the determination of the place of a single object, the one serving for direct and the other for reflected vision. Under his auspices the instrumental equipment at Greenwich was completely changed and the number of assistants increased from one to six. The superior accuracy of his determinations was attested by Seth Carlo Chandler's 1894 discussion of them in the course of his researches into the variation of latitude. Between 1810 and 1824 he persistently controverted the reality of Ireland's Astronomer Royal John Brinkley's imaginary star-parallaxes. During the 1829-31 period, he briefly served as Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac. Delicacy of health obliged his retirement in the autumn of 1835.

Among his honours were the Lalande Prize, conferred in 1817 by the French Academy of Sciences of which he was a corresponding member, and the Copley Medal, presented in 1823. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1822. He published eight folio volumes of Greenwich Observations, translated Pierre-Simon Laplace's Système du monde and contributed thirty-one papers to scientific collections. His 1833 catalogue of positions of 1112 stars was of great value and displayed an accuracy which had previously never been achieved.

As Astronomer Royal, Pond was responsible for a substantial modernisation of the Observatory at Greenwich, extending from equipment improvements to new working practices. Perhaps his most noticeable addition was the 1833 installation of the time ball on the roof of the Observatory. Arguably, the first public time signal in the UK, the ball's drop occurs daily at 1:00 p.m. and was intended to aid mariners on the Thames to synchronise their marine chronometers.

Pole Hill in Epping Forest lies directly on the Greenwich meridian and, being the highest point on that bearing directly visible from Greenwich, was at one time used as a marker by geographers at the Royal Observatory to set their telescopes and observation equipment to a true zero degree bearing. On the summit of the hill is an obelisk made of granite and bearing the following inscription:

This pillar was erected in 1824 under the direction of the Reverend John Pond, MA, Astronomer Royal. It was placed on the Greenwich Meridian and its purpose was to indicate the direction of true north from the transit telescope of the Royal Observatory. The Greenwich Meridian as changed in 1850 and adopted by international agreement in 1884 as the line of zero longitude passes 19 feet to the east of this pillar.

John Pond died in Blackheath, London in the year of his 69th birthday and was buried beside and near fellow Astronomers Royal Edmond Halley and Nathaniel Bliss, respectively, in the churchyard of St Margaret's in nearby Lee.

title: John Pond