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Silvermines

Silvermines, historically known as Bellagowan, is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. It lies immediately north of the Silvermine mountain range and takes its name from the extensive mines of lead, zinc, copper, baryte and silver nearby. Towards the very south of the Silvermine Mountains is the highest peak in the mountains, Keeper Hill or in Irish Sliabh Cimeálta, which rises to 695m, dominating the area. Silvermines is located near the town of Nenagh on the R499 regional road. It is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe and is also in the historical barony of Ormond Upper.

Mining heritage
The earliest record of mining in the district is from 1289, but was short-lived. Mining resumed in the 17th century and continued intermittently until 1874. It restarted in 1949, and shortly after a world-class deposit of baryte was found and opencast mining of this began in 1963 by Magcobar (Ireland) Ltd. Soon after a multi-million-tonne orebody grading about 11% combined lead and zinc was also discovered. This was worked underground from 1968 to 1982 by Mogul of Ireland Ltd. The Magcobar mine closed in September 1992, and its extensive spoil heaps are a prominent local landmark, visible for miles. The Mogul mine became famous for the many fine mineral specimens it produced, particularly of the ore minerals galena and sphalerite.

The Old Smelting House, now a ruin, is listed as a protected structure by Tipperary County Council (RPS Ref S477).

Recently, the area has come to media attention as the integrity of the village's water supply was threatened by pollution from the tailings left behind at the mine.

Transport
Freight trains no longer serve Silvermines.

Bus Éireann route 323 from Newport, County Tipperary to Nenagh serves the village on Fridays-only. There is a journey at 11.00 am to Nenagh. This returns from Nenagh railway station at 1.45 pm, serving the village at 2.05 pm and continuing to Newport.

Slieve Felim Way
The Slieve Felim Way, a 43 km long-distance trail through the Silvermine and Slieve Felim Mountains has a trail-head in the village. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Shannon Development and Coillte.

title: Silvermines


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Steed Malbranque

Steed Claude Malbranque (born 6 January 1980) is a former professional footballer. Born in Belgium, he represented France at international level.

Malbranque started his professional career with Olympique Lyonnais, before moving to England in 2001, where he had spells with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland. He returned to France in 2011 for a short spell with Saint-Étienne. In 2012, he joined Lyon for the second time. At Tottenham, he became one of 17 Spurs players to manage 50 games in a single season. He principally played as a winger or attacking midfielder. During his second spell at Lyon he also played as a central midfielder.

Lyon
He was a trainee at Lyon youth academy between 1995 and 1997, during which time he won the Under-15 championship twice, the Under-17 Cup and the reserve team championship. He also captained the French Under-18 side.

He made his professional debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Montpellier on 21 February 1998 aged 18. He went on to play a total of 96 games for the club, which included 12 appearances and two goals in the Champions League and seven appearances in the UEFA Cup.

Malbranque was an unused substitute in the final as Lyon won the 2001 French Coupe de la Ligue.

During his time at the club, there was a chance to join English club Arsenal after impressing in a Champions League tie at Highbury and the following tie, a 3–0 victory over Bayern Munich at Stade de Gerland. He rejected the move as he felt he was not ready to play in the Premier League.

Fulham
He eventually made his move to the Premier League in 2001, joining Fulham for a fee believed to be £4.5 million, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He went on to score 10 goals in his first season. As a result, making an impressive display in his first season at Fulham, Malbranque was described by Christian Damiano, who has kept track of Malbranque's development since he was 13-year-old, as "the number 10 position that Zidane excels at Fulham".

He became a firm favourite during his five years at the club, playing a total of 211 games and scoring 44 goals, including six appearances and three goals in Fulham's short-lived UEFA Cup campaign in the 2002–03 season. He was the top scorer that season with 13 goals that helped save Fulham from relegation. He was offered the chance to play for Belgium towards the end of the campaign, having not represented the full France side; however, he turned it down with the hope that he would eventually break into the full French squad. He scored in Fulham's 3–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003. During the same month, Malbranque would sign a new four-year contract to keep him at Craven Cottage until 2007.

On 13 May 2006, after extensive contract talks with the club failed, Malbranque was placed on the transfer list at Fulham after he declared his intention to leave at the end of his contract. There was rumoured interest from Reading, Middlesbrough, West Ham United, Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle United, but he opted to sign for Tottenham Hotspur on the deadline day of the transfer window (31 August) for a fee believed to be £2 million, despite an injury that would keep him out for approximately 10 weeks.

Tottenham Hotspur
Malbranque made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur almost 10 weeks after signing for the club on 8 November at White Hart Lane playing 63 minutes in a League Cup 3–1 victory over Port Vale. He had been unable to play earlier than that after a non-essential groin operation.

He scored his first goal for Spurs in an emphatic 5–1 victory over Charlton Athletic at White Hart Lane on 9 December. Malbranque became a fan favourite at Tottenham because of his strong work ethic. Malbranque finished the 2007–08 season in the top five in the Premier League for tackles made and tackles per minute, demonstrating his work ethic and tackling ability.

He scored Tottenham's 150th goal in European competition with his goal in the second leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 against Sporting Braga on 14 March 2007 at White Hart Lane. On 12 April 2007, during the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final against defending champions Sevilla, Malbranque famously scored an anomalous own goal. A Sevilla corner was met with a header from Christian Poulsen. The ball appeared to be going wide of the goal until Malbranque took a wild lash at the ball to clear it and keep it in play. The ball was sliced backwards into Spurs' own net. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, but Sevilla went through to the next round on 4–3 aggregate.

He started for Spurs as they won the 2008 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea.

Sunderland
Malbranque followed teammates Pascal Chimbonda and Teemu Tainio to Sunderland. Malbranque signed a four-year contract on 30 July 2008. He went on to score his first goal for the club with the first goal in Sunderland's 4–1 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium. Malbranque enjoyed his best form in a Sunderland shirt during the 2009–10 season, proving fruitful on the left wing as opposed to the right. He scored his second Sunderland goal in their FA Cup third round victory over non-league Barrow. His run of form helped Sunderland climb the table after a positive streak of results mid-season.

Malbranque remained at Sunderland for the 2010–11 season, moving into a more central role to accommodate loan signing Danny Welbeck. He featured in Sunderland's early seven match unbeaten run, which included games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. Malbranque missed a penalty in Sunderland's 2–0 victory against Stoke City. On 1 February 2011, he made his 100th appearance for Sunderland playing against Chelsea at the Stadium of Light.

Malbranque became a fan favourite during his time with Sunderland but in the 2011 summer transfer window it was revealed that he was in advanced talks with French team Saint-Étienne with a view to joining them. His manager at Sunderland, Steve Bruce, stated he was surplus to requirements, and it was also revealed his transfer would free up funds for new summer signings as well as cut their wage bill.

Saint-Étienne
On 3 August 2011, it was announced Malbranque had signed with French side AS Saint-Étienne on a two-year contract, thus ending a 10-year stay in English football. A month after joining, rumours circulated that Malbranque had asked to be released from his contract due his son being ill with cancer. Malbranque eventually released a statement issued by London-based solicitors Thomas Cooper denying this: "Steed has read with concern the recent stories currently circulating about him and his family, He would like to reassure all of his friends in England and throughout world football that these stories are wholly without foundation. Steed does not have a son and his immediate family are all in good health. Steed does not know the origin of these stories but would like to stress that they are without merit. He trusts that they will now cease immediately." The following day, Saint-Étienne announced they and Malbranque had agreed to a mutual termination of his contract.

There was another circulated that Malbranque would consider retirement, something that denied by Malbranque himself.

Return to Lyon
On 2 August 2012, it was confirmed by Malbranque's first club Lyon that he was being taken on trial with the view to a permanent contract. On 25 August 2012 Malbranque signed a one-year contract with Lyon after spending three weeks with the club.

In his first game after returning to Lyon, Malbranque played a superb game against Valenciennes being paired with Maxime Gonalons in midfield and helped his team win the game 3–2. He played the next game for Lyon on 16 September, against Ajaccio and in 75th minute of the match he delivered an assist to Lisandro to make the final result 2–0 for Lyon. In a UEFA Europa League tie against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona on 4 October, Malbranque delivered another key assist, this time from a corner in the 93rd minute for Gueïda Fofana to head the ball into the net and make the final result 4–3 for Lyon. On 21 October Lyon played against Brest and it was again Malbranque with a wonderful chip assist in the 57th minute for Gomis to make the final result 1–0 for Lyon. On 4 November, Lyon encountered Bastia at Gerland and Malbranque assisted for Briand and two minutes later scored a penalty himself in the 95th minute to make the final score 5–2 for Lyon. On 11 November, he assisted from a free kick for Gonalons in Sochaux, but Sochaux equalised through Sloan Privat in the 71st minute and the match ended 1–1. A week later Lyon played against Reims and won 3–0 with Malbranque assisting Lisandro for the third goal in the 90th minute. On 28 November, with Lyon visiting Marseille, Malbranque scored a volley from Lacazette's cross making it 3–0 for Lyon. The game eventually ended with Lyon winning 4–1, with Gomis adding Lyon's fourth goal. He made his sixth Ligue 1 assist of the season for Michel Bastos' equaliser against Nancy on 12 December 2012, with the game ending 1–1. During the same month, Malbranque would sign a new contract with the club, which will keep him until 2014.

In their first league game of 2013, Lyon played away against ESTAC Troyes on 12 January winning the match 2–1, with Malbranque assisting from the corner for Gonalons' opener in 11th minute.

Caen
On 17 June 2016, Malbranque signed for Caen as a free agent on a one-year contract.

Amateur leagues
In November 2017, he came out of retirement to sign with Chasselay MDA, playing in the Championnat National 2. On 4 September 2020, he joined Limonest in the Championnat National 3.

International career
Born in Belgium to French parents, Malbranque was called up to the French Under-21s and was part of the squad of Les Bleus that lost to the Czech Republic in the final of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

In February 2004, after failing to break into France's senior squad, Malbranque expressed an interest in representing the Belgium national team. However, the Red Devils' coach Aimé Anthuenis claimed that Malbranque was not eligible to represent the country. A month later, Malbranque was called into the senior France squad for a friendly against the Netherlands but was an unused squad member.

In November 2012, Malbranque received a call-up to the French squad for a friendly against Italy but again failed to earn his debut cap.

Honours
Lyon
 * Coupe de la Ligue: 2000–01

Fulham
 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

Tottenham Hotspur
 * Football League Cup: 2007–08

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

title: Steed Malbranque


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Manchester Cathedral

Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city's parish church. It is on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre and is a grade I listed building.

The former parish church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the years following the foundation of the collegiate body in 1421. Then at the end of the 15th century, James Stanley II (warden 1485–1506 and later Bishop of Ely 1506–1515) was responsible for rebuilding the nave and collegiate choir with high clerestory windows; also commissioning the late-medieval wooden internal furnishings, including the pulpitum, choir stalls and the nave roof supported by angels with gilded instruments. The collegiate church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester in 1847. It was extensively refaced, restored and extended in the Victorian period, and again following bomb damage during World War II. It is one of fifteen Grade I listed buildings in Manchester.

Origins
The origins of Manchester's first churches are obscure. The Angel Stone, a small carving of an angel with a scroll, is preserved in the cathedral. It was discovered in the wall of the cathedral's south porch providing evidence of an earlier, possibly Anglo-Saxon, church. It has been dated to around 700 AD, however the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon sculpture dates the sculpture to the twelfth century. Its Latin inscription translates as "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit". The first church, possibly sited on or near the site of St Ann's Church, was destroyed by Danish invaders in 923 and a church dedicated to St Mary, built by King Edward the Elder, possibly where St Mary's Gate joins Exchange Street, was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. The Domesday Book entry for Manchester reads "the Church of St Mary and the Church of St Michael hold one carucate of land in Manchester exempt from all customary dues except tax".

Parish church
Construction of the predecessor parish church between the Rivers Irk and Irwell and an ancient watercourse crossed by the Hanging Bridge started in 1215 within the confines of the Baron's Court beside the manor house on the site of Manchester Castle. The lords of the manor were the Grelleys whose coat of arms is still associated with the cathedral. The Grelleys acted as stewards, building and endowing the first chancery, the St Nicholas Chancery. In 1311, the Grelley estate passed by marriage to the de la Warres. In 1349 the St Nicholas Chancery was endowed by the de Traffords. In 1382 Thomas de la Warre became its rector.

The church had a six-bay aisled nave and six-bay chancel with aisles and a west tower in the perpendicular style of the late-medieval period.

Collegiate church
Thomas de la Warre became Baron de la Warre in 1398. A priest for more than 50 years, he was granted a licence from King Henry V and Pope Martin V to establish a collegiate church in Manchester in 1421. The college was established by royal charter, with a warden, eight fellows, four singing clerks and eight choristers. The parish church was dedicated to St Mary and to that dedication were added St George, the patron saint of England, and St Denys, the patron saint of France, perhaps reflecting de la Warre's French heritage, or Henry V's claim to the French throne. The college of priests was housed in new buildings on the site of the former manor house that survive as Chetham's Library paid for by de la Warre. He appointed John Huntingdon as the college's first warden who, between 1422 and 1458, rebuilt the eastern arm of the parish church to provide the collegiate choir. Huntington's monumental brass (much restored) is laid on the chancel floor. Huntington is also commemorated in Victorian rebus, carvings of a man hunting and a man with a tun (barrel of ale), on either side of the arch accessing the Lady Chapel. The church's 14th-century west tower and Lady Chapel were incorporated into the current structure although little or no fabric of that date is still visible, and the Lady Chapel was lost in 1940.

Traditionally the third warden, Ralph Langley (1465–1481), is credited with rebuilding the nave but the nave and choir were substantially reconstructed again by James Stanley II (1485–1506) a few years later, when he raised the clerestory and provided the richly decorated timber roofs and choir stalls. James's stepmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort was mother of Henry VII and through their alliance with the Tudor dynasty the Stanleys acquired both fabulous wealth and access to architects and craftsmen working on royal commissions. On stylistic grounds, the chancel arcades and clerestory of the cathedral are attributed to John Wastell, the architect for the completion of Kings College Chapel, Cambridge. The choir stalls, carved at the workshop of William Brownflet of Ripon, are the finest of a series which includes the surviving stalls at Ripon Cathedral, Beverley Minster and Bridlington Priory. The carving of the misericord seats is exceptionally fine. James Stanley was responsible for the embellishment of the nave roof with supports in the form of fourteen life-size angel minstrels; and for the endowment of his own chantry chapel (now destroyed) near the north-east corner, in which he was buried in 1515.

The college was dissolved in 1547 in the reign of Edward VI by the Chantries Act, but refounded by his sister Mary in 1553. Its future was uncertain when Elizabeth I succeeded in 1559, but was assured when she granted a new charter in 1578, allowing a warden, four fellows, two chaplains, four singing men and four choristers. The dedication of the college (but not the church) was changed to the college of Christ. Manchester and Southwell Minster were the only two medieval collegiate foundations where daily choral worship was maintained after the Reformation until they were joined by Ripon when its collegiate foundation was restored in 1607. John Dee, magus and astrologer for Elizabeth I was warden from 1595 to 1608 and occupied the wardens' lodgings now incorporated into Chetham's Library. The present charter, the fourth, was granted by Charles I preserving the dedication of the college to Christ.

Chantry chapels
In the early 16th century an almost complete sequence of chantry chapels was constructed along the north and south sides of the church creating a double aisle around the parochial nave, which is consequently much wider than it is long. Manchester is commonly claimed to have the widest nave of any cathedral in England. On the south side, the oldest of the chantry chapels, the St Nicholas Chapel, was rebuilt by the de Traffords in 1470. St George's Chapel was endowed by William Galley in 1503 and Richard Beswick endowed the Jesus Chapel in 1506. On the north side, William Radcliffe of Ordsall Hall endowed the Holy Trinity Chapel in the northwest corner in 1498. Huntington left money and land for the St James' Chapel which was built in 1507. The largest of the chantries, the St John the Baptist Chapel, was begun by James Stanley the Bishop of Ely in 1513. The attached funerary chapel for James Stanley, the Ely Chapel, was destroyed by bombing in 1940. The brass from atop Stanley's tombchest was rescued from the wreckage, and remounted vertically against the rebuilt north wall of the Regiment Chapel.

The western chapels are no longer demarcated, as the screens that divided them have been removed giving the appearance of double aisles on either side of the nave.

Batch marriages
Until 1850, the Collegiate Church remained the parish church for the whole of Manchester (this is the ancient parish, including almost the whole area of the modern City of Manchester excepting Wythenshawe), an area which in 1821 had a population of 187,031. Within this vast parish there were considerable numbers of chapels of ease and proprietary chapels for parochial worship – as well as other chapels for dissenters and Roman Catholics. Nevertheless, the Wardens and fellows of the Collegiate church maintained their legal right to a fee of 3s. 6d. for all marriages conducted within their parish; so, unless a couple were able and willing to pay two sets of marriage fees, the only place in Manchester where a marriage might legally be contracted was the collegiate church. In practice, this religious duty fell on the pastoral chaplain employed by the Warden and fellows; who from 1790 to 1821 was the eccentric figure of the Revd. Joshua 'Jotty' Brookes. In 1821 a total of 1,924 marriages were solemnized in the collegiate church; commonly in batches of a score or more. The couples to be married were most often desperately poor but Brookes was no respecter of status, so all were subjected to his 'production line' methods. Commonly, the groom and friends would decamp to a nearby ale-house while the bride kept place in the queue; but if there was one groom too few when a group of couples were lined up in front of the altar, Brookes notoriously would countenance no delay, but would continue the marriage with any passer-by (or even one of the other grooms) as a proxy stand-in. Brookes is commonly reckoned to have conducted more marriages, funerals and christenings than any English clergyman before or since.

As the population of Manchester increased further; so the numbers of christenings, weddings and funerals celebrated in the collegiate church also grew. In 1838, there were 5,164 christenings, 1,457 funerals, and 2,615 weddings.

Cathedral
Under the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840, the warden and fellows of the collegiate church were translated into a dean and canons in preparation for becoming the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester which came into effect in 1847. Initial proposals for a new cathedral to be built to the designs of R. C. Carpenter on Piccadilly Gardens were not proceeded with. The building was extensively renovated in 1882.

During the Manchester Blitz in 1940, a German bomb exploded a few yards from the north-east corner, severely damaging the cathedral roofs and demolishing the medieval lady chapel and James Stanley's chantry chapel. All stained-glass windows were blown out, the organ-case over the pulpitum was destroyed, and the medieval choir stalls toppled inwards so as to meet one another. It took almost 20 years to complete the repairs, in the course of which the Lady Chapel was rebuilt to the designs of Hubert Worthington and the St John the Baptist Chapel was refitted as the regimental chapel for the Manchester Regiment. The cathedral was again damaged in the IRA bombing in June 1996.

The cathedral houses extensive parish and historical archives, dating back to 1421. In 2003, a project began to provide an exhaustive catalogue of the archive's contents to the public. The cathedral was granted Grade I listed building status in January 1952. Grade I structures are considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest".

Architecture
The cathedral is constructed of three types of stone. The walls and internal piers were originally constructed in a dark purple-brown Collyhurst sandstone formed in the Early Permian period. This is now visible only in the tower arch of the nave, in the interior of the Jesus Chapel and in the chancel; as in the early 19th century all the surfaces of the nave and aisles were scored to be encased in Roman Cement. This damaged the structure so severely that most internal and external stonework had to be replaced in the later 19th century restorations in buff-grey Fletcher Bank Grit from Ramsbottom. The nave floors have, since the 1960s, been relaid in limestone from the Peak District which contains crinoid fossils.

Restorations
By the 1840s the external and internal stonework was in a poor state, partly due to the poor weathering qualities of the Collyhurst sandstone, but also because of an ill-advised attempt to lighten the interior by coating the internal surfaces of the nave with Roman cement by John Palmer. The external stonework was replaced between 1850 and 1870 in a restoration by J. S. Crowther, who also replaced the internal stonework of the nave walls and arcades with exact reproductions of the originals. The west tower was heightened in 1868 by J.P. Holden, who also replaced its external stonework. Basil Champneys added the vestry, canons' library and western porches in 1898; while Percy Worthington provided further accommodation to the South-east, originally as a choir school, but subsequently converted to offices. Consequently, the cathedral gives the impression of being a 19th-century structure.

To accommodate upgrading work on the cathedral's heating system, in 2013 a temporary wooden cathedral was built on Victoria Street to allow worship to take place.

Angel minstrels
The nave roof brackets are supported by fourteen angel sculptures, each playing a different late medieval instrument, believed to be the gift of James Stanley II.

South side (from the east):

Portative organ, harp, psaltery (plucked), dulcimer (played with hammers), lute, fithele, hurdy-gurdy

North side (from the east):

clavicymbal, trumpet, shawm, Scots pipes (mouth-blown), Irish pipes (bellows-blown), recorder, tabor

It is supposed that, in the 19th century restoration of the nave, the clavicymbal and organ were inadvertently transposed; as otherwise the south side has stringed instruments, and the north side mostly wind instruments. Only the organ presents an instrument that would commonly have been heard in church in the early 16th century; the other instruments would have been more typically used to accompany secular songs and dances. All these instruments, however, might well have been heard accompanying mystery play performances in the street, and in popular religious processions.

Misericords
The cathedral has thirty 16th-century misericords, considered to be among the finest in Europe. They are similar in style to those at Ripon Cathedral and Beverley Minster. Although Manchester's are of a later date, they were probably carved by the same school at Ripon. One of the most notable is N-08, the earliest known depiction of backgammon in the UK.

Stained glass

All the Victorian stained glass was destroyed during the Manchester Blitz in 1940. Until the late 1960s, only two windows had been replaced, notably the Fire Window by Margaret Traherne (1966). The dean and chapter commissioned Tony Hollaway to prepare a scheme for reglazing the cathedral, with priority to the five western windows: St George (1973), St Denys (1976), St Mary (1980), The Creation (1991) and The Apocalypse (1995). To commemorate the restoration of the cathedral following an IRA bomb in 1996, the Healing Window by Linda Walton was installed in 2004.

Bells
The ten bells in the cathedral tower hung for change ringing were cast by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon in 1925. The tenor (largest) bell weighs 1.3 tonnes and the bells are tuned to the key of D. The bells are rung for church service on Sunday mornings and on special occasions including a visit by Elizabeth II to distribute the Royal Maundy. One of the recipients was the tower captain, Roland Eccles, for 35 years of service to ringing and the cathedral community.

Dean and chapter
As of 9 December 2022:
 * Dean — Rogers Govender (since 14 January 2006)
 * Precentor — Márcia Wall (canon since 2016; Canon Pastor 2016–2018; Acting Precentor September 2017 – 2018; Precentor since before 1 July 2018)
 * Archdeacon of Rochdale (Diocesan Canon) — David Sharples (Archdeacon of Salford until 1 July 2020 collation as Archdeacon of Rochdale; Canon since 2017)
 * Canon Pastor — Nigel Ashworth (since 20 November 2022 installation)
 * Sub Dean and Canon for Theology & Mission — vacant since 31 May 2022

In literature
Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration, Collegiate Church, Manchester, to an engraving of a picture of the interior by Thomas Allom was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833.

Visitor centre
The visitor centre by the cathedral's south porch costing £3 million was opened by Elizabeth II. It has a shop and an exhibition room. The main attraction is the 15th-century Hanging Bridge, a scheduled monument, that was once the main approach to the church but was buried for more than 100 years.

Organ
In the course of the 19th century restorations of the interior, the cathedral was provided with an organ mounted over the medieval pulpitum in an elaborate case designed by George Gilbert Scott. This instrument was destroyed in the Christmas Blitz of 1940, and was replaced in 1952 with an organ built into the north and south choir aisles. In 2016, this organ was itself replaced by an entirely new instrument, once again mounted over the pulpitum, and funded from the Stoller foundation. The new organ case and letterings were designed by Stephen Raw.

Details of the former Hill organ installed in 1871

Details of the former Harrison organ installed in 1952

Current Tickell 'Stoller' organ installed in 2016 over the pulpitum screen, from the National Pipe Organ Register

Organists
Organist and Master of the Choristers: Christopher Stokes. Sub Organist: Geoffrey Woollatt.

Notable previous organists include Edward Betts (d.1767), Joseph John Harris (1848–1869), Frederick Bridge (1869–75), Sydney Nicholson (1908–1919), Norman Cocker (1943–1954), Allan Wicks (1954–1962) and Gordon Stewart (1981–1992).

Choir
The 1421 foundation statutes of the collegiate church provided for an endowed choir of lay clerks and singing boys; and these endowments were renewed when the college was refounded after the Reformation. However, although from the 17th century, there were two grammar schools close by - Manchester Grammar School and Chetham's Hospital School - there was, until the 20th century no provision for a choir school; dedicated choir school premises only being constructed by Percy Worthington in 1934. This school did not resume following war damage; so in 1969, when Chetham's School was refounded as a dedicated school of music, scholarships were established to enable boys aged 8–13 to serve the cathedral choir. These scholarships were subsequently modified in the 1970s, so as to support both girls' and boys' voices; the first statutory choir in the Church of England to make this change. There are now places for 20 choristers and 6 lay clerks.

title: Manchester Cathedral


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Sylvain Legwinski

Sylvain Legwinski (born 6 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. He is now assistant coach at AS Monaco in France.

Having made a name for himself at AS Monaco and Bordeaux, he played seven years of his professional career in England, collecting more than 200 official appearances for Fulham and Ipswich Town.

Club career
Legwinski was born in Clermont-Ferrand. The son of a basketball player with Polish descent who settled at Vichy, he joined AS Monaco FC's youth system at 18, as Arsène Wenger was the main squad's manager, giving the player his first team debuts shortly after. He developed into a midfield force under Jean Tigana's guidance, scoring nine league goals in 1996–97, as Monaco won the national title.

After two seasons and four games into 2001–02 with FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Legwinski rejoined Tigana at Fulham. At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, new Fulham boss Chris Coleman made it clear that Legwinski did not fit into the side's future plans and, in August 2006, following a successful trial with Ipswich Town, the player signed a two-year contract.

In his first year at the club, Legwinski won the supporter's and manager's Player of the Year Award for 2006–07, netting five league goals. During the campaign, he became the only Ipswich player to have scored against all East Anglian opposition during one season (Norwich City, Colchester United, Southend United and Luton Town).

However, Legwinski found himself out of the picture for much of the following season, still managing to find the net twice, in draws against Queen's Park Rangers and Burnley. Due to the team's extensive midfield, he was told he would not be offered a new contract and, as Town teammate Fabian Wilnis, started looking to the future, working towards his coaching badges.

In September 2008, Legwinski underwent an unsuccessful trial with Swedish team IFK Göteborg. Early in the following year, he had another tryout in the country, with Örgryte IS, which had just won promotion to the top flight.

In March 2009, Legwinski joined St Neots Town as a player/assistant manager, joining player-manager Steve Lomas. Shortly after, definitely retired, he moved to Crystal Palace as a youth coach. He is now assistant coach at AS Monaco in France.

International career
An under-21 international, Legwinski scored once in four matches for the 1996 Summer Olympics quarter-finalists.

Club
Monaco
 * French League: 1996–97, 1999–2000

Fulham
 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

Individual

 * Ipswich Town Player of the Year: 2006–07
 * Ipswich Town Players' Player of the Year: 2006–07

title: Sylvain Legwinski


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File:Reptiles at Bannerghatta National Park.jpg

Crocodiles at Bannerghatta National Park


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Cork Harbour

Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Jackson, Sydney). Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka and Poole Harbour in England.

The harbour has been a working port and a strategic defensive hub for centuries, and it has been one of Ireland's major employment hubs since the early 1900s. Traditional heavy industries have waned since the late 20th century, with the likes of the closure of Irish Steel in Haulbowline and shipbuilding at Verolme. It still has strategic significance in energy generation, shipping, refining and pharmaceuticals development.

Geography
The main tributary to the harbour is the River Lee which, after flowing through Cork city, passes through the upper harbour (Lough Mahon) in the northwest before passing to the west of Great Island with the main channel emerging into the lower harbour past Haulbowline Island.

For conservation and navigation purposes, the harbour is often separated into "Upper Cork Harbour" (following the River Lee from Cork city to the towns of Passage West and Monkstown) and "Lower Cork Harbour" (separated from the upper harbour by Great Island).

The depth of the harbour has been measured at between 4 fathom and 14 fathom.

Islands
Cork Harbour contains a number of islands of various sizes, some of which are connected to the mainland by bridges. Islands which are or have been inhabited include:
 * Great Island – The largest island in Cork Harbour, which includes the town of Cobh
 * Fota Island – Containing Fota Wildlife Park, Fota House and the Fota Island Resort Hotel and golf course
 * Little Island – A residential and industrial area
 * Haulbowline Island – Headquarters of the Irish Naval Service, and former home of the Cork Water Club (1720).
 * Spike Island – Former prison island
 * Harper's Island – Site of the Harper's Island Wetland Centre
 * Hop Island – Site of an equestrian centre
 * Weir Island
 * Brick Island
 * Corkbeg Island – Site of Whitegate oil refinery
 * Brown Island
 * Rocky Island – Once housed a magazine building for the Royal Navy. Used by Irish Steel for storage until 2002, and now home to 'The Island Crematorium'.

Settlements
Cork city is located slightly upstream on the River Lee on the northwest corner of Cork Harbour. Several of the city's suburbs, including Blackrock, Mahon, Douglas, Passage West and Rochestown lie on Lough Mahon or the Douglas Estuary, both of which are parts of Upper Cork Harbour.

The Lower Harbour has a number of towns around its shores. Passage West, Monkstown, Ringaskiddy and the smaller village of Raffeen are found on the western shore. On the southwestern shore is Crosshaven. Great Island, which forms the northern shore of the lower harbour, houses the town of Cobh. As of 2011, Cobh had a population of about 12,500. The eastern shore is less densely populated, but has two villages Whitegate and Aghada, both home to power plants.

The village of Ballinacurra is on the northeastern spur of the harbour, known as the Ballynacorra River. Due to the recent expansion of the town of Midleton, Ballinacurra has effectively become a suburb of Midleton, so it could also be said that Midleton lies on Cork Harbour.

Military
Cork Harbour hosts the headquarters of the Irish Naval Service. Prior to the transfer of the treaty ports in 1938, Cork Harbour was an important base for the British Royal Navy.

Some of the first coastal defence fortifications built in Cork Harbour date to the 17th century, and were primarily intended to protect the approaches to Cork city. In the 18th century, fortifications were built on and opposite Haulbowline Island to protect the anchorage in Cobh - including Cove Fort (1743). Fort Camden and Fort Carlisle were built at opposite sides of the harbour entrance during the period of the American War of Independence.

The harbour's military significance increased during the Napoleonic Wars, when the naval establishment in Kinsale was transferred to Cork Harbour. The harbour became an important anchorage, which could be used to guard the entrance to the English Channel and maintain the blockade of France. At this time, the naval dockyard on Haulbowline Island was constructed, as well as a fort on Spike Island (later to become Fort Westmoreland) and a number of Martello Towers and other fortifications were added or improved around the harbour.

The fortifications were developed throughout the 19th century and a further fort, Fort Templebreedy, was added to the south of Fort Camden at the beginning of the 20th century. At the time of Irish independence, Cork Harbour was included, along with Berehaven and Lough Swilly, in a list of British naval establishments that would remain under the control of the Royal Navy, although the naval dockyard on Haulbowline Island was handed over to the Irish Free State in 1923.

Although the Royal Navy appreciated the location of Cork Harbour, particularly for submarines, which had a significantly shorter range in the 1920s, maintenance of the fortifications became an issue after Ireland became independent. The political uncertainty over the future of the treaty ports meant that the British government was not inclined to invest in their upgrade. Also, at the time of their construction, nobody had considered the possibility of air attack and as they were unable to expand, there was no possibility of adding adequate air cover. Finally, if the Irish Free State was hostile during any conflict, the treaty ports would have to be supplied by sea rather than land, wasting resources. In March 1938, the British government announced that the treaty ports would be handed over unconditionally, and on 11 July 1938, the defences at Cork Harbour were handed over to the Irish military authorities at a ceremony attended by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera.

Since being handed over to the Irish military, most of the military installations have ceased to be used for military purposes. Fort Carlisle was renamed Fort Davis and is used by the Defence Forces for training - but is in a somewhat neglected state. Fort Camden became officially known as Fort Meagher and while no longer in military use, has been subject to renovation by local volunteers and enthusiasts, and can be visited by the public on certain days. The fort was officially renamed as of 11 July 2013 as Camden Fort Meagher, to account for both its British military and Irish military history. Locally, the two forts are sometimes known as "Camden" and "Carlisle", rather than their official titles. Fort Westmoreland became Fort Mitchell Spike Island prison, and has since ceased use for military or prison purposes. "Spike" was gifted to Cork County Council by the State and has been renovated as a tourist attraction by council workers and volunteers under the supervision of archaeologists. The fortifications on Haulbowline Island however have been maintained, and are now the headquarters of the Irish Naval Service.

Industry
Cork Harbour is one of the most important industrial areas in Ireland. While several traditional industries such as shipbuilding at Verolme Dockyards, steel-making on Haulbowline Island and fertiliser manufacturing at IFI (Irish Fertiliser Industries) have ceased in recent years, they have been replaced with newer industries and Cork Harbour is now significant within the pharmaceutical industry. Large international firms such as Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen Pharmaceutica (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) are significant employers in the region. There has however been some concern since the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, as several of the pharmaceutical companies in Cork have shed jobs, notably Pfizer which announced the loss of 177 jobs in June 2012. There are in excess of 100 other pharmaceutical firms operating in the Cork Harbour area. The main centres of the pharmaceutical industry are Little Island and Ringaskiddy. Ireland's only oil refinery, Whitegate refinery, is located on the southeastern shore together with the adjacent Whitegate power station.

Commercial
Historically, the navigation and port facilities of the harbour were managed by the Cork Harbour Commissioners. Founded in 1814, the Cork Harbour Commissioners were reorganised as the Port of Cork Company in 1997.

Vessels up to are capable of coming through the harbour entrance. As the shipping channels get shallower the farther inland one travels, access becomes constricted, and only vessels up to can sail above Cobh.

The Port of Cork provides pilotage and towage facilities for vessels entering Cork Harbour. All vessels accessing the quays in Cork city must be piloted and all vessels exceeding 130 metres in length must be piloted once they pass within 2.5 nmi of the harbour entrance at a point marked by the Spit Bank Lighthouse which is the landmark boundary for compulsory pilotage.

The Port of Cork has berthing facilities at Cork city, Tivoli, Cobh and Ringaskiddy. The facilities in Cork city are primarily used for grain and oil transport. Tivoli (downstream of the older city quays) provides container handling, facilities for oil, livestock and ore and a roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) ramp. Prior to the opening of Ringaskiddy Ferry Port, car ferries sailed from here; now, the Ro-Ro ramp is used by companies importing cars into Ireland. In addition to the ferry terminal, which provides a service to Roscoff in France, Ringaskiddy has a deep water port.

The Port of Cork company is a commercial semi-state company responsible for the commercial running of the harbour as well as responsibility for navigation and berthage in the port. In 2011 the port had a turnover of €21.4 million and made pre-tax profits of €1.2 million. This was down from a turnover of €26.4 million and profits of €5.4 million in 2006. Container traffic increased by 6% in 2011 when 156,667teus were handled at the Tivoli container facility, however this was down from a peak of 185,000 TEUs in 2006. The 2006 figure saw the port at full capacity and the Port drew up plans for a new container facility capable of handling up to 400,000 teus per annum at Ringaskiddy. This was the subject of objections and after an oral planning hearing was held in 2008, the Irish planning board Bord Pleanala rejected the plan due to inadequate rail and road links at the location.

Permission was later granted and work started (2018) on the new port.

There has been an increase in cruise ship visits to Cork Harbour in the early 21st century, with 53 such ships visiting the port in 2011. The majority of these cruise ships berth at Cobh's Deepwater Quay. Historically, Cobh (under its former name Queenstown) was one of the principal ports through which flowed the stream of emigrants stemming from the Great Famine in the 1840s.

There are also a number of private berths around the harbour, with several centred on Whitegate, Passage West, Rushbrooke, Ringaskiddy and Haulbowline.

Recreational
The Royal Cork Yacht Club, claimed as the world's oldest, was founded as 'The Water Club' on Haulbowline Island in the 1720s. When the British Navy took over Haulbowline in 1801, the club moved to Cobh, where their original clubhouse (built in the 1850s) still stands. In the 1960s, the club moved to Crosshaven. There are also boatyards at Crosshaven and two other marinas. There is another marina on Great Island opposite East Ferry, while Monkstown and Blackrock are used for boating, canoeing, windsurfing and jet-skiing. A number of rowing clubs have facilities on the part of the River Lee between Cork city and Blackrock.

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GraphicsMagick

GraphicsMagick is a fork of ImageMagick, emphasizing stability of both programming API and command-line options. It was branched off ImageMagick's version 5.5.2 in 2002 after irreconcilable differences emerged in the developers' group.

In addition to the programming language APIs available with ImageMagick, GraphicsMagick also includes a Tcl API, called TclMagick.

GraphicsMagick is used by several websites to process large numbers of uploaded photographs. As of 2023, GraphicsMagick had 4 active code contributors while ImageMagick had 24 active contributors.

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Zat Knight

Zatyiah Knight (born 2 May 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Knight had extended spells at Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham in the Premier League and the Championship. He finished his career at Reading in the Championship. Knight represented England at under-21 and senior international levels.

Fulham
Knight was born in Solihull, West Midlands. Fulham signed him from Rushall Olympic on 19 February 1999. As Knight was not a professionally contracted player to Olympic, Fulham were not obliged to pay a fee for him, but owner Mohamed Al-Fayed sent the club 30 tracksuits as a gesture of thanks. After five years at Fulham, Knight signed a contract extension that would keep him at Craven Cottage until 2008, having established himself under Chris Coleman's management.

Knight scored four goals for Fulham, two in the 2004–05 season and two in 2006–07. The first was in a FA Cup match against Watford in a 1–1 draw, his second was a Premier League goal against Norwich City in a 6–0 win. His last goal for Fulham came against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–1 loss. He was arguably Fulham's most consistent player in 2006–07, a reward for this was being given temporary captaincy of the club while regular skipper Luís Boa Morte was out injured.

Before a match against West Ham United, it was announced that he had broken his jaw in two places while messing around with his brother. Chris Coleman has been quoted as saying that it takes more than horseplay to break one's jaw in two places, but Knight insists there was "nothing sinister" about the incident.

At the start of 2007–08, Knight signed a two-year contract extension with Fulham, contracting him until the summer of 2010. Prior to signing a new contract, Knight was linked with a move away from Fulham, but insisted he wanted to stay at the club and win trophies.

Aston Villa

On 29 August 2007, Knight signed a four-year contract with the club he supported as a boy, Aston Villa, for a £3.5 million fee. His last Fulham match was the 2–1 defeat against Villa, in which he played a part in Villa's equaliser when an Ashley Young shot deflected off him into the net, although this was later given as Young's goal. In the early hours of the day of his transfer (29 August), Knight and his brother Carlos were arrested in a drugs raid on their family home. Knight was released on police bail while Carlos was remanded in custody. Police said that a quantity of drugs were seized at the home. Knight feared that he might miss the press conference announcing his signing but his agent bailed him out and no mention of the incident was made at the press conference. Knight scored a headed goal on his Villa debut in a 2–0 win against Chelsea on 2 September 2007. Knight's next goal for Villa did not come until the following season, on 26 December 2008, when Villa were trailing 2–1 against Arsenal at Villa Park. Knight scored the equaliser in the 91st minute of the match, in front of the Holte End, to make it 2–2.

Bolton Wanderers
On 25 July 2009, Knight signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £4 million. Knight made his Bolton debut in the 1–0 defeat to Sunderland on 15 August 2009. He scored his first goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 27 February 2010 and this led to a crucial 1–0 home win which lifted the team out of the relegation zone.

Knight's contract expired at the end of 2011–12, making him a free agent. However, on 9 July 2012, Bolton announced that he had signed a further two-year contract. Knight often took the captain's armband at Bolton when usual skipper Kevin Davies was off the pitch. When Davies left at the end of 2012–13, Knight was named as the new captain for 2013–14. Jay Spearing took the armband when Knight came out of the team and Spearing retained it when Knight returned. On 8 March 2014, Knight scored his first goal in three and a half years when scoring Bolton's third in their 5–1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road. At the end of that season, he was released by the club along with Chris Eagles, Tyrone Mears and Jay Lynch.

Colorado Rapids and Reading
On 1 October 2014, Knight signed for Major League Soccer team Colorado Rapids. He played all four of their remaining matches of the season as they finished outside the play-offs, and had his contract terminated by mutual consent on 2 February 2015.

Following his release from the Rapids, Knight went on trial with Watford, before signing with fellow Championship club Reading on 12 March 2015. He was released by Reading on 21 May 2015.

International career
Knight made his England debut on 28 May 2005 as a substitute against the United States in a friendly match. He gained his second cap in a friendly against Colombia on 31 May.

Post-retirement life
After Knight retired, he moved to Los Angeles. He runs a real estate investment company, and also owns a fragrance line.

Honours

 * Fulham
 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

title: Zat Knight


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List of weapons and armour in Middle-earth

The weapons and armour of Middle-earth are all those mentioned J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings, such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

Tolkien modelled his fictional warfare on the Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. His depiction of weapons and armour particularly reflect Northern European culture as seen in Beowulf and the Norse sagas. Tolkien established this relationship in The Fall of Gondolin, the first story in his legendarium to be written. In this story, the Elves of Gondolin use the mail armour, swords, shields, spears, axes and bows of Northern European warfare. In Tolkien's writings, such Medieval weapons and armour are used by his fictional races, including Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, and Orcs.

As in his sources, Tolkien's characters often gave names to their weapons, sometimes with runic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power.

Terminology
Tolkien devised several constructed languages with terms for types of weapons.

 * Sword: Noldorin Sindarin: magl, magol, North Sindarin magor, Quenya: makil, macil, Noldorin Sindarin: crist. Specific types of sword were named lango (broad sword), eket, ecet (short sword), and lhang (cutlass, sword).
 * Dagger, knife: Noldorin Sindarin: sigil, Quenya: cirma, sicil
 * Axe: North Sindarin: hathol, Quenya: pelekko (Hooker notes the similarity of the Greek πέλεκυς pélekys: double-headed axe), Khuzdul: bark, pl. baruk
 * Spear: Quenya: hatal also nehte
 * Bow: Noldorin Sindarin: peng also poetically cû ("arch"), Quenya: quinga.
 * Arrow: Quenya: pilin, pl. pilindi

Swords
Swords symbolized physical prowess in battle for Tolkien, following Northern European culture. Tolkien writes that Elves and Dwarves produced the best swords (and other war gear) and that Elvish swords glowed blue in the presence of Orcs. Elves generally used straight swords while Orcs generally used curved swords. Both races have exceptions: Egalmoth of Gondolin used a curved sword and the Uruk-hai of Isengard used short, broad blades. Tolkien often mentions the use of shields together with one-handed swords.

Knives
Knives are mentioned in Tolkien's works, sometimes as backup weapons—such as the unnamed long knife of Legolas the archer. However, some individual knives are given more significance through naming (e.g. Sting, see below). In "The Scouring of the Shire", Saruman attempts to stab Frodo with a knife, but is foiled by the mithril shirt worn under his jacket. Shortly afterwards Saruman's throat was fatally cut with a knife borne by Wormtongue.

For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Legolas possessed twin fighting knives carried in sheaths near his quiver.

Special types of knife
There are some special types of knife in Tolkien's fiction which do not have formal names, but nevertheless play important roles in the plot.

Morgul-blades
The Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the Nazgûl, used a magical dagger called a "Morgul-blade" to wound Frodo Baggins at Weathertop. The dark magic of the knife gravely affects Frodo's well-being, threatening to turn him into a wraith, especially because its detachable point migrated in Frodo's body for more than two weeks before it could be extracted, thus causing great damage. Recurring ill effects from the wound contribute to Frodo's eventual departure to Valinor. According to the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, the weapon may owe something to the tradition of the "elf-shot" found in Old English medical texts and charms, where it denotes illnesses of presumed supernatural origin.

Barrow-blades
Tom Bombadil recovers four magical daggers, forged by the Men of Westernesse to fight the powers of Angmar, from a tomb guarded by the Barrow-wight. After opening the barrow and freeing the hobbits, Tom Bombadil gives them the weapons, saying "Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people". One of these "Barrow-blades" – that given to Merry Brandybuck – proves instrumental in bringing about the death of the Witch-king.

The daggers had varying fates. The Witch-king broke Frodo's blade at the Ford of Bruinen. Sam Gamgee left his beside Frodo in Cirith Ungol; it was returned to Gandalf, along with Frodo's mithril mail-shirt, by the Mouth of Sauron. Pippin Took used his dagger in the Battle of the Black Gate to slay a Troll. Merry's blade is destroyed during his attack on the Witch-king.

Axes
Battle axes are especially favoured by Dwarves in Tolkien's writings; Gimli uses the battle cry: ''Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you! (Khuzdul: Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!''). For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gimli the Dwarf was assigned various axes of different makes during the course of the films.

The Sindarin Elves of Doriath favoured axes as weapons during the First Age. Other notable axe-bearers were Tuor (the wielder of the axe Dramborleg), the Men of the White Mountains who marched to the defence of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings movie (replacing the axe-wielding men of Lossarnach from the book), and a contingent of Easterlings among the besiegers of Minas Tirith.

Bows and arrows
Bows of different sizes and construction are featured in Tolkien's works. Elves of Lothlórien, Men, and Uruk-hai used longbows, while Elves of Mirkwood and Orcs of Mordor used smaller ones. These bows are said to be made of wood, horn and even steel.

The most famous bowman in Tolkien's stories of the First Age of Middle-earth is the Elf Beleg; his bow was named Belthronding, and his arrow Dailir. Infamously Curufin, a lord of the Noldor, attempts to shoot the Elf-princess Lúthien with the bow of his brother Celegorm. His first arrow is intercepted by Huan; Beren attempts to intercept the second shot, and is wounded.

In The Lord of the Rings, set in the late Third Age, a bow is the main weapon of Legolas, the Elf-member of the Fellowship of the Ring. When the Fellowship meet Galadriel, she gives Legolas a new bow. He later uses it to shoot all the way across the great river Anduin and bring down an airborne Nazgûl.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy assigns a bow to Aragorn and crossbows to the Uruk-hai. However, in Tolkien's writings Aragorn is armed only with the sword Andúril, and crossbows are only mentioned in connection to hunting by Númenoreans in their lost homeland of Númenor.

Sometimes individual arrows are given special mention in Tolkien's works. In The Hobbit, the Black Arrow was a royal heirloom used by Bard the Bowman to kill the dragon Smaug. In The Lord of the Rings, the Red Arrow was a token used by Gondor to summon its allies in time of need. In the  Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Red Arrow is omitted and its role is conflated with the Beacons of Gondor.

Hobbits "shot well with the bow". The Shire sent archers to the battles of the Fall of Arnor.

Armour

Body armour in Tolkien's fiction is mainly in the form of mail or scale shirts, in keeping with Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. In contrast, the Lord of the Rings film trilogy features later medieval plate armour suits. These kinds of plate armour are not found in Tolkien's writings, but plate does appear in the form of individual pieces such as vambraces (forearm guards) or greaves (leg and shin guards). As with other items of war, Elves and Dwarves produced the best armour. The mail shirt forged by Dwarves from the fictional metal mithril appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, worn in turn by the protagonists Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

In Letter 211 of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author compared the war-gear of the Rohirrim to the Bayeux Tapestry, made during the Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England.

Helmets
Battle helmets are commonly used by virtually all races in Tolkien's writings. The Rohirrim were partly modelled on the Anglo-Saxons, who wore elaborate helmets; Éomer's helmet had a long white horse-tail panache that trailed in the wind. The Crown of Gondor was a jewelled battle-helmet; Aragorn received it at his coronation. Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee use Orc-helmets as part of their disguise in Mordor.

In the First Age, Dwarves made dragon-helms, which were said to protect against Dragons. The most famous of these was the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin.

The Second Age was dominated by Númenor. The Númenórean helmet, the karma, reached particularly elaborate forms. Those of the Uinendili, a guild of mariners, were "made of overlapping plates of metal, the 'fish-crest' of leather embossed and coloured". Tolkien's coloured drawing of the karma of a Uinendili captain features on the cover of Unfinished Tales.

Named items
Tolkien emulated his Northern European mythological and literary sources in having his characters give names to their weapons, marking these out as important aspects of character and sometimes as ancient heirlooms. Named weapons in Medieval literature include Hrunting and Nægling in Beowulf, Tyrfing in the Elder Edda and Gram in the Völsunga saga. The items illustrate the passage of time and the transfer of power or fate to their future bearers.

Anglachel
Anglachel (Sindarin: Iron of the Flaming Star) was a sword forged of meteoritic iron by Eöl the Dark Elf, given to Thingol King of Doriath as a fee for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth. It could cleave all earth-delved iron. Later wielded by Beleg Strongbow and ultimately Túrin; Anglachel was reforged and renamed Gurthang (Sindarin: Iron of Death ). Túrin used Gurthang to kill Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, and later used the sword to take his own life in recompense for the accidental slaying of Beleg and the unjust slaying of Brandir. The stories endow the sword with a personality; Melian the Maia perceived malice in it as it was given to Beleg Cúthalion, and the elf Gwindor observed that Anglachel (so named then) seemed to mourn the death of Beleg at the hand of his friend Túrin by Anglachel itself. Túrin asked the sword whether it would slay him swiftly if he cast himself on its point, and it responded at length (the only instance of Gurthang speaking with voice). The depiction of the sword was influenced by that of the sword of the Finnish character Kullervo in the Kalevala.

Angrist
Angrist (Sindarin: Iron-cleaver ) was a knife made by the great weaponsmith Telchar of Nogrod, and borne by Curufin. Beren, who had taken it from Curufin, used it to cut a magical Silmaril jewel out of Morgoth's Iron Crown; as Beren attempted to remove another, the knife snapped. In the earliest version of Beren's story in The Book of Lost Tales, he uses an ordinary household knife; the element of Curufin's involvement in Beren's affairs came later.

Anguirel
Anguirel (Sindarin: Iron of Eternity) is the sword forged by Eöl the Dark Elf, similar to Anglachel which was given to Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion. It was the mate of Anglachel, was made of the same meteoritic iron, and had the same physical properties and capabilities as Anglachel, but there is no evidence of sentience in Anguirel. Anguirel was kept by Eöl until it was stolen by his son, Maeglin.

Aranrúth
Aranrúth (Sindarin: King's Ire ) is the sword wielded by King Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion. Later the sword of the Kings of Númenor.

Glamdring

Glamdring (Sindarin: Foe-hammer ) is a sword in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales forged in the First Age by the High Elves of the hidden city of Gondolin. It belonged first to Turgon, the King of Gondolin. Thousands of years later, in, Gandalf discovered it among the hoard of the three trolls in The Hobbit, and he carried it throughout his journeys with Bilbo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was the mate of Orcrist, and like Orcrist would glow blue whenever orcs were nearby. Glamdring was nicknamed "Beater" by the goblins of the Misty Mountains.

Gurthang
See Anglachel

Gúthwinë
Gúthwinë (Old English: gúð-wine Battle Friend ) is the sword wielded by Éomer, third marshal of the Riddermark in The Lord of the Rings. The name is found in the Old English poem Beowulf, where the hero uses the word as an epithet for the sword Hrunting, lent to him by Hrothgar's thane Unferth for the fight with Grendel's mother.

Hadhafang
Hadhafang is the sword invented for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, where it was wielded by Arwen, although she is never actually seen using it in combat, as the blade's design was for main use on horseback, and footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep was ultimately cut. The name is derived from Tolkien's etymological word list written in the 1930s; here Tolkien provides the word hadhathang (dissimilated: havathang, hadhafang), which he translates as "throng-cleaver", though he never used this name in his writings.

Herugrim
Herugrim (Old English: Fierce Sword ) is the sword that belonged to Théoden.

Narsil / Andúril

Narsil (Quenya: roughly, Red and White Flame ) is a sword in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, influenced by the legendary Arthurian sword Excalibur and by Sigurd's sword Gram, as described in the Old Norse Völsunga saga. The sword was forged during the First Age by the Dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, a famous weaponsmith and artificer who also made the knife Angrist (which cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth) and the Helm of Hador (later used by Túrin Turambar). By the end of the Second Age Narsil was borne by Elendil; during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men it was broken in two pieces in the war against Sauron. Isildur used the hilt-shard to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. The two shards, acquiring the additional name the Sword that was Broken, remained an heirloom of Isildur's heirs throughout the Third Age, and were thus inherited by Aragorn. Elvish smiths re-forged the sword for Aragorn before the Fellowship of the Ring began their quest; Aragorn renamed it Andúril (Quenya: Flame of the West). The reforged Andúril is described as very bright, shining red and white with the light of the sun and moon. The Silmarillion further states that the original Narsil already shone in such a manner, but its light was extinguished when it was broken. The reforged blade had "a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes".

Orcrist

Orcrist (Sindarin: Goblin-cleaver ), a sword in The Hobbit. was originally forged in Gondolin and was nicknamed "Biter" by the goblins of the Misty Mountains. After finding it in a troll-hoard, Thorin Oakenshield carries the sword through the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood before being taken prisoner by the Elves; it was laid on his tomb after his death in the Battle of Five Armies. It is the mate of Glamdring.

Ringil
Ringil (Sindarin: Cold-Star / Cold-Spark) is a sword wielded by Fingolfin in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand. It bit with chilling cold, and glittered like ice with a pale light. This was the sword with which Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times, causing the first dark lord to limp forever afterward.

In Tolkien's early writings, Ringil was the name of one of the two pillars supporting the Two Lamps of primeval Middle-earth.

Sting

Sting is a large Elvish dagger in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It functioned well as a sword for the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Bilbo named the weapon after using it to fend off the giant spiders in Mirkwood forest, then later passed it on to Frodo to use in his quest to destroy the One Ring. Sting glows blue when orcs are nearby, as in Moria. In Europe, bilbo blades were exceptionally fine swords, named after the city of Bilbao which made them. It is possible that Tolkien connected Bilbo's name with his acquisition of this weapon.

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film adaptations, Sting is depicted as leaf-shaped, with gentle curving edges. Engraved on the blade and cross-guard are letters in Sindarin that read phonetically, Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im. Translated into English, they read, "Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane." According to the Appendix of The Silmarillion, the element maeg in Sindarin means "sharp" or "piercing". The film version of Sting is 23 in long (24 while in scabbard) and 3 in wide at the hilt. Its scabbard is made of brown leather and reinforced with metal.

Belthronding
Belthronding (Sindarin/Ilkorin: Intractable Bow ) is the bow wielded by Beleg Cúthalion (Strongbow) in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand.

Black arrow
The black arrow was used in Esgaroth by Bard the Bowman; he mentions that it has been used many times, always successfully, and always recovered. An heirloom from many generations of Bard's family, that he believed had been made in the forges of the King under the Mountain; Bard recites its history, urges it to "go now and speed well", and shoots Smaug. It was lost with the Dragon's corpse in the Long Lake.

Dailir
Dailir is the arrow favoured by Beleg, the great bowman of the First Age of Middle-earth. Beleg was always able to retrieve this arrow for reuse.

Red Arrow
The Red Arrow is a black-feathered arrow barbed with steel; its tip was painted red. It was a token used by Gondor to summon Rohan in time of dire need. In The Return of the King, the Red Arrow was presented to Théoden by Hirgon with the message: "...the Lord Denethor asks for all your strength and all your speed, lest Gondor should fall at last." Théoden pledged his assistance, but Hirgon was killed during the ride back to Minas Tirith, leading Denethor to believe that no help was forthcoming from Rohan. The Red Arrow has a historical antecedent in the Old English poem Elene in which Constantine the Great summoned an army of mounted Visigoths to his aid against the Huns by sending an arrow as a "token of war".

Aeglos
Aeglos (Sindarin: Snow Point, i.e. icicle; also spelt Aiglos) is the spear wielded by the Elf-King Gil-galad. It was said that "the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand."

Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin
The Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, also called the Helm of Hador, is the fabulous helmet of the lords of the House of Hador, including Húrin and Túrin. The helm was made of heavy steel, decorated with gold and runes; a gold likeness of Glaurung the Dragon was set upon its crest. It was made for the Dwarf-king Azaghâl by Telchar, the great Dwarf-craftsman of Nogrod. Azaghâl ruled the neighbouring city of Belegost; he gave it to Maedhros, who gave it to Fingon. Fingon then gave it to Hador, along with the lordship of Dor-lómin.

Axe of Tuor
The Axe of Tuor, called Dramborleg (Gnomish: Thudder-Sharp) in The Book of Lost Tales, is the great axe belonging to Tuor, son of Huor in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth that left wounds like "both a heavy dint as of a club and cleft as a sword". It was later held by the Kings of Numenor, until lost in the downfall.

Durin's Axe
Durin's Axe was part of the regalia and weaponry of the Dwarf-kings of Khazad-dûm. Some years before the War of the Ring, Balin attempted to recolonize Khazad-dûm (by then called Moria), and the early records of the colony mention Durin's Axe, indicating it was sought for or even found.

Grond
Grond (Sindarin: Club) is the mace of Morgoth used against Fingolfin in The Silmarillion as well as a battering ram in The Lord of the Rings, used to assault the Great Gate of Minas Tirith. Grond the battering ram was in-universe named after Morgoth's mace: "Grond they named it, in memory of the Hammer of the Underworld of old."

Film prop construction
In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, "hero" weapons, used for "beauty" shots such as close-ups, were made from high-quality materials: sword blades from heat-treated spring steel; sword hilts from cast bronze or forged and ground steel. "Stunt" swords, used in combat scenes, were made with soft aluminium blades and urethane grips. "Extras" swords were cast entirely from urethane, in one piece. Bows were made of urethane with an inner armature of spring steel. Legolas's arrows were all-digital, so the actor simply mimed shooting each arrow.


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Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately 35 km from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and 10 km wide at the entrance.

Geographic features
Bantry Bay is a ria, a bay formed from a drowned river valley as a result of a relative rise in sea level. The bay is a deep (approx 40 metres in the middle) and large natural bay, with one of the longest inlets in southwest Ireland, bordered on the north by Beara Peninsula, which separates Bantry Bay from Kenmare Bay. The southern boundary is Sheep's Head Peninsula, separating Bantry Bay from Dunmanus Bay. The main islands in the bay are Bere Island and Whiddy Island. Bere Island is located near the entrance to the bay. On the north side of the island is Berehaven Harbour and Castletown Bearhaven port. The town of Rerrin is the largest settlement on the island. The village of Ballynakilla is also located there.

Whiddy Island is at the head of the bay near the south shore. It is the main petroleum terminus for Ireland, the harbour ideally suited for large oceangoing tankers. A Single Point Mooring (SPM) at the Whiddy Island oil terminal is operated by Zenith Energy, Ltd. Bantry Bay was featured during a famous Gulf Oil commercial showing the supertanker "Universe Kuwait" that aired during the time of the Apollo Moon landing in 1969.

Towns and villages around the bay include: Adrigole, Bantry, Ballylickey, Cahermore, Cappanolsha, Castletownbere (Castletown Bearhaven), Donemark, Foilakill, Gerahies, and Glengarriff. Main routes that follow parts of the bay include the R572 (part of the "Ring of Beara") and the N71. The Bantry Bay Golf Club is at the head of the bay, across from Whiddy Island. The O'Sullivan Beara Dunboy Castle is just across from Bere Island in Berehaven Harbour. "Copper John" Puxley's Manor is in Dunboy. Daphne du Maurier’s novel Hungry Hill is based on the Puxley family's involvement in the area's tin and copper mining industry.

Battle of Bantry Bay
The Battle of Bantry Bay occurred in 1689, during the Nine Years' War, between English and French fleets.

Rebellion of 1798
The town of Bantry, at the head of the bay, is associated with the Irish Rebellion of 1798 through an earlier attempt, led by Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone, to launch a rebellion there in December 1796. A French fleet, consisting of 43 ships carrying 15,000 troops, had divided mid-Atlantic into smaller groups to avoid interception by the Royal Navy and planned to reform at Bantry Bay. The bulk of the fleet arrived successfully but several ships, including the flagship Fraternité carrying General Hoche, were delayed. While awaiting their arrival, bad weather intervened and the lack of leadership, together with uneasiness at the prospect of being trapped, forced the decision to return to France. Tone wrote of the expedition in his diary, saying that "We were close enough to toss a biscuit ashore in Ahabeg in Berehaven Harbour." The square in Bantry is today named after Wolfe Tone.

Bantry Longboat/Bere Island Longboat
A longboat used in a French scouting expedition landed in Bere Island and lay in Berehaven harbour for 102 years. It was taken to Bantry House in 1898, moved from Bantry House to Dublin in 1944 and was presented to the National Museum of Ireland. In 1977, it was lent to the Maritime Institute of Ireland who exhibited it at the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dún Laoghaire, until 2003. A scale model is now displayed. The longboat was restored at the Liverpool Museum at a cost of €50,000 and is on display in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, as part of the Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition

Betelgeuse disaster
On 8 January 1979, 50 people were killed when a French oil tanker, the Betelgeuse, was offloading at Whiddy Island when it caught fire, exploded, and broke into three pieces. The bay has had numerous shipwrecks over the years. In 1981, while cleanup efforts using sonar sweeps for the Betelgeuse were under way, the wreck of the French frigate La Surveillante, which had been scuttled during a storm north of Whiddy Island on 2 January 1797, was found.

Rescue services
Bantry Inshore Search and Rescue Association (BISRA) provides an emergency lifeboat service to the Bantry Harbour community. Equipped with a high speed rescue RIB BISRA is a declared resource of the Irish Coastguard.

Geographical stats

 * United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) code: IEBYT

title: Bantry Bay


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River Nore

The River Nore (An Fheoir ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The 140 km river drains approximately 2,530 km2 of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three counties (Tipperary, Laois, Kilkenny). Along with the River Suir and River Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as the Three Sisters.

Starting in the Devil's Bit Mountain, County Tipperary, the river flows generally southeast, and then south, before its confluence with the River Barrow at Ringwood, and the Barrow railway bridge at Drumdowney, County Kilkenny, which empties into the Celtic Sea at Waterford Harbour, Waterford.

The long term average flow rate of the River Nore is 42.9 cubic metres per second (m3/s) The river is home to the only known extant population of the critically endangered Nore freshwater pearl mussel, and much of its length is listed as a Special Area of Conservation.

Name
Nore is an anglicisation of the river's Old Irish name An Eoir; the modern Irish name is An Fheoir. As such, the name is believed to be derived, etymologically, from Old Irish feórann: "green bank or shoreland." Modern Irish feora means "green bank, edge or shore of sea, lake or river". In regard to "An Fheoir, the Nore (g. -e, al. An Eoir); al. Feor, cf. feora", Dinneen's Dictionary (1927) states: "Feoir g. -e, and Feorach, f. border, brim, edge; a stream or rivulet.”

The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee (Félire Óengusso Céli Dé), published some time before the year 824, mentions the river: re taeb Eoire uarglaine "the cold-pure Eoire ." A Middle Irish reference, from before 1420, refers to the Fiond-chlár fairsing na Feoire "fair wide plain of the Feoir".

Course
The Nore rises on the eastern slopes of the Devil's Bit Mountain in the townland of Borrisnoe, County Tipperary. It then flows south-eastwards to County Laois and County Kilkenny before joining the River Barrow just north of New Ross near the Barrow Bridge. The river passes near Durrow, County Laois then through Ballyragget, the city of Kilkenny and then the villages of Bennettsbridge and Thomastown. Further south, it forms a picturesque V-shaped river valley, particularly notable near the village of Inistioge, the tidal limit. Major tributaries of the Nore include the Dinan, the Breagagh at Kilkenny City, the King's River, the Little Arrigle and the Black Water. List of places along the river.
 * Devil's Bit Mountain (begins)
 * Castletown
 * Durrow, County Laois (near)
 * Ballyragget
 * Kilkenny
 * Bennettsbridge
 * Thomastown
 * Inistioge

List of tributaries

 * River Erkina
 * River Dinan (Dinin, Deen)
 * White Horse (Mountrath River)
 * Breagagh
 * King's River
 * Little Arrigle
 * Black Water

Geology and morphology
The Nore rises on a sandstone base but the catchment soon turns to limestone and remains so to the sea. The countryside is one of mixed farming, with some tillage, quite a bit of pasture and dairying and some bloodstock. The river has a fairly steep gradient but the flow is checked by innumerable weirs and it is probably true to say that shallow glides are the pre-dominant feature.

History
In pre-Famine years, there were many water-powered industries in the Nore valley, particularly in the ten-mile (16 km) stretch between Kilkenny City and Thomastown, including breweries, woolen mills, sawmills, marble works, distillaries and grain mills. Flax and linen were produced just north of Kilkenny City.

Recreation
Kilkenny fishing club has extensive fishing rights on the River Nore and its tributary, the River Dinan. Popular with anglers, it holds brown trout and salmon.

Some of these weirs along the river have good playboating qualities. The river is long and mostly flat and dotted with weirs at most of the villages it passes through.

Salmon runs on the river Nore were interrupted in 2005 and 2006 by a flood relief scheme in Kilkenny city carried out by the Office of Public Works. Initially budgeted at €13.1 million, the scheme was delivered at a cost in excess of €48 million and did not contain suitable fish passes. This oversight has since been rectified at additional expense and salmon can now ascend the river upstream of Kilkenny city.

title: River Nore


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Mark Pembridge

Mark Anthony Pembridge (born 29 November 1970) is a Welsh retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a current coach at the academy for Fulham.

He played 333 matches in England's top division for Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and Fulham, scoring 25 goals. He also played for Derby County, and spent the 1998–99 season at Benfica in Portugal.

Pembridge won 54 caps for Wales, and scored six goals, in a 13-year international career.

Early career
Pembridge began his career at Luton Town in the First Division. He joined as a trainee in 1989.

Derby County
Having established as a left midfielder, 21-year old Pembridge was signed for second-tier Derby County by manager Arthur Cox in the summer of 1992 for a fee of £1.25 million. He racked up 140 appearances and netted 37 goals over his time with Derby and played at Wembley twice – once in a 3–1 defeat to Cremonese in 1993 and then in a 2–1 defeat to Leicester City in the 1994 Football League First Division play-off final. Pembridge left to move up a division to Premier League Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £900,000 in the summer of 1995.

Sheffield Wednesday
Pembridge played for Wednesday in the Premier League until 1998, when he left for Portuguese side Benfica on a free transfer after Wednesday finished 16th in the season.

Everton
Pembridge struggled to settle in Portugal and returned to England after one season, signing a contract with top-flight side Everton for £800,000. Pembridge had a good first two seasons at Everton, with his tenacious approach and thrusting runs from deep establishing the Welshman as an integral part of Everton's squad, thus securing him an excellent rapport with the Goodison Park faithful. However, testing times were around the corner for Pembridge, with a persistent calf injury meaning he only played 13 games in the 2001–02 season. The injury still bothered him during the 2002–03 season, but Pembridge still played a part in a dramatic season, which ended with Everton failing to qualify for a UEFA Cup place.

Fulham
Pembridge looked set to stay at Everton for the 2003–04 campaign, but on the transfer deadline day in August 2003, he was signed by Fulham for £750,000 after four years at Everton. He had an injury-free first season at Fulham, during which he scored his first goal for the club against rivals Chelsea, and this was followed by a successful second season in which he played 37 games overall, scoring once in the League Cup against Birmingham. Pembridge missed most of Fulham's 2005–06 season through injury, and only played 5 games. Manager Chris Coleman deemed him surplus to requirements, and he did not play a single game during the 2006–07 season. He was released by new manager Lawrie Sanchez at the end of the season. After this, Pembridge announced he was retiring. Reflecting on his retirement, Pembridge quoted:

Ultimately it wasn't too difficult. I tried exceptionally hard to get back to playing but there comes a time when you just need to stop. You know your own body and despite people saying that I could have carried on, I knew within myself it was time.

International career
Pembridge was called up to play for Wales while at Luton in 1991. He had several highlights while playing for Wales, including scoring arguably his best career goal against Ukraine in 2001 and reaching the qualifying playoffs for Euro 2004, despite narrowly losing to Russia. Pembridge quit the national team in 2004 shortly after John Toshack was named as the new Wales manager. He announced his international retirement in 2005, ending speculation that he might return to play for Wales. He played 54 times for Wales, scoring 6 goals.

Coaching career
On 4 September 2007, Fulham confirmed that Pembridge had stayed on at the club as a coach for the academy. He would later become Under-15s and U16s Coordinator for the club.

He left Fulham in October 2021. On 11 May he featured as a commentator for BBC Radio Merseyside for Everton's match against Watford

title: Mark Pembridge


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Wexford Harbour

Wexford Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland is the natural harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney. In earlier times, the area occupied by the harbour was considerably larger than it is today, up to ten miles (16 km) wide at its widest point, with large mud flats on both sides. These were known as the North Slob and the South Slob from the Irish word slab, meaning mud. It contained several islands, among which the large island of Beggerin was known to be a safe refuge for early Christian settlements.

Early history
Vikings arrived from Norway in 819 AD and founded the city of Wexford calling it Waes Fjord, meaning 'inlet of the mudflats', and the modern name has evolved from this. Over the course of about 300 years, the Norse settled in Wexford, intermarried with the local population and gradually converted to Christianity. They forged temporary alliances with Irish kings, sometimes fighting with other Norse towns; at other times, such as in 933 and 1161 they were attacked by the Irish. The Norse remained in control until 1169 AD when Wexford was attacked by a superior force of Norman and Irish soldiers. There was a short battle after which the Hiberno-Norse withdrew within the walls leaving their ships unprotected. These were set on fire by the attackers - this may have been the origin of the Wexford Town crest, the three burning ships.

The 17th century
Wexford became a major maritime port exporting fish, cloth, wool and hides. It was Ireland's leading fishing port in the 15th and 16th century exporting mainly to ports along the west coast of England and Wales. In 1642, the Dublin government in a dispatch from London described Wexford as "a place plentiful in ships and seamen, and where the rebels have set up Spanish colours on their walls in defiance of the kings and kingdom of England, and have gotten in from foreign parts great stores of arms and ammunition". This was only one year after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 when Flemish mariners were encouraged to use Wexford Harbour to attack British ships passing along the Irish Sea from ports Whitehaven to Bristol and even in the English Channel. Wexford Harbour was a marvellous base for operations; it was strategically located at the junction of the Irish Sea, the Western Approaches of the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. The difficult navigation of the harbour gave security to the locals, as larger attacking ships could not enter. The sandbanks and narrow channels did not present much difficulty to the Dunkirk frigates or the local shallow draft cargo ships.

Cromwell
By the mid-1640s, the privateering community of Irish, Flemish and French based in Wexford had a fleet of 200 cargo ships and 21 frigates whose purpose was to attack English ships between Biscay and the Baltic. Within a few years this fleet had doubled. However, it could not last. In 1649, a parliamentary army under Oliver Cromwell landed in Dublin and after some months set out to conquer Wexford. An army of 7,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 cavalry camped north of the town and sent a detachment to capture Rosslare fort at the mouth of the harbour. This enabled Cromwell's fleet to enter the harbour unopposed. The army moved to south of the town and bombarded Wexford Castle. Initially, Cromwell issued a summons to surrender, offering lenient terms in the hope that he could secure Wexford intact and use it as winter quarters for his troops. The mayor, aldermen and many citizens of Wexford were prepared to surrender but the military commander played for time. Cromwell lost patience and talks broke down. The bombardment continued and after a week or so Cromwell's troops breached the defences when the commander of the castle surrendered. The castle guns were turned on the town and Cromwell's troops launched an immediate attack on the town's defenders.

Irish troops made a stand in the market square, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Cromwell and his officers made no attempt to restrain their soldiers, who slaughtered the Wexford defenders and plundered the town. Hundreds of civilians were shot or drowned as they tried to escape the carnage by fleeing across the River Slaney. The Irish privateering fleet was finally broken up. Afterwards, Cromwell expressed no remorse for the massacre of civilians at Wexford in his subsequent report to Parliament. He regarded it as a further judgement upon the perpetrators of the Catholic uprising of 1641 and also upon the pirates who had operated out of Wexford harbour. His principal regret was that the town was so badly damaged during the sack that it was no longer suitable as winter quarters.

Act of Union
In 1764 the historian Amyas Griffith wrote that Wexford's chief export was corn (2 million barrels per year), herrings, beer, beef, hides, tallow, butter etc. and they trade to all parts of the globe but in particular to Liverpool, Barbados, Dublin, Norway and Bordeaux. The town continued to experience expansion and economic growth and in 1772 two important bodies were set up - the Quay Corporation with full responsibility for shipping, quays and harbour and the Bridge Corporation to build two bridges across the Slaney at Wexford and Ferrycarrig. By 1788, Wexford, with 44 cargo ships and 200 herring boats was the sixth busiest port in Ireland. However the dangerous state of the harbour was a major impediment to trade. A new body - The Corporation for the Improvement of the Bar, Town & Harbour of Wexford was set up to improve and enhance the channel and to build quays, wharves and docks.

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 resulted in the hurried passing of the Act of Union in 1800. This created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Ireland was ruled solely through the British Parliament at Westminster. From then until Ireland achieved independence, all major decisions regarding Wexford Harbour were taken by Westminster. Unfortunately, this did not work to the advantage of the harbour and the improvement of its navigation. The pity was that those interested in improving the harbour, linked their proposed improvements with land reclamation; a linkage that would ultimately help to destroy access to Wexford by all but shallow draft vessels.

In 1832, the Ballast Bank was constructed to facilitate the loading and unloading of ballast from ships visiting the harbour. It is now a protected structure.

Destruction of the harbour by drainage works
In the 19th century, dykes were built and pumping systems installed to drain the slobs, producing fine agricultural land below sea level in polders similar to those in the Netherlands. The size of the harbour was reduced considerably. What was left was mostly shallow and up to today suffers from serious silt problems. The tides and currents of the river frequently shift mud and sand in the harbour. Islands of sand can appear and then disappear over the course of a few weeks, particularly at the mouth of the harbour. As a result, the harbour is not suitable for large ships and is used mainly by mussel dredgers and pleasure craft.

World War I
During World War I the US Navy operated a naval air station, known as U.S. Naval Air Station Wexford, at Ferrybank on the eastern side of the harbour.

Sailing directions
Entry for sailors unfamiliar with the harbour is not straightforward. It is best within two hours either side of high water and safest for boats drawing less than 1.5 metres (5 feet). In strong winds between SE and NE direction, the sea breaks on the bar. Entry is then hazardous and should not be attempted.

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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/DMX512A

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Eddie Sargent

Edward Carson Sargent (April 11, 1915 – January 28, 1998) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1987 who represented the central Ontario riding of Grey North and Grey-Bruce.

Background
Sargent was born in Port Dover, and educated in Owen Sound. He was a publisher and sales executive, serving as president of Owen Sound Herald Press Ltd., Sargent Reality Co. Ltd. and Eddie Sargent Promotions Ltd. He married Roma McLean in 1940 and together they raised three daughters. His wife died of cancer in 1981.

Politics
He campaigned for the Ontario legislature in the 1948 provincial election, and lost to Progressive Conservative Mac Phillips by 383 votes in Grey North. He became mayor of Owen Sound in the same year, and held this position until 1963. In 1951, he served as president of the Ontario Mayors and Reeves Association.

Sargent campaigned for the legislature a second time in the 1955 provincial election, and again lost to Phillips. He also campaigned for the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal candidate in the 1957 federal election, and lost in Grey North to Progressive Conservative candidate Percy Verner Noble.

Mac Phillips did not contest the 1963 provincial election, and Sargent was elected over new Progressive Conservative candidate William Forsyth by 31 votes. He campaigned for the party's leadership in 1964, and finished sixth out of seven candidates. The winner was Andrew Thompson, later a Canadian Senator. Sargent was re-elected in the elections of 1967, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1981 and 1985 in the riding of Grey-Bruce.

Following the 1985 election, the Liberal Party ended forty-two years of Progressive Conservative rule in Ontario by forming a minority government with outside support from the New Democratic Party. After serving on the opposition benches for twenty-two years, Sargent was able to end his career on the government side. He served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Recreation, and did not seek re-election in 1987.

Later life
In recognition of his public service, a 29 km. road in Owen Sound was renamed the Eddie Sargent Parkway. Sargent was married to Roma McLean (1918–1981) and he is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound, Ontario. His daughter, Patti Belle Sargent wrote a book detailing the life and exploits of Eddie Sargent entitled "Roses in December: A Biography of Eddie Sargent".

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100 King Street

100 King Street, formerly the Midland Bank, is a former bank premises on King Street in Manchester, England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1928 and constructed in 1933–35. It is Lutyens' major work in Manchester and was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1974.

Architecture
A castle-like Art Deco building, surrounded by roads on all four sides, the architects for the former bank were Lutyens in collaboration with Whinney, Son & Austen Hall and it was built between 1933 and 1935 by J. Gerrard & Sons of Swinton and features carvings by the local sculptor John Ashton Floyd. It is constructed of Portland stone around a steel frame. Its neoclassical design is unusual for Manchester; the style perhaps more suited to the architecture of Liverpool, as most of Manchester's buildings are Neogothic.

"The proportions are ingeniously calculated, as Lutyens ... adored to do. The top stage is two-thirds of the stage from the obelisks to the next set-back, and that middle stage is two-thirds of the bottom stage." It is sometimes known as The King of King Street because of its distinct structure and height.

From 1912, Lutyens laid out New Delhi as the new capital of India. He devised his own Delhi Order of classical architecture there, with small bells hanging from the capitals of the columns, and subsequently made use of this order in his design for the bank.

History
The bank was renamed HSBC Bank after HSBC acquired the Midland Bank in the 1990s. It closed on 6 June 2008 when HSBC relocated to St Ann's Square. The building was subsequently refurbished to provide office space and was placed on the office rental market in March 2010. Jamie Oliver opened an Italian restaurant in the former banking hall in 2011, which closed in 2019 after the company went into administration. A plan to convert the upper floors of the building into a boutique hotel was announced in 2013.

In April 2015, the Hotel Gotham opened on the upper floors of the building.

In August 2022, Gordon Ramsay announced that he planned to open a restaurant in the unit formerly occupied by Jamie's Italian. 'Lucky Cat Manchester', Ramsey's Tokyo-themed restaurant, opened at the site on 1 June 2023. The restaurant spans three floors and features a private dining room situated in the underground bank vault.

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Waterford Harbour

Waterford Harbour is a natural harbour at the mouth of the Three Sisters; the River Nore, the River Suir and the River Barrow in Ireland. It is navigable for shipping to both Waterford and New Ross. The Port of Waterford is capable of accommodating vessels up to 32,000 tons dwt. It separates County Waterford from County Wexford on the eastern side of the estuary.

Dunmore East is a fishing village and popular holiday resort situated on the west side of the harbour and is generally considered to be the western limit. On the west side, there is also a headland called Creaden Head The eastern limit is Hook Head, marked by the Hook Lighthouse, on the Hook peninsula.

title: Waterford Harbour