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Old Town Hall, Leighton Buzzard
The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Square, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. The town hall, which is currently used as a restaurant, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was a timber-framed market hall which dated back to the 16th century. It was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly room known as the "jury loft", which was used for petty session hearings, on the first floor. The building had a clock on the gable at the west end and was surmounted by a bell tower. It was owned by the lord of the manor, who, in the 16th century, was Sir Christopher Hoddesdon, master of the Company of Merchant Adventurers: it subsequently passed through inheritance to Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey and his successors. After the old market hall became dilapidated in the mid-19th century, the then lord of the manor, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Hanmer, decided to commission a new structure. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwest of Central London and linked to the capital by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line. The built-up area extends on either side of the River Ouzel (here about 2 metres wide) to include its historically separate neighbour Linslade, and is administered by Leighton-Linslade Town Council. History Foundation and development It is unclear when the town was initially founded, although some historians believe that there may have been settlement in the area from as early as 571. There are a number of theories concerning the derivation of the town's name: ‘Leighton’ came from Old English ''Lēah-tūn'', meaning 'farm in a clearing in the woods', and one version of the addition of ‘Buzzard’ was that it was added by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex (geometry), apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a Vault (architecture), vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch or vault to bear weight. In arches and vaults (such as quasi-domes) keystones are often enlarged beyond the structural requirements and decorated. A variant in domes and crowning vaults is a lantern (architecture), lantern. A portion of the arch surrounding the keystone is called a Crown (arch), crown. Keystones or their suggested form are sometimes placed for decorative effect in the centre of the flat top of doors, recesses and windows, so as to form an upward projection of a lintel, as a hallmark of strength or good architecture. Although a masonry arch or vault cannot be self-supporting until the keystone is placed, the keystone experiences the least stress of any of the voussoirs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Buildings Completed In 1851
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. While all types of organizations have governance, the term ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations. The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies, totalitarian regimes, and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes. Modern classification systems also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Historically prevalent forms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shand Mason
Shand Mason was a British company which designed and manufactured steam powered fire engines and other fire-fighting equipment during the 19th century and early 20th centuries. History The company that eventually became Shand Mason was founded in 1760 by Samuel Phillips, and incorporated as Phillips and Hopwood in 1797. In 1818, after William Joshua Tilley had joined the business, it became Hopwood and Tilley and later Tilley & Co. In 1850, when Tilley retired from the business, his two sons-in-law James Shand and Samuel Mason continued the business as Shand and Mason, later Shand Mason & Co. The company operated from premises at 75 Upper Ground Street, Blackfriars, just south of the River Thames in London, and having initially manufactured manually operated pumps, secured various patents to improve the design and construction of steam fire engines. While the first steam-powered fire engine had been developed by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson in 1829, the first commercially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PizzaExpress
PizzaExpress (Restaurants) Limited, trading as Pizza Express (also called Pizza Marzano or Milano), is a British multinational pizza restaurant chain. It has over 500 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Pizza Express was founded in London in 1965 by Peter Boizot. In July 2020, it was taken over by its bondholders under a debt-for-equity swap with the previous owner, Hony Capital. In November, Hony Capital left the business and the group restructure was completed, helping to cut the chain's debt by more than £400 million. History Peter Boizot opened the first Pizza Express restaurant in Wardour Street, London, in 1965. Inspired by a trip to Italy, Boizot brought back to London a pizza oven from Naples and a chef from Sicily. In 1969, jazz performances began at its Dean Street restaurant, London. PizzaExpress expanded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire was a local government district in Bedfordshire, in the East of England, from 1974 to 2009. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local authorities in England and Wales carried out under the Local Government Act 1972. South Bedfordshire was formed by the amalgamation of three former districts which were all abolished at the same time: * Dunstable Municipal Borough; * Leighton-Linslade Urban District; and * Luton Rural District. Premises The council initially used the former Dunstable Borough Council offices at Grove House in Dunstable as its headquarters, but also continued to use the former Leighton-Linslade offices at the White House in Leighton Buzzard and the former Luton Rural District Council offices on Sundon Road in Houghton Regis. A new headquarters for the council was built in 1989 on the site of the former Dunstable North railwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leighton Buzzard Urban District
The town of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England, was administered as a Local board of health, Local Government District from 1891 to 1894 and an Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), Urban District from 1894 to 1965. Formation Prior to 1891 the town had formed part of the Leighton Buzzard Sanitary district, Rural Sanitary District, which had been created under the Public Health Act 1875, Public Health Acts of 1872 and 1875 covering the same area as the Leighton Buzzard Poor law union, Poor Law Union. On 7 July 1891 a Local Government District was established for the town, covering the township of Leighton Buzzard (being that part of the ancient parish of Leighton Buzzard excluding the hamlets of Billington, Bedfordshire, Billington, Eggington, Heath and Reach, and Stanbridge, Bedfordshire, Stanbridge), removing the town from the Leighton Buzzard Rural Sanitary District. The first meeting of the new Local Board was held on 27 August 1891 at the Old Town Hall, Leight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedfordshire Regiment
The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars, the regiment was amalgamated with the Essex Regiment in 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment, 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot). However, this was short-lived and again was amalgamated, in 1964, with the 1st East Anglian Regiment, 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) and 2nd East Anglian Regiment, 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire), and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to form the present Royal Anglian Regiment. History Formation; 1688 – 1751 The regiment was formed on 9 October 1688 in Reading, Berkshire, in response to a possible invasion by William III of England, William of Orange, later Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urban District (Great Britain And Ireland)
In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. In England and Wales, urban districts and rural districts were created in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) as subdivisions of administrative counties. A similar model of urban and rural districts was also established in Ireland in 1899, which continued separately in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after 1921. They replaced the earlier system of urban and rural sanitary districts (based on poor law unions) whose functions were taken over by the district councils. The district councils also had wider powers over local matters such as parks, cemeteries and local planning. An urban district usually contained a single parish, while a rural district might contain many. Urban districts were considere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weather Vane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , meaning "flag". Although partly functional, wind vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional cockerel design with letters indicating the points of the compass. Other common motifs include ships, arrows, and horses. Not all wind vanes have pointers. In a sufficiently strong wind, the head of the arrow or cockerel (or equivalent) will indicate the direction from which the wind is blowing. Wind vanes are also found on small wind turbines to keep the wind turbine pointing into the wind. History The oldest known textual references to weather vanes date from 1800-1600 BCE Babylon, where a fable called ''The Fable of the Willow'' describes people looking at a weather vane "for the direction of the wind." In China, the ''Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
