I've tried to give this the feel of an old photo. This building is something of a local landmark where I live, and over the years, I've often passed it in the car while along the narrow, winding road that accompanies it. It's one of those local places that stays in the mind's eye even if you know only fragments of its history.
Tixall Gatehouse was built in about 1580 by Sir Walter Aston to stand in front of an older house. This house and a successor, built in 1780, have disappeared, and the gatehouse today is surrounded by grass. It was described in 1598 as ‘one of the fairest pieces of work made of late times in all these counties’ and, more recently, as ‘an Elizabethan ruin, without roof, floors or windows, used as a shelter for cattle’.
Well, your photo works quite well. You can sense the history, and the building alone is spectacular. I can only imagine what it would be like to walk the halls of that fantastic structure.
