Tissington Hall, a photo from Derbyshire, England

Photographer's Note

It's some months since the wee TE visit to Buxton, and the weather generally was not kind, particularly on the morning of our visit to see the Well Dressings at Tissington. Which probably explains the relative paucity of posts from the place. This is indeed my first from Tissington: I was recently going through my images of that visit again to tag them (I'm a bit obsessive about that), and thought that maybe this one was up to snuff. It's a toned monochrome, as it was pouring with rain at the time, and colour wouldn't have looked happy.

Tissington Hall is an early 17th-century Jacobean mansion house situated at Tissington, near Ashbourne. Derbyshire. It is a Grade II listed building. The FitzHerberts, descended from a Norman family, acquired Tissington by the marriage of Nicholas FitzHerbert to Ciceley Frauncis, heiress of Tissington, in 1465.

The old moated manor at Tissington was replaced with the new mansion in 1609 by Francis FitzHerbert and remains the home of the FitzHerbert family. The current occupant is Sir Richard Ranulph FitzHerbert Bart.

It is the hall that makes Tissington Hall unusual. It is one of a small group of compact Derbyshire gentry houses in which a central hall runs through the house from front to back. This unusual feature may be due to the influence of the grand example of a through-hall at Hardwick, in the same county. Behind the two-storey enclosed entrance porch, the hall is entered at the centre of one end. On the left are two parlors separated by a stairhall, on the right a kitchen and buttery. Corner towers on the garden front, now linked by the additional upper floor above the gallery range, provide further rooms. A rococo gothic fireplace in the house follows a published design by Batty Langley. The Hall is open to the public at specified times of the year and is available for commercial and private functions. Several members of our party went inside; I didn't. I probably missed out, certainly on the shelter!

Click here for the larger Beta TrekEarth version.

tyro, Mics, macjake, adores has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

seafetish (104) 2014-11-07 2:39

i love the depth of the gray colors ! TFS

martou (1660) 2014-11-07 3:04

I really like the b&w giving nice texture to those brickwalls. Also well framed with the leaves in foreground. Well dome. Cheers martin

swapankumarroy (3769) 2014-11-07 3:09

Hello Will,

Very nicely shot from an well chosen position with sharpness and framing, convert into grey scale to make the image very gorgeous and rich, I like this old building.

warm regards,

swapankumarroy

Royaldevon (85932) 2014-11-07 3:13

Hello Will,

I, too, was looking at Tissington recently, remembering the camaraderie that we had and meeting up with Jasmine.
Despite the poor light, the details of the hall are nicely captured and respond well to b&w.
You have chosen a good, angled composition which gives strength and a natural flow from left to right across the frame.
The f/g foliage points towards to the hall and strangely, seems to create a sense of mystery.

Have a lovely day, and thanks for the memories,
Bev :-)

tyro (30513) 2014-11-07 7:53

Hello Will,

An interesting note and, yes, the weather was indeed pretty grim on the day we visited Tissington. I think I've posted one or two pictures from there but, in my usual misguided way, I think they were all in colour and certainly not very remarkable.

You were wise to choose monochrome for this picture and it has turned out very well indeed. Not only is the light remarkably good but the details and textures and sharpness are superb. I like how the hall is nicely framed by the slightly diagonal wall at the bottom and the foliage on either side and above. Lovely tones and contrasts and excellent clarity. And your toning has been done very subtly too.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

lousat (139236) 2014-11-07 8:31

Hi Will,a bright black and white,perfect for a scenery like that,truly nice this old manor house builth in a very original style,an excellent capture from the best point of view,and with the blurred leaves on the op as a natural frame,i like it! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

zjawa (62) 2014-11-07 10:41

Hi Will,
Black and white + brickwalls = super effect. I love it!
Thank you for the interesting story in the description.

Regards,
Karolina

marabu61 (11587) 2014-11-08 7:42

Hello Will
Even though the house looks abandoned, it still has a noble atmosphere to it. I quite love this gritty and sharp black and white conversion a lot, it gives it a nice impact.
have a great weekend
Daniel

Mics (1020) 2014-11-11 1:21

Hi Will,

I like the composition and the framing..but I think I would love it more in color.

Have a nice day!
Mics

macjake (98454) 2014-11-14 1:29

Hi Will
now this looks like a place that would easily be used by a film company to shoot a scary movie - it just has that look to it i guess.

and probably the monochrome effect makes it feel that way even more so.

they certainly don't make homes like this anymore, this is pretty cool.

the front section of the home with the 8 windows has a special creep factor to itself!

awesome subject
cheers
craig

adores (46979) 2014-11-22 11:42

Hi Will!
Seems the b&w was a great option here! Even on a rainy day, you got a very good shot. I like the focus and the way you used the branches to frame the mansion. The weather gave it a very special and even more mysterious atmosphere.

mjw364 (1466) 2015-08-07 0:00

Hello Will

Yes... I remember this day. Should have been called Pissingdown Hall day since it literally was. Wisely you sought shelter under the tree and used its leaves as a frame for the shot. You see, necessity is the mother of invention and all that. From what I gather , we didn't miss much not going in. Besides we were in better company!

Take care.

Mike