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The Man of Yorke

@themanofyorke

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Martin Whittaker. Castles, fells, mountains and swords. 🏰 ⛰ 📙🚶 ⚔
Love historical adventures. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 All photos my own.
📸 Panasonic Lumix G7 📸

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The Man of Yorke, and special people.
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I haven't done a bio before so thought I would pin one to the top of the page.
I'm hoping to get back into posting photos again after a long lull. Originally I come from Cumbria and spent a bit of time in the city of York (hence the name Man of Yorke) I live in Buckinghamshire with my fiencee Rachel and our special companion Marbles the Syrian hamster 🐹
I have a passion for heritage, old churches, castles and history, particularly medieval...and especially 15th C history. You can normally find us hiking around the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs and love exploring the British Isles on camping trips.
On my page, I don't really bother with reels or stories too much, I just like to post photos of places I find interesting, nature or landscapes with a little bit of historical information! Which is something I've been doing since Facebook was invented!
I use a Panasonic Lumix G7 and have been experimenting with my Dad's old Praktica M3 film camera.
The first two photos were taken with my Dad's Praktica M3 camera both in France. 1. Martel, The Lot. 2. Chateau du Rivau. 3. Bodium Castle. 4th and 5th photos of Rachel and I with Marbles.
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#historiansofinstagram #instabio #prakticaM3
#panasoniclumixg7 by @themanofyorke

Chateau du Rivau, Touraine, France.
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Another photo using my Dad's old Praktica M3. Again this came out so nice and retro looking.
Chateau de Rivau was built by the Beauvaus family who were linked to the Counts of Anjou. Their knightly status goes back to 1265, they had a tradition of paying homage to the Count by standing with their sword at their side and wearing hats, their heraldic device was four gules lions rampant on an argent background.
The castle's stables became famous in the Hundred Years war for breeding the best war destriers and it is mentioned especially in the chronicles as a place Joan of Arc stopped to get more warhorses for the Dauphin's army. This tradition of breeding stallions continued into the renaissance and Francois de Beauvaus built new stables in stone, he died in battle fighting alongside Chevalier de Bayard at the battle of Sesia River.
We missed out on seeing Rivau on our holiday to the Loire region but on our way down to the Dordogne we stopped off for a rest. It's now a very serene place brimming with rose gardens.
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#chateau #castles #medievalhistory #analoguephotography #prakticaM3 by @themanofyorke

Turville, Buckinghamshire.
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Taken on a very windy and Autumnal walk from Cadmore End, Fingest and Turville.
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#autumnvibes🍁 #autumn #fall #englishcountryside #goldenleaves by @themanofyorke

The river Dordogne at sunset, Domme, France.
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Domme is a hilltop bastide town overlooking the beautiful Dordogne river. Bastides were fortified towns built by the various stakeholders of this debates land whether it be French noblemen or even English Kings. Domme was founded by King Philip III of France in 1281. Domme was a favoured filming location for Ridley Scott's first film "The Duellists" (1977) which featured much of the gorgeous scenery in this area. When we looked out over the Belvedere de la Barre at this atmospheric view it reminded me of the moment Harvey Keitel's character Gabriel Fraud has his contemplative moment looking out at the flooded river plains below at the end of the film. I took this with my Dad's Praktica M3 I love how this camera captures colour. 🎞️ 📸
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#domme #france #sunsetphotography #dordogne #landscapephotography by @themanofyorke

Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire.
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A sight that needs no real introduction is the towering spire of Salisbury which dominates the aspect from miles around. It is from the water meadows, once immortalised by John Constable where you get the best views of this gorgeous structure.
It was Bishop Herbert Poore who was granted the right to relocate the Cathedral from Old Sarum to what is now Salisbury in 1197, Legend says that he shot an arrow to decide where his new cathedral would be built, it hit a deer and where the deer died was chosen as the site the new place of worship. Unfortunately he didn't live to see the beginnings of his ambitious project but his brother Richard Poore became Bishop After him and realised his vision. After much fundraising the foundation stones were laid down by William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury in 1220.
The cathedral is unusual in that it was built in a short period of time meaning that the cathedral is almost entirely built in early English Gothic style between 1220 and 1310. The spire is the greatest achievement which stands at 404 ft tall making it the tallest spire in England.
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#salisburycathedral #salisbury #cathedrals #medievalarchitecture #medievalhistory by @themanofyorke

Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire
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The incredibly venerable and ancient abbey of Dorchester is home to some remarkable funerary monuments. One of the most striking is this stunning 13th C effigy, although it is not certain it is believed to be that of Sir William de Valence the Younger. It shows him in his arms head to toe in mail, with his Tabard, his legs are crossed and he is in the act of drawing his sword. Many modern scholars are doubtful of the symbolism attributed to effigies by past antiquarians, but in the old days it was thought that the act of drawing a sword symbolised readiness to die for the faith or vigilance or even that they met their end in battle ,the crossing of the legs denoted a crusader.
Symbolism aside the details of the effigy are wonderful, the creases in the fabric of the Tabard evoke much realism and the texture of the mail rings is consistent and well preserved. The other detail I found interesting is the separate mail bevor that covers his chin, is clearly attached rather than part of his mail coif. (The mail headwear protecting his head)
If this was Sir William he was the son of William 1st Earl of Pembroke an incredibly powerful noble who gained influence through his support of Henry III in the 2nd Barons War. His son Sir William the Younger was an active knight during the reign of Edward I and it is recorded that he died in an ambush from Welsh in Llandeilo in 1282. If he was actively part of the Household of Edward then he may well have accompanied the Prince on his crusade in 1271.
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#dorchesterabbey #medievaleffigy #historicalchurch #medievalhistory #medieval by @themanofyorke

Chastleton House, Oxfordshire.
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This enchanting Jacobean residence was built on the site of the home of Robert Catesby, infamous as the leader of the Gunpowder Plot. A gentleman called Walter Jones bought up the land, demolishing Catesby's house and began building his new home in 1606, finishing the beautiful house in 1607.
Walter's grandson Arthur was a Royalist and supporteD Charles I in the civil war. After the battle of Worcester he fled back home to Chastleton only to find Cromwellian soldiers hot on his tail to make his arrest. The Parliamentarians slept the night in his bedchamber whilst he hid in the secret wardrobe attached to the room. His wife Sarah drugged the soldiers with laudanum and he was able to make his escape. I love a good cavalier escape story!
During the Commonwealth they were heavily fined but sadly not rewarded and compensated after the Restoration, their stalwart loyalty to the Stuart's didn't help their cause in later years during the Hanoverian regime either and saw themselves falling out of favour.
After the last direct ancestors of Walter died,bit passed to a cousin John Henry Whitmore in 1745, his children were famous for inventing many games and it was his son Walter who codified the rules for croquet!
Barbara and Alan Cutton-Brock were the last owners of the house, they were bohemian in their attitude to life and we're part of the artistic and literary circle of George Orwell and other famed writers of the time. The house has been left in a similar state to how they left it, complete with their belongings.

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#englishhistory #thecotswolds #jacobean
#statelyhomes
#historicbuildings . by @themanofyorke

Brass Memorial of John Fortey, wool merchant, St Peter and St Paul's, Northleach, Gloucestershire.
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I'm a bit of a fanatic for more martial brasses but you can't understand the 15th Century without an understanding of those that made it rich. In fact Kings understood the importance of England's wool merchants so much that they bent over backwards to keep them happy, Edward IV almost financially crashed England to try to keep the powerful Company of the Staple happy by alienating the Hanseatic League. St Peter and St Paul's church in Northleach is a wool church that could rival those in Suffolk, it also has one of the best collection of civilian brasses depicting the high ranking wool merchants of Northleach which even though only had a population of 400 had become one of the wealthiest towns in England trading as far away as Italy. John Fortey who died in 1458 was the main patron of the church's improvements including the heightening of the nave and adding new clerestory windows. His will leaves "£300 to carry on and complete the new work already begun by me" which was an enormous sum in the 15th C.
He is shown wearing a close cropped haircut, fine gowns and pointed shoes, if which rest on the source of his wealth. A sack of cloth and a sheep.
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#northleach #thecotswolds #englishchurches #medievalchurch #historicchurches by @themanofyorke

Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire.
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My breath was taken away by the beauty of this ruin with its spiderweb of bare skeletal tracery. The 15th C was a time where if you were a Courtier you might roam many gloomy old halls and keeps, remainders from the more brutal thickset secular architecture of the high Middle Ages, to you, Richard Duke of Gloucester's new hall would seem like walking into light itself. This was a time when secular architecture was going through its own renaissance, taking on cathedralesque forms, bringing heaven down to the business of Lordly estate management and court life.
Sudeley castle came into Duke Richard's possession in 1469. The previous owner Sir Ralph Boteler fell out of favour with Edward IV after supporting the Lancastrians and was forced to cede his properties to the crown. Edward in turn granted Sudeley to his brother Richard. In this time Richard constructed a beautiful banqueting Hall in the latest style, the Hall was ground floor with a first floor for the Duke's private dinners and meetings. Richard kept the castle for nine years before swapping Sudeley for Richmond, Yorkshire with his brother, a castle that couldn't' be more different in style with its huge forbidding Norman keep, but one which extended his growing powerbase of ex-Neville properties in the North. After his brother's death in 1483 he re-inherited Sudeley so got both in the end!
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The Hall was badly damaged in the Civil war when it was used as a garrison by Prince Rupert, the ensuing assaults by Parliamentarian forces caused much damage to the castle including a visible dent caused by a cannonball after its final capture was slighted by Oliver Cromwell.
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When George III visited he made the treacherous trip up to the Octagon tower to inspect the damage but slipped on the way down, the housekeeper Mrs Scott who was reportedly a large lady accidentally broke his fall, he rewarded her for saving the Kings person by giving her nephew a position in the Lifeguards!

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#sudeleycastle #englishperpendicular
#englushcastles #RichardIII #medievalhistory by @themanofyorke

Kirkhead Woods, Cumbria.
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A pastoral scene, these ancient woodlands with their jagged outcrops of limestone and twisting weathered boughs have been inhabited since the Paleolithic when ancient man once made cave shelters during a time of ice and frost in the great ice age, antiquarians from the Victorian period recorded great holes of bones but no such middens have been discovered in later centuries except one femur which proved to be one of the earliest prehistoric remains found in the North. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was believed there was a chapel hereabouts but again this has been lost to time leaving the name "Kirk" to the woods. In the Middle Ages the woodlands may have formed vaccaries for cattle in the fluctuating estates of the Abbots of Furness or a junior branch of the Harrington's of Wraysholme.
Taken with my Panasonic Lumix.
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#woodland #landscapephotography #englishcountryside #woods #forest by @themanofyorke

Woods at Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire.
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I've just had developed another film of photographs from my Dad's praktica camera 📸 There's something to be said for these analogue photos, it's amazing that something from the 80's can still produce such vibrancy and colour.
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#bluebellwoods #bluebells #chilternhills #prakticaM3 #analoguephotography by @themanofyorke

Avebury, Wiltshire.
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A bokeh shot of rapeseed in front of one of the famous standing stones of Avebury. I took this with my Dad's old Praktica M3 Camera 📸 which was my first time using a practical analogue film camera (being a bit of a point and click kid before I got my first digital!) This was such a fun experience and I made lots of mistakes but done photos came out very nice and vintage looking with that dreamlike saturated feeling that makes you reminisce of old postcards in tins.
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#analoguephotography #prakticaM3 #practicalphotography #bokeh #spring2026 by @themanofyorke