I was joined once again today by Mike Davies of the Rayleigh Town Museum to look at “LISTED BUILDINGS” and in the second hour of today’s show we turned our attention to the hi-tech future that beckons.
But first off Mike explained just what constitutes a listed building and how the various grades are classified.
Although some curiosities exist.
For example, whilst some pretty obvious buildings such as, Holy Trinity Church in Rayleigh and Thorndon Hall, Ingatestone Hall and The Old House on Shenfield Road, are listed, so too is the headstone of one, Rebecca Merryfield, which is in the churchyard of the aforementioned, Holy Trinity Church.
Also included in Rayleigh is an old style red telephone box. designed to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V, the water trough, Parish Pump and the Martyrs Memorial.
Other oddities include an RNLI collection box located in Robin Hoods Bay in North Yorkshire.
This is a concrete fish shaped RNLI collecting box over 130 years old and believed to be the smallest grade 2 structure in the country.
Other slightly more unusual sites include the cruise missile shelter complex at Greenham Common airbase!
Another site of especial interest is Eastbury Manor in Barking, although curiously it did not become a listed site until 1954.
It’s main claim to fame being that it’s widely believed to be have been the site where the gunpowder plot may have been hatched.
At the time Eastbury was owned by Anne Steward, widow of Clement Sisley the original builder. The house was rented to Lewis Tresham. His wife, and his Spanish catholic mother-in-law also lived there.
Lewis was the brother of Francis Tresham and cousin of Robert Catesby, the plotters’ leader.
He was also the brother-in-law of Lord Monteagle, who had been tipped off to find an excuse not to attend the opening of parliament.
Ironically although he’d received, and passed this warning to the parliamentary authorities some 2 weeks earlier, no searches were carried out until the night before the scheduled state opening of parliament.
So you can imagine their surprise when 36 barrels of gunpowder were discovered along with Guy Fawkes, still on site, trying unsuccessfully, as it turned out, to make his escape!
Of course we should also mention that the site of the Rayleigh Town Museum at 91 High Street, which is the town’s oldest secular building, dating back to around 1350.
Ironically it was once believed to be so far away from the centre of the town that for a time it became a leper hospital.
You can listen again here to all that Mike told me today: –
Turning our attention to the future in the second hour, we reported on a dating app with a difference.
“Invisible Girlfriend” is a new app designed to help men and women keep prying family and friends at bay with what is said to be ‘believable virtual and real world proof’ that you have a partner – even though you don’t.
The app provides phone calls, voicemails, random gifts and finally, as a coup de grâce – a Facebook relationship, which definitely means it’s real.
Pricing for the service is on a month-by-month basis ranging from $9.99 (£6.20) for the ‘just talking’ package to the £49.99 (£31) for the ‘almost engaged’ one.
It’s not supposed to be a girlfriend the buyer can be believe in, but one that simply just fools colleagues and loved ones.
‘We’re giving them a better story to tell, even if the story isn’t true,’ stated, creator Matt Homann.
The company is also currently developing an Invisible Boyfriend – both will be LGBT-friendly.
So if you’re sick and tired of your great aunt, and married school friends questioning you about your non-existent love life, now you can have a “ready made” solution.
What more can I say?
Hope to see you again tomorrow,
Scott
