Divine Winds of Heaven

This is not the sort of image you may expect from me, but wanted to share this beautiful spot.
Adjoining to Blo Norton Hall on the Norfolk/Suffolk border is a small woodland where Prince Frederick Duleep Singh built a little white pillared Folly which he dedicated to the 'Divine Winds of Heaven' It became known as the 'Black Prince's Temple' and it is commonly believed that the Prince built it in the memory of his father's religion. All that remains of it now, are a back wall and the foundations on which it stood. In the spring a carpet of blue is formed around it, later a mass of foxgloves. The woodland is quite dark and over grown, so thought an impressionist like image may give you a better feeling of it.
Here is some background and history about the Prince, who he was and also something about his father Maharajah Duleep Singh - Maharajah of Lahore.
Prince Frederick was born on the 23rd January 1868, at Rutland Gate, Knightsbridge. He was baptised four months later at Elveden Church on the 2 May 1868 as Frederick Victor Jay Duleep Singh, being named after the German crown Prince, later Emperor Frederick. Prince Frederick’s education was at Eton and then Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1890 Prince Frederick gained a Masters Degree at Cambridge in History.
In 1909, Prince Frederick finally found the home of his dreams; the 16th Century moated Blo Norton Hall, off the main road from Thetford to Diss.
He enrolled in the local Loyal Suffolk Hussars (Suffolk Yeomanry) in the regiment’s centenary year, and was appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 12th August 1893. He was promoted to Captain in 1898 and was admitted a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1901, which was designed for recognition of personal services to Queen Victoria. In the same year he transferred to the Kings Own Royal Regiment Norfolk Imperial Yeomanry, and promoted to the rank of Major. Prince Frederick resigned his commission in 1908, but re-joined as a Major in October 1914 on the outbreak of the Great War, and was gazetted to the 2nd/1st Norfolk Yeomanry serving in France from 1917 to 1919.
Prince Frederick was one of the founders of the ‘Pre-Historic Society of East Anglia’ and President of the ‘London Society of East Anglians,’ a committee member of the ‘Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings,’ including the local ‘Advisory Committees for the Protection of Churches.’ Socially he was a member of London’s exclusive ‘Whites’ and ‘Carlton Club,’ and was a ‘Fellow of Society of Antiquaries (FSA).’
The local folk affectionately called him ‘Prince Freddy’ often confused with his father’s tag of ‘The Black Prince’ and his generosity was second to none, as his old friend Walter Rye quoted ‘He was never happier then when helping others’ Prince Frederick fell critically ill in 1926, his health had been in decline, but on Thursday 12th August 1926 he suffered a heart attack at his residence. His sisters immediately surrounded him and the family received a message of inquiry from the King on the Saturday. But sadly the much loved last Prince was to breath his last, and passed away at Blo Norton Hall on the 15th August at 2.30 pm on Sunday afternoon, at the age of 58.
Prince Fredericks father Maharajah Duleep Singh, the Maharajah of Lahore and King of the Sikh Empire, was born on the 6th September 1838. The son of the legendary Lion of the Punjab - Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and the Messalina of the Punjab - Maharani Jind Kaur, the young Duleep Singh came to the throne of Punjab in 1843 succeeding his half brother Maharajah Sher Singh.
After the close of the Second Anglo-Sikh War and the subsequent annexation of the Punjab in 1849, he was deposed at the age of 11 by the East India Company, separated from his mother and sent to England. Maharajah Duleep Singh's arrival to the shores of England in 1854 threw him into a different limelight. Her Majesty Queen Victoria showered affection upon the turbaned Maharajah, as did the Prince Consort.
The Maharajah had six children from his first wife Maharani Bamba, namely, Princes Victor, Frederick, and Albert Edward Duleep Singh, and Princesses Bamba, Catherine and Sophia Duleep Singh. There was Frederick the archaeologist, antiquarian and generous benefactor to East Anglia and resident of Blo Norton Hall, Victor the debt ridden possessive gambler and bankrupt married to Lady Anne Coventry, Sophia the fanatical Suffragette, Catherine the secretive and notorious visitor to war torn Germany and holder of a mysterious Swiss bank account, whose relations with her governess were more than intimate, and Bamba, the self styled grumpy Queen of Lahore who outlived everyone, living in her own imaginary Royal court. From his second wife, Maharani Ada, he had two daughters, Princesses Pauline and Irene Duleep Singh. Strangely none of Maharajah Duleep Singh's children had any issue, and thus the lineage ceased. The Maharajah who died in Paris in 1893, is buried in Elveden Church beside the grave of his wife Maharani Bamba, and his son Prince Edward Albert Duleep Singh.
I know it is rather a long write-up, but hope it has given a little enjoyment and a bit more information you may have been unaware of.

Title:	Divine Winds of Heaven
Username:	jdenman
Uploaded:	8 Sep 2008 - 12:49 AM
Recording media:	JPEG (digital)
Tags:	Blo norton, Digital art, Digitally manipulated, Diveine winds of heaven, Landscape / travel, Norfolk, Prince frederick duleep singh, Temple
Votes:	85