Egglestone Abbey is an abandoned Premonstratensian Abbey on the eastern bank of the River Tees, 1? miles (2.5km) south-east of Barnard Castle in County Durham. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire.

The Abbey was founded in the late 12th century at some point between 1168 and 1198. The founders were the Premonstratensians who wore a white habit and became known as the White Canons. They followed a code of austerity similar to that of Cistercian monks, unlike monks of other orders, they were exempt from the strict Episcopal discipline. They undertook preaching and pastoral work in the region (such as distributing meat and drink). The site for the abbey was chosen because of its isolation, close proximity to a river and the supply of local stone for its construction. In common with many of the early monasteries, the original church at Egglestone Abbey was enlarged, and partly rebuilt, about one hundred years later, it is this later church that survives today.

The abbey was always poor and at times had difficulty maintaining the required number of canons (twelve - from the twelve Apostles). Egglestone Abbey was to suffer at the hands of Scottish invaders and the rowdy English army who were billeted there in 1346 on their way to the Battle of Neville's Cross. The Abbey was dissolved in 1540 by king Henry VIII, the lands were granted to Robert Strelly in 1548, who converted some of the buildings into a great private house that was abandoned in the mid-19th century. Eventually, much of the abbey was pulled down and some of the stonework was used to pave the stable yard at the nearby Rokeby Hall in the 19th century. Portions of the walls of the church remain today, and within the walls are a number of tombestones, one bearing the inscription "T. Rokeby, Bastarde. Jesu for Thy passions sair, Have mercy on thy sinful heir."
MATERIALS: Squared stone and rubble.
PLAN: cruciform church, aisleless except for eastern chapels to transepts; cloister on north extending west from church; east range with chapterhouse, dorter on 1st floor and rere-dorter; north range with frater over undercroft with warming house; west range with kitchen (perhaps post-Dissolution) and perhaps guest house. Church in Transitional, Early English and Decorated styles.
Nave has chamfered plinth, pilaster buttresses on north and west, and a moulded cornice on corbels below a C15 heightening. At west end a blocked doorway, with a late C13 2-light window, replacing a pair of earlier lancets. North wall has a round-arched chamfered doorway, moulded corbels and a string-course marking the position of the cloister roof, and 2 lancets. 4-bay south wall has sill string and stepped buttresses; moulded doorway in west bay; windows of 3 lancet lights under one arch with pierced spandrels, multi-hollow-chamfered surrounds and hoodmoulds.
Only the west wall of the south transept stands, with moulded plinth and angle buttresses with gabled crocketed heads at the south-west corner; two late C13 2-light windows and a C15 stair turret.
The chancel has a chamfered plinth and stepped buttresses, the eastern moulded. Two 2-light windows on south; 2- and 3-light on north: lancet lights, under pointed arches, have jamb shafts with nail-head capitals. 5-light east window has similar surround but with straight moulded mullions. South and east windows have richer mouldings.
INTERIOR: South-west corner of crossing shows shafted responds to crossing arches, set on corbels. Piscinae and aumbries in south and east walls of chancel. Monuments include table tomb with arcaded sides to Sir Ralph Bowes, d.1482, inscribed slab to 'T. Rokeby, Bastarde': relief cross fleury with crozier,and brass indents.
East range of cloister 3 storeys: largely mid-C16 with 2-, 3- and 4-light mullioned windows, those to ground floor with heraldic or head hoodmould stops. Interior: C16 lst-floor fireplace with flat-pointed head; the north end the C13 groin-vaulted rere-dorter undercroft with a segmental-arched fireplace. North range shows remains of warming house fireplace, and a large C16 stepped stack to north. The other domestic buildings are reduced to footings and lower courses (except for a length of wall with 2 doorways on south side of cloisters).

During November 2000 English Heritage carried out an archaeological field investigation and survey of the area around Egglestone Abbey. Low earthworks immediately beyond the abbey ruins to the west comprise small enclosures (at least one may be the remains of a former building abutting the cloister). A linear hollow skirts the north-west corner of the abbey aligned NE-SW (likely to be the remains of the channel which carried water to the rere-dorter drain) and a hollow-way leading to the valley floor of Thorsgill Beck. The remains of at least three enclosures are visible in the field immediately south of the abbey. These may be the remains of garden compartments belonging to the post-Dissolution house or paddocks and allot

Taken with a Nikon F3 , 105mm - F 2.5 fixed lens and a handheld bounced Pic flash using Kodacolor x , 100 ASA daylight film.

Mrs. Reme Ramos a loving wife to world renowned Filipino Architect , Jorge Ramos

By Marge C. Enriquez
Compiled news article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer
DateFirst Posted 22:05:00 01/27/2010

Jorge Ramos returns to buil a high-rise

The 68-floor Discovery Primea will stand on the former Gilarmi Apartments along Ayala Avenue
AFTER WORKING ABROAD FOR several years, the man behind such iconic structures as the GSIS Building, the Heart Center and the Office of the Senate is back.

Architect Jorge Ramos, 73, and his son, architectural designer John Nicholas or Nick, 43, are out to make bigger projects, among them, the tallest luxury condominium in Makati, the 68-floor Discovery Primea.

The older Ramos has established Wishwood Development Corporation, which aims to represent its various businesses. Discovery Primea will stand on the former Gilarmi Apartments along Ayala Avenue. On the premise that many of its eventual population would be of mature age, it would include hospital facilities and services provided by Asian Hospital.

There will be 90 units ranging from 383 to 680 square meters. There is generous space, particularly in the communal areas of the residential and service apartments, in consideration of the Filipinos’ familial culture.

“The planning of the dwelling units allows for great flexibility in terms of layout, thus enabling the inhabitants to entertain friends and relatives in pretty much any manner they wish. This spaciousness is further magnified by the commanding views of the city afforded practically everywhere in the building,” says Nick. “The residential kitchens are comparable to any that belong in a sizeable detached house.”

Since Filipinos tend to accumulate and horde, the units will also provide ample storage.

“Discovery Primea is born out of the Filipino reputation for warm hospitality. The serviced apartments block can be seen as a kind of ‘guest suite’ that forms part of a large private home. It will be a prominent landmark on the most prestigious of our avenues, and express our genuine love for living with its world-class in-house amenities, luxurious appointments and close proximity to the best the city has to offer.”

On the other hand, Wishwood is also planning an eco-friendly and affordable housing project composed of 12 residences in Laguna. The Ramoses believe an ecologically sympathetic design need not be expensive.

“By following the rules set by nature and picking up on her clues such as the conditions of the site, sustainable design can be readily attainable,” they say.

Achievements

Although Wishwood is fairly new, its reputation lies in both the achievements of the older Ramos and the energy of his son. In the early ’60s, Ramos brought in new ideas from his studies abroad and incorporated local materials.

One of his early significant projects was the Manila Bank Building where the interiors were elegantly wrapped in Philippine mahogany and glamorized with chandeliers. The counters were brought down to the level of a table.

“Both the teller and the customer were sitting down. It offered comfort for the customer,” he says.

Ramos introduced other innovations. At First United Bank in Escolta, he fused art and architecture by integrating a sun sculpture on the focal wall. For the Tiaoqui residence, he built a sunken living room as an alternative to a flat floor area, and made use of Filipino materials such as capiz shells on sliding doors.

When he and National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva were just starting out, they collaborated on Ang Tibay Shoes in Escolta.

“It was the first time people saw shoes being incorporated with the bamboo sculptors to show off the quality of Ang Tibay.”

Ramos’ landmark project was the Heart Center for Asia, when he was singled out by former first lady Imelda Marcos. Considering its function, Ramos built the medical arts building as a buffer between the noisy, dusty street and the hospital with a courtyard in between. It was also the first smoke-free building, “and the first time an operating table was also the patient’s bed. The day before the surgery, the patient is being prepared on the bed. It is the same operating table wheeled into the operating room,” says Ramos.

The patient rooms encircle the nurses’ station for easier accessibility in case of emergencies.

Marcos, impressed with his ideas and practicality, then asked Ramos to design the Marcos residences in Ilocos Norte, Laguna, Hawaii, Mexico, the Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay, as well as the interiors of her New York apartment, to name a few.

Award-winning design

His design of the GSIS Building also won the Passive Solar Design Award at the World’s Fair.

“It was a thesis in energy-efficient architecture,” explains Nick of his father’s work. The energy crisis in the ’70s drove the building to minimize dependence on fuel consumption.