BENCHMARKS
continued
Proceeding
into Victoria Road we come upon this one at the entrance to Victoria
Castle.
Below:
A 'mark at the castle on Victoria Road.
Above:
Victoria Castle with the 'mark, left, on the corner below the cross
shaped window opening.
P.S. M.C., who is is chief researcher for
another popular website - thegpo.net - corresponded to inform of the
history of the castle.
Built by Robert Warren in 1840 it was
named in honour of the new queen.
Following a fire in 1928 it was
restored by Sir Thomas Power of the whiskey family - of Thomas Street
fame - and renamed Ayesha after the goddess who rose from the
flames in Rider Haggard's novel She.
At a later stage it was owned by the
Alymer family.
Enya bought the Castle in 1997 and out
of her love for Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, re-dubbed it (get
it?) Manderley for the fictional house that plays a central
role in the 1938 novel.
If memory serves correctly, and it does
so less and less these days, Benchmarker seems to recall that J.W.
was on first name terms with Daphne du Maurier; and that he scooped
the pot after choosing Rebecca as his specialist subject in a
version of Mastermind.
Coincidently, Benchmarker bought a copy
of She last week in a charity shop in Thomas Street. If good
fortune smiles then perhaps a copy of Rebecca will materialize
there also. Bon chance.
