Kieran Turner's photos

(Should you want to know where this is, the geo-tagged location is only done from memory, and may be a little out. But leave Richelieu, head north, and avoid the toll roads. It isn't too far.) We think the gateposts might be a relic of the Cardinal's estate, given the style and type of stone; tragically his house was taken apart by an estate agent in the early 19th Century - not even for political reasons - and much of the fabric is no doubt re-used in the surrounding area.

(Should you want to know where this is, the geo-tagged location is only done from memory, and may be a little out. But leave Richelieu, head north, and avoid the toll roads. It isn't too far.)

Not quite so sublime as the 404 elsewhere in this set, but quite cheeky, I thought. For the geeky, note that it's pre- and post-facelift 205s. ;)

Not quite so sublime as the 404 elsewhere in this set, but quite cheeky, I thought. For the geeky, note that it's pre- and post-facelift 205s. ;)

In the model town built to house Cardinal Richelieu's court. Nicely timeless, apart from the Fuji sign. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richelieu,_Indre-et-Loire

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal!

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal!

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal!

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second — who made that? -- This piece fascinated us most; it appears it just may have been writ by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal! I would love to know this person's thoughts and feelings as they visited the site.

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal! -- This one is particularly interesting, and must have taken a lot of skill to make; it's in cursive writing — it seems to be the person's actual signature!

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal!

Graffiti utterly surrounds this one remaining part of the once vast entrance courtyard at the site of the home of Cardinal Richelieu. It's of fascinating dates; some goes back to 1906, some to the first world war, some to the second – who made that? – and one piece appears to be by the hand of a descendent of the Cardinal!

I apologise for the colourising, but I couldn't find another way to make this photo stand on its own. I wanted to share the tree with you, though. Also, marvellously, the reclining trunk is where I imagine Cardinal Richelieu may once have lain.

Colourised once again, but this time it's because I was a muppet and had the camera's exposure compensation setting way off, and the colouring was the only way to make this not look bleached out completely. This bridge once led up to the front door of Cardinal Richelieu. His house was tragically taken down, and not even for political reasons, in the 19th Century, but the grounds and model town (for his court) remain. It's fascinatingly thought-provoking to note what a beautiful place this supposed tyrant chose to call home.