Devon Marble – Petitor Quarries and Beyond
The main photo for this post is the beautiful marble-tiled paving of the chancel at All Saints Church, Babbacombe in Devon. It is made up of coloured Devon Marble varieties from the Petitor beds – a form of limestone that can be polished for a marble effect (not a...
Butterfield in Babbacombe – All Saints Church
Parish Church of All Saints, St. Alban’s Road, Babbacombe, Torbay, Devon (1865-74). One of the key works of the architect William Butterfield (1814 to 1900) that sticks in my mind is that of Keble College, Oxford. The overall shape of the building appears as a sober,...
Old Ideas Reimagined: Gaudi’s Garden Suburb – Park Guell (1900-14)
Antoni Gaudi i Cornet’s (1852 to 1926) unique style can easily be identified by his buildings in the city of Barcelona and at the Park Guell on the outskirts. It is difficult to unpick fully the varied influences that Gaudi drew upon for his creations. However, this...
WINCHESTER: 12th CENTURY WALL PAINTINGS – A REMARKABLE SURVIVAL
Winchester Cathedral: Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre The Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem is believed to contain the place of Christ’s crucifixion and the tomb in which he was placed and from where he was resurrected. It has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries....
IDENTITY IN MEMORIAL – Part 2 The Horsey Monument, Sherborne Abbey
The Horsey Monument at Sherborne Abbey I find tomb monuments fascinating. They preserve not just a record of individuals but elements of architectural design, ornament, clothing, jewellery, belief, symbolism, image and identity. The Horsey monument in Sherborne Abbey...
THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE IN DORSET – The Horsey Monument Part 1
The Horsey Monument at Sherborne Abbey circa 1565 As I drive around the county of Somerset my journey is frequently punctuated by travel news from BBC Somerset. Often queuing traffic is backed up at the Horsey roundabout at the crossing of the A3088 and the A30 in...
Exploring Building History
Exploring Building History is a website and blog dedicated to establishing a resource of historical information related to the built heritage of England. The regular blog posts aim to provide the reader with a diversity of architectural history subjects. This could be a particular building, individual, monument, subject area, architectural element or historical source. Downloadable factsheets, produced on a regular basis, provide a snapshot of relevant historical data for building history study.