Apr 23, 2020
Figure 1: Ruins of Old Sherborne Castle. It was the Civil War in the mid-17th century that led to its present state.[1] RALEIGH AT OLD SHERBORNE CASTLE Sir Walter Raleigh led an extraordinary life. In the Elizabethan court he rose to become one of the most...
Apr 6, 2020
Baroque architecture developed in Italy in the early-17th C and appeared in England during the 1660s. The Baroque garland was a motif that appeared as part of a scheme in English plasterwork. This post looks at three examples of plasterwork garlands in Baroque...
Feb 3, 2020
Earls Colne, Parish Church of St Andrew, Essex A fascinating repository of parish records for the village of Earls Colne has been put together by a team at the University of Cambridge. The project that created the database ran from 1972 until 2002. The database...
Jan 16, 2020
Montacute House is a rare survival from the late Elizabethan moving into the early-Jacobean period. In this post I wish to examine an aspect of decoration in the great hall that tells of how local villagers would deal with a particular transgression of a neighbour....
Dec 31, 2019
The spectacular gatehouse of Layer Marney is embellished with astounding terracotta ornamentation. This is particularly impressive when taking the date of its build into consideration. It was built during the early part of Henry VIII’s reign (reign was 1509 to 1547)....
Dec 24, 2019
In the porch of the exit (west end) of Exeter Cathedral are statues representing the Nativity. It is difficult to photograph as the space is confined and there are 2 scenes, one on top of the other. The upper scene appears to be of Mary cradling Jesus, with the...