Mar 29, 2026
If you visit Barcelona and only see one building, it will almost certainly be the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia.[1] Rising improbably from the Eixample grid, its spires seem to belong to a world between cathedral and coral reef. But for all its fantastical beauty,...
Aug 28, 2024
I have wondered about the symbolic meaning behind the scallop shell in architecture. It is associated with the St James and the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela. Does it have any significance though in its application on buildings or furnishings? This post throws...
Dec 19, 2022
The game of fives became a popular sport in South Somerset from the mid-18th C. There are churchwarden accounts that record the problem of fives being played against church towers. One way around this was to construct purpose-built fives walls. These were mainly built...
Oct 5, 2022
Last week I caught an early train to London to visit a few places. I travelled into Paddington and then walked to the Wallace Collection in Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1. I ambled as the gallery does not open until ten. I reflected on the relative safety of...
Aug 31, 2022
Following the development of the elite country house from the medieval period onwards, it is evident there is a discontinuity in architectural function from the Romano-British culture. The break is the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture, who have a preoccupation with...
Jan 30, 2022
England still retains a number of lock-ups, clinks or ‘blind houses’. They were used as staging posts to hold an offender on their route to a magistrate’s court. They were also used to incarcerate those disturbing the peace, vagrants, and drunks. The parish was...
