Jan 6, 2025
November can be a good time to visit places to avoid tourists whilst venues are still open. I recently visited Winchester for a 2-night stay. It is a compact city with everything conveniently within in walking distance from the city centre. It was a pleasure to walk...
Apr 30, 2023
On a recent visit to Wells Cathedral, I noticed the tomb effigy of Giso of Lorraine in the north aisle. He had been Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1061 to 1088. His church would have been the Anglo-Saxon cathedral which stood before the current Gothic one. In 909, the...
Feb 7, 2023
Walking around Bruton, particularly down by the riverside, one can get the feeling of medieval Somerset. The single-span bridge would have seen trains of packhorses and mules, laden with woolsacks, woollen cloth, and silken cloth making their way through Bruton and...
May 31, 2022
Baptism is a key, and usually the initial, sacrament in the life of a Christian. Early Christians performed the rite with immersion in water. In the medieval Christian church, the process of infusion was practiced – the pouring of water on the head of the new...
Apr 18, 2021
Dating stained glass is not a simple task. The techniques, colours, designs, window tracery, ferramenta, content, symbolism, intended purpose, commission and position need to be examined. This post is to give an introduction to some of the considerations. Between the...
Sep 27, 2019
Figure 1: Looking east from the land below Athelney towards Burrow Mump on a misty morning. Whilst the land is reclaimed and cultivated nowadays, it was a patchwork of marshes, reeds and flood water. Low islands stood above the wetlands, only accessible by punts and...
