Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 1: The Rising Courtier at Old Sherborne Castle
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...
The English Baroque Plasterwork Garland
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...
Artefacts of the Afterlife
This week I visited the Tutankhamun Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh. It was a beautifully curated exhibition. I was astounded to see that wooden objects survived from 3345 years ago in fantastic condition. I couldn’t help...
Funeral Hatchments at Crowcombe Church
I recently visited the Holy Ghost Parish Church at Crowcombe in The Quantock Hills, Somerset. The Carew Chapel contains some fine hatchments. Besides church architecture the fixtures and fixings provide us with clues to social history. Human social history evolves and...