Taking the waters since AD 60: The Cross Bath, Bath
Amongst my many ambitions is to desire to get to know the City of Bath better. I recently spent a morning on business there and couldn’t resist a little meander off the main high street. My quest led me down Bath Street, where facing me at the end is a near-triangular...
Earls Colne Church: Morality & Punishment in the Elizabethan Parish
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...
The Skimmington Ride – Montacute House, South Somerset
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....
Adoration of the Magi: Wall Painting at Berry Pomeroy, South Devon
On the first floor of the gatehouse at Berry Pomeroy Castle are the remains of a finely executed wall painting of the Adoration of the Magi. It dates from circa 1490 to 1500. (Kightly, Berry Pomeroy Castle, p. 7). The original castle, of which the gatehouse and...
Ambition in Terracotta: Layer Marney Gatehouse circa 1520
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)....
Exeter Cathedral Nativity Statues
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...
Exploring Building History
Exploring Building History is a non-commercial site. It is my own personal musings on architectural history. There is wealth of built heritage in England, and as I explore and think about what I see, I post my reflections on this site.