Medieval Echoes: A walk by the River Brue in Bruton, Somerset
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...
Architects of the Neolithic: The First Architects & Engineers in Britain
Last year (2022) I visited the excellent exhibition at the British Museum called 'The World of Stonehenge'. It was less about Stonehenge and more about the world at the time of Stonehenge in Europe. It brought together objects from across Britain and Europe...
The Game of Fives in South Somerset
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...
The Hazards Facing a Country Gentleman Visiting London in the Late 18th Century
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...
Villa Ventorum at The Newt Part 2: Differences between the Roman Villa & The English Elite Country House: Heating, Bathing, and Porticos
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...
Villa Ventorum at The Newt: A Roman Estate Reimagined – Part 1: Looking at the exterior
I recently visited the reconstructed Villa Ventorum at The Newt near Castle Cary in Somerset. It is an amazing reconstruction, and great museum. As part of the visit, you can taste Roman food, use a Roman loo, and experience the villa through a virtual reality suite....
Exploring Building History
Exploring Building History is a website and blog dedicated to establishing a resource of historical information related to the built heritage of England. The regular blog posts aim to provide the reader with a diversity of architectural history subjects. This could be a particular building, individual, monument, subject area, architectural element or historical source. Downloadable factsheets, produced on a regular basis, provide a snapshot of relevant historical data for building history study.