The 18th C Grand Tour in Rome Part 2: Classical Wonder
What would the Grand Tourist be looking at in terms of the Classical World? The arrival in Rome would be an exciting encounter for the Grand Tourist. They would be surrounded by the ruins of a classical world they had only read about. Firstly, there was the Roman...
The 18th C Grand Tour Part 1: All Paths Lead to Rome & Back Again
On a recent visit to Rome, I found myself wondering what it must have been like for the young patrician of the 18th C Grand Tour. Travelling would not have been comfortable and may well have been dangerous at times. But the arrival in Rome would have fortified the...
Nunney Castle, Somerset: The Architectural Ambition of a 14th C Knight
Many years ago, I happened upon Nunney Castle whilst out on a walk in the area. I was mesmerised by this ruined castle, set in the centre of a village surrounded by a moat. It was not the classic, Norman stronghold on a rocky outcrop. I felt I had been transported...
The Shouldered Corbelled Arch or Caernarfon Lintel at the Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset
The term ‘Caernarfon lintel or arch’ comes from the use at Edward I’s Caernarfon Castle of the frequent use of passage doorways with shouldered lintels sitting on convex corbels. Edward’s castle at Caernarfon was started in 1283. These doorways also at exist at Wells...
The Road to Justice, Temperance & Social Order via the Lock-ups of the 18th & 19th Centuries in Somerset & Wiltshire
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...
The Cult of St Thomas Becket – Murder, Miracles & A Challenge to Royal Authority
Main Picture: Wall Painting of Thomas Becket restored in 1984 at St Thomas a Becket Church, South Cadbury, Somerset. The year 2020 was the 850th anniversary of Thomas Becket’s death and the 800th anniversary of the translation of his body to a new shrine in Canterbury...
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.