Exploring building history
EDWARD PHELIPS V of Montacute House: 1725-34: Birth, Early Schools, & Loss of Father
This post looks at the early years of Edward Phelips V as described in his autobiography A Short Sketch of Anecdotes in My Life. [i] This work covers his life from his birth in 1725 until the end of 1788. 12th of April 1725: Edward is born at Park Place, Westminster,…
THE PHELIPS ARMS: An Inn to Establish the Family Name
The Historic England listing of 1961 names this inn the ‘Phelips Arms Hotel’. However, it does note that it was formerly listed as the ‘Phelips Arms Inn’. The listing, its source being the Victoria County History Vol. III, notes that it maybe the successor to an inn…
GISO OF LORRAINE: A Northern European Reforming Bishop in Anglo-Saxon Wells
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…
Luppitt Baptismal Font: Odin, Dragon, Serpent, Centaur, Wolf, Ravens & Martyrdom?
The font at St. Mary’s Parish Church, Luppitt, East Devon The small parish of Luppitt, nestling in the Blackdown Hills, lies a few miles from Honiton. I came across Luppitt a few years ago when researching the very colourful Sir Peter Carew (d. 1575) of Mohuns Ottery…
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…
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.