Paterae

A patera in Ancient Greece was a shallow bowl, often with relief carving or painted decoration. In astronomy it is an irregularly shaped, or scalloped crater, usually (but not exclusively) formed by volcanic activity. I didn't know either of these meanings of the word until I came to write the description of this photograph, the subject of which is paterae. To the architectural historian (and me) this word describes a circular, oval or square ornament carved with a central pattern of leaves or petals, and often used to decorate the surface of a wall, dome or other structure. This example is in Hereford Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Undercover sports cars

There are two classes of car that I dislike - the 4X4/SUVs and sports cars. Both have such major transport and environmental shortcomings, as well as massive in-built redundancy, that I find it hard to imagine why anyone buys such vehicles. But buy them they do, often motivated, it seems, by reasons that have nothing to do with their suitability as transport. With such views you may wonder why I smiled when I saw this Porsche and the Ferrari hidden under their manufacturer-supplied covers. The fact is I saw those covers as shrouds and imagined both vehicles were imminently bound for that great scrapyard in the sky!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Choir, Tewkesbury Abbey

Photographing the interiors of large churches is often easier in winter than in the lighter months of the year. In summer the light streams in through the south windows and makes the exposure of the darkest and lightest areas difficult. However, in winter the natural light is often supplemented by artificial lighting that is placed to show off the structure to its best advantage. That is the case with Tewkesbury Abbey. Here the lights emphasise the arches, vaulting and the tile work of the floor to great effect, and contribute to the impression of richness that is a feature of most major churches.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Wilton Castle

The English counties that border Wales, known collectively as the Welsh Marches, have more castles and remains of castles than any other region of the country. One of the lesser known examples is in Bridstow, on the opposite side of River Wye from the town of Ross on Wye. It was built around 1300, became ruinous and had a house built inside its walls in the 1500s. Further damage in the English Civil War of the seventeenth century made that uninhabitable and what remained was converted into a house two hundred years later in the nineteenth century. This is what we see today, nestling in the ragged walls and towers of the former castle.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Beef

One of the things I recall about my childhood visit to the butcher's shop was a diagram of a cow with the location of the cuts of meat superimposed. To my childhood sensibilities it too explicitly made the connection between the living animal and the meat that would end up on my plate. But, I must have come to terms with it because I never became a vegetarian, though I imagine that was the unintended consequence in more than a few cases. I saw this neon version of the once common diagram in the window of a London steakhouse.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Bethnal Green gasholders

By London's Regent's Canal where it passes through Bethnal Green are two gasholders. The older of the pair is smaller and the larger is the newer one. They were built in 1888 and 1889 by the Imperial Gas Light & Coke Company in connection with the nearby Shoreditch Gasworks. The canal was used as the means by which coal was brought to the gasworks for conversion into gas and the gasholders held a reserve of the inflammable material. Today they are a piece of visually interesting industrial archaeology which the local community would like to see continuing to enliven the the skyscape.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Classical churches

When classically inspired churches started to be built in Britain during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries many people saw a glaring incongruity. After all they said, the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations that produced these buildings with their columns, pediments and associated decorative motifs were not Christian but heathen. Gothic architecture with its spires and pointed windows was, they argued, much more authentically Christian, particularly in Northern Europe. However, it didn't take long for the classical to take hold and for many years it held its own against Gothic. The Roman Catholic church, with its origins in Italy, has always favoured the classical style more than the northern churches did. This example in the Greek Doric style is in Hereford. The church of St Fancis Xavier was built in 1839 by the architect Charles Day.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The world's smallest theatre

Nearly twelve years ago I wrote a blog post about the names that we in Britain give to the small room that we visit to get rid of our bodily waste, and why we have such a multitude of appellations. Re-reading that post in preparation for writing this one I noticed that I had missed one of the most common names i.e. public convenience. Today's post shows such a place in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, that has been converted into a tiny theatre named "The Theatre of Small Convenience". The sign fixed to it notes that it was originally a Victorian gentleman's convenience that was converted in 1999. Since that time it has hosted puppet shows, professional and amateur dramatics, poetry readings, storytelling, music, monologues "and even a day of opera". Moreover, it has featured in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's smallest theatre.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Misty Malverns

Hill walking in sun and clouds not only lifts the spirits but also provides plentiful opportunities for photography. That was the kind of weather promised when we set out to walk on the Malverns recently. However, the forecasters predictions came to naught and we found ourselves in low cloud, mist and the odd clearer spell. However, the walking was fine, and the changing weather offered photography of a different, darker, more desolate kind.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

River Avon at Tewkesbury

There are several River Avons in Britain. This isn't surprising when you know that "avon" is Celtic for "river". Appending the word "River" is a relatively recent construction so in the past the name would not be the tautology that it is today. The Welsh "Afon" has the same meaning. The River Avon that flows through Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, is well-known as the Avon that flows through Stratford in Warwickshire, the birthplace of Shakespeare. At Tewkesbury is its confluence with the River Severn, and in this area it is a place of leisure boating. My photograph shows the final navigable stretch before the weir at the water mill. In the distance Tewkesbury Abbey can be seen. I liked the effect that sepia toning added to my black and white view.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M1

Reflected houses, Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury is a town particularly rich in old, timber-framed buildings. These are mainly to be found clustered around the original heart of the settlement that stretches from the banks of the River Avon to Church Street, the High Street and Oldbury Road. This row, on St Mary's road, next to the Avon by the water mill, must date from the late C15 to the early C16. They make a picturesque group with their reflection in the still water below.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M1

Fishermen, Tewkesbury

One of the pleasures of photography in winter is the low sun presenting more opportunities for silhouettes, one of the recurring themes in the images I take and make. The phrase "take and make" is particularly appropriate with photography involving silhouettes because I often undertake some post-processing to emphasise the effect. I've done that in this instance and I've also converted the shot to black and white to remove the distraction of points of bright colour on the boats.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M1

Monnow Bridge, Monmouth

I posted a photograph of this fortified bridge in May, and on a recent shopping expedition to Monmouth I took another shot in the colder, harder light of November. The gathering of gulls, swans and ducks also added something to the shot. However, in my mind, as far as birds go, this image is a missed opportunity because, seconds after I pressed the shutter, a pair of kingfishers, iridescent blue and jewel-like in the low sun flashed from right to left and disappeared under the nearest arch, heading upstream!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Autumn beech trees

2018's cold spring and hot summer has produced a wonderfully colourful autumn, with beautiful displays of leaves in woods, hedgerows and gardens. I've often found that the last days of October and the first week or so of November to be the best times to photograph autumn leaves and that has proved to be the case once again. The beech trees have been showing varying shades of orange and yellow, eclipsing, but only just a similar palette in the oak trees.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Remembrance poppies

The poppies and crosses above are a small section of those placed in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral as part of its remembrance of the sacrifice of those who died in the service of their country, and more particularly, given that it is the centenary of the 1918 armistice, those who fell in "the war to end all wars".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Watery railings

The fractured reflections that seemingly still water can produce has been a frequent subject of my photography.The shot above shows the white painted railings of the road bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal near Slimbridge. A clear blue sky and the shadow under the bridge added colours that enhanced the broken regularity of the metalwork.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Sweet chestnuts

The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) was probably brought to Britain by the Romans, much earlier than the similar looking (but not closely related) horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) that was not grown in Western Europe until after 1600. Its seeds are edible by man and foraging animals and its wood was much used for fencing for which it was coppiced. In Herefordshire it is a commonly found woodland tree. This year's particularly hot and dry summer has more closely reflected the climate of Southern Europe where sweet chestnuts produce nuts of commercial size in great quantities annually, and consequently the British crop features plenty of larger nuts that are being collected for "roasting on an open fire".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Westbury Court Gardens

It's understandable that ephemeral items such as clothes are subject to fashion but less comprehensible why that should be the case with gardens. They are, after all, much longer lasting, and a design can take decades to come to maturity. However, garden styles have come and gone and different fashions have prevailed at different times.

In 1712, of fifty eight Gloucestershire country houses illustrated in a book, twenty featured gardens that were variations of the Dutch water garden. Only one of those remains today, Westbury Court Gardens, and that is but a fragment of the original design.It is dominated by two long, straight "canals" and has a Tall Pavilion (1702-3) to allow the concept to be better seen from on high.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Chilean Flamingo

Unlike my previous post I can give the full name to the flamingos shown in this photograph. The are Chilean Flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis), one of the larger flamingos, with striking colouration. In the captive conditions in which I photographed them they appear to be very gregarious, closing ranks at all times. However, when I look at shots of the species taken in the wild they appear just as companiable.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Flamingo

Flamingos count among the most striking of birds. Size, colour and shape combine to make them distinctive and noteworthy and consequently they are one of the few birds species that the layman can name. I recently photographed a few different kinds of flamingos in the Slimbridge WWT collection. Unfortunately I neglected to note the specifics so I can tell you no more about this particular flamingo!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

St Andrew, Hampton Bishop

It is a characteristic of medieval churches throughout Europe that they are mainly constructed of local materials and that, consequently, though they share similar architectural features, they nonetheless differ from region to region. Herefordshire churches tend to feature a lot of Old Red Sandstone and timber framing. The example above has a stone tower extended upwards using the latter. However, porch at the church of St Andrew at Hampton Bishop appears to eschew the plentiful stone for a harder less red variety. And, in the carved vesica near the apex of the porch what appears to be terra cotta proclaims the symbol of the patron saint.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Victoria Place, Newport

Walking up the hill out of the centre of Newport, through unremarkable and past its best Victorian workers' housing, we came upon the surprise that is Victoria Place.This is two terraces of six houses that face each other across a short street. The builders levelled this site before building - there is the first surprise. Subsequent owners have treated both terraces as the unity they are and painted them with a single colour scheme - the second surprise. They date from 1844 and were built by Rennie Logan & Company, contractors for the Town Dock. Would that more such buildings were maintained with the sensitivity accorded to these rows.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

WW1 remembrance

Remembrance events for WW1 have been extensive over the past four years. Currently, in Herefordshire (and elsewhere for all I know) many businesses, settlements and churches feature a black metal silhouette of a Great War British soldier. The other day I came across another soldier's silhouette in the small cathedral in Newport, South Wales. The tower arch leading into the nave was filled by a large board with a profile cut from it. The edge of the profile was grooved and a string of LEDs had been placed there. This gave emphasis to the profile, and this remarkable and affecting  effect was achieved at a nominal cost.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Medieval armour and weapons

It isn't every day that you come across a stall selling helmets, swords, daggers, axes, shields, even full suits of armour that would suit the well-dressed soldier of the middle ages. But if you go to Tewkesbury's annual Medieval Festival looking for such things you'll find stalls a-plenty and will be spoilt for choice.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M1

Europe's oldest castle doors

It is remarkable how well-made wooden doors can survive the ravages of weather, man and wood-boring beetles. During my travels I've come across several church doors that date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and one that may be even earlier. Castle doors, of course, have more to contend with than zealous parish clerks pinning notices on them. Battering rams, cannon shot and more mean that not only do they have to be strongly made, they must also be ready for an onslaught at all times. The doors in today's photograph hung in Chepstow Castle's main gateway until 1962 when they were replaced by copies and the originals displayed under cover. Dendrochronology dates them no later than the 1190s, making them the oldest castle doors in Europe.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Malvern Hills walkers

The Malvern Hills that border the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire offer a relatively gentle stroll with a few steepish climbs to summits that give magnificent views over the surrounding farmland, woods, heaths, villages and towns. Consequently it is not unusual to see a rather higher proportion of older walkers exercising their limbs, hearts and lungs, and taking in the prospects on offer - particularly on a beautiful September day as shown in the photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Peppers graffiti

Over the years I've come to mind graffiti rather less than I did. I still don't like it sprayed clandestinely on someone else's property. Or directly onto bricks or any other permanent surface. But, a nice piece on a painted wall, or a grotty corrugated steel fence, or on a surface provided for just that purpose, well, I find that inoffensive. And I certainly don't mind the owner of a property hiring someone to paint a graffiti style advertisement on their gated entrance to the back of their premises, as is the case at Peppers Cafe in Gloucester.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The Tailor of Taste

The men's clothing retailer, Burton, began life in 1903 when it was established by Montague Burton in Chesterfield. By 1929 it had over 400 stores as well as factories and mills, and was a FTSE 100 company. Today it is a brand name subsumed under the banner of the Arcadia group. The tiled sign that was part of the advertising wrapped around the store in Abergavenny may well date from those heady days in the late 1920s when the company was a familiar high street presence. The lettering is an interesting mix of the flamboyant and the spare and the sign itself was made to last - which it has done, remarkably well.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Old Market, Hereford

The Old Market Hereford is confusingly named. Yes, it was the site of an old market, but it has been completely redeveloped and everything about it shouts "new". Consequently, anyone going along hoping for some traditional atmosphere, history, old-style shops and black and white timber framing, will be disappointed because everywhere is glass, steel, concrete and brick. The owners clearly think the architecture doesn't have sufficient appeal because  a few times a year they change the "mobile" decoration that hangs above the main shopping street. This summer giant flip-flops greeted the visitor.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The Kyneburgh Tower, Gloucester

The Kyneburgh Tower in Kimbrose Square, Gloucester, is a tall (16.2 metres) piece of street sculpture. It is the work of Tom Price and dates from 2011. The piece features 60 horizontal hoop-like elements made of steel and can be viewed from afar and from inside. It isn't to my taste but I did find the view from underneath, looking upwards quite interesting. I was reminded of contour lines on a map. As is the way in England the locals have given it their own name, disregarding the reference to the Saxon princess who is the patron saint of the city: they call it the "kebab".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Purple sage

Sometimes it's hard to put into words why you like a plant: with some however, it's quite easy. I like purple sage for its individual green and purple colours, for the way these work together, and for the shape and, more especially the texture of its leaves. I particularly liked this display at Berrington Hall, Herefordshire, for the healthy, lush growth, something we have never quite achieved with the plant in our garden.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Former Paraclete Chapel, Walford

A morning cycle ride took us past this former Paraclete Chapel near Walford, Herefordshire. It was the private chapel of a country estate and was built in 1905-6 by the noted architect, George Bodley. Today it is the concert hall of a company whose headquarters is located in a local country house. For the passer by the most notable feature is the topiary work in the area where one would expect to see gravestones.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Boats by the River Wye at Chepstow

The River Wye flows into the River Severn at Chepstow. Both of these watercourses are navigable and consequently, until the advent of the railways in the nineteenth century, they carried significant river traffic. Evidence of this can still be seen in Chepstow in the form of warehouses etc. Today all the boats on the River Wye (seen above near its confluence with the Severn) are engaged in pleasure of one form or another. Shortly after taking this photograph we saw two mud-covered canoeists who had travelled down the Wye and scrambled up the tidal mud with their craft - pleasure of sorts I suppose.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Opulent medieval clothing

In July we attended the Tewkesbury Medeval Festival. This is billed as Europe's largest medieval re-enactment and, from the scale of the event, I can well believe that is the case. As well as people dressed in the finery and militaria of the period there were musicians, entertainers, food, and stalls selling everything the would-be medievalist might require. The rich materials shown in the photograph form part of a tunic, one of many for sale. As in the modern world, the clothing was available to meet the needs of the humblest serf and the highest nobility, as well as every class between.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Ledbury streetscape

I recently bought a new mobile phone that features a rather better camera than my previous phone. I've taken a few shots with it, testing its capabilities under varying conditions, and have used it for a couple of images that I'd have been unable to get because I wasn't carrying any of my "real" cameras. This streetscape of Ledbury, Herefordshire, features the well-known seventeenth century Market House. However, it wasn't the building that caught my eye so much as the mottled sky and the bright splash of the red car amongst the generally more subdued colours.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Phone

St Mary, Kempley

The small Norman church of St Mary at Kempley in Gloucestershire lies some way from the village's main cluster of buildings. An early twentieth century church of architectural significance now stands there, and St Mary's has been left in the care of English Heritage and is managed by the Friends of Kempley Church. The structure has the oldest timber roof of any building in England, and the chancel and nave feature some of the best preserved medieval wall paintings in Britain.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Earthenware jars

Today's containers are made in large factories, often shipped to customers in different countries, and betray little of their origins. Not so with vessels of the Victorian period. They often proudly proclaim either their maker's name, the place of their manufacture, the name of the recipient, the place of the recipient's business, or a mixture of some or all of these - as in the examples above photographed in the town of Chepstow, Monmouthshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Squares and octagons

The medieval church at Croft, Herefordshire, stands only a few yards from Croft Castle, a former medieval castle that was converted into a stately home. Like all such churches it speaks of the well-to-do owners next door through the state of its general fabric and its tombs. When I visited the building I took a lot of shots of the the more conventional subjects. However, the one I want to post first shows the, to my mind, attractive worn tiles of part of its floor. This pattern of squares and octagons was popular in the eighteenth century and my guess is they date from a restoration at that time.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Valerian

If your garden has poor soil, old stone walls and faces south, and you want colour with little to no effort on your part you can do worse than grow the valerian. This plant thrives in poor soil and walls that receive hot sun. Of course, once you've got it the plant will spread itself everywhere. However, for a couple of months you will have a profusion of red, pink or white blooms - or, preferably all three colours. The example in today's photograph has secured itself to a slightly restored window high up in the ruins of Tintern Abbey. One wonders just how little sustenance and water it receives from its precarious location.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

More shadows, Tintern Abbey

Our visit to Tintern Abbey was accompanied by weather not especially conducive to photographing the splendours of Gothic architecture. More clouds, less sun and a softer light would have suited me better. However, the harsh light and deep shadows did emphasise the architectural skeleton underpinning the building and the long shadows only added to this effect.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Tintern Abbey shadows

Tintern Abbey was the second  foundation by the Cistercians in Britain and the first in Wales. Like all the abbeys of this order it was built in what would have been a remote location - in this case, the valley of the River Wye. The structure was founded in 1131. Its present, ruinous state came about through Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. The early proponents of the Romantic Movement were moved by its battered skeletal form alongside the river, overlooked on both sides by heavily wooded slopes.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Chimneys and pigeons

You have to really like pigeons to welcome them on your roof and chimneys in numbers of this order: the potential for mess is considerable. The group, of which these are two thirds, were flying around looking for somewhere they could all land. The chimneys were the favoured site but they couldn't accommodate them all and apparently the roof gables just weren't good enough. The symmetry of this shot appealed to me when I saw it through the viewfinder, and felt it might look better in black and white - but it doesn't.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Listening to the music

The two people in today's photograph look like they comprise the whole of the audience for the outdoor brass band recital in Ross on Wye. Nothing could be further from the truth. There must have been around 130 people in front, to the left and to the right of the bandstand. However, this well-prepared couple had the best front row position, and their parasols gave them the shelter that the mid-afternoon sun required.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Brass band reflections

The heyday of the band stand in Britain seems to have been the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Certainly most of the structures that I see gracing Britain's parks date from those times. Today's photograph shows a member of the Bream Silver Band playing in the band stand in Ross on Wye. Unusually this band stand isn't circular, octagonal or square, may be of a later date, and doesn't display the band members quite as well as most. However, the attraction of bright uniforms and the reflections in brass and silver instruments was as compelling as ever and prompted this photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Old barn, new staircase

The conversion of old buildings to new uses is a common phenomenon in the UK today. And, regular occurrence though it may be, it still presents the owners and architects with a dilemma: should new additions mimic old examples, should they be contemporary solutions that acknowledge the building, or should they be new designs that pay no heed to their location. I always favour the second option, and that seems to be the most widely adopted approach too. Today's photography shows the staircase inserted in the medieval tithe barn in Abergavenny, Wales. Its sharp modern angles and steel are dissonant notes but the glass allows the old material to show through and the wood echoes one of the original building materials. My photograph required a strong silhouette to make the composition work better, and my wife obliged.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Old adverts, Ross on Wye

Old, enamel advertisements are much prized these days. People value their artwork and lettering that speaks of a different, simpler time. Some of these adverts have simply remained in the place where they were first fixed, their continued presence a testament to the durability of the materials from which they were fashioned. Others are deliberately placed in prominent places to catch the eye. This facade in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, is a riotous example of the latter. Interestingly, few of the advertised brands are still extant.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Votive candles

It seems to me that votive candles are much more commonly seen in parish churches than formerly. The practice of buying a candle, lighting it and praying or simply thinking has had a resurgence for reasons that I can't work out. In cathedrals and larger churches that actively invite visitors they have been a continuing presence, flickering points of light in the darkness of the interiors. Today's examples were in Gloucester Cathedral. My snap demonstrates that even a one inch sensor can offer a shallow depth of field and reasonable out of focus effects when it is coupled with a bright f1.8 lens.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Medieval fortified bridge, Monmouth

The medieval bridge over the River Monnow in Monmouth, Wales, is one of only two remaining examples in Britain that is fortified (the other is at Warkworth, Northumberland). It links parts of the town at a point about 500 metres above the Monnow's confluence with the River Wye. Building began in 1272 to replace a timber bridge. It remains in use today as a pedestrian bridge and in the intervening years it has been used as a toll gate, gaol, munitions store, lodge and support for advertising hoardings! It was a subject much loved by seventeenth and eighteenth century artists and notable works depicting it were produced by Turner and Cotman.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Almshouses, Ross on Wye

Almshouse, humble dwellings for the poor, are not uncommon in the towns of England. They were often built and paid for by a wealthy merchant or landowner, and it is quite usual to find them still fulfilling this charitable function. The individual dwellings of the Webbe's Almshouses in Ross on Wye, built in 1612 and enlarged in the eighteenth century, originally housed 7 people (or more likely families). Today the properties have been enlarged and are home to fewer people. The curved steps in the foreground form an entrance to the churchyard from which I took my photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100