Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor is a small, steep hill that rises to a height of 518 feet (158m) above the low-lying Somerset Levels, an area of pasture, peat, and marsh. The conical hill is formed of Blue Lias and clay and, with its church tower on the summit, is a notable landmark visible from great distances.

 

click image to enlarge

The Tor is associated with the legend of King Arthur, and is mentioned in many early writings. It is thought to have been used by Iron Age peoples and was England's pre-eminent place of pilgrimage in medieval times along with the adjacent Abbey, Glastonbury Thorn, Chalice Well and the town itself. Today no visit to Glastonbury is complete without enjoying the view from the top of the hill. Both photographs were taken from Wearyall Hill, a low summit of 226 feet (69m) to the west of the Tor.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Pump Rooms, Tenbury Wells

In 1839-40 saline springs were discovered in the Worcestershire town of Tenbury causing it to change its name to Tenbury Wells. In the Victorian period many towns developed such "wells" and "spas" as genteel holiday attractions with an emphasis on visitors being able to "take the waters" for the sake of their health. This often necessitated the construction of buildings that housed the wells and spas, as well as hotels to accommodate the increased number of visitors.

Many of the spa buildings featured traditional classical architectural styles. However, others sought something more novel as at Tenbury Wells. The Pump Rooms here were the work of the Birmingham architect, James Cranston (1821-71), and are quite innovative and light-hearted, using a prefabricated system of his own design that borrowed ideas from large glasshouses. Pevsner thought it "Gothicky" or "Chinese". To my mind the buildings recall English seaside pier pavilions or low-cost eastern European churches.

photo 1 © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2
photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Spectacles shadows

As we were sitting at an outdoor cafe waiting for our coffee I placed my spectacles on the slatted, wooden table. The sun threw sharp shadows and bright patches from the lenses and frames. I moved the glasses around to get a better composition then took the shot with my iPhone. Taking a photograph of a subject - whatever it is - increases our understanding of it as we give the motionless image more attention. I had never before noticed the multiple, stacked lines seen on the outer part of the left lens in this photograph. But now I have I notice I can readily position my spectacles to make it visible. What I can't do, however, is explain why it happens.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Parched Malvern Hills

On a recent family walk up to Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point of the Malvern Hills. A strong wind was blowing so we sheltered a little way down from the summit in the lee of some rocks. There we ate our packed lunch as we sat and looked northwards. The extremely dry summer had banished the green of British Isles grass and replaced it with the yellow brown more typical of southern continental Europe. The sunny warmth of the holiday period had brought walkers out in force and they can be seen dotted about the photograph. The view shows North Hill on the right with Table Hill to its left. Green Valley (usually well-named but not on this day) is in the middle distance. The track across the centre of the photograph is Lady Howard de Walden Drive. This is named after a local resident who, in Victorian times, gave £4000 for the construction of footpaths on the Malverns.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Abbey Cottages, Tewkesbury

This continuous, curved row of twenty three timber-framed cottages has been called "one of the earliest surviving English examples of uniform medieval town development". It is on Church Street in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, near the Abbey, which can be seen on the left of the photograph. The row is not perfect; a couple of inserted facades and buildings do mar it, but what remains gives us a good idea of the kind of street frontage that must have featured in many medieval towns. Today it is called Abbey Cottages and that may have been its original name since it was built in the early 1500s as a speculative venture by the abbey's monks. See a further image of the end of the row here.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Painted Lady

In the Victorian period "painted lady" was a derogatory term for a "disreputable" woman. Today it is widely known as the English language name of a colourful butterfly, Vanessa cardui. The example in the photograph is feeding on the nectar of a white buddleia, a background colour that probably suits it better than the usual purple variety of that plant. In Britain the painted lady is migratory, arriving in May and June. Researchers think that its southward autumn migration is unseen because it happens at high altitude.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Norman architecture

It's common for architectural historians to have favourite periods. For some it is the elegance and good sense of the Georgian era. Others prefer the Englishness of Arts and Crafts. And there are even those who have a liking for the watered-down English version of the Modern style of the first half of the twentieth century.

When it comes to medieval Romanesque and Gothic people often have a preference - maybe Early English rather than Decorated, or Perpendicular over Norman. I have no strong feelings for one style over another but I do confess to liking Saxon/Norman more than most people. On a recent tour I admired the grand and somewhat gloomy Norman style at Winchester Cathedral (top photo) and the more modest, but no less interesting arches, columns, capitals and decorative features of St John Baptist at Devizes (bottom photo).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

(Dandelion and) Burdock

When I was a child one of the the most popular carbonated soft drinks was called "dandelion and burdock". It was dark brown and sold in glass bottles (with a small refund for an empty return) by most of the manufacturers of such beverages. Today it is quite difficult to find and its distinctive taste has been all but lost, having been supplanted by ubiquitous global brands. Dandelion and burdock has been drunk in Britain since the Middle Ages and is one of several drinks based on plant roots: in this instance those of the dandelion (Taraxacum officianale) and burdock (Arctium lappa). Today's photograph shows burdock flowers with their charcteristic velcro-like hooked bracts designed to catch on passing animals and thereby spread the plants' seeds. These "sticky" seed heads are much loved by children who throw them at one another aiming to make them stick on their friends' clothing.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Winchester Cathedral choir

The seating area where cathedral choir members sit and stand as they take part in a service is called, sometimes helpfully, other times unfortunately, the "choir". The confusion arises when the listener doesn't know whether the word applies to people or the place. It would be better if the term chancel was always used to described the place rather than interchangeably with "choir". Winchester Cathedral choir (above) is quite typical of English cathedral choirs with tall wooden canopies rising above and behind facing rows of benches and individual seating.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Instant city

click image to enlarge

During a family walk on the Malvern Hills in August we looked down and saw that an instant city had appeared at the Three Counties Showground. It was a massive assembly of caravans and motorhomes with a few (very few) tents. As we walked up the crests of the hills we chatted about the reasons why anyone in their right minds would want to gather in this way, and we couldn't come up with an answer. However, a quick internet search revealed the two-fold reasons. Firstly, it was a show of new products by dealers in caravans and motorhomes, and secondly there was live country and western music - all this over a three day period. And, as I pondered further, I still couldn't come up with a reason why anyone in their right minds would want to gather in this way!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire is the longest Gothic cathedral in Europe at 556 feet (169 metres). However, for all its length it is not very tall and looks smaller than it is due to the crossing tower being quite low and the absence of other tall external features. When you also consider that the surrounding buildings are quite close then the photographer is presented with a challenge when it comes to capturing a of the exterior.

A walk around the cathedral gives the visitor an impression of a building that grew piecemeal rather than from an overarching plan. However, that view is based on a single visit in glaring light. Subsequent visits might moderate that impression. The first photograph shows the south transept and crossing tower, the second adds a view of the east end.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

What are these buildings?

In Herefordshire and Worcestershire hops have long been grown for use in the beer brewing industry, and hops are grown still. In the past they were dried in specially designed tall buildings known locally as hop kilns. Many of these charming structures and their adjoining buildings can still be seen with some having been converted into living accommodation. On a recent visit to Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, we came upon two small versions of these hop kilns in a street near the centre of the town. I didn't pay them much attention when we first passed by, being more interested in getting to the building we had specifically come to see. But as we passed them later on I went across to see what they were. To my surprise they were the town's public toilets!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Chantry chapels, Winchester Cathedral

Chantry chapels were built mainly in churches and cathedrals towards the east end of the building. They were usually closed, with entry by a door, and usually had an altar and a bequest of money attached to them. This was used to pay a priest to say prayers and services for the soul of  the builder of the chapel after his death. In many, perhaps most, this was expected to continue in perpetuity.

In England they flourished from the late 1100s to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Many chantries, after closure, became Lady Chapels. Most English Cathedrals have chantry chapels, sometimes large, often relatively modest. On our first visit to Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire we were surprised to see the scale and opulence of the chantries.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Paddle boarders on the River Wye

The exceptionally hot summer has brought what appears to be an exceptional number of watersports ethusiasts and first-timers to the River Wye at Ross on Wye. Canoeists, either with their own craft, or using one rented out by the commercial companies, are in a majority. However, paddle boards are quickly catching up. The question for each paddle boarder to answer is; to stand, kneel or sit? These three standing paddle boarders are atypical in that two appear to be carrying items in waterproof bags and the third has forgotten to attach the cord to his body.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Close, Salisbury Cathedral

A close is the area of land, often with hard or grassed open space and buildings that surround most, though not all, cathedrals. It frequently holds administrative buildings that are adjuncts to the cathedral, sometimes it has a cathedral school or an ancient Bishop's Palace. The cathedral close at Salisbury is the largest such space in England at 80 acres (32 hectares) and widely regarded as the most beautiful. Substantial remains of the fourteenth century wall that surrounded it can still be seen. It has twenty one Grade 1 Listed Buildings, many of which resemble small country houses, as do the two in today's photograph, the Walton Canonry and Myles Place.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300