Cafe and boiled egg

As we passed a pavement cafe in Cheltenham I did a double take and walked back to get a photograph of the artwork and outdoor furniture. The egg in its cup makes an interesting focus for the composition, and as I went on my way I wondered just how popular boiled eggs served in an egg cup are today. They are something that I associate with childhood breakfasts. But perhaps I'm not typical.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

43 Portland Street, Cheltenham

My first thought on seeing 43 Portland Street, Cheltenham was "Why would you do such a thing?" Here we have a pleasant enough stone-faced villa in the classical style, dating from around 1830 or 1840, with a plain pediment above a three-bay front, four full-height Ionic pilasters, a central entrance and ground floor rustication. On to this carefully composed building someone, probably in the C19, added rendered wings that in no way complement the original building and succeed in making it look like it is being squashed from both sides. The perpetrator of this crime didn't even make it completely symmetrical - spot the first floor drip-mould on the left wing that is missing from the right wing. Amazing!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Memorial to Henry Skillicorne

It is common to find memorials to wealthy departed people in churches. Many convey only the basic details of the person - name and date of death are the minimum. Most, however, include more information such as the spouse's name, their occupation, notable offices held by the individual etc. These offer fascinating insights into the period and person they describe. Sometimes, however, the eulogising goes way over the top making the deceased seem like a latter-day saint and giant of the community. This memorial, in Cheltenham Minster, to a Manx sea captain, Henry Skillicorne, is reputed to be the longest memorial in the country and a fascinating insight into the busy life of someone who was instrumental in establishing Cheltenham as a spa town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham

Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham is a mineral spa building commissioned in 1825 by the landowner and developer, Joseph Pitt. It was to be the focal point of Pittville, his new town, and features Ionic columns based on the Temple of Illisus in Athens. The architect was John Forbes of Cheltenham. He completed the £90,000 building in 1830 just at the point when "taking the waters" began to decline in popularity. In 1889 Cheltenham borough council bought the Pump Room. After being used as a store during WW2 restoration work was undertaken and it was re-opened in 1960. Today it is a venue for concerts and other events and the mineral water may still be sampled.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Trabeated and arcuated

For much of human history significant buildings were either arcuated or trabeated. That is to say, the structure was dependent on either arches or posts and lintels to provide the walls and interior spaces. Romanesque and Gothic architecture, for example, are arcuated. Stonehenge, Ancient Greek and much early industrial architecture is trabeated. These two words came to mind as we walked past the John Lewis department store in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire recently. The concrete outer frame and columns of the facade appear to be trabeated. But then we have curves and pointed arches in each segment of the facade. As I studied the arrangement of the materials it occurred to me that probably neither word applied here and a modern steel and concrete frame underpinned the building. What ever the construction the building presents a welcome break from the rendered and painted Regency style that dominates the town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Regency shadows, Cheltenham

The Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham is a product of the Regency period (c.1795-1837). In 1788 George III stayed in the then market town. This event alongside the discovery of mineral springs and the construction of buildings to facilitate "taking the waters" led to a rapid expansion of the town. Today much of the private housing, parks, hotels, shops and civic buildings of that period remains and is a major attraction that draws visitors to the town. Most of the Regency houses are in the Renaissance style and many are rendered and painted. As we walked near Prittville Park I photographed this detail of one such house. The photograph may look like a black and white shot but I can assure you that it is colour.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Photographing stairs

I've always liked stairs, and like many others, I've always liked photographing stairs. Stairs vary from the utilitarian to the highly decorative, from those designed to impress to those built with the minimum cost and materials that simply aim to get people from one storey to another. Over the centuries architects have come up with ever more inventive designs for stairs and they are a subject I've posted on this blog reasonably regularly. The example above is in the museum and gallery in Cheltenham. I like the materials used and how the stairs' change of direction is handled. I also liked the pair of legs visible at the ground floor level!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

The Montpellier Caryatids

Montpellier Walk in Cheltenham is noted for the Caryatid figures that separate each shop from its neighbour along the street. A sign mounted on a building by the Cheltenham Civic Society explains how they came to be. "In 1843 some terracotta "Armless Ladies" modelled by the London sculptor Rossi were incorporated in the new bowed entrance to Montpellier Walk. Their design was loosely based on statues on the Acropolis in Athens. Between 1843 and the 1850s additional Caryatids were carved by W.G. Brown of Tivoli and added to the shops which replaced the avenue of trees in Montpellier Walk."

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100