Worcester Cathedral and King John

This photograph was taken from in front of the high altar in Worcester Cathedral. It is a fine prospect showing off many of the best features of medieval architecture (and the careful work of Victorian restorers). In the foreground, in a place of honour, is the tomb of King John. Amongst English monarchs King John is possibly the most reviled. Successive tellings of the story of Robin Hood have him as the usurper of King Richard I, and his quarrels with the barons leading to Magna Carta frame him as quarrelsome, spiteful and reluctant to relinquish any of his powers. More recently historians have credited his hard working nature, administrative skills and generalship. None of this has affected his resting place; he was placed in the cathedral in 1216 and he remains there still.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Repaired FZ1000 2

I recently had an email from someone who said they'd noticed that in recent months I was using my Lumix FZ1000 2 pretty much to the exclusion of my other cameras. That's true and the reason is that during last year it developed an intermittent then a more regular fault: namely it sometimes refused to change focal lengths by either of the two methods available to the user. Not until that occurred at a frequency that enabled me to show it to the store I bought it from, and let them experience the problem, did I do anything about it. They sent it for repair which took a month. Since then I've been keen to confirm that the repair is long lasting by using the camera a lot. I'm now at the point where I'm confident it has been properly fixed.

Today's photograph is one in my continuing series of interesting cafe interiors. Groin vaulting, blank arcades of the Norman period, and a floor made of massive tiles of great age are just a few of the attractions in this cafe located in the former cloisters of Worcester Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Worcester's swans

A gathering of up to two hundred mute swans can be seen on the River Severn in Worcester between Worcester Bridge and the cathedral and this area has been designated a swan sanctuary where fishing is not allowed. Bags of specially prepared food are available for the birds in bags labelled The Swan Food Project (a local voluntary group). This is a necessity since the river at this location does not supply enough food for this number of swans. On the day of our visit black-headed gulls were helping to polish off the food thrown by visitors.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Worcester Cathedral nave

A day out in Worcester began with a walk along the riverside to the cathedral. We entered by the north porch and had a look around the nave. As we moved to the crossing we found our way into the transepts and choir blocked by barriers. It seems that Storm Arwen, at the end of November 2021, dislodged part of a tower pinnacle that crashed onto a north aisle roof, piercing the lead covering and cracking some of the underlying vaulting. Work is in progress to restore the affected stonework and re-open the closed areas. None of this could be seen on our approach to the building but as we departed via the cathedral green we could see great areas of sheeting fixed in place to keep rain from penetrating. We'll make a point of checking on progress on our next visit.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Chain mail in stone

This tomb effigy of a recumbent knight in chain mail can be found in Worcester Cathedral. A brass nameplate identifies it as Guillaume de Harcourt (d.1223 Lord of Stanton Harcourt), first son of Robert (d.1202 Sheriff of Warwick and Leicester) and Isabel Harcourt. From what I can find out, some or all of this may be wrong. Pevsner describes him as a member of the Harcourt family in the fourteenth century, and many other dates are ascribed. Multiple members of the family called Robert or William don't help. His missing nose was probably the result of a zealous puritan. The tomb seems to have been repainted in 1805, probably following the traces of original paint that survived.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

A First World War memorial window

Often memorial windows to those who fought and were injured or died in the two major wars of the twentieth century contain calm, reflective, sombre images. But a minority seek to show something of the fury and horror of mechanized warfare depicting combatants, machine guns, armoured vehicles, aircraft etc. The photograph above is a detail of a stained glass window in Worcester Cathedral and it clearly falls into the latter category. It dates from about 1921 and is by the Scottish artist, James Eadie Reid (1868-1928) who, as well as working in stained glass, designed wall murals for churches.

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