Derelict timber-framed house, Mordiford

On a recent walk near Mordiford we came upon this derelict old house. It is a classic Herefordshire, timber-framed structure, though quite a bit smaller than most such remaining buildings. It now stands in splendid isolation in a grass paddock but presumably it had adjacent outbuildings, gardens etc. What is interesting is the way it displays the elements of the structure that are usually hidden from view today. A stone plinth supports the timber framework comprising panels filled with vertical wooden staves. These were usually hazel, chestnut or oak. Interwoven horizontally are pliable withies or wands. Here unbarked hazel or ash was usual, the whole forming a basket-like structure onto which was plastered clay mixed with straw or hair. This type of infill is called wattle and daub.

The brick infill is very likely to be a later replacement of the older materials. Any other stonework is associated with a chimney which, of course, needed to be fire-proof. The slate roof will also be later and may have replaced tiles, or less likely, thatch. The brick extension at the back will also be later. When was the house built? It could be as late as the early nineteenth century but is likely to be quite a bit earlier than that. As far as I can see it has not been Listed as being of historic or architectural interest.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Disused Hull dock and warehouse, 1982

One of my tasks during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic has been to ensure that all our family photographs are digitised by scanning. Most had been done prior to this year, but a few collections of transparencies (slides), prints and negatives came to light and they have been worked through. The activity has revealed transparencies and negatives that haven't seen the light of day since they were exposed. Here are a couple.

They were taken on different days (and months) in 1982 and show the disused Humber Dock, the bridged link to Railway Dock, and the warehouses that stand by the docks. Today both these stretches of water are part of Hull Marina. The warehouse has been converted into flats and the whole site has new buildings, car parks, chandlery services, hotels etc. In other words a centre of bustling marine activity.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OM1n    1982

Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super-Mare

The sad sight seen in this photograph is the slowly collapsing Birnbeck Pier at the northern end of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. It was built in 1867 and is the only pier in Britain that links the mainland to an island. Unusually, it has a jetty that projects from the main pavilion that was used by ships bringing day visitors to the pier from towns along the Bristol Channel. The pier was initially popular but suffered steady decline over the years, despite successive attempts to revive it. It finally closed to the public in 1994. A lifeboat station used the pier for much of its life but this closed in 2015. The Grade 2 listed structure is, unsurprisingly, on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register.

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

The feral pigeon

The feral pigeons that we see in the towns and cities of Britain are the domesticated descendants of the rock dove (Columba livia), a wild bird that is still native to the UK. The feral versions carry the same Latin name even though in many (though not all) instances they look quite different from their wild ancestor. Today the truly wild rock doves inhabit a just a few northerly sea cliff locations. However, their descendants are everywhere. This feral pigeon, perched on a sill at the old Borough Flour Mill at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, perhaps saw the building as an inland cliff.

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