Medieval tiles, Cleeve Abbey

It isn't unusual to come across medieval tiles in cathedrals and monastic buildings, and it's very common to find Victorian tiles influenced by their designs. However, the number of such tiles is often quite low, which isn't the case at Cleeve Abbey in Somerset. Here there are thousands with a variety of heraldic designs all dating from the 1200s. They show similarities to tiles in Salisbury Cathedral Chapter House and Clarendon Palace. Cleeve's tiles are well-protected and displayed by English Heritage.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Hereford Cathedral - looking west from the choir

click image to enlarge

One of the pleasures of photographing the interior of a large church or cathedral in winter is that, cloudless sunny days excepted, a photograph often combines elements that are lit by artificial light and others lit by natural light. The artificial light usually has an orange tinge while the naturally lit areas have a blue cast. Those distinctions are clear on this photograph - the stonework, woodwork and the tiled floor of the choir are lit by electric light; the massive stonework of the nave columns and the vaulting ribs (with the exception of the arches of the arcades) have the blue cast of natural light entering through the nave windows.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

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