Houses, Castle Street, Hereford

I've wanted to photograph this pair of houses for some time but I've always been thwarted by vehicles parked in front of them - until one September morning. The buildings date from the early nineteenth century and exemplify some of the characteristics of the style we call Regency. The French windows, louvres, the ornate cast-iron verandah with its sheet metal roof, are all of this period, as is the symmetry. One thing I find odd is that this recess, set back from the road, holds a pair of houses rather than a single, grander mansion. Another is that pink of the front doors.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Windows, louvres and shadows

Louvres have proliferated on modern buildings as architects have wrestled with the problem of solar gain. In the eighteenth century the louvres were in the form of shutters that closed across the outside of a window. Today they can be fixed in place with movable vanes. Other designs are immovable and only have an effect when the sun is at a particular angle. In some buildings the louvres become the main decorative element as well as having a functional role. The photograph shows the louvres on part of Gloucestershire College in Gloucester. They are fixed above the windows and project outwards. throwing shade across the window as the sun moves across the face of the building. In bright sunlight the shadows enliven the relatively plain facade.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100