Tewkesbury Abbey decorative metalwork

In the medieval past the cost of the upkeep of the nave of a church usually fell to the lay congregation. However, the chancel and everything therein was funded by the church i.e the clergy, since it was their private domain in which they worked. But, since much of the money of the clergy derived from tithes paid by the laity, the congregation's pockets were hit twice. This pattern of cost sharing was true of many cathedrals and greater churches too. Consequently beautiful embellishments were made in the chancel, less so in the nave. And these embellishments were hidden from the congregation in the nave by rood screens, gates etc. This gate, which looks to be of Victorian origin, separates the choir from the crossing and nave at Tewkesbury Abbey. Today, in keeping with the times, it is usually open.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Anthemion

When I was being taught about the history of art and architecture I learnt to to distinguish anthemion and palmette ornament on the basis that the former was derived from the honeysuckle flower and the latter from palm leaves. Today, it seems, that distinction no longer applies and the two types of Egyptian, classical and renaissance ornament are grouped as variations of a single form. That is an unusual trend: usually finer classifications prevail over a reduction in types. The anthemion design in today's photograph is part of the cast iron railings that formed part of the perimeter of Gloucester Docks and is presumably of the late Georgian or, more likely, Victorian period.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Ornate pub window

Britain's Victorian and Edwardian public houses (pubs) sometimes seem to have been decorated on the premiss that more is better. Ornate designs covered most surfaces, particularly walls and any area that was tiled. The latter often included the whole of the exterior. Windows were rarely left untouched. Typically they told whether the room behind the glass was the public bar or the saloon bar, and frequently designs celebrated the pub's individual name. This example, that I passed in London, is a mass of cartouches, foliage, flowers and fruit, with at its centre what looks to be a thrush or blackbird.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100