Medieval fortified bridge, Monmouth

The medieval bridge over the River Monnow in Monmouth, Wales, is one of only two remaining examples in Britain that is fortified (the other is at Warkworth, Northumberland). It links parts of the town at a point about 500 metres above the Monnow's confluence with the River Wye. Building began in 1272 to replace a timber bridge. It remains in use today as a pedestrian bridge and in the intervening years it has been used as a toll gate, gaol, munitions store, lodge and support for advertising hoardings! It was a subject much loved by seventeenth and eighteenth century artists and notable works depicting it were produced by Turner and Cotman.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Almshouses, Ross on Wye

Almshouse, humble dwellings for the poor, are not uncommon in the towns of England. They were often built and paid for by a wealthy merchant or landowner, and it is quite usual to find them still fulfilling this charitable function. The individual dwellings of the Webbe's Almshouses in Ross on Wye, built in 1612 and enlarged in the eighteenth century, originally housed 7 people (or more likely families). Today the properties have been enlarged and are home to fewer people. The curved steps in the foreground form an entrance to the churchyard from which I took my photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

A May landscape

On one of a recent series of unseasonally hot days we visited a number of places in and near the Forest of Dean. A bright blue sky, the absence of cloud and a significant haze encouraged me to point my camera down. A location at the top of one of the ruinous walls of Goodrich Castle near Ross on Wye provided this photograph of an oak tree in a field of wheat, the carefully tended crop contrasting with the pasture, trees and woodland beyond.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Stairwell shadows

My absence in recent weeks has been in connection with our relocation to Herefordshire: a new place to live always necessitates work, and domestic duties have displaced photography. That situation will continue for a few weeks more. However I will return to regular posting thereafter. The photograph above took no more effort than picking up my camera and taking the shot that I had noticed on the stairwell. The two framed flower photographs are images that appeared several years ago on PhotoReflect and the low, evening sun (almost) framed them again.

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

Colourful houses

This terrace of houses in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, probably dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. It would have been built as "worker housing". Over the years they will have needed maintenance, renovation and updating. And, somewhere along the line, probably in the second half of the twentieth century, one of the occupiers decided they needed an injection of strong colour. Other neighbours seem to have followed suit, each determined to chooses a different shade. I wouldn't choose any of these bright colours for my house, but I enjoyed seeing them together en masse, hence my photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Tomb of King Edward II

There is a general expectation that royal tombs, particularly those of kings and queens, will be found in London. Certainly they can be found in the capital's major churches. However, the cathedrals of the provinces have their share too. King Edward II (1284-1327) was buried in Gloucester Cathedral after a period of turmoil in which his queen turned against him and his place as king was taken by his fourteen year old son. The cause of his demise at Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, has long been thought to be murder.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Cloisters, Gloucester Cathedral

Cinematic representations of the Middle Ages have begun to correct one of the most glaring errors that were perpetrated when representing those relatively primitive times. I mean, of course, the amount of light that was to be found inside buildings. It is hard for us to imagine how gloomy it was with only feeble flames to illuminate interiors, and the license of film-makers was understandable. Would cinema audiences be prepared to peer at the the dimly recognisable faces of actors in the darkness? Possibly not. But more light-sensitive cameras combined with realistic levels of lighting now frequently, and satisfactorily, portray those dingy days. I pondered this as I photographed my wife walking through the pools of shadow and light in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Malvern Hills with snow remnants

Our relocation from Lincolnshire to Herefordshire coincided with the snowiest winter of recent years. There have been three substantial falls, all of which have left remnants, usually drifts, that have lingered. A recent sunny morning in late March found us walking along the crest of the Malvern Hills enjoying the views and braving the icy wind. From the Iron Age hill fort known as British Camp I took this shot along the Hills. The light gave the view an appearance of spring but the temperature, the patches of snow and the muted colours told only of late winter.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Lone trees

It is not unusual to see an unflawed field of winter wheat with one or two large trees marring its perfection. When I do it sets me wondering. Has the field recently been pasture where the animals benefited from the shade? Was there once a hedge containing the trees that was, with the exception of the trees, easily removed? Or does the farmer have a liking for the trees as objects in the landscape or contributors to biodiversity? This pair have had their lower branches removed to allow the close passage of farm vehicles so it looks like they will be around for a while.

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

Reredos and vaulting, Worcester Cathedral

In the 1870s George Gilbert Scott undertook a major restoration of Worcester Cathedral. This included the reredos and vaulting seen in today's photograph. It is customary in larger English churches for the amount of decoration in the choir to increase until it reaches a climax at the high altar. Scott's work reflects this tradition with the massed angels of the vaulting above the altar replacing the delicate foliage scrolls and roundels with saints elsewhere.

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