10
Sep
2009
City of St Albans
St Albans has a long history connected to London. It was once a day’s ride from London, so became a major stop for the coach trade. Today at about a half hour by train, it’s become a charming bedroom community. But the history here is longer still, being the site of an ancient Roman town and the first Christian martyr from Britain.
St Albans Clock Tower
St Albans is home to the only remaining 15th century clock towers in England. This tower was apparently something of a snub to the nearby monastery clock tower also visible from the town. The locals were basically saying we run our own lives here. It was nearly demolished in the 18th century but was saved and restored and stands today as a museum in the center of town.
St Albans Abbey
This is known as the Abbey to the locals, although it’s actually in current times a cathedral of the Anglican church. There have been a succession of buildings in this general area dedicated to St Alban. The original roman town was in fact relocated to be nearer this place because of its heritage as the site of the death of St Alban. He was martyred in this area sometime before 324 AD and became the first Christian martyr in Briain. For years this was a site of pilgrimage, hence the relocation of the village to be nearer the visitors (and their trade). The tower at the rear of this picture is what remains of the original Norman structure from 1077. The rest is romanticized Gothic from a 19th century restoration. The wealthy benefactor fancied himself an architect and chose the style of the restoration, apparently not in keeping with what had been there. This shot includes an interesting atmospheric anomaly. As you can tell by the light on the church, the sun was behind me, but there was some sort of reflection/diffraction of light in the cloudy sky, so truly a unique photo of this old church!
For more photo prints of Britain, please check out my British prints gallery.
8
Sep
2009
Villages and Towns of Southern England
There’s a special charm to the small villages I’ve seen in southern England, centuries of history, often with one or two grand old building but otherwise fairly simple places.
Church of St Cyriac
More often than not, the village’s church is one of the grander buildings. In the small village of Lacock in Wiltshire, their Church of St. Cyriac was very picturesque. Granted the whole village is lovely – and because of its vintage charm often used in period movies/serials like Pride and Prejudice. Although there has been a church here at least since Norman times, the present one was built in the 15th century when times were prosperous due to the wool and cloth trade.
St Johns Church Glastonbury
Another grand church also from the 15th century is St Johns Church in Glastonbury. Glastonbury is a bit bigger and is well known because of the annual Glastonbury music festival. The towns shops reflect a lot of this free spirit but like any old English town, it has a long history. Archaeology shows that there’s been a church on this site since at least the 9th century. The current church, though, is most impressive and imposing!
Dark Tor
I hinted a bit at the history of this place, not unlike many places in this part of the country, there are many legends about this place, chiefly of Arthur. Some believe that this Tor, which once rose out of a marshy land long since drained, is fabled Avalon. The gorgeous old tower in this shot, however, is much more modern. It’s all that remains of a 14th century church that once stood here. It was destroyed during the dissolution of the monastic system in 1539 and the tower was restored in modern times. It’s a bit of a climb through pastures, but on a paved path and affords a wonderful view of the town. The darkness of this shot definitely feels like something from a legend or tale.
For more prints of Britain, please check out my Britain Gallery.
5
Sep
2009
Cornish Ruins
The countryside of Cornwall is dotted with old treasures, ruins that could range in age from centuries to millennia. But they all have a rich history.
Memory Of The Land
Lanyon Quoit is on the older end. Built around 2500 BC, this neolithic dolmen is a also known as The Giants Table. In later times, people, who couldn’t fathom how they were constructed, believed objects like this to be the work of a race of giants. Possibly part of a tomb mound or possibly a ritual site, this was undoubtedly a place of great significance to the builders. It does not appear as it originally did. In the 19th century, it ws knocked down in a strong storm. Originally it had four supports and was much taller. It was rebuilt by the locals in 1875 as we see it today. Not surprisingly, there are also stories that King Arthur visited here.
Legends Of Arthur
Some sites are less ancient, despite appearances. This is Tintagel Castle, built in the 13th century by an earl of Cornwall. He was convinced that this site on the coast was the place where Arthur was conceived in the legends of the fabled King. He had the castle built to appear older than it was. The site didn’t hold much importance and the castle was largely abandoned within a century and left to fall into the ruins we see today. In the time of the Victorians, there was a resurgence in interest in the legends of Arthur and Tintagel became a tourist destination. Images like this are less common in my portfolio to date, but is actually a composite image. My photo of Tintagel castle was overlaid over an early 1900’s letter from my great grandfather to great grandmother. The yellowed tones and the script helps add to a romantic feeling I was hoping to achieve with this image.
For more prints from the United Kingdom, please check out my Britain Gallery.
3
Sep
2009
City of Bath
Among many stops on my Haggis Tour wander to and from Cornwall was the City of Bath. I was quite looking forward to seeing the old Roman Baths that give the modern city its name, but I knew very little else about the city. What I learned was that the night and half day we were there was not nearly enough and I intend to return one day.
Sulis Minerva
First of course, I have to get in a little detail about the history of Bath. Back in the days when the ancient Romans occupied Britannia, Bath was the site of one of their outposts, Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sul). But the history of the site reaches back in time further than the Romans, it was a holy site to the Britons. They felt the healing waters of the natural springs here were the work of their goddess, Sul. Sul represented the boundary between the worlds. The Romans liked to incorporate the local deities into their pantheon and they felt that Sul was the equivalent of their Minerva. Thus, they dedicated the site to Sulis Minerva. This head is the remnants of a beautiful Roman statue that would have once stood in the temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva at what we now know as Bath. The baths themselves are still present and if you are even an armchair archaeologist/historian, you’ll enjoy getting to see the inner workings of the Roman baths (which still hold water), but everything pretty much above ground level at the baths is a Victorian re-imagining of what would have been there so I was only mildly interested in photographing it. Still, an amazing site to visit for a few hours, but not all there is to Bath!
Shopping on Pulteney Bridge
Bath is known for it’s Georgian Architecture. It’s the time period when Bath became the place to be among the affluent and the city really boomed. And I have to say again, that I really didn’t have sufficient time to really capture it all, but this is one shot I really liked from Pulteney Bridge. This bridge over the River Avon is one of four like it in the world where shops fully line both sides of the bridge. Built in 1773, there have been alterations over the years, but restoration of the facades was completed in 1951 and this is a grade 1 listed building with English Heritage.
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Another must see if you only have a little bit of time in Bath is Bath Abbey. Although the site started life as a Benedictine Monastery, today it is an Anglican parish church – quite a grand one though! It’s style is perpendicular Gothic, owing to the last major constructions done on the building in the 16th century. It’s been restored since but the style from that period remains. Ths church is widely known for its elaborate fan vaulting in the ceilings in the nave (although it’s a Victorian restoration of what was originally there in the 1600’s). This photo was shot in the particularly dreary early morning hours on the day we left Bath. Still, it gives a lot to the drama in this photo that you would never have gotten on a beautiful clear day.
Bath Abbey
One more photo of that gorgeous old Abbey. This one was taken at dusk as darkness was descending and they had turned on the lights on the outside of the Abbey. There’s obvious distortion because this was taken with what’s known as a Fish eye lens – it’s ultra wide angle but also due to its shape produces a very exaggerated field of view. I try to use it sparingly, but sometime you can produce some really beautiful images like this one with it.
For more photos of England and the rest of the United Kingdom, be sure to check out my Britain Prints!
25
Aug
2009
Stonehenge On The Plains
On my last trip to the UK, there was some repeat stops. Since this was my 5th visit to Britain, this should not be a surprise, however. The truth was, that my last visit to Stonehenge had been over 4 years earlier and before I bought a digital SLR and truly got into photography seriously, so it was time to return.
Ancient Plains
The second time through, I skipped the audio tour. They may well have updated it in the past four years, but I really just wanted to wander around and take photos and enjoy the view in relative silence. Unfortunately, a large road is nearby, which somewhat kills the feeling of those still plains that must have once existed, but it’s still an incredible place to visit. The skies shifted a lot during our time there as clouds rapidly passed by and the light (when there was any light) was special.
Round The Henge
The day we visited, I noticed that a professor I’d seen on the history channel, Mike Parker Pearson, was filming a piece on Stonehenge. The professor has put forth one of the newest theories on the purpose of Stonehenge. He believed that there would be a second site near Stonehenge and discovered a wooden contemporary village down a nearby river. He put forth the idea that the wooden village was occupied primarily at the spring and fall equinoxes and that on those days, the people who built Stonehenge visited it to celebrate and to mourn the fallen whose cremated remains where left behind here. It makes logical sense for a people who were far more tied to the seasons than most of us are today. But you have to wonder if we will ever really know the minds of the people who built this place 5,000 years ago.
Ruins Of The Lost
A last view of this incredible ancient monument to a lost people. I’ve been twice and although I would love to see more of these ancient stone age sites, I would gladly visit Stonehenge again. I’d love to get the chance to visit on an Equinox and see what the ancients saw. Sadly, I’ve heard from more than one person that Stonehenge was a disappointment. It failed to live up to their expectations! I find it hard to believe, but it’s not as large as some people think it is, and for understandable reasons, you are not allowed close to the stones anymore. Still, try to imagine building something like this yourself with nothing but stone tools, creativity and ingenuity! I know I wouldn’t know where to begin designing it never mind erecting it! You absolutely have to put a site like this into context when you visit it.
For more prints from around Great Britain, please check out my Britain Print Gallery.
