Old roofs, walls and towers

click photo to enlarge
One of the charming features of many old Norfolk buildings is a plaintile roof featuring tiles of different colours. Bright orange, brownish orange, grey, black and cream are often placed randomly to give a delightful mottled appearance. The roof in the bottom centre of the photo exemplifies the style perfectly, and the others show it to a greater or lesser extent. Plaintiles are rectangular and flat  and pre-date (though were also contemporaneous with) the equally prevalent "S" curved pantiles. They first became popular in better houses but eventually were a common and sympathetic accompaniment to many vernacular brick walls, such as the kind seen in the lower right of the shot. In the nineteenth century they declined in popularity following widespread adoption of cheaper Welsh slate.

I took today's photograph for the muted colours, the lighting, but most of all for the contrast between the ornate, finely worked stone of the medieval towers of St Margaret's church, with the humble plaintiles and brick of the medieval buildings in the foreground.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: Old Roofs, Walls and Towers, King's Lynn, Norfolk
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 67mm (134mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Northgate Brewery, Newark on Trent

click photo to enlarge
The building shown in today's main photograph is the old maltings of the former Warwick's & Richardson's Brewery on Northgate, Newark-on-Trent. It has languished, empty and derelict since its closure in 1966 and I find it remarkable that it has survived so well. Perhaps the steps taken to make it safe - bricking up doorways etc - have helped its preservation. The maltings were constructed in 1864 using local bricks from the Cafferata company at Beacon Hill. The necessary ironwork was supplied by the Trent Ironworks of W.N. Nicholson & Sons.

This essentially functional building - it housed kilns - has been given a decorative veneer. The orange brick has bands of cream brick dogtooth and dentil work The window and door openings are emphasised by surrounds of the same cream brick. When it was a working maltings railway trucks brought barley alongside and a cage steam lift hoisted it into the building. The roof outline is characteristic of maltings with cowls at the top of the pyramidal shapes. Shapes fashioned after either flowers or leaves act as tails that catch the wind and rotate the cowl in the desired direction to assist with ventilation.

As we looked at the decaying building we wondered whether its fate would mirror that of the main brewery buildings nearby. This rather grand structure, an essay in studied asymmetry, has been converted into flats with shops and a cafe behind the open Gothic arcade at the bottom of the main facade. The transformation from industrial to domestic use has been handled well - with one exception. At the end of the main facade a cuboid block with rectilinear windows and balconies has been appended (just visible at the right of the smaller photograph). It is clad in timber which has weathered to a a dirty brown/grey. For reasons completely lost on me this finish of hardwood boarding has been very popular in the UK in recent years. It rarely looks appealing and in our relatively wet climate it invariably stains and looks grubby. It has done so here to the detriment of the overall scheme.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/3200
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation:  -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

House and garden

click photo to enlarge
Like most Lincolnshire towns Spalding has many buildings of architectural and historic importance. Anyone with an eye for architectural history cannot fail to find a walk around the centre of the town and its periphery a rewarding experience. A medieval church, the remains of abbey buildings, old inns, warehouses, Georgian terraces, individual houses and Sir George Gilbert Scott's last church, are just a few of the delights the informed visitor will find. However, though the eighteenth century is very well represented the seventeenth century is less so. This is true in much of Britain, of course, but in Lincolnshire the relative prosperity of the eighteenth century meant that many buildings of a century earlier were either replaced or, very often, re-modelled. The pitch of a roof, a stepped wall, a painted over piece of structural timber or a centrally placed chimney (as opposed to later gable chimneys) are just some of the clues that an older building lurks beneath an eighteenth century facelift.

But, on Albion Street, a route that parallels the River Welland on the north-eastern edge of the town centre, an early seventeenth century house that received little in the way of "modernising" can be found standing behind its small, formal, front garden of geometric, dwarf box hedges. It was built in the early 1600s on what has been described as a "flattened H plan". "Willesby" has characteristic English bond brick walls with alternating courses of headers and stretchers. The mullioned two, three and four-light windows are framed in dressed stone. Stone is also used for the doorway (a Victorian restoration), the lowest courses of the walls, for the quoins that unusually don't extend the full height of wall corners, and for the "kneelers" and gable coping. A plain tile roof tops the building. It is a well-presented house that illustrates a type that can be found in many parts of eastern England in both town and country.

In summer the main façade is clothed with the greenery of the climbers and surrounding shrubs. On the dull, end of March day of my photograph, however, the lateness of this year's spring meant that much was still visible to the curious passer-by.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 20.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation:  -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Brick Victorian Gothic

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The building in today's photograph, the former Christian Association & Literary Institute at Spalding, Lincolnshire, was built in 1874, the end of the Mid-Victorian period in English architecture, when the "battle of the styles" between Classical and Gothic had been won by the Gothicists, and when common brick had been widely accepted as a suitable material in which to build even the grandest, most noble of structures. This particular building isn't grand, nor is it noble, but it does exhibit a feature that was rampant at the time, and which in later years would cause architectural historians to look down their noses at much that the Victorians built in England, namely exuberance!

That denigratory attitude continues in some quarters today. For example, this former institute has not been awarded Listed Building status despite the fact that it remains very much as it was built, is a fine regional and local example of a building style that was once common, and is, to my mind, one of the most interesting Victorian exteriors in the town. If it was the work of a major architect - a Scott, Butterfield, Pearson or Burges - it would have a better overall form, more refined details, and would usually feature cut stone or sculpture that was specifically commissioned for the building. As far as I can see this uses ready-made bricks and stonework that many architectural and building suppliers of the period would furnish. Possibly the datestone over the door was cut to order, but even that was probably part of the ready made piece that surrounds it with the central panel awaiting the final chisel. It seems to me that this building is too "common" - in both senses of that word - to warrant the honour and recognition of  Listing at even Grade II. Pity.

My photograph and the Google Street View image show some of the characteristic and not so common features of this style of brick building. The dressed stone is reserved for the doorways, windows, platbands and gable shoulders. Blue-black brick is used to outline openings and for decorative strips. Projecting, stepped brickwork features on the gable and, curiously, on the side elevation. At the top of the tower and above the central first floor window it suggests machicolations. This building isn't especially well proportioned, it doesn't exhibit qualities that can't be seen elsewhere, it has no special historical significance of which I'm aware, nor is it an integral part of a larger scheme in this area of the town. But it is of greater than usual interest in this location, possesses an exterior that remains much as it was when first erected, and it exemplifies that under-rated quality of Victorian exuberance. For those reasons I think it warrants greater recognition.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Peterscourt, Peterborough

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As I've said elsewhere in this blog much of my photography is incidental. By that I mean the subjects that I photograph are the ones that present themselves to me as I go about my immediate locality and the wider world. So, when I set off on a pleasurable walk somewhere I take my camera and usually return home with some shots. If I go to explore a village, town or city my camera is pointed at anything that looks to be a suitable subject. It is unusual for me not to carry a camera when I'm out and about, and consequently the majority of the images in this blog were taken almost as a by-product of another activity.

However, every now and then I set my mind to photographing a specific subject. Or I shoot a subject and make a mental note to do so again in better or different light, weather or season. Today's photograph is an example of the latter. I've photographed Peterscourt before but only ever produced one shot (in September of this year) that I thought worthy of posting. It's a large brick building in Peterborough dating from 1856-64, the work of the eminent Victorian architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott. Peterscourt isn't a spectacular building, nor is it sufficiently feted to appear in many books about architectural history. Rather, it's one of those quietly competent,visually interesting, well-made buildings that can be found in most cities and which in their own undemonstrative way, grace our streets and make our passage through them a pleasanter experience.

I've struggled in the past to get a shot that shows the whole of the building. Parked vehicles, roadworks, the position of the sun and much else has conspired to get in the way. But, on a recent visit to Peterborough to do some Christmas shopping I took this shot in more favourable circumstances. It shows the asymmetrical nature of Peterscourt, the prominence given to the chimneys and dormers, the unassuming and functionally positioned main entrance and the dark brick detailing. Anyone interested in English architectural history will have noted the awkwardness of the white painted Georgian doorway within the Gothic, pointed arch of the entrance. Scott did not design the building this way. The doorcase was brought to the city from the London Guildhall when it was damaged during the second world war. Its prominent placement here detracts from Scott's overall conception but at least conserves an interesting piece of history.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 45mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Early 1800s terraced housing

click photo to enlarge

The Norfolk market town of King's Lynn is a mecca for anyone interested in English architectural history. As a measure of its wealth in this regard the Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk has 1,878 listed buildings of which 111 are Grade 1 i.e of national as well as local importance. Within the town there are a number streets that draw visitors with the range and quality of their buildings. One such is Nelson Street that extends south from near St Margaret's church. From Hampton Court  - a courtyard development that has been in use and added to from the fourteenth century to the present day - to seventeenth and eighteenth century merchant's houses such as No. 15 and Oxley House, this short road offers interest in every elevation.

However, it's not one of the more obviously historic or showpiece structures that I photographed on my recent visit. Instead, it is a section of a terrace - Nos. 14-20 Nelson Street. These houses stand out from their neighbours as being rather dour, somewhat industrial, and on a smaller scale. They were built in 1819 at the tail end of the Georgian period when mass housing started to take on a Victorian countenance. The materials chosen for this row are red brick with gault brick for the facades and Welsh slate on the roofs. Each house is two bays wide with the blind window above the door filled in from the outset. Chimney stacks and a raised firebreak mark the division between the properties at roof level. The original doors and some original sash windows are still in use. To the right (out of shot) is a basket-arched carriage arch that presumably gave access to the rear of all the properties.

The gault brick, as is often the case, hasn't aged very well and looks somewhat grubby giving a time-worn appearance even though it is still in pretty good condition. What drew my eye and caused me to take this photograph was the brightly painted doors. I don't imagine that there is a great deal of similarity to how they looked in 1819, but today, given the somewhat drab brickwork that surrounds them, they offer welcome brightness as well as a focus for this passing photographer's composition.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 17mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Peterborough, Peterscourt and bricks

click photo to enlarge

Approach Peterborough from almost any direction and you can see its position from miles away. It isn't the cathedral that looms over the centre that catches your eye, nor is it some gleaming tower broadcasting the city to the wider world - the modern buildings in Peterborough aren't too tall. Rather, it's the cluster of chimneys of the brickworks, each with its plume of smoke trailing downwind that marks the settlement. There are fewer chimneys today than in the past but sufficient to make the city unique.

Brick-making in Peterborough is based on the local clay and became a major industry with the building of the railways. In the nineteenth century it was a fairly local undertaking, but from around 1890, with the exploiting of the Fletton clay that is suitable for making harder bricks, output soared. In the twentieth century the Peterborough area was the dominant brick-producing locality in Britain.

The other day, when I visited the city to do a little shopping and photography, I passed the building known as Peterscourt. This brick building with stone detailing is on City Road. It was built in 1856-64 by the prolific architect, Sir G. G. Scott, as a teacher training college for men. It subsequently became council offices, and is today the Eco Innovation Centre. It's a building I've wanted to photograph for a while with its long facade with ranks of tall chimneys. The clear, lowish September sun and sharp shadows of the day of my visit were perfect for architectural photography. Unfortunately, however, parked cars and sundry roadworks and street furniture prevented me getting the image I wanted. But, as I passed the end of the building, I noticed this wall with its doorway and window raked by the light. The sharpness conferred by the side illumination combined with the cleaned brickwork and painted stonework gave me something of a feeling for what Scott's building must have looked like when it was first built. I don't know if it uses Peterborough bricks, though it surely must. What I do know is it is a fine testament to the architect's handling of the material and a credit to the city that the building remains in use and in good repair.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 40mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire

click photo to enlarge

Tattershall Castle was built by Ralph Cromwell in 1434-5 and was completed around 1450. Ralph held the title of Lord Comwell, was a Privy Councillor, and from 1433 to 1443 was Lord High Treasurer of England under Henry VI. His castle replaced an earlier structure dating from 1231 that was built by Sir Robert de Tateshall. The bases of two of this building's towers can still be seen.

Tattershall Castle was originally a much more extensive structure than we see today. As well as the remaining imposing keep and tall guardhouse it had an outer moat, outer bailey, inner moat, inner bailey, stables, gatehouse and kitchens. The area of the baileys and the moat ditches remain today, but little can be seen of the other buildings. There are not many brick castles in England - stone was much preferred - and people have speculated whether, towards the close of the castle building period, in an age of canon, the keep was designed for defence or simply to impress. Whatever the reason, and given Cromwell's unpopularity it was probably both, 700,000 bricks were used on the structure, with dressed stone reserved for window and door surrounds and certain other constructional and decorative details. Despite the expense and care taken in building the castle it didn't have a very long life, falling into disrepair soon after Cromwell's death. That we can see it today is largely due to Lord Curzon who responded to public dismay at the state of the castle by buying it in 1911 and restoring it. On Curzon's death Tattershall passed into the ownership of the National Trust who continue to maintain it today.

I took my photograph on a clear January morning. The castle was closed to the public, but this view was available by looking over a hedge on the track that leads to the adjacent Holy Trinity church, a building also funded by Ralph Cromwell.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 32mm
F No: 7.1 Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On 

Walling and windows, Aldeburgh Moot Hall

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A book I was reading recently offered a reason I'd not come across before to explain the jettying out of the upper storeys of timber-built houses of the 1500s and 1600s. When architectural historians discuss this subject it is usually in terms of increasing the floor space of the storeys above ground level without impinging on the width of the street at ground level. However, the author of my book, an architect specialising in restoration rather than an academic, described it as a way of giving rigidity to the floors in the upper storeys. He noted that most floor joists were laid with their widest dimension fixed to the floorboards, rather than as is the case today, the narrowest dimensions at the top and bottom. As a consequence of this the floors were springy, and flexed downwards towards the middle. Making the joists project beyond the top of the ground floor walls and building the upper floor wall at the end of them, beyond the line of the lower wall, counteracted this and gave rigidity to the floor. Is this so? I don't know, but it does sound plausible.

Shortly after I'd read this, and while I was still cogitating on the matter, I visited the Moot Hall in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, a structure that illustrates the principle. Pevsner says this building "stands as incongruously as if it were an exhibit. It must once have been in a little town centre, before the sea pushed its relative position back." The Moot Hall was built c.1520-1540 as a meeting place for the town's council. It still serves that purpose, though today it also hosts a charming little museum. The upper floor is an addition of 1654, reached by some external steps. Presumably the brick noggin infill between the timbers is a later addition. In fact the Hall has been repaired and restored on a number of occasions down the centuries, though particularly in 1854 when the ornate chimneys were added.

I'd like to have taken a decent photograph of the whole of the building, but the weather and parked vehicles conspired against me. However, this section of the walling and windows appealed to me for its decorative value and the lovely mixture of materials so I grabbed a shot. I've always had a soft spot for a good section of wall and windows, and this image is just the latest in a steadily growing sequence on my blog - see here, here, here and here for further examples

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 18mm (36mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The Welland Viaduct

click photos to enlarge
The Welland Viaduct (also known as the Harringworth Viaduct and the Seaton Viaduct) is a railway viaduct that crosses the valley of the River Welland. In so doing its brick arches straddle the border of the counties of Northamptonshire and Rutland. It was built between 1876 and 1878, is three-quarters of a mile long, has 82 arches each of which is 40 feet wide (with an average height of 57 feet) and required 20 million bricks, 20,000 cubic yards of concrete and 19,000 cubic yards of stone for its construction.

As was often the case on large engineering projects in the Victorian period, workmen ("navvies") came to the site with their families to secure employment. Here they were housed in two temporary settlements. A curate built a mission hut in one of the camps to serve the religious needs of the 400 migrants! The bricks were made nearby with local clay, those who dug it earning £2 a week. Bricklayers were paid £2 10s weekly, foremen £3.00, labourers £1 5s, and mechanics £1 16s. All could earn overtime pay for working into the night. Part of the labour force comprised 120 horses used for pulling waggons.

The viaduct is the longest such structure in Britain and its unique size and form has resulted in it being designated a Grade II listed structure. For a number of years after the 1960s trains used the viaduct only infrequently. However, a regular service now runs across it (as you can see from my second photograph). I took my images during a bicycle ride that included visits to a number of churches, villages and this monument to the vision of our Victorian forbears. Incidentally, I was really pleased to be able to incorporate the very co-operative horse in my first image: it gave a welcome touch of scale to a subject that is very difficult to photograph.

photographs & text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Photo 2
Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 110mm (220mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Early 1800s houses

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The first few decades of the nineteenth century, when Georgian turned to Victorian, is an interesting period in English architectural history. It is a time when the middle classes began to build houses outside the towns and cities in which they made their money, and when those who had the inclination, and could afford it, established themselves as nouveaux squires.

A style of spare, stripped down architecture evolved at this time. It incorporated something of the proportions of Georgian buildings, but with updated "modern" classical detailing, often yellow brick, stucco, shallow bows and angled bays, deeply overhanging eaves, verandas and new sources of inspiration from southern Europe. Italianate villas were popularised by architects like John Nash, and erected in rural areas as new country houses, and in towns as desirable modern residences. However, the English have frequently been an architecturally conservative nation, and whereas these features are very visible in London, the Home Counties and provincial metropolitan areas, in the smaller towns old styles hung on longer.

Today's photograph shows a detail of a large, early nineteenth century town house on Swinegate in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Despite its date it is very much a symmetrical facade in the Georgian manner with a centrally-placed door, with windows regularly disposed on each side of it and above. The style of the doorway, with its window at the top letting light into the hall, and the stubby canopy supported by brackets with two volutes are developments of Georgian details, but stylistically are clearly later. Similarly, the indented window lintels with their reticent keystones have a mechanical feel that the Georgians would eschew. However, the brickwork, in Flemish bond (alternating headers and stretchers) has yet to become the all-pervasive stretcher bond, and could be that of an earlier building, as could the "Gothick" glazing bars. Then there are the shutters. In England these are usually thought of as "foreign" - we don't have sun that is strong enough for long enough to warrant them - but this period liked them in cottage ornes (where they added to the ornament), and on Italianate villas (where they suggested the Tuscan origins more forcibly). I don't know when these were fixed to this facade, but I suspect they date from the twentieth century. The interesting thing is, even though they are probably later than the building itself, they help to make it look more of its time!

This photograph is another attempt by me to get away from my usual shots of building facades, where verticals are carefully corrected.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 12mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The Institute, Deeping St James

click photo to enlarge
As I passed this Victorian building on Church Street, at Deeping St James in Lincolnshire, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was, "That's an interesting way of dressing up a facade." The second concerned the wire that stretches from the top left to the centre, then drops down to disappear into a hole above the doorway. It occurred to me that it had been positioned with all the sensitivity of a tattoo on the end of a person's nose.

I photographed the building, known as "The Institute", mainly because of the unusual yellow brickwork designs that form both the quoins to the left and right, and the surrounds for the tall windows and the door. However, once I'd got my photograph onto the computer, had corrected the converging verticals, and began to study the facade, a lot more details caught my eye, and quite a few questions came to mind. For example, why did the builder or architect place a large piece of stone at the bottom left and bottom right corners? Why did he use stone for the sills of the three windows rather than wrapping the brickwork surrounds underneath? Why does his design for the "shoulders" of the door surround differ from those of the windows? Why is the band of yellow brickwork that crosses the facade at the level of the window sills flush with the wall and hence barely visible?

The building's style borrows from that of a church or chapel (tall and pointed openings), and from classical precedents (the brick plinth, quoins and hints of "Gibbs surrounds" in the work around the windows and doorway). It is Classical too in its severe symmetry: note that even the bootscrapers are doubled up, one on each side of the door, lest the building become even slightly unbalanced. The use, almost exclusively, of brick, and the vernacular touch of a dog-tooth corbel just below the eaves, betrays its provincial origins, lower cost, and lower status. Despite its relatively elaborate decoration it is still quite a utilitarian building. I haven't been able to find out much about its origins. Was it always an Institute? Was it a non-conformist chapel originally? Whatever its past, its present includes housing the Parish Council of Deeping St James, and offering more than a little interest and intrigue to passers-by who care to stop and stare.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 11mm (22mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Old walls

click photo to enlarge
Old walls seem so much more appealing than new ones: I've photographed and posted a few recently. I don't think that's simply a natural proclivity: growing up in the Yorkshire Dales exposed me to many fine old walls early in life, and may be responsible for my predilection. When I think about what draws me to them it's surely the interesting textures and materials, the random elements, the greater variety of colours, and the sense that an aged wall has seen and been through a lot, that is at the heart of their attraction.

This part of the Marriott Warehouse on the east side of South Quay, King's Lynn, Norfolk, is a good example of such a wall. It shows the north end of the ground floor of the river-facing elevation of the old warehouse. The lower wall with the large pieces of ashlar dates from the early 1300s when it was first built, perhaps for the Hanseatic League, as a single storey structure. At that time its walls were probably wholly made of stone. It was extended upwards in brick in the 1400s and 1500s. In the 1700s the building was extensively re-modelled with new doors and segmental arched windows (like the one shown) inserted. Further modifications kept the building usable in the 1800s and 1900s. The iron tie-beam, an "S" shaped end of which can be seen in the photograph, probably dates from the Georgian or Victorian period, and the unpainted wood window must date from a restoration around the turn of the Millennium.

This piece of wall appealed to me for the attractive mix of elements, the diversity of the bricks from many ages, the poorly laid courses above the window, and the way it seemed to summarise the trials and tribulations of the building down the centuries. I placed the window on the left of the frame and was grateful for the visual weight of the tie-beam end on the right.

Incidentally, for those who are interested in such things, Marriott's Warehouse is one of the 18,000 Grade II* structures in England and Wales. More details about what that means here.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 53mm (106mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Schools and society

click to enlarge

British society is riven by inequalities that have their roots in the vastly unequal distribution of wealth. In recent years these inequalities have become entrenched, and social mobility is now worse than it was forty years ago. After World War Two the public education system was reorganised, with the result that bright children from poor backgrounds found it easier to get into higher education. This was good for society, good for those individuals, and good for the economy because the people's potential was better realised.

Today, however, that progress has not only stalled, it has gone into reverse. At the root of the problem is Britain's class system. Those with money, position and power believe it is theirs by right, that they deserve their abundance, and they are increasingly reluctant to share it - except with their offspring. So, one of the tools they use to achieve their selfish ends is the education system . The richest segment of society, by and large, educates its children in private schools. They rationalise this decision by saying that they can buy a better education than the free state schools provide. In fact, their money buys social position, private schools being more adept at giving pupils the qualifications necessary for higher education, particularly at the elite universities, and entry into the professions. A group of those who aspire to private education, but who can't afford to pay for it, seek a grammar school education. These state-funded selective schools cream off higher attaining pupils at age 11, educate them separately from the rest of their age group, and aim, at the end of their school time, to place them in the better universities and ultimately, the better jobs.

Many don't see a problem with this. I do. The result of this social and educational apartheid is that the remainder of the country's children - in fact the vast majority - receive a poorer education than they might otherwise, and are denied the life-chances of the more affluent. Many intelligent children who would benefit from a university education don't get it because their places are taken by less bright (but better qualified) pupils from private and grammar schools. The nation as a whole suffers socially and economically from the depredations of these odious institutions. Those who do get to higher education from state schools demonstrate, by the quality of their degrees, that they and their education are in no way inferior to their more favoured colleagues, but, there are far fewer than there should be, particularly in the elite group of universities. Some of us expected a Labour government, particularly one that achieved three successive terms of office, to deal with this pressing issue. How naive we were!

Today's photograph prompted this diatribe. It shows the public library in the village of Wainfleet All Saints, Lincolnshire. This was originally a school, built in 1484 by Bishop Waynflete of Winchester, who also founded Magdalen College, Oxford. At a time when England's schools were all privately financed, Wainfleet fed pupils to its Oxford college. However, from 1877 until 1933 it was a selective grammar school, and is still called "the old grammar school" by those who remember that period. Interestingly, from 1951 to 1966 it was a Secondary Modern School - an establishment for all those pupils who did not attend a grammar or private school, but no one ever calls it by that less elevated name! It became what must be one of the most ancient public libraries in the country in 1968. Mmmm, on second thoughts, perhaps there is a future for those grammar and private schools after all!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 15mm (30mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On