English and U.S. place-name confusion

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It was George Bernard Shaw who described England and the United States as "two countries divided by a common language." By that remark Shaw was highlighting the differences that have arisen between English as spoken by the two countries. And whilst there are nouns, verbs, adjectives etc that appear in one version of the language (sidewalk, thru, etc) and not in the other, or which mean different things in each country (trunk and boot), or which are spelt differently (curb and kerb) the fact is that overwhelmingly the vocabularies are the same: they have much, much more in common than that which is different.

The other day I was in Newark (full name Newark-on-Trent). And, in thinking about the truncated version of that town's name, I reflected that the use of the same placenames in the U.S. and England (or the wider U.K.) actually leads to more confusion than does the differences in vocabulary. To someone from the U.S. Newark is a place in New Jersey, just as Boston is a place in Massachusetts. However, to someone in the East Midlands of England those two towns are relatively near neighbours in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire respectively. The duplications between the two countries are numerous - Birmingham, Woodstock, Durham, Cambridge, Oxford, Springfield, Marlborough etc. For a fuller list see this Wikipedia page. This mattered little before the rise of the internet, but today it leads to confusion and great care being needed when searching, because otherwise much time can be wasted.

Today's photograph shows Newark's "slighted" castle, the River Trent and the Trent Bridge, a structure of 1775, still the main crossing in the town, with cantilevered footways and railings added in 1848.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: Castle and River, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 31mm (62mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Vanbrugh Castle

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Walking over Blackheath and in Greenwich Park, London, the other day it occurred to me that, as far as the UK goes, castles can be grouped into three categories. There are those castles that were designed, built and functioned solely as fortified strongholds and that is pretty much all they have ever been: for example, Castle Rising, Norfolk. Then there are those castles that were built as fortifications but, down the centuries, were transformed into grand residences: for example, Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. And finally there are those castles that are castles in name only, buildings that were never intended to be military structures, but which borrowed architectural elements such as turrets and battlements to give an imposing appearance to a residence. It was an example of one of these - Vanbrugh Castle - by the edge of the park, that prompted this reflection.

Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) was an English dramatist and architect. His best known buildings are Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. One of his last works was the Baroque north elevation at the above-mentioned Grimsthorpe Castle. Vanbrugh Castle was built by the architect as a home for his family. He chose a medieval Gothic style for the house which was completed in 1719. Though the architectural details that he employed could not be mistaken for the originals on which they were based, it is noteworthy that his "castle" pre-dates what is regarded as the first Gothic Revival building, Horace Walpole's villa, Strawberry Hill (also in London), by thirty years.

My photograph shows a view of the upper parts of the building rising above the trees at the edge of the park. It suggests how the building might have been seen when it was first built, but misrepresents the surroundings today - the site is actually in a residential street and the surrounding buildings are decidedly domestic in character.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 37.1mm (100mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Time-worn stone steps

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There are few things that indicate the passage of time better than worn steps. To gaze upon stone (or even wooden) steps that have been eroded into concavity by the repeated passage of hundreds, or more likely thousands of feet, is to experience a tangible understanding of years becoming decades and decades becoming centuries.

On my first visit to Wells Cathedral many years ago I made a point of having a look at the chapter house's stone stairway. I knew this from an architectural photograph by the English photographer, Frederick Henry Evans (1853-1943). The undulations in these stairs made by myriad feet add to the beauty of the shot and give it a quality that it would otherwise lack. The "sea of steps" makes you think of the people who have walked up and down them.

I've photographed steps regularly during my life though never with the success achieved by Evans in his shot. On one occasion, however, I took a shot of steel steps, but with added son's added feet and deliberate blur, and result became one of my favourite images. On our recent visit to Bolsover Castle I tried this subject again but this time without blur and  with time-worn steps. The result doesn't please me as much as my earlier shot with feet but I think it's not entirely without interest.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 32mm (48mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec
ISO:6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Tattershall church, Lincolnshire

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Stand at the top of the keep of Tattershall Castle, look east-north-east, and you will see below you, a couple of hundred yards away, standing stately beyond the moat, the medieval Collegiate Church of Holy Trinity. This 186 feet long building, made of Ancaster stone, was begun twenty or so years after the keep of the castle and must have been completed before 1500. It is a fine example of the style of medieval English Gothic architecture known as Perpendicular, a form that, after the austere elegance of Early English and the exuberance of Decorated, even at the distance at which I've photographed it, comes across as rigid, repetitive and mechanical.

Today this church stands out among Lincolnshire churches of this area in being very light inside. Perpendicular churches often are because of their large, panelled windows, but here the absence of stained glass increases the brightness. It wasn't always so. Every window once shone with their jewel-like colours.However, in the mid-eighteenth century much of it was taken to the church of St Martin, in Stamford, to Burghley House (also near Stamford) and to Warwick castle. It can still be seen in each of those locations. At Tattershall there are re-assembled medieval fragments in the east window, including many full scenes. I may show some of these in a future post because some are extraordinarily interesting.

The other feature that the church is known for is bats. The flying mammals have a particular liking for the building and the congregation do their best to worship alongside the diminutive residents. There are over 500 soprano pipistrelle bats, about 120 Daubenton's bats, and sundry brown long-eared bats, Natterer's bats, common pipistrelles and Nathusius' pipistrelles. Such a large number of bats (that by law cannot be removed) produce quite a mess and one consequence is that the excellent commemorative brasses have to remain covered to prevent damage.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 26mm (39mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO:100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Lincolnshire castles

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Lincolnshire, though a large county, has relatively few castles, and even fewer if we only include those that today look like the castles of our imagining. Lincoln Castle is the most complete with extensive Norman walls, a keep, part of a tower, a thirteenth century tower and the exterior of a gateway of fourteenth century date. At Old Bolingbroke, once a large castle, only the mound, ditches and some low walling remains. Grimsthorpe Castle is a country house but one built around earlier remains of which only King John's Tower still stands. The often overlooked Somerton Castle near Boothby Graffoe has vaulted rooms in round angle towers. There are quite a few Norman motte and baileys, but most, such as those at Castle Bytham and Sleaford, remain only as grassy mounds, though Stamford does rather better with some walling still standing. Elsewhere a few towers and fortified houses can still be found, such as those at South Kyme, and Boston (the Hussey Tower and the Rochford Tower).

That short list sums up the major fortified remains of Lincolnshire. So, you may be thinking, why hasn't Tattershall Castle (above) been included. Well, as I noted in my earlier post about this brick-built castle, it was never built as a mainly defensive structure in the way that most other castles were. It has the form of a castle - a tall, embattled keep with machicolations, a moated bailey with a defensible bridging point, etc - but it was made of brick at a time (1434-1450) when canons were capable of reducing it to rubble in quite short order. It could not have lasted long as a stronghold against even a moderately large, well-equipped attacking force. The raison d'etre for Tattershall seems to have been impressing the locals and building up the standing of its owner, Ralph Cromwell, Lord High Treasurer of England under Henry VI.

The castle is in the care the National Trust and closed for the winter until March. So, on the day when we went to see the nearby church I was restricted in the locations from which I could photograph the adjoining castle tower. This shot was taken from the outer wall of the moat.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
ISO:125
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Homes, castles and inviolacy

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"An Englishman's home is his castle."
Old saying

There can be little doubt that the saying quoted above was known to whoever it was that, during the nineteenth century, built Tower House in Spalding, Lincolnshire. This relatively modest building, on Tower Lane near the River Welland, is a castle in miniature. Or rather a building with a selection of debased features typical of castles of the medieval and later periods.

If we were to look at it from an architectural viewpoint, rather than as the charming folly that it is, we'd have to question the mixture of medieval trappings. We have battlements, turrets, mock machicolations and semi-circular headed windows (Romanesque?). On the riverward side is a semi-circular window, a crow-step gable, buttressing and a pinnacle. Even the wooden gates into the enclosed area are embattled. The building and the perimeter wall at the back of the house, is constructed in brick laid, appropriately enough, in English bond (alternating rows of headers and strethers).

And yet, despite its peculiarities, the house does seem to be an example of the famous quotation made real. Where does that idea come from, the suggestion that you can do as you wish in your own abode, that home is somewhere inviolate, a place where the state cannot intrude? It seems to have become a popular belief in the sixteenth century when the headmaster of the Merchants Taylor's School in London declared of the householder that, "He is the appointer of his owne circumstance, and his home is his castle." The principle gained wider acceptance through Sir Edward Coke's, "The Institutes of the Laws of England" (1628), a book that said, ""For a man's house is his castle, and each man's home is his safest refuge."

In fact it has never been the case that the state cannot intrude into a home where significant illegality takes place, and today more organisations have rights of entry than ever before. A sham castle like the one above wouldn't be much of a deterrent to such people though some real castles, suitably defended, might be!

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 17mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off

Newark, a slighted castle

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In England the act of deliberately making a castle unusable for its original defensive purpose was called "slighting". It was an act carried out by a victorious army or a monarch who felt threatened by, or was disgruntled with, the powerful owner and occupier. Such "slighted" castles are very common, and this one at Newark in Nottinghamshire is a good example of the type.

The building stands on a cliff commanding the crossing point of the River Trent. The earliest parts were erected by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, around 1133. The very obviously Norman gatehouse, much of which remains, was his work. Subsequent centuries saw extension and rebuilding of the castle. Much of the curtain wall overlooking the river and two of the three turrets are likely to be the work of a later fourteenth century bishop, Henry de Burghersh. Interestingly, unlike most English castles of the period, Newark never had a keep.

The town of Newark was a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War (1642-51) and the castle was subject to siege by Parliamentary forces on three occasions during the conflict. Only after the capture of King Charles 1 in 1646 did it surrender. The "slighting" began immediately. Buildings were taken down and stonework was removed from towers and the walls. The passage of time carried on the work of demolition until the town authorities and national heritage organisations brought it to a halt. The result is the romantic ruin that we see today. The interior now features a small park and a museum. Our recent visit to Newark coincided with cold, calm, clear weather and I took advantage of the still surface of the river to secure this photograph of the castle with its clear reflection.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 60mm
F No: f7.1 Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Castle Rising, time and photography

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There are those among my family, friends and acquaintances who think that I spend a lot of time on photography. Compared with a casual snapper I do. And, given that I'm retired, I suppose I spend more time taking pictures than the average enthusiast. But in some respects I still feel that the time I devote to photography is insufficient. Let me explain with respect to a recent example.

A couple of weeks ago I was travelling through Norfolk on my way to spend a few days near Wells next the Sea when I passed Castle Rising. This Norfolk village is a place I've visited once before to see its church. On this occasion, however, we'd decided to break our journey at that point to have a look at the Norman castle remains, some of the best of their kind in the country. The time of day (mid-morning) and the weather (sunny with areas of small clouds) was pretty good for photographing architecture - shadows help to delineate and describe the structure and sky interest is always welcome. I knew I'd take some details but I also decided to try and get a shot of the keep in its bailey. The first one I took is the main photograph at the top of the post. It's a shot showing the structure from the earth bank near the entrance gateway and has a few things to commend it - the asymmetry of the main subject, the path leading from the "empty" side of the shot, the angle of the building to the viewer with the side in shadow giving a strongly three-dimensional character, the balance of the main elements and the colours across the frame. But, the sun was slightly filtered by an area of cloud at the time, and the shot is consequently a bit "flat".

With an eye on that passing area of cloud we went to have a second look at Castle Rising church and a wander through a couple of village streets. The second and third shot were therefore taken a little later when the sun was stronger. I took one shot of the keep from ground level but the angle of the sun relative to my position wasn't the best so the areas of shadow are few. However, the simplicity of the shot - grass, building, sky - has a certain appeal. It was probably the absence of shadow in this photograph that caused me to take the next one from beyond the arch of the entrance gateway tower. Framing of this sort can be overworked, but here I'm fairly happy with it in terms of the dramatic strength of overall image. The downside of this position for photographing the keep is that you are face on to a single wall and consequently the image tells you less about its structure.

And that's where I come back to time and the amount I spend photographing. Most of my shots are taken on the hoof. By that I mean we are either walking, cycling or driving, and the purpose of our time when I grab my images is only partly photography. Were I to devote more time to photography I'd plan the best angles for a shot of this building, keep an eye on the weather, and return with a specific shot in mind, repeatedly if necessary until I secured it. If photography was my source of income that's what I'd have to do. I'm very glad it isn't.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On 

Broken idyll in Newark

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For someone with an interest in architecture the Nottinghamshire town of Newark-on-Trent is a place of great fascination. It has a picturesquely sited medieval castle by the river, all the more romantic in appearance after being "slighted" in 1646 following its support of King Charles 1 during the English Civil War. The centre of the town has a fine, large medieval church - St Mary Magdalene - a member of the Greater Churches Group of large parish churches. The crowning glory of this building is its beautiful, tall spire that dominates the town. Nearby is a lovely market place surrounded by a wonderful mix of buildings including the Palladian Town Hall  of 1777-6 by John Carr of York and the White Hart Inn, a building Pevsner calls "one of the paramount examples of late C15 timber-framed architecture in England." Elsewhere, but particularly by the river, there are other buildings, old and new, industrial, commercial and domestic that attract the eye. The river itself is navigable, but has a canal-like section that was the hub of the bardge traffic that originated in Newark and brought goods to the town.

The other day, accompanied by a friend who was staying with us for a while, we visited the Nottinghamshire town. Unlike our December visit, on which the two images linked above were taken, the weather was sunny and warm. In the castle grounds - now a small park - people were sitting in the sun, eating a lunch, playing football and generally enjoying the summer day. I was taking a few shots of the architecture when I became aware of many people focussing their gaze and attention in one direction. Looking the same way I saw a column of black smoke rising into the air from not too far away, and quickly spreading over the town. What was it? In these times one's first thought can turn to a deliberate act of violence or terrorism, but that seemed unlikely in provincial Newark. I knew the town well enough to work out that it was probably coming from a scrapyard by the river. At lunch we discovered that was the case - a pile of rubbish had caught fire. What I found interesting was how the event changed the atmosphere and how the pleasant summer idyll was suddenly broken for a while. I don't always have the presence of mind to capitalise on such events with my camera, but on this occasion I fired off a quick shot of the smoke and the people's reaction to it.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire

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Quite a few visitors to Britain are surprised by some of the castles they see. If they go to Bodiam in Sussex, and survey its squat drum towers, solid walls, machicolated defensive entrance, battlements, moat, etc, then they see the epitome of medieval might in a building that offers everything that the word "castle" means to the average person. Conway, Chepstow, Beaumaris, Harlech and many more offer a similar experience. It's not these buildings that mystify people, however, it's the castles that are barely distinguishable from country houses (stately homes) that are the problem.

The fact is, that castles gradually evolved from strongholds with a very real military purpose - either defence or oppression - into large, comfortable, ostentatious houses, which retained the title of "castle" often because of the aristocracy's emotional attachment to buildings that both looked and sounded impressive. The increasing power of the monarch, the greater stability of Britain, and the widespread use of gunpowder brought an end to the building of castles in the medieval period. Those castles that were erected later had the trappings of their forebears, but would have been of limited value in any fighting involving a well-armed foe. An example is Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. Made of brick, with stone details, it would have impressed the local population, kept peasants with pitchforks at bay, but would have soon succumbed to cannon.

Many castles were converted into large dwellings when their initial purpose disappeared. Today's photograph shows a case in point. From the north Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire, is a typical, grand, Baroque country house displaying architecture in the classical style by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. From the south it is a much more domestic-looking building of the sixteenth century with pitched roofs, gables, projecting bays, domestic windows in wood and stone, and not a sign of fortifications. Except, that is, for the towers at each end of the elevation. The one at the left (like the two on the north front) is a much later addition designed to increase the resemblance of the building to a castle. The one on the right of the photograph is the original tower from the castle that was built here in the 1200s by Gilbert de Gant, and is known as King John's Tower, its age betrayed on the exterior by the pronounced batter (slope) at the base of its walls.

I took my shot with the overhanging trees and their shadows framing the elevation, and used the gravel path to add a leading line and a little more foreground interest.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 16mm (32mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The House of Correction

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The village of Folkingham in Lincolnshire is known for its wide street flanked with broad grass verges and a wonderful collection of Georgian and later houses; for The Greyhound coaching inn (currently being converted into flats); for a church with one of the best towers in this part of the world; also a shop that sells chocolates of its own manufacture, and for the "House of Correction"!

That name conjures up all sorts of dark and fanciful images. One can imagine it being the title of a novel by Edgar Allen Poe, or some writer of more salacious tomes. Or perhaps a 1960s Hammer horror film starring Peter Cushing. But in fact it's just a rather grand early nineteenth century name for a local jail! The site where it can be found began life as an eleventh century Norman motte and bailey castle constructed of earth and timber. In 1312, Henry, Baron de Beaumont converted it into a moated stone structure with crenellations. However, by 1611 much of this had gone, and a jail had been built there. In 1808 this was replaced by a new building, and in 1825 a grand and forbidding entrance in the classical style was added. It housed the turnkey and the governor's horses and carriage. It also proclaimed its purpose to the world by having the words "House of Correction A.D. 1825" carved in bold Roman letters across its facade. During the years up to its closure in 1878 a treadmill, a whipping post, stocks and a hand crank were some of the instruments used on the inmates. When the gates closed for the last time the inner buildings were converted into ten dwellings which survived until demolition in 1955. Only the entrance of 1825 remained, and this is now owned by The Landmark Trust, an organisation that preserves redundant but significant buildings by converting them and renting them for short periods. The House of Correction now provides holiday accommodation for up to four people - something of a departure from its intended use!

I took liberties with the processing of my photograph of the building, and tried, by applying a sepia and blue split-toning effect, to turn it into an image of the place of pain and menace that it must once have been. Dante's gates of Hell had the words "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" inscribed upon them. That was the effect I was after!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 18mm (36mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off