Beaumaris Castle in Wales

Medieval abbeys, cathedrals and parish churches have been a great favourite of mine but I was reminded yesterday of another great building programme of that time. The castles across Europe are a heritage of the continent’s first great series of buildings in stone. The great feature of these castles is that what remains has not…

The Spirit of Water at Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral has been the subject of a few posts on this site over the years including the works of John Constable and John Mallord William Turner. On the occasion of my most recent visit the subject was not paintings but flowers though. An unusual subject for me. In a very ambitious project the cathedral…

Steetley Chapel, Nottinghamshire.

Steetley Chapel in North Nottinghamshire came as a complete surprise recently. We were visiting friends in the area and they mentioned in passing that there was an old church nearby. On investigation we found one of the most complete Romanesque buildings in Britain. the celebrated J. C. Cox described it as “the most perfect and…

The Museum Ludwig in Cologne

The Hohenzollern Bridge carries the main railway and foot passengers across the Rhine in the centre of Cologne in Germany. Looking across the river the panorama includes the bridge, the railway station and the magnificent gothic cathedral. Nestled in the middle of this group of great buildings is the Museum Ludwig.  It is home to…

Two Cluniac Churches in Central France

Cathedrals – I am collecting new ones on this trip like a Scottish walker might bag Munros. Aachen, Cologne, Limburg, Vienna, Ljubljana amongst some of our visits but we have spent two days this week in the Central Region of France and have discovered two Romanesque Gems.  Firstly there is the cathedral at Autun. Although…