The Road to Hell..

A strange juxtaposition of subjects today...  I'm gathering together the material for my next prehistory post - I've gone from chambered tombs onto henges and the next one will be Grooved Ware, since henges and Grooved Ware go hand in glove.

My strict exercise regime has fallen by the wayside thanks to the juvenile sweet pea avalanche.  Unfortunately, there's only twenty-four hours a day and a vicious workout or fifty minutes on the turbo-trainer doesn't sit well with forty minutes' gardening after my return from work.  Next week, I'll be returning to normal, I hope.  Give or take a few field surveys....  In the meantime, I can feel my fitness levels steadily decreasing.

But I digress.  After the weekend's pagan post, I'm going to return to medieval matters and return to Wells.  Today's photographs are dedicated to the Chapter House.

Here's a view of the doorway:-

 

And a picture of the fan vaulting, which is particularly lovely:-

 

And one last photo, which closes the door on Wells Cathedral:-

 

It's a lovely (and I daresay very rare!) example of a medieval timber door with the most exquisite ornamental ironwork.  When I first spotted it, I'd just completed a metalwork report which included a number of clench nails (with a huge flat head at one end and a plate hooked into place at the other - they're used on structural timbers, like door timbers or boat-timbers).  Similar nails are used here, to keep the ornamental scrollwork in place.

A pile of nails in a pit is boring.  When you see them like this, in their original context, they're gorgeous!
 

The Road to Hell..

A strange juxtaposition of subjects today...  I'm gathering together the material for my next prehistory post - I've gone from chambered tombs onto henges and the next one will be Grooved Ware, since henges and Grooved Ware go hand in glove.

My strict exercise regime has fallen by the wayside thanks to the juvenile sweet pea avalanche.  Unfortunately, there's only twenty-four hours a day and a vicious workout or fifty minutes on the turbo-trainer doesn't sit well with forty minutes' gardening after my return from work.  Next week, I'll be returning to normal, I hope.  Give or take a few field surveys....  In the meantime, I can feel my fitness levels steadily decreasing.

But I digress.  After the weekend's pagan post, I'm going to return to medieval matters and return to Wells.  Today's photographs are dedicated to the Chapter House.

Here's a view of the doorway:-

 

And a picture of the fan vaulting, which is particularly lovely:-

 

And one last photo, which closes the door on Wells Cathedral:-

 

It's a lovely (and I daresay very rare!) example of a medieval timber door with the most exquisite ornamental ironwork.  When I first spotted it, I'd just completed a metalwork report which included a number of clench nails (with a huge flat head at one end and a plate hooked into place at the other - they're used on structural timbers, like door timbers or boat-timbers).  Similar nails are used here, to keep the ornamental scrollwork in place.

A pile of nails in a pit is boring.  When you see them like this, in their original context, they're gorgeous!