15 October, 2006

More photos

The site of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire - built by King John in the early 1200s, passed to the de Clares and then to the Despensers, derelict by the sixteenth century:



Windows in the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey, paid for by Eleanor de Clare:



Deerhurst church (founded before 804):



Odda's Chapel (consecrated 1056):



Hailes Abbey (founded 1246):



Sudeley Castle, from the back seat of the car:


Berkeley Castle:









EDIT: Blogger, or my PC, is having a snit - I'll post the remaining photos later, or tomorrow.

6 comments:

MRats said...

Marvelous pictures, Kathryn!

You wrote, "Windows in the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey, paid for by Eleanor de Clare". Did you mean she financed the choir, the windows, or both? I'm curious because of the figures in the plate glass. Are they contemporary likenesses dating back to Edward's time? If so, of whom? You know I'm always looking for those "missing" faces.

Kathryn Warner said...

Thank you! :-)

I'm not sure now without checking, unfortunately, but the de Clares were closely connected to Tewkesbury Abbey and Eleanor's husband, father, brother and numerous ancestors were buried there (as were lots of her descendants), and it was clearly a very important place to her. She spent a lot of money on the abbey, IIRC. Here's Hugh, on the left: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pefkosmad/7857954754/

MRats said...

Thank you, Kathryn!

It's a shame that the likeness is so distorted. I wish his face were as clear as the one on the figure next to him. However, I see nothing to discourage me from visualizing him the way that I do.

I'm curious, if you're willing to share it: what does he look like in your imagination?

Kathryn Warner said...

I find Hugh very hard to visualise, actually. Maybe it's just the way my brain works, but I don't have a picture in my head of Hugh or Isabella or Roger Mortimer at all, as well as most other people from the era. I can't even decide if I think Isabella was blonde or brunette!

MRats said...

That's amazing! In fact, it's beyond my comprehension. I gave the first two books I ever owned about Edward to a friend of mine who inspired my interest in the subject. When she hesitated, I said in frustration, "No, take them! I can't picture Edward or Piers to save my life!"

A few months after the incident with the books--no great loss as they were Barnes' "Isabel the Fair" and Costain's "The Three Edwards"--I thought of the perfect faces.

After that I started "casting" all the major figures in Edward's life. Then I went on to research castle interiors, medieval cuisine, armor, weopons, horses, clothing (hense the Codex Manesse among other sources) and every other aspect of the time. I wanted to "see" it all.

So, you can understand why I'm astounded that you can research a subject so diligently and enthusiastically without visual images. But perhaps most people do it that way.

Am I just strange? I'm a little shaken up by this. Is it obvious?

But if you would like a picture in your head of Isabella, might I suggest mine: Madonna. It's the perfect compromise: a blonde who's really a brunette. Then you won't have to decide.

Oh! And I was delighted to see your badge on the side bar. Under the present circumstances, you can easily guess what it means to me to know what you LOOK like. :-)

Kathryn Warner said...

Maybe it's me who's strange, haha :) On FB history groups and forums I'm in, people often have discussions about which actor would play their favourite historical person. I can never take part in such discussions because of my non-visualisation of Isabella et al, and also because I can never summon up any actors' faces in my mind (except obvious ones like Tom Cruise), unless I have pics of them in front of me. Apparently people's faces are not that important to me :-) So interesting that we're so different in this respect. I do love watching historical dramas sometimes though, and 'seeing' their lives.

And yes, that's what I look like, hehe ;) That pic was taken in the summer in a building which dates back to 1640 :)