Two very different castles: Portland and Clun

Portland castle overlooks the harbour on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It was built in 1539/40, by order of King Henry VIII, to guard the important anchorage there known as the Portland Roads. It only saw real action during the English Civil War of 1642 to 1649.

The building doesn't have the feel of a Tudor building from the outside, probably because the hard-wearing stone hasn't weathered too much. There's no timber framing visible either! The low profile of the fort made it harder to hit with cannon fire and the side facing the sea is rounded, so that cannonballs would be deflected off. 

We didn't have a chance to go inside, but you can and the building is looked after by English Heritage. 

Looking at the castle from the side facing towards the mainland, you can see the crosses in the wall through which defenders could fire towards the sea. The castle looks very small in front of the towering apartment blocks nearby, which were built for the Navy and also to house athletes competing in the sailing events at the recent Olympics.

The Isle of Portland is famed for it's limestone, which has been quarried for use in construction all over the world. The 'island' is connected to the mainland by a tombolo, a causeway of shingle that is part of Chesil Beach. In the photo above, you can see the flat top of the island, from the quarries that covered it.

Many of London's finest buildings are made of Portland Stone. As Portland castle shows, the stone from the best beds is hard but carves well and this is the material of choice for many British stone carvers. These carvings set into the wall by the Chesil Beach Visitors Centre are examples of such work:

This is the address for the English Heritage website page about Portland Castle:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/portland-castle/#Right

Clun castle was already in ruins when Portland castle was being built. It is situated in the village of Clun in Shropshire, on the Welsh borders. The castle is thought to have been established by Picot De Say not long after the Norman invasion and was owned by the Fitzalan family for many years. 

The Great Hall built by them was impressive, but impractical. It is on the side of the motte, or mound, so would have been very vulnerable to being undermined during a siege. Eventually, the Fitzalans decided to spend their time on their more luxurious Sussex estate at Arundel and by the 16th century the castle was a ruin. 

Visiting Clun castle is still worth it though. The remains have a romantic, ruined grandeur about them and the area around is very beautiful.

The ruins of Clun castle are also looked after by English Heritage and their web page is here:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/clun-castle/

The beautiful and interesting timber-framed buildings of Shrewsbury, in the English county of Shropshire

Shrewsbury is the second largest town in Shropshire and has a lot of beautiful old buildings. These photos show just a few of them, dating from the 15th century through to the early 20th century. Most of the ones shown are in the shopping streets around the centre of the town and it's just a short walk between them. Even important streets like Wyle Cop (above) have plenty of old buildings along them.

The photos above show details of the Draper's Hall, built in 1576 to house the powerful Draper's Guild. This guild became rich on the wool and textile trade from Wales and the hall is in a good position, next to a large church in the centre of the town. 

Two carved features which can be seen on many of the timber-framed buildings in Shrewsbury are grapevine motifs carved on the bargeboards and the twists (cable-moulded pilasters) carved on upright timbers. Many also show the quatrefoil motif, which can be seen in a line under the bay window and between the pilaster and the bay window above.

The bay windows on the first floor and some of these architectural features date to the second phase of building, begun in 1580. The hall is still used for Guild meetings, also serving as a boutique hotel and restaurant.

The Abbot's House was built in 1458 by Lilleshall abbey. The abbot didn't live here though, instead the shops and private apartments were rented out and the money used to finance the abbey. 

Most if not all of the shops were probably butchers, as this street (Butchers Row) was the centre of the town's meat trade. Amazingly, some of the shop windows are original. A board would have covered them as a shutter at night and have been lowered to serve as a trestle to display wares during trading hours. Some of the building's apartment windows were altered during Victorian times.

I like the Gothic-style ornament on the corner post, slanted to fit.

The building above is situated on the shutt (passageway) called Grope Lane. I think we can guess what trade this street specialised in...

These two timber-framed buildings facing each other on a street called Mardol both interest me. This description of the dragon can be found at http://www.visitshrewsbury.com/mardol.php:

' (Number) 63 MARDOL

This building dates back to the early 16th Century and as is common with many buildings of its age there is a slight overhang to overcome the limited amount of space of the ground floor.

The beam that supports such an overhang is traditionally known as a 'Dragons Beam' and when the building was being renovated in the 1980's using a steel girder instead of the wooden one, some bright spark had the good idea of disguising the end of the beam with a carved dragon!'

Also check out the house opposite in the photo above. Whereas most timber-framed town houses have upper floors stepped out from the ground floor (jettied), this one just slopes outwards at a precarious-looking angle. It apparently dates to the 15th Century.

The two buildings shown above are on the High Street and date to the 15th/ 16th century. One has a plaque at the junction of its gables dating it to 1598, the other is dated to 1709 but is built around an earlier structure. You can see a complete view of them both, with further details, at this Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerryward/6925117385/

You can see on the photos the grapevine pattern on the bargeboards of one of the gables and the quatrefoil patterns carved into the structural beams, very similar designs to those on the Draper's Hall. You can also see the beautifully carved geometric patterns on the other bargeboards as well as the amazing ornately-carved finials, the vertical carved wooden features at the apex of the gables where the bargeboards meet.

Here's a closer shot of some more cable-moulded pilasters and ornamental supports carved with an acanthus design under a bay window. These are on a shop just up the road from the previous ones. The same style of pilaster can be seen on quite a few buildings from a similar period in the town, as can similar acanthus-carved supports (see the photo of the bay window at 63 Mardol above)

This pub is on the site of the Gullet Inn, which was recorded as far back as 1527 and was a favourite stop for companies of travelling performers. The inn was damaged by fire in the mid-1700's and was closed by 1793. The current pub is an amalgamation of two pubs, the Market Vaults and the Hole in the Wall. This frontage is that of the old Market Vaults.

I'm not sure what 1863 is emblazoned across the front for; maybe the date of major renovations/alterations? At that time locals apparently called the place the 'Blood Tub', either because the beer was very dark and red or because it was a good place to find a punch-up!
You can read more about this building here:
http://www.historicalhostelries.co.uk/000019.html

Note the grapevine motif yet again on the bargeboards of the gable. Is it a design with local importance? Were all these buildings showing it once places that sold alcohol? Is it there as a classical motif, like an acanthus leaf? I'm afraid I can't tell you, but if anyone reading this knows please do comment...

This building is situated on Wyle Cop (see the first photo on this post) and is called the 'Henry Tudor House'. The name and a plaque on the front commemorate that Henry Tudor is reputed to have stayed here on his way to fight Richard the Third at Bosworth field in 1485. At that time, the building was already 50 years old. He won of course and became Henry VII.

These images show more timber framed buildings in Shrewsbury of various ages and details of carvings on them, although I haven't been able to find out much more about these ones. There are lots and lots of others about and the town is well worth a wander around if you're interested in this kind of thing. I haven't even been able to show some of the best known timber-framed buildings in the town, such as 'Rowley's House'! There are also many fascinating old stone buildings to see, such as the Old Market Hall. A great place to spend an architecturally-inclined afternoon.

The Porch House, Bishops Castle, Shropshire - a beautiful timber-framed building with recent oak carvings next to far older ones

This interesting Grade II listed building is located in Bishops Castle, a small town close to the Wales/England border.

According to their website, dendrochronology tests have shown that the timbers used in the original building were felled in the winter/spring of 1564 going into 1565. There does appear, however, to be debate about this being the date of building (see below).

This building probably replaced earlier ones, as it is very near to the much older castle. It is interesting as it uses two different methods to fill the gaps between the timbers of the frame: wattle and daub and plank and muntin. The latter uses planks of wood and this is one of only three examples in Shropshire.

There is interesting evidence of a later build date or possible later repairs or alterations to the building carved onto the porch; the letters 'EMT' and a date of 161? (the last digit having been defaced).

On the details of its listing on the 'British Listed Buildings' website, it would appear that the building itself is dated to the 17th Century rather than the 16th, perhaps on the evidence of these carved details. Other sources date the building to 1611: 

I was particularly interested in the carved figures under the jettied first floor frontage and the painted designs under the eaves. Some of the carved figures appear very old and I would suspect might date back to the original build:

This one is protected from the elements within the porch. I wonder if it is supposed to represent a saint, given that the design around it looks a lot like it is based on a cross? However, some of the crosses do not appear to be complete (below the face). The same carved and painted cross-in circle design also runs along a fascia facing onto the street. It is right under the eaves and so is protected by them. 

I think that the jetty supports (before some were replaced) could have predated the building of the porch, as they have been spaced regularly along the building and do not appear to have been placed to allow for the porch's construction. The  one below is at the other end of the frontage and has been very damaged over time. However, it still shows some features similar to the one above.

By the late 1970s, the porch house was apparently in a very poor state of repair. However, in the early 1980s a significant grant and help from the English Heritage organisation meant that it could be restored. Three of the carved figures under the front jetty were replaced  in 1989 with these very fine portraits of the children who lived in the building at the time, named Hugh and Poppy according to the Wikimedia page listed above.

I believe that the carver may have been local and that their initials were GMJ, but can't find out any more. Very nice work though!

The porch house now operates as a bed and breakfast, with some self catering facilities, so you can stay there if you like. We camped nearby, so I don't know what it's like, but the building is certainly worth seeing. Their website also has more on the building's history with some photographs as well. You can visit it here:

http://theporchhouse.com/index.html