Friday, September 30, 2016

Oxford

Today we were off to Oxford. I took a few photos around the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But most of our time was spent at the excellent Ashmolean museum. We were treated to several samplers not on public display. Unfortunately, due to the large size of most of the samplers and the bright overhead florescent lights, photography was really difficult so I wll have to post the pictures in pieces.

 

 

 

 

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The next five are of a stumpwork casket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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These next four were in the public part of the museum.

 

This first one is part of a man's waistcoat.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Witney Antiques

We visited Witney Antiques and the town of Witney today. No photography was allowed in the shop but I did make a pretty awesome purchase: a Bristol sampler!! (This is not a good photo because it is of the catalogue page for the sampler. The real thing is being shipped.)

 

 

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Feller Collection

Today was a very special day. We went to see the Feller Collection of samplers at the Feller's manor house. WOW!

 

 

Samplers were covering every square inch of wall space in every room, hall, and staircase (and there were lots of these). There were also needlework tools and accessories, and pillows and samplers made by Mrs Feller. Photography wasn't permitted inside but most of the samplers were photographed for the two books about their collection.

 

The Feller's are absolutely charming people who were happy to answer questions about their collection. And, as if the samplers weren't wonderful enough, we were treated to a delicious lunch with three types of quiche, salads, ham, and a choice of desserts (lemon drizzle or summer pudding).

Double WOW!

 

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Windsor & St. Albans

On the way to our next hotel in St. Albans we stopped off at Windsor for lunch.

 

 

 

 

The castle has the usual collection of goofy heads.

 

 

 

 

We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard.

 

 

 

We then went for a nice pub lunch. This place had a lower seating area with an old tunnel which used to connect some houses/shops to the castle.

 

 

 

Some buildings in Windsor have settled rather unevenly.

 

 

We also stopped in briefly at the Verulamium Museum. The museum stands on the site of the Roman town of Verulamium and contains some beautiful mosaics which were found in the area along with many other artifacts.

 

 

 

Monday, September 26, 2016

Somerset & Wells

Our first stop today was the Somerset Heritage Center. These are a few of their samplers.

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the wonderful griffin on this one.

 

 

The next stop is one of my favorite cities in England: Wells.

This lovely little 'street' is called the Vicar's Close.

 

 

The cathedral is absolutely amazing! It was built between 1175 and 1490. Its architecture is entirely Gothic and mostly in the Early English style of the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

 

 

 

The stunning arches in the middle are called scissor arches. These arches were constructed from 1338-48 as an engineering solution to a very real problem. By 1313 a high tower topped by a lead covered wooden spire had been constructed but, as the foundations were not stable, large cracks began to appear in the tower structure. In fear of a total collapse, several attempts at internal strengthening and buttressing were made, until the famous ‘scissor arches’ were put in place by master mason William Joy as a final solution. (Info from http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a wonderful clock inside the cathedral (notice the bell ringer in the upper right).

The clock is considered to be the second oldest clock mechanism in Britain, and probably in the world, to survive in original condition and still in use. The original works were made about 1390 and the clock face is the oldest surviving original of its kind anywhere. When the clock strikes every quarter hour, jousting knights rush round above the clock and the Quarter Jack bangs the quarter hours with his heels. (Info from http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/)

 

 

 

 

The outside clock is equally wonderful and was placed there just over seventy years later and is connected with the inside mechanism.

For more information about this stunning cathedral see this article on Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Cathedral) and the cathedral site (http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/history/historical-highlights/).

 

Our last stop was the Wells & Mendip Museum. They had a number of samplers but the lighting conditions were not ideal.