buildings
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York is a city full of history, wherever you look and Lendal Cellars is one such place. If you have ever visited the Cellars, you’re entering right into York’s medieval undercroft. It has wonderful vaulted brick ceilings and chunky stone blocks that are all that remains of the Austin Friary that was once on the…
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One of our contributors, Maria Leotta, recently posted this blogpost about a house belonging to Francis Lovell in York – read about it here. However, she has also now sent me a photograph of the beam that was apparently in said house, and on it is a depiction of a man wearing a medieval-style hat.…
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Medieval buildings uncovered for the first time at the Tower of London. As part of preparations for installing a lift outside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, we have undertaken an important archaeological excavation to record and preserve the fascinating histories beneath our feet. Go to this link on the Tower of London Facebook…
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When a medieval craftsman was denied his wages, he turned to stone to exact his revenge in a way that would echo through centuries. Atop Freiburg Minster resides a notorious gargoyle that serves a dual purpose: not only does it effectively channel rainwater, but it also embodies a spirit of defiance. According to historical accounts,…
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Since most people were unable to read, mediaeval drinking houses/pubs used colourful pictorial signs, leading on from the ‘ale-stake,’ a vertical or horizontal pole hung outside such establishments to show that fresh ale was available. This was a continuation of a Roman practice of using ivy or vine leaves to indicate a place that sold…
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Do you remember my bolshie* piggybank? Yes, the one that’s never around when I find another wonderful property for sale? Well, when he saw how my eyes lit up when reading that Appleby Castle is for sale, he had it away on his trotters at the speed of light. Not that the few pennies he…
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by Maria Grazia Lucrezia Leotta I walked alone in the silence of my inner thoughts and touched the ancient castle’s walls. I heard the sound of my own footsteps echoing in the shadow of the Prince’s Tower. Laughs, voices, joy and grief, a child’s wooden sword, hooves on pebbles, rosemary and lily, grass and rose.…
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Last weekend was the Richard III Society AGM and Members’ Weekend at the Grand Hotel in Leicester. On Friday there was a gathering in the Guildhall, with drinks and food, but unfortunately, probably because of the first named storm of the year, Amy, the power both to the Guildhall and the Cathedral next door, was…
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by Maria Leotta The very day I started working for the Trust Museum, I had my induction at the Castle Museum. On the first floor, just above Kirkgate also called Victorian streets, there are four beautiful period rooms, mostly Victorian, that reproduce how those rooms would have appeared to contemporaries. However, the room that mostly…
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Many Ricardians know that there are just two churches in the world dedicated to St Alkelda, one is in Middleham and the other in Giggleswick, but very few are aware of a mysterious stained glass in the latter. The whole matter started with a parish fair. Parishioners from both churches were looking for items to…
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