Useful Books: British Architecture

 

These books highlight general architecture styles throughout our history, whereas some specific kinds of architecture - such as church architecture, for instance - will have their own article. Like the first one in the series (WW2 Defences & Airfields) these are ones that I've found incredibly useful, not only for article reference & information but also because they are very enjoyable reads, especially the first three.

I'm adding more photos of these books because they also contain so many fabulous illustrations and photographs.

British Architectural Styles by Trevor Yorke

Countryside Books 2009. ISBN: 978 1 84674 082 4

This first one is not only the smallest and easiest to use but also the most useful. In fact, I'd go as far to say that if you only want a precise overview of British architecture then stop right here and go no further, lol. However, if you want to learn more about specific details of architecture and delve a lot deeper, then carry on! ;)

Packed full of lovely drawings - and the odd photo - which show the overall style of each era, there are also some odd snippets of interesting history as well as information about the architecture itself. It's also slender and light enough to slip into a backpack, bag or even a wide coat pocket. Nice and handy when on your travels or just wandering around town.

I do apologise for the photos, btw. I'm not sure what happened but, as I've been using my little digital point and shoot camera for the book photos instead of my usual 35mm camera, I might have been too close for it to focus properly. It was also a dull, cloudy day and I didn't want to wait for a sunny day, which are in rather short supply at the moment. Anyway, they give you an idea, hopefully.

How to Read Buildings by Carol Davidson Cragoe

Ivy Press 2009. ISBN: 978 0 7136 8672 2 

This is a very close second. Each chapter covers aspects of architecture, such as windows, roofs, etc, exploring how they've evolved and changed throughout each architectural era. Very useful for the names of things, too.

In this particular format of chapters it's very easy to see not only how specific features have evolved but also certain styles of buildings, such as castles and palaces in the page seen below. And below that, decorative features throughout the different eras.

Sorry about the inclusion of my hand, by the way, but it's quite a thick book and too chunky to allow the pages to stay open on their own.

Rice's Architectural Primer by Matthew Rice

Country Life 2009. ISBN: 978 0 7475 9748 3

A quick word of warning. There is also a large format book titled Rice's Language of Buildings, which I bought it thinking it was a different book. Unfortunately, it's exactly the same as the Architectural Primer but just with a different title and cover. I wasn't best pleased but I'd ordered it online and sending stuff back is difficult for me so I kept it for now.

Another close second, it's incredibly detailed with names for every tiny section of architectural aspects (parts of a column, for instance) as well as a very comprehensive overall view of each era, along with detailed history so that buildings can be recognised as to when they were built. The drawings, executed by the author himself, are absolutely charming. And there are lots of them on almost every page.  

The drawings also delightfully include the odd person lounging against a wall smoking a cigarette, walking past with their dog, vandalising a telephone box or, as seen on the page below, pouring boiling oil from a tower onto the heads of enemies! 

Prefabs by Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova

Historic England 2018. IBSN: 978 1 84802 351 2

This is great for anyone interested in these lovely small houses that were built after WWII due to housing shortages. Intended only until more permanent ones could be built, they were quickly erected from prefabricated pieces and expected to last only a short time. However, there are still some in occupation, many saved from demolition because they are much loved by their residents and are part of a long-lived community.  Great history and photos from then to now.

Dealing with the conception and the buildings themselves - how they were built, different types and construction methods, etc - up to today with photos and interviews with current residents along with how they have evolved to more modern standards, with some preserved as they began.

 

House: British Domestic Architecture by Philippa Lewis

Prestel. ISBN: 978 3 7913 4556 7

This is a fabulous book; a large one which might be mistaken for a coffee table book, but it's chockful of information and photos of all styles of domestic architecture and well worth a proper read through. From the humble modern flats to manor houses, with all the lovely cottages, bungalows, houses and everything else.

Lots of information about architecture and the different style eras, the chapter headings not only including the type of building but also such things as windows, roofs, fanlights, garden gates and everything else you can think of.

Victorian House Style by Linda Osband

David & Charles. ISBN: 0 7153 9841 5

Another great book, which I find really useful as well as good to read. It highlights everything about Victorian homes; not only architectural but also as an excellent interior design and source book. 

For both Victorian home owners who want to emulate the design style and those who enjoy or are learning about architecture and interior design per se. Also very informative for people like me who love taking photos of buildings and writing about them! ;)

Coincidentally, I seem to have the same amount of books as the WW2 Defence ones, which you can link to from here if you'd like to read it. Actually, I do have quite a few more architectural ones but they're somewhat redundant as they aren't as useful as these and I never even need to open them.

And that's about it for this article. I'll be writing posts for books of other kinds of architecture sometime later on, such as ecclesiastical and local south-west building resources.

I also have a few books about specific architects, which I bought for Yule and my birthday, so I might do an article about those along with artists of architectural paintings. Lots of books! :)

Next up is Rougemont House & Gardens, which I wanted to follow the Rougemont Castle articles but I was waiting until I could go back to take more photos. Sadly, I put my back out three times in the last couple of months and the third time left me unable to walk more than a short distance and with a lot of pain and exhaustion - plus the problem of getting on a bus!  So, I'm going to go with what I've got for now in case I can't travel again. My age is catching up with me!

Onwards and upwards, lol! Cheers. :) 

Weather Lore: Part One

Huge apologies for the delay in completing this first part of Weather Lore, after promising it several years ago, but here we go at last! :) 

In the book Wildlife of the Jurassic Coast by Brian Edwards, the following Celtic Blessing is quoted on the opening page...

"Deep peace of the running wave to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep peace of the shining stars to you, Deep peace of the infinite peace to you."

...which pretty much sums up the beauty of nature to me.  

I love the way that certain signs in nature can show us what's likely to happen; the various cloud formations, the way the moon 'sits' in the sky and how flowers and creatures react to air pressure and moisture in the air.

There are some great rhymes that have come down to us too - much of which is largely forgotten - but can still help us when the weather forecast fails! My dad was a great proponent of weather lore and, as a gardener, he would also sow according to the moon cycles. I learnt a few things from him and also inherited our old book about the countryside - The Countryside Companion, published approximately in the late 1940s - which is also a great resource and one of my most precious possessions. 

Another lovely old book I have is Nature Through the Year, published in 1946, in which one of the opening paragraphs to the section on weather is:

"The British people and their weather are inevitably linked. We deride it, we grumble continuously about it, we suffer it (although by no means in silence) and yet we are secretly proud of it."

Being a temperate island, we enjoy warmer winter temperatures than our European friends due to the Gulf Stream and the south-westerly winds that drive it. Living on the south-west peninsular we are often the first to receive the weather, along with the Scilly Isles, South Wales and Ireland. If I'm talking to friends who live further north in England about the weather I often say 'don't worry, we'll send it up to you once we've finished with it'...we're kind like that! ;)

Although January is often the coldest month we don't always get snow every year here in the south-west, or maybe just a light coating which lasts only an hour or two. The snow scenes below were actually taken in March 2018, when we had a lot of snow lasting for about three weeks.

I don't have any rhymes associated with January but an interesting bit of lore is that the Anglo-Saxons called the month Wulfmonath - wolf month - because it was a time of cold and hunger for wolves, enticing them nearer to villages for food.

One of the first rhymes of the year relates to what is known in the Celtic calendar as Imbolg, on the 2nd of February. In the Christian calendar it's called Candlemas and in the USA it's also known as Groundhog Day when Punxatawny Phil foretells the weather depending upon seeing his shadow or not...hence the sun being out foretelling another flight of winter. Another legend is from Scotland, which says that the Hag of Winter - called the Cailleach - determines whether or not winter will stay by gathering firewood from the forest to keep warm, or she'll stay in bed because she knows that fair weather is coming.

The English rhyme goes like this:

"If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight,
If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain,
Then winter will not come again."

This year the day began cloudy with just an odd rain shower and then the sun came out for the afternoon...and we've had pretty much both the same weather here since, especially a lot of rain!

The month of March is said to 'come in like a lion and go out like a lamb' - beginning with storms then turning to the more spring-like sunny days - although it doesn't always turn out like that. For instance, at the time of writing this bit it's just before the end of the month and the wind and rain are battering the windows. We also had hail yesterday. And now the rain has just stopped and the sun has appeared...followed by rain again, lol.

I think it was Bob Hope who said that 'Britain is the only place where you can get all the seasons in one day'. It has been known! ;)

Some more weather wisdom for the month of march:

"A wet March makes a sad harvest,
March dry, good rye".

And a description of March in Norse folklore:

"The lengthening month that wakes the adder and blooms the whin."

Whin is another, older name for gorse (also called furze). There's also this well-known rhyme:

"March winds and April showers                                                                    

 Bring forth May flowers."

Which is always lovely and cheering as to the purpose of the seasons. The end of March is the start of Spring, which is something to look forward to. 

 

We do have some lovely flowers throughout the early year towards spring though, starting with the snowdrops in January and continuing with celandines, primroses, indigenous daffodils and many others, along with tree and hedge blossoms. In April and May there are carpets of bluebells in most of our woodlands along with wild garlic and other delights, whereas the hedgerows are awash with mustard garlic and dandelions, garden lawns dotted with small daisies - the latin name of which is bellis perennis - mostly just known as lawn daisies.

Interestingly, several wild flowers are also natural clocks, opening and closing at certain times of the day and some foretelling the weather by closing up just before rain. The delightful little lawn daisies do that, also scarlet pimpernel and germander speedwell. Wood sorrel is also abundant this time of year and when there's wet weather their clover-like leaves close downwards and look like little tents...perhaps for woodland fairies to shelter under?

 

 A rhyme about April is as follows:

"April, April,                                                                                                    

Laugh thy girlish laughter,                                                                               

Then the moment after,                                                                                  

Weep thy girlish tears."

Which shows how we can have sunshine one moment followed by showers the next, especially in this month. And two more rhymes about wet weather in April:

"April wet,                                                                                                             Good wheat."

"A cold April brings us bread and wine."

As it's now the last day of April, which after a few days of sunshine following much wet weather - and very cold this year, which is good according to that last rhyme - we now have (you guessed it) rain! 

I'm going to leave it there for this first article as there's such a huge amount of information that I'll need to write it all up in several parts. I'll also be including more about weather signs, as well as the rhymes and sayings. I tried to post this up on the last day of April but I couldn't quite make it. Happy May! :)

The two nature books I mentioned can still be bought on both Ebay and Amazon and both at very resonable prices, ranging from £4 to £30 plus with many around the £8 or £10 mark, depending on the condition. So, I'll add the details here:

The Countryside Companion by Tom Stephenson 

Published by Odhams Press

Nature Through the Year  

Published by Odhams Press 1946 

Both contain black and white photos only but the Nature Through the Year book was also republished in 1949 with colour photos. I'll probably be including them in a future Useful Books article about British Nature, when I'll add more information and photos from the books.

 

A little late, as the blossom is almost over here in the South-West, but I wish you all a very happy Sakura / Cherry Blossom time. Meanwhile, next up is a Useful Books article about British Architecture, which I've almost finished.

Cheers. :)