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Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however we are not in Lettice’s flat. Instead, we have followed Lettice south-east, past the Royal Academy*, across Picadilly, through the neighbouring borough of St James’ with its private clubs and gentlemen’s tailors, over St James’ Park and Birdcage Walk where once the Royal Menagerie and aviaries of King James I and King Charles II had stood, to Queen Anne’s Gate** in Westminster, lined with fine early Eighteenth Century townhouses. It is here that Member of Parliament for the constituency of Towers Hamlets***, Mr. Charles Hatchett, and his wife Dolly are establishing their London base whilst their newly acquired townhouse after extensive structural works to make it habitable after many years of neglect under its former owner, a decrepit old Admiral of Queen Victoria’s navy. Lettice has been commissioned by Mrs. Hatchett to redecorate some of the principal rooms of the newly renovated and restored townhouse. Today is the day that after the hanging of very modish Art Deco papers from Jeffrey and Company****, the Hatchett’s rooms are finally ready to be furbished – Lettice’s favourite moment in the whole redecoration process, when her watercolour images of interior designs finally come to life.
Queen Anne’s Gate, already difficult to navigate with Twentieth Century traffic trying to manage Eighteenth Century layout, is additionally clogged and a hive of activity outside the Hatchett’s townhouse. A lorry emblazoned with Blessed Upholsterers in bold red letters is parked out the front and Mr. Blessed’s men bring furnishings carefully chosen by Lettice, some reupholstered or repurposed by Mr. Blessed under Lettice’s instructions, are carefully unloaded and down the ramp set at the back of the lorry and through the grand front door beneath the ornately carved canopy unique to the townhouse*****. Other men, painters and decorators judging by their paint splattered overalls are carrying ladders and pots of paint back to a lorry parked further down the narrow street.
We find Lettice in what a year ago had been the townhouse’s main reception room: at the time too gloomy and in a sad state of disrepair to be able to show off its elegant Georgian proportions and period features, smelling of the seemly pervasive unpleasant odour of damp. Yet what a transformation has taken place! The walls once papered in a dreary, faded and tattered old fashioned Victorian flocked wallpaper which must have been a beautiful gold when first hung, are now covered in a dove grey paper lightly embossed with a white geometric pattern imported from a French supplier Lettice met at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes****** last year, which highlighted and showcased the new modern style of architecture and interior design known as Art Deco of which Lettice is an exponent. The brighter paper and the removal of the dirty and torn scrim which obscured the view and daylight through the window have given the room a light airiness which is only enhanced by its high ceiling and ornate Georgian white marble fireplace, meticulously stripped of its layer of brown grime built up over decades of neglect. Even the large floor to ceiling bookshelves made of dark mahogany running along the walls to either side of the fireplace, no longer have the power to darken the room, having been polished to a warm burnished glow beneath a layer of fresh beeswax polish*******. The pervading smell of damp, like the dark cheerlessness of the room, has been banished and replaced with the fresh scents of paint, wallpaper glue and polish. The room is all at sixes and sevens with antique and daringly modern furnishings, paintings in gilded frames and crates of objets d’art all jostling for space whilst Mr. Blessed’s men bring in more items and other workmen traverse the room carrying ladders or holding pots of paint. And in the midst of this chaos, Lettice sits on the floor with her feet curled neatly beneath her, hidden by her powder blue skirt, surrounded by crates of silverware, glass and decorative china and froth of white tissue, strands of straw and butchers paper, all used for packing.
Lettice inspects the delivery docket attached to a lidded crate on the floor in front of her. “Aha!” she exclaims with satisfaction as she reads, ‘L. de Vries Curios’******** on it, her blue eyes brightening with excitement as she takes up a pair of sharp shears and severs the thick red and yellow striped twine from about the wooden crate which recoils like a snake as the tension is broken. Lancelot de Vries Curios and Collectables in the Portobello Road********* is a trove of treasures, and a regular haunt for Lettice when she is looking for that certain “Je ne sais quoi” to add to her interior designs and bring them to life with a unique and beautiful objet d’art. Opening the lid, Lettice delves with a noisy crinkle into the white tissue filling the crate and clears away the top sheets to reveal the second in a pair of large Japanese Dragonware********** jugs which are to stand on modern Art Deco pedestals to either side of the fireplace, flanking it. She runs her hand over the crisp white trailing moriage*********** form of the dragon’s back, raised like finely crafted marzipan icing. “Beautiful.” she murmurs. “Well done Mr. de Vries.”
“Ahem, Miss Chetwynd!” a moustached man in blue overalls and a flat tweed workman’s cap************ interrupts her quiet enthusiasm for the Dragonware she has bought from Mr. de Vries with an awkward, yet attention grabbing staged cough*************.
Lettice glances up into the man’s expectant face “Yes, Mr. Clarke?” she queries, her voice bristling with irritation at being disturbed.
“I’m sorry, Miss Chetwynd.” he replies meekly. “Could I trouble you to sigh this now?” He holds a small wooden clipboard and pen down towards her.
“I wasn’t overly impressed with your, or your men’s, work here.” Lettice politely berates the manager of the crew of men hired by Lettice to paint and paper the Hatchett’s principal rooms as she eyes the paper foisted under her nose unceremoniously with suspicion.
“Well, I did fix that bubbled paper around the fireplace, you pointed out, Miss Chetwynd,” He indicates to where a metal pail and wooden backed brush stands atop a ladder to the left of the fireplace surround. His cheeks flush with embarrassment like juicy red apple halves. “And you did say you were happy with the fix.”
“I’m happy with it, yes,” Lettice mutters in reply. “However, I am not happy with the fact that the paper wasn’t properly hung in the here in the first place. I shouldn’t have to point out your mistakes. There shouldn’t be any to begin with.” She gives him a withering look in response to his statement. “I don’t pay you good money to complete a shabby, haphazard job, Mr. Clarke.”
“No Miss!” Mr. Clarke acquiesces.
Lettice may not currently be in control of what impacts her private love life, but she is certainly has a grasp on the reigns of her interior design business.
“Don’t ‘no Miss’ me, Mr. Clarke. Mr. Hatchett is a Member of Parliament, and these rooms are meant to be his and his wife’s statement showpieces when entertaining other politicians and influential guest who will shape our government. How can they do so if work is poorly completed.”
“Err… no Miss.”
“I shan’t be signing anything until the job is done to my satisfaction, Mr. Clarke.” she affirms as she looks with distain at the invoice on the clipboard. “You know this. Take that away immediately, and don’t ask me to sign your ledger until I say I am satisfied.” She pauses. “Unless of course you want me to revise my arrangement with you as my painters and paper hangers of choice.”
“Oh no, Miss!” Mr. Clarke gasps, taking a step away from the young woman.
“And how many times must I remind you, to take off your hat when you talk to me for goodness sake?” Lettice asks as she grows impatient with his cloying presence. “I’m your employer, not your doxy down at your local pub. Treat me with the respect and dignity I deserve.”
“Yes Miss Chetwynd... err… I mean, no, Mis Chetwynd.” He snatches the cap from his head apologetically.
“I may only appear be a silly little girl, or a female dilettante************** in the interior design business to you in your eyes, Mr. Clarke,” Lettice commences extracting the Dragonware vase out of its packaging by wiggling it slightly, to loosen the protective paper bedding around it. “But I can assure you I am anything but that. I am a shrewd businesswoman, and I’m not in the habit of compromising my exactingly high standards, since my own name and reputation as a society interior designer relies upon your continued excellent finishes.”
“Err… no… no, of course not, Miss Chetwynd.” Mr, Clarke stammers.
“Good!” Lettice replies crisply. “Then we’ll have no more foisting of tradesman’s accounts before me until I have inspected the work, at my own pace. Thank you, Mr. Clarke.”
The way Lettice utters the last sentence indicates that this is a conclusion to their conversation, and summarily dismissed, Mr. Clarke retreats quietly without any recourse or protestation.
“Good riddance to him,” another male voice, a much softer one than Mr. Clarke’s, mutters a moment or two later.
“Chris!” Lettice purrs with the familiarity of seeing an old friends as she glances up into the bright face of her chosen furniture restorer and upholsterer from Croydon, Christopher Blessed.
“He’s out for himself at every turn, Miss Chetwynd.” Mr. Blessed continues, his face crumpling with concern. “You ought to watch yourself around him and his sneaky ways. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile***************.”
“Oh I know men like Mr. Clarke, dear Chris.” She extends her hands to the muscular young man with blonde hair in his workman’s overalls standing over her, and silently he helps Lettice get up. “But thank you for your concern.”
“That may be the case, Miss Chetwynd, but I’d keep my wits around him all the same, if I were you, Miss Chetwynd.”
Lettice smiles gratefully to Mr. Blessed as she stands fully upright in front of him, encircled by glassware with blue tinges, a silver punch bowl and candelabra, and the two large crates containing the Dragonware jugs. “I will heed your advice, Chris. Thank you”
“Decoration day is here at last, Miss Chetwynd.” Mr, Blessed opines, indicating to the mayhem occurring as his men return with crates of books destined for the mahogany bookshelves flanking the fireplace, where they will be dispersed on the shelves between pretty trinkets, since neither Mr. nor Mrs. Hatchett are great readers, and have no need of a library like the former owners might once have housed in this lofty room.
“Yes Chris,” Lettice sighs through her nostrils with a mixture of awe and satisfaction. “My favourite day! Aren’t you relieved?”
“The days when everything has to be set up in readiness for the new owners is always a day of reckoning, stresses and exhaustion for me and my men, Miss Chetwynd. I’ll be relieved when it is over and done with, leaving you to manage the little tweaks Mrs. Hatchett will doubtless like to make to ensure her own satisfaction.” He smiles at Lettice with his gentle and winning smile. “But I’m sure she will be grateful to you, for all you’ve done, once you’ve set it up just so. It all culminates in a job well done.” Mr. Blessed goes on. “And I’m sure it will be a job well done, knowing you, Miss Chetwynd.”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence, dear Chris.” Lettice says with an embarrassed smile. “I just hope Mrs. Hatchett will like it.”
“You told me that you once decorated for her. Miss Chetwynd. Isn’t that so?”
“You have a good memory, Chris. I did indeed. I decorated a few rooms at her home, ‘The Gables’ in Sussex a few years ago.”
“Then she knows what the quality of your interiors are like, Miss Chetwynd. She cannot help but be delighted. In fact,” Mr. Blessed nods towards one of the doors leading into the room. “You can ask her yourself, now.”
Lettice turns and sees Dolly Hatchett standing in the doorway leading from the next principal room. Like her latest vibrant portrait, which now rests on the sofa behind Lettice, waiting to be hung over the fireplace, Mrs. Hatchett’s pale blue eyes twinkle and sparkle with life, and her soft skin has a gentle glow to it as she smiles as she looks around the room with admiration, her simple gesture adding extra warmth and joy to the room. Again, Lettice is not at all surprised that handsome and dashing Captain Charles Hatchett, home on leave during the Great War, had fallen in love with the pretty chorus girl with the sparking blue eyes from ‘Chu Chin Chow’*************** as he watched her in the darkened auditorium of His Majesty’s Theatre. Today she is arrayed in a smart black and white crêpe de chiné outfit with a black pleated skirt that falls softly to just below her pretty knees and a white jacket with black lapels and black buttons – an ensemble Lettice immediately recognises as one of her best and oldest childhood chum Gerald Bruton’s designed outfits. She accessories it with her now standard string of pearls at her throat, a creamy white silk scarf decorated with playful polka dots draped loosely across her shoulders and down her front, and a fashionable little black felt hat pinned at a jaunty angle to her blonde marcelled waves*****************. The whole outfit gives her an air of elegance and confidence.
“Mrs. Hatchett!” Lettice exclaims, self-consciously brushing down her own skirt, anxious it be free of any dirt or smuts from unpacking boxes. “Welcome to your new home!” She goes on in an apologetic tone. “I’m afraid that we haven’t finished unpacking and arranging yet. Work on that has only commenced today.”
“Not at all, Miss Chetwynd.” Mrs. Hatchett replies as she steps into the room, carefully manoeuvring around a black japanned chinoiserie style desk and accompanying chair, a sleek Art Deco style club armchair with geometric patterning and several boxes of smaller decorative items which have only been partially unpacked. “I see you have remembered how much I love blue.” she remarks, pausing her traversing of the room towards Lettice and Mr. Blessed, and bending elegantly to retrieve a delicate blue spangled basket of spun glass from a box overflowing with a froth of creamy yellowish translucent tissue paper before carefully putting it down again.
“Of course I did, Mrs. Hatchett.” Lettice replies. “I hope you approve.”
“Oh yes, I do.” Mrs. Hatchett replies, but in a rather distracted tone which surprises Lettice and Mr. Blessed as flat, considering her enthusiastic words. “It’s all rather splendid, isn’t it?” Her eyes flit around the room in a desultory way, landing first upon one of the two Art Deco pedestals that the large Dragonware vases will stand on, then to the Dragonware jugs themselves in their open chests, framed by layers of protective paper, and then from the sofa and her portrait upon it, to the rolled up large carpet left near the fireplace.
“You don’t sound too pleased, if you don’t mind me saying, ma’am.” Mr. Blessed ventures.
“I… I beg your pardon?” Mrs, Hatchett replies falteringly, turning her attention to Lettice and her upholsterer.
“You don’t appear to be pleased, Mrs. Hatchett. Is the room’s décor not to your liking?” Lettice ventures politely.
“Oh, that.” Mrs. Hatchett answers rather wistfully. “No,” her attention returns from wherever it is. “No it’s looking lovely. Pardon me for showing up unannounced. I was passing you see, and I saw the lorries parked in the street, and your men unloading furniture.”
“Mrs. Hatchett,” Lettice remarks. “This is your property. You may come and go as you please. You need no permission from me.”
“No,” Mrs. Hatchett chuckles sadly. “No, of course not.”
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Hatchett?” Lettice persists.
“Pardon my moment of melancholy, Miss Chetwynd,” Mrs. Hatchett explains. “I was just wondering whether all this,” She gesticulates around her. “Might all be for naught.”
“For naught, Mrs. Hatchett? What on earth do you mean?” Lettice feels her pulse increase as Mrs. Hatchett’s words sink in, as a sudden chill fills her. “Mr. Hatchett isn’t planning to resign from politics, is he?”
“Oh no, Miss Chetwynd.” Mrs. Hatchett replies. “I didn’t mean to sound so dire in my predictions for you to jump to that conclusion. No, it is more that we might not get a change to enjoy this as a Member of Parliament and his wife because of the backlash from his constituents.”
“From his constituents?” Lettice persists. “I thought the people of Tower Hamlets loved your husband. I know my charwoman******************, certainly speaks highly of him according to my maid.”
“Well, she might not like Charlie so much now. The sheen seems to have worn off.”
“What on earth has happened, Mrs. Hatchett?”
“Last week Charlie and I went canvassing in Bethnal Green, and we were jeered in the street by the people around us. A woman even hurled a head of rotten lettuce at us, Miss Chetwynd. Can you imagine?”
“Oh, that’s horrible, Mrs. Hatchett!” Lettice gasps, raising her hands to her delicately painted lips. “It must have been quite traumatic.”
“It was awful, Miss Chetwynd. Positively beastly!” Mrs. Hatchett’s blue eyes now shimmer with tears threatening to spill from them. “We’ve never been received so hostilely before.”
“What has caused this sudden shift, Mrs. Hatchett?” Lettice queries. “Has Mr. Hatchett changed his stance on something that affects his constituents?”
“Oh no, Miss Chetwynd.” Mrs. Hatchett insists. “Charlie hasn’t changed at all. It’s that awful Trades Union Congress whom I blame, for abruptly calling off the General Strike the way they did. The working class feel abandoned by us******************* because we couldn’t stop the Conservative Government from siding with the mine owners who support the pay cuts and longer hours for the colliery workers********************. Even though Charlie still believes in the idea of a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, his constituents think him decidedly on the nose.”
“Oh,” Lettice huffs, shrugging her shoulders blithely. “I’m sure sentiment like that will all blow over soon enough. My maid and charwoman are just as hard-working and peaceable as they were before the strike.”
“I wish I had your faith, Miss Chetwynd.” Mrs. Hatchett replies dourly. “You are very lucky in the loyalty you have from your domestics. Our constituents are not so kind or forgiving of Charlie or his political party. The vehemence. The hatred they showed towards us.” She pauses for a moment. “It shook me so. I’m not used to being loathed like that, by people on the street, people I don’t even know, and who don’t know the first thing about Charlie or me.”
“But there are no mine workers here in London, Mrs. Hatchett.”
“No, but there are relations of them, Miss Chetwynd, and they are angry – positively mutinous – since some have relatives up north who are still on strike, even without the support of the Trades Union.”
“Well, I feel sure that things will settle down after a little while, Mrs. Hatchett. Don’t give up on your husband so easily with defeatist talk.”
Mrs. Hatchett clears her throat and coughs. “Yes, yes of course. I’m sure you’re right, Miss Chetwynd.” She tries to shake the feeling of despondency off. She sighs heavily. “Anyway, I have no wish to spoil your day of decorating. Now, tell me about these.” She points to the large Dragonware jugs. “They look rather smart and select, as well as exotic.”
*The Royal Academy of Arts is a prestigious, independent institution in London dedicated to the visual arts, founded in 1768 by forty artists and architects under King George III. It was originally located at Somerset House before moving to Trafalgar Square and finally to its permanent home at Burlington House, Piccadilly, in 1868. It is renowned for hosting the annual Summer Exhibition (a major feature of the London Season) which it has been holding since 1769, promoting art through education, and being run by artists and architects.
**Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early Eighteenth Century houses as “the best of their kind in London.” The street’s proximity to the Palace of Westminster made it a popular residential area for politicians.
***The London constituency of Tower Hamlets includes such areas and historic towns as (roughly from west to east) Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Bethnal Green, Wapping, Shadwell, Mile End, Stepney, Limehouse, Old Ford, Bow, Bromley, Poplar, and the Isle of Dogs (with Millwall, the West India Docks, and Cubitt Town), making it a majority working class constituency in 1925 when this story is set. Tower Hamlets included some of the worst slums and societal issues of inequality and poverty in England at that time.
****Jeffrey and Company was an English producer of fine wallpapers that operated between 1836 and the mid 1930s. Based at 64 Essex Road in London, the firm worked with a variety of designers who were active in the aesthetic and arts and crafts movements, such as E.W. Godwin, William Morris, and Walter Crane. Jeffrey and Company’s success is often credited to Metford Warner, who became the company’s chief proprietor in 1871. Under his direction the firm became one of the most lucrative and influential wallpaper manufacturers in Europe. The company clarified that wallpaper should not be reserved for use solely in mansions, but should be available for rooms in the homes of the emerging upper-middle class.
*****Originally a street and a square, Queen Anne’s Gate began life as Queen Square and Park Street. The two were separated by a high wall until 1873when the two areas were combined into Queen Anne’s Gate. Queen Square was constructed first, then when Park Street was constructed, residents of Queen Square were so concerned that the road would be used as a cut through for carriages to avoid the traffic of King Street, the Sanctuary and Tothill Street that a subscription was collected for the building of the wall to avoid the residents having the peace of their square disturbed. The architecture of the buildings in the original Queen Square part of Queen Anne’s Gate is superb, and the main doors to the majority of buildings have very elaborate decorated wooden canopies.
******The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts was a specialized exhibition held in Paris, from April the 29th (the day after it was inaugurated in a private ceremony by the President of France) to October the 25th, 1925. It was designed by the French government to highlight the new modern style of architecture, interior decoration, furniture, glass, jewellery and other decorative arts in Europe and throughout the world. Many ideas of the international avant-garde in the fields of architecture and applied arts were presented for the first time at the exposition. The event took place between the esplanade of Les Invalides and the entrances of the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and on both banks of the Seine. There were fifteen thousand exhibitors from twenty different countries, and it was visited by sixteen million people during its seven-month run. The modern style presented at the exposition later became known as “Art Deco”, after the exposition's name.
*******Beeswax polish is a natural, non-toxic blend of pure beeswax and nourishing oils, like mineral oil, used to condition, protect, and shine timber. It penetrates the wood grain to highlight its natural beauty, prevents drying or cracking, and creates a water-resistant barrier. It nourishes, restores, and protects wooden furnishings, whilst providing a long-lasting, lustrous satin finish. It also helps to fill in and conceals minor scuffs and surface imperfections, as well as sealing wooden surfaces against moisture, causing water to bead on the surface.
********In the 1920s, antique shops were commonly referred to as curiosity shops, antiquaries, or bric-à-brac shops. These spaces often served as a hybrid between a museum and a retail store, where dealers sold a mixed variety of historical relics, estate furniture, and decorative knick-knacks.
*********In the 1920s, Portobello Road was a bustling, working-class hub in Notting Hill, London. Originally established to sell fresh food and daily essentials, the area featured legendary sites like the Electric Cinema—one of the UK's first cinemas—and famously provided inexpensive lodgings to the author George Orwell in 1927.b The antiques we know Portobello Road for today began its germination in the 1920s, becoming a mainstay and attraction by the 1930s.
*********“Je ne sais quoi” is a French phrase used in English to describe a little, (indescribable) something which cannot be pinpointed. A little 'I don't know what'. “Je ne sais quoi” translates directly from the French as “I don't know what”.
**********Dragonware is a highly collectible style of Japanese export porcelain and pottery, typically produced from the late 1800s to the mid Twentieth Century. It is famous for its intricate, hand-painted raised relief dragons (a technique called moriage) and items often feature hidden "lithophane" images of a Geisha's face at their bottoms. The base porcelain usually features a matte or lustre glaze, commonly in black, grey, or dark blue.
***********The dragons are applied by artisans using a slip-trailing technique called moriage, which is very similar to piping icing on a cake, to create a crisp bas relief against the matte or lustre baze glaze. The dragons wrap around the pieces alongside clouds and flames.
************A worker's flat cap is a traditional, rounded cap with a small, stiff brim in front, historically worn by working-class men in the UK, Ireland, and North America from the Fourteenth Century onwards. In 1571, the English government mandated that all males over six (except nobility) wear a wool cap on Sundays and holidays to boost the wool industry, solidifying the flat cap's status as a working-class staple. Over time, it became a symbol of working-class culture, often associated with the phrase "flat cap and whippet," before also being adopted for leisure activities like golf. It was designed to be practical for manual labour—worn by farmers, miners, and factory workers — providing weather protection. It is known for its simple, rounded shape, which can be pulled forward for extra protection against the wind. Made typically of wool, tweed, or cotton, it was favoured for its durability, affordability, and warmth.
*************A "staged cough" is a deliberate, acted-out cough usually used in dramatics as a plot device to signal an underlying emotion, cover an awkward moment, or establish a character's physical illness. It is a controlled physical action performed to sound convincing without causing actual vocal strain or interrupting the play's pacing.
**************A dilettante is a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts or a field of knowledge, superficially or just for amusement rather than with serious dedication or professional expertise.
***************The phrase "give him an inch and he'll take a mile" means that if you make a small concession or offer a small favour, the recipient will unscrupulously take advantage of your generosity and expect much more. It warns that some people do not respect boundaries. The original phrase first appeared in print as "Give him an inch and he'll take an ell" in John Heywood's 1546 collection of English proverbs. An "ell" was an old measurement of cloth that was typically about 45 inches long (roughly the distance from a man's middle finger to his opposite shoulder). As the metric and imperial systems standardised measurements in the Twentieth Century, the old-fashioned "ell" fell out of common use. The proverb was then adapted to the modern "mile" to exaggerate the scale of the entitlement and make it punchier for modern speakers.
****************‘Chu Chin Chow’ is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based on the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. It was the most popular show in London’s West End during the Great War. It premiered at His Majesty’s Theatre in London on the 3rd of August 1916 and ran for 2,238 performances, a record number that stood for nearly forty years!
*****************Marcelling is a hair styling technique in which hot curling tongs are used to induce a curl into the hair. Its appearance was similar to that of a finger wave but it is created using a different method. Marcelled hair was a popular style for women's hair in the 1920s, often in conjunction with a bob cut. For those women who had longer hair, it was common to tie the hair at the nape of the neck and pin it above the ear with a stylish hair pin or flower. One famous wearer was American entertainer, Josephine Baker.
******************A charwoman, chargirl, or char, jokingly charlady, is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually lives as part of the household within the structure of domestic service. In the 1920s, chars usually did all the hard graft work that paid live-in domestics would no longer do as they looked for excuses to leave domestic service for better paying work in offices and factories.
******************* The 1926 General Strike was a nine-day nationwide stoppage in the United Kingdom between the third and twelfth of May. It was called by the Trades Union Congress to support over a million coal miners facing wage cuts and longer hours. Following "Black Friday" in 1921, miners faced a lockout after refusing "not a penny off the pay, not an hour on the day" wage reductions and longer hours. The Labour Party and trade union politicians faced intense backlash and accusations of "betrayal" from sections of the working class across Great Britain in the aftermath of the General Strike, when the Trades Union Congress abruptly called it off after only nine days. The Trades Union Congress leadership—which included prominent trade unionists and politicians—was widely condemned by rank-and-file workers. They were accused of capitulating to the Conservative government, who were pro mine owner and anti-worker, out of fear of the strike escalating into a broader social revolution. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain felt particularly betrayed because they continued their strike for seven months on their own before being starved back to work with pay cuts and longer hours. The Communist Party of Great Britain heavily criticized the reformist Labour leadership. The backlash fuelled an internal ideological battle between moderate politicians and the radical, pro-union left. In the aftermath, the Labour Party national leadership launched purges against Communist Party members and heavily disciplined local labour branches that defied official directives during the crisis.
********************A colliery worker is someone employed at a coal mine (or "colliery"), either underground or on the surface. While often referring to coal hewers (who cut the coal), the term includes a variety of roles, such as byeworkers repairing tunnels, haulage staff moving coal, and surface workers managing machinery and processing.
This slightly chaotic upper-class still life of redecoration in progress is different to what you might think, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures, some of which come from my own childhood and teenage years.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
The two black and blue Dragonware jugs appearing out of the wooden crates are from my early teenage years. They are from the 1860s. I bought them at a car boot sale one day, as I was slowly building my 1:12 miniatures collection. I knew that they would come in handy one day! The lidded wooden crates they are in, with their Edwardian advertising labels have been purposely aged and came from The Dolls’ House Supplier in the United Kingdom. The shears with black handles balanced on the edge of the crate open and close. Made of metal, they came from Doreen Jeffries’ Small Wonders Miniature Shop in the United Kingdom.
The painting on the sofa is my own selection of what I thought Mrs. Hatchett might look like, put into a gilded frame that also came from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls’ House Shop in the United Kingdom.
The sofa and chair are beautiful J.B.M. miniatures. The stylised Art Deco soft furnishings with their striking geometric patterns have removable cushions, just like their life sized examples. The Art Deco pedestal stand in the midground has been made by the high end miniature furniture maker, Bespaq.
All the glass items on the floor and in the aged crate have been blown and decorated and tinted by hand by Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. The stopper in the decanter in the foreground is removable.
The silver candelabra and punch bowl in the foreground, and the silver plates stacked on the sofa, come from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls’ House Shop.
The stylised Art Deco fire screen poking out from behind the sofa and pedestal is made using thinly laser cut wood, made by Pat’s Miniatures in England.
The miniature Oriental rug rolled up in the background of the photo was made by hand looming by Pike and Pike in England.
The metal step ladder, bucket and brush in the background come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop.
The fireplace is made of plaster, and also comes from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop.
captured in stark black-and-white, this image tells a quiet story of light and shadow, movement and stillness. one figure enters through a brightly illuminated door, casting long shadows across the floor, while another stands partially hidden in shadow, watching from the sidelines. the intense contrast and cinematic framing lend the scene a sense of mystery, reminiscent of classic film noir. in this moment, light becomes both a barrier and a bridge, highlighting the solitude of each figure in their own space within the frame.
Sunset views of The Gherkin from the 40th floor in the City of London 🇬🇧
I’ve made a solid start to 2026 by finally capturing this iconic scene of sunset behind 30 St Mary Axe, viewed from Duck & Waffle in Salesforce Tower, Central London. I’ve been here a couple of times, and intended to go many more to try to capture this image, but was thwarted either due to poor weather or circumstance.
The Gherkin is one of my favourite skyscrapers — it is unique and instantly recognisable as a London landmark and is easily the most striking structure in the City Cluster, if not all of London. At only 180m tall, it’s not winning any height awards, but it’s sleek aesthetic is unlike any other.
This area of London is fascinating, with hyper-modern steel and glass skyscrapers mere metres from hundreds-of-years-old Elizabethan, Tudor & Medieval buildings. It’s one of my favourite places to stroll around with a camera.
A huge thanks to the staff at @duckandwaffle for securing me this spot before the light faded. The only thing better than the views from up here is the food.
A Torre Hassan e o vasto conjunto de colunas da mesquita inacabada em Rabat, Marrocos, constituem um dos exemplos mais significativos da arquitetura almóada do século XII. Iniciada em 1195 pelo califa Abu Yusuf Yaqub al‑Mansur, a estrutura foi projetada para ser a maior mesquita do mundo islâmico ocidental da época, com um minarete destinado a figurar entre os mais altos do mundo islâmico. No entanto, a construção foi permanentemente interrompida após a morte do califa em 1199, deixando o minarete com apenas 44 metros de altura, cerca de metade dos 86 metros originalmente planeados. A torre, construída em arenito avermelhado, exibe nas suas fachadas complexos relevos geométricos e padrões de sebka, elementos distintivos da arte mourisca e magrebina. O adro circundante está preenchido por uma grelha simétrica de colunas de pedra truncadas que delineariam o enorme salão de orações hipostilo que nunca chegou a receber o seu teto. Este local histórico, hoje integrado no sítio “Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage”, classificado como Património Mundial da UNESCO, permanece como um símbolo da ambição dinástica e da história interrompida da capital marroquina.
The Hassan Tower and the vast array of columns of the unfinished mosque in Rabat, Morocco, are one of the most significant examples of 12th-century Almohad architecture. Begun in 1195 by Caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the structure was designed to be the largest mosque in the Western Islamic world at the time, with a minaret intended to be among the tallest in the Islamic world. However, construction was permanently halted after the caliph's death in 1199, leaving the minaret only 44 meters high, about half of the 86 meters originally planned. The tower, built in reddish sandstone, displays complex geometric reliefs and sebka patterns on its facades, distinctive elements of Moorish and Maghreb art. The surrounding courtyard is filled with a symmetrical grid of truncated stone columns that would have outlined the huge hypostyle prayer hall that never received its ceiling. This historic site, now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage,” remains a symbol of dynastic ambition and the interrupted history of the Moroccan capital.
This is a fragmented or partially constructed orb web, probably made by an orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae. The radiating support threads and remnants of curved capture spirals support that identification. No spider is clearly visible, so its species cannot be determined.
Description
Fine strands of silk stretch across nearly the entire frame. Long anchor lines connect several incomplete geometric sections, including ladder-like rows on the left and a small remnant of radial and spiral construction near the lower center. Tiny pale clumps caught at several points may be debris, old silk, or wrapped prey remains.
Sunlight catches selected threads, making them appear silver-white against a deeply blurred background. Green foliage occupies the lower corners, while large white, green, and amber highlights form soft circles and polygonal bokeh behind the web. The focus rests on the silk rather than the surrounding vegetation.
Discussion
The photograph reveals a structure that might otherwise remain almost invisible. Against the soft, colorful background, the illuminated threads become a delicate linear drawing suspended in space.
Because the web is incomplete, its irregular gaps are as important as its surviving geometry. The contrast between taut lines, broken spirals, and luminous bokeh suggests fragility and continual change: a spider web is both carefully engineered and vulnerable to weather, movement, and passing animals. The shallow depth of field turns an ordinary natural detail into an abstract composition of lines and light.
Although not the most valuable object that I own, this is one of my most precious pieces. This is my Great Grandmother’s small Anglo-Indian jewellery box, which she brought back from India after she and my Grandfather finished a period in the diplomatic corps during the Raj just before the Great War. It is precious to me because it holds some of the most tangible memories I have of my Great Grandmother and my Grandmother. This sat on my Great Grandmother’s dressing table and housed some of her everyday jewellery. I remember visiting her and watching her take out her pearls and cameos and glittering rings when she was getting ready to receive visitors or to go out. Even when I hold it now or hear the rich sounds of the box lid as it closes, in my mind I can still smell her violet and lily of the valley perfumes and her cold cream. When she died, my Grandmother inherited it and it sat on her dressing table, and I can hear her laugh as I played with the pearl necklaces, earrings and rings that she kept in there, including the Regency ebony and ivory earrings I called “Flora” and “Fauna”. The yellowing of the ivory is a sign of its advanced age, and its edges have been worn by many hands touching them over the last century: not least of all mine.
The jewellery box itself is an Anglo-Indian (Indian made but designed for the British market who lived in India during the Raj) made in the 1890s. It is fashioned from ebony and rosewood with the most exquisite hand-made geometric marquetry inlay of ivory and mother of pearl. The detail photos show how intricate the geometric pattern is, and how perfectly each piece is fitted. This might impress you even more when you think that the box itself is ten and a half centimetres long, by six and half centimetres wide and four and a half centimetres deep. The ebony frames to the hexagons on the lid are one millimetre thick, the vertical rosewood bands on the ivory edge of the lid are half a millimetre in width, the smallest triangles on the sides each have sides of one millimetre in length and the triangles around the flowers on the lid have sides less than half a millimetre in length: and all of this was made with precision by hand by a master artisan more than a century ago.
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a weekly challenge called “Snap Happy”. A different theme chosen by a member of the group each week, and the image is to be posted on the Monday of the week.
This week the theme, “geometry” was chosen by GG, Greenstone Girl.
Geometry is the part of mathematics that studies the size, shapes, positions and dimensions of things. Squares, circles and triangles are some of the simplest shapes in flat geometry. Cubes, cylinders, cones and spheres are simple shapes in solid geometry.
Marquetry is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures.
John and Donald Parkinson's 1929 Bullocks Wilshire is the building that taught Los Angeles what Art Deco could be, and this side entrance is a quiet master class in why texture carries the style. The cast stone facade — a buff-toned terrazzo aggregate that imitates limestone but reads warmer in the late afternoon sun — is scored into massive ashlar blocks that frame the entry like a temple pylon. The black granite base grounds it. Everything else is surface incident.
The portal itself is where the building shows its hand. A coffered ceiling in green, terra cotta, and gold radiates a stylized sunburst — Mayan Revival by way of Hollywood, executed in painted plaster and meant to be read from a moving Packard, not a parked Tesla. The pendant lantern, copper gone soft with patina, hangs in front of a copper-framed transom that catches reflected sky and the silhouette of a streetlamp opposite. Flanking the door, two vertical bands of carved cast stone medallions — heraldic shields, geometric rosettes, stepped pyramidal motifs — give the eye somewhere to travel from foot to lintel.
The cracked sidewalk reads as an honest part of the picture. The building was decommissioned as a department store in 1993; Southwestern Law School has occupied it since. Decades of survival, etched in concrete.
Zenit B (USSR, 1969), Industar 50-2 lens. Kodak Pro 100, C41 (Lennart Westman), Epson V600, VueScan.
“Please sir! What’s geometry, sir?”
“Why just look around you children. Geometry is everywhere!”
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a weekly challenge called “Snap Happy”. A different theme chosen by a member of the group each week, and the image is to be posted on the Monday of the week.
This week the theme, “geometry” was chosen by GG, Greenstone Girl.
Geometry is the part of mathematics that studies the size, shapes, positions and dimensions of things. Squares, circles and triangles are some of the simplest shapes in flat geometry. Cubes, cylinders, cones and spheres are simple shapes in solid geometry.
One of the wonderful things that attract people, young and old alike, to Playmobil is their vibrant colour.
Playmobil is a line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group, headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. Production began in 1974. Playmobil began to be sold worldwide in 1975, and by 2009, approximately 2.2 billion Playmobil figures had been sold. The signature Playmobil toy is a 7.5 cm tall human figure with a particular smiling face. A wide range of accessories, buildings and vehicles, as well as many sorts of animals, are also part of the Playmobil line. Playmobil toys are produced in themed series of sets as well as individual special figures and playsets. New products and product lines developed by a 50-strong development team are introduced frequently, and older sets are discontinued. Promotional and one-off products are sometimes produced in very limited quantities. These practices have helped give rise to a sizeable community of collectors.
Working with the clean architectural elements, I composed this frame to emphasize the dynamic flow of parallel lines. The diagonal arrangement creates a sense of movement, while the contrast between light and dark surfaces adds depth to the geometric pattern.
Looking up at this Toulouse apartment building, I captured the mesmerizing geometry of its modernist architecture. The pink-washed facade, characteristic of the 'Ville Rose', creates a striking contrast with the blue sky, while the repetitive pattern of balconies and windows generates a dizzying perspective that challenges our spatial perception.
This is a huge construction crane reflecting off of a building in downtown Baton Rouge. There seems to be a LOT of construction going on there.
Red aloe flower spikes stand out against their green serrated leaves, their layered blooms forming bold, natural patterns. The contrast of color and texture highlights the plant’s sculptural form during its winter flowering.
bathed in the stark midday sun, the terrace of the penthouse in cala mayor reveals a carefully crafted play of light and shadow. angular shadows stretch across the clean, white tiles, cast by a metal railing that seems both delicate and deliberate in its design. beyond the geometric confinements, the mediterranean unfolds in boundless blue, dotted with the serene glide of sailboats. this is where the construction's rhythm slows, where workers pause in the silhouette of progress, gazing out to where the sea kisses the sky. each frame of the railing offers a different vignette of tranquility—a pause in the narrative of labor, a breath between the toils.
Some of the tiles for this staircase are of Spanish design. Others with distinctive Moorish-Islamic geometric patterns are from a Tunisian company.
20260525_152545
Focus stacking and monochrome toning transform a succulent bud into an abstract creature of light, shadow, and teeth.
As the oldest part of Lisbon (and the only neighbourhood still intact after the destruction of the 1755 earthquake), Alfama has the strongest roots in Portuguese culture and heritage.
Its winding streets act as a giant mosaic, pin-pricked with colorful tiles (called "Azulejo" - painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework) that paint a larger picture of the city. Houses are dressed up in geometric patterns, whilst intimate workshops prove the craft is still going strong.
The high still-point of the light maze is found in the central room. As we look up we are faced with a gorgeous mandala, reminiscent of the exquisite geometric patterns found in Islamic mosques.
Given the subject matter of H.P. Lovecraft's late collection of stories, "Necronomicon" seems like a reasonable title. If you're not familiar with Lovecraft's work, look him up. You find hours of entertaining reading there.
The Mesa, Santa Barbara, California.
Processed in ON1 Photos 10 Enhance and Effects (Dynamic Contrast and Texturizer filters).
In a wall between two shops along a public sidewalk, this is all I get of the garden behind it. I am intrigued. This is only blocks from my house so I walk by frequently. I was stimulated to revisit this place at various times of day by a challenge from my local photography group (Central Coast Photo Society) that included "windows to the world."
The fractal elegance of an agave, frozen in time—a testament to the mathematical beauty found in nature’s design.
Built by the Public Works Department for a princely £7,000.00, the Mount Buffalo Chalet was opened in 1910 by the Victorian State Government as Australia’s first ski lodge, and it quickly became a popular destination within the alpine region. Initially leased to private enterprise as a guest house, The Chalet was taken over by Victorian Railways in October 1924. Described as the “last word in luxury”, The Chalet featured large sitting rooms, ample fireplaces, a smoking room, well ventilated rooms of capacious size and hot and cold baths. They offered holiday packages with train services running to Porpunkah railway station and then a connecting Hoys Roadlines service. It was a very popular destination for newlyweds as the perfect place for a honeymoon, and over the years traditions began to emerge such as an elegant dress code within The Chalet, a dinner gong to announce dinner, costume parties and grand balls in The Chalet’s ballroom.
Originally intended to be built in granite, cost blowouts of £3,000.00 meant that instead The Chalet was built of timber. To this day, it is still the largest timber construction in Victoria. It was designed in the fashionable Arts and Crafts style of the period. Reminiscent in style to northern European Chalet architecture, the Mt Buffalo Chalet is built on a coursed random rubble plinth, with a series of hipped and gabled corrugated iron roofs. Originally designed as a symmetrical, gabled roof building, early additions were carried out in a similar style and continued the symmetry of the front facade. The second storey addition to the central wing altered the appearance of the building, however the bungalow character was retained. Slender rough cast render chimneys with tapering tops and random coursed rubble bases, a decorative barge board over the main entry, decorative timber brackets supporting timber shingled gable ends, exposed rafters and double hung, paned windows are all typical architectural details of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It was constructed over a thirty year period during which time extensions, extra wings and outbuildings were added and removed with the changing times and its tourism demands. Improvements were made soon after construction and these included a golf links in 1911, a north wing addition in 1912 and a south wing and billiard room in 1914. Heating and lighting in The Chalet was improved and upgraded in 1919. Between 1921 and 1922, an addition to the south wing increased bedroom and bathroom facilities. The billiard room was moved to the front of the house and the terraced garden, with rubble granite retaining walls, was laid out at the front of The Chalet. The present dining room, the kitchen and billiard room wings were constructed in 1925, and the original dining room was converted to a ballroom, with a stage. Balustrading along the front of the building was removed and large windows inserted to provide uninterrupted views. Between 1937 and 1938 major alterations were made with the extension of the south wing and a second storey added to the central wing of the building. At this time the provisions for two hundred guests at The Chalet was noted as more than equalling the best Melbourne hotels. Internally, some remnants of decoration remain, reflecting various stages of The Chalet’s development, and these can be viewed through The Chalet’s large windows, where several suites, the lounge and the dining room are all set up to display what the accommodation was like. The formal terraced gardens built around the Mount Buffalo Chalet were seen as a civilising image within the context of the wild and relatively harsh Australian landscape. The key built features if the gardens seen today remain intact. The garden’s shape and form remain largely unchanged from when they were created including the stonewalling, terracing, central set of stairs and exposed bedrock.
The Mount Buffalo Chalet is lovingly sometimes referred to as the “Grand Old Lady”. If nothing else, she is a unique survivor of the earliest days of recreational skiing in Australia. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1992 and is maintained today as a time capsule to show what life was like when tourism was done on a grand scale.
One of the things I love about my inner city neighbourhood is the fact that we have a wonderful diversity in beautiful architectural style of housing. Although housing from the mid 1800s exists in my area, over time it became more suburbanised, particularly with the arrival of the train and tram routes around the turn of the Twentieth Century, and then the extension of these as the Metroland of the 1920s and 30s sprung up. There are many streets that have heritage overlays on them. Therefore, there are some wonderful Art Deco style villas from the 1920s and 1930s that still have their original fences and gates.
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a weekly challenge called “Snap Happy”. A different theme chosen by a member of the group each week, and the image is to be posted on the Monday of the week.
This week the theme, “geometry” was chosen by GG, Greenstone Girl.
This low Art Deco brick wall with its triangular pinnacle and decorative brick panels and this cast iron gate with its geometric pattern seemed like perfect choices for the theme.
Art Deco is a European style that celebrated the exciting and dynamic aspects of the machine age. It was all about sleekness, sharp lines, and vivid decorative elements like fins, fans, speed lines, portal windows and low relief sculpture. There was also a drive towards the clean lines of geometry in design.
Geometry is the part of mathematics that studies the size, shapes, positions and dimensions of things. Squares, circles and triangles are some of the simplest shapes in flat geometry. Cubes, cylinders, cones and spheres are simple shapes in solid geometry.
Here's my shiny fidget spinner again reflecting an array of multicolor LED Christmas lights. In addition to spinning on its own axis, the little gizmo is sitting on a turntable at 45 RPM.
The only "post processing" done here is a complete blackening of the already-mostly black-blackground and a small brightness/contrast edit.
f/8, ISO400, 6 sec exp; 50mm.
[C7 7590]
Against a perfect blue sky, I composed this study of a modernist apartment building in Toulouse. The repetitive pattern of windows and balconies creates a geometric grid, while the vibrant turquoise adds a distinctly Mediterranean feel to the urban landscape.
This image looks at some attractive geometric detail on the front of a half-timbered cottage on Queen Mary's Drive, Port Sunlight. Each of Nos 16-22 was a four-bedroom residence. This detail on No. 22 is part of a bracket-supported double-jettied gable. The rather cobwebbed pegs visible on the black-painted wooden frames are part of the construction process. The buildings face the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
Designed by James Lomax-Simpson in 1912, and built the following year, it is one of the Domestic Revival (or Old English) designs found throughout the village for which he is best known. Educated at Liverpool University and the son of a friend of of William Lever, he became the head of Lever Brothers architecture department in 1910 and designed several buildings in Port Sunlight including the Bandstand (now demolished), the Residents' Club, the south wing of Lever House, the Duke of York Cottages and houses in Jubilee Crescent, King George's Drive and Windy Bank as well as those in Queen Mary's Drive.
He also designed factories built overseas for Lever Brothers and Unilever House in London (Unilever was created in 1929 when Lever Brothers merged with the Dutch company Margarine Union).
A vertical architectural study of the carillon tower at the Newcastle Civic Centre. This perspective captures the iconic copper-green lantern topped with seahorses, set against the soft colors of a Tyneside sunset. The composition emphasizes the repetitive geometry of the tower's square windows and the contrasting glass-curtain wall of the adjacent office block, celebrating the monumental modernist design of George Kenyon.
The afternoon sun floods through the glass-vaulted ceiling, casting sharp shadows and highlighting the rhythmic teal trusses of this 1835 Grade I listed landmark. The composition focuses on the repeating textures of the ironwork and the checkered flooring, celebrating the grand scale of Richard Grainger and John Dobson's architectural vision.
"Do you think Jaison is cute?"
--"Yes Jaison is dreamy. Jaison's tittle is huuuge omg. I am getting hungry for fried eggs."
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In downtown McKeesport, Pennsylvania, on July 1st, 2019, a building at the northeast corner of 5th Avenue and Blackberry Street.
Jaison's was a regional department store chain that was bought out by Charming Shoppes, Inc., the owner of Fashion Bug, in 1983.
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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Allegheny (county) (7013272)
• McKeesport (2090470)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• abandoned buildings (300008055)
• department stores (300005344)
• façades (300002526)
• geometric patterns (300165213)
• handwriting (300252927)
• Mid-Century Modernist (300343610)
• orange yellow (300128002)
• personal names (300266386)
• shop signs (300211862)
• storefronts (300002533)
• tile (material) (300010676)
• white (color) (300129784)
Wikidata items:
• 1 July 2019 (Q57350260)
• Charming Shoppes (Q5086513)
• Jaison (Q6124288)
• July 1 (Q2700)
• July 2019 (Q47087600)
• Pittsburgh metropolitan area (Q7199458)
• Rust Belt (Q781973)
• tittle (Q13586558)
• Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Q246501)
• vacant building (Q56056305)
• Western Pennsylvania (Q7988152)
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Buildings—Pennsylvania (sh85017803)
• Business names (sh85018315)
• Geometry in architecture (sh00000156)
A fachada apresentada pertence ao Real Monasterio de Santa Clara de Tordesillas, fundado em 1363 pela infanta D. Beatriz, filha do rei Pedro I de Castela, que ali instituiu um convento de clarissas. O edifício foi originalmente construído como palácio régio desenvolvido nas épocas de Afonso XI e Pedro I de Castela, sobre estruturas anteriores de origem islâmica, o que explica a marcante presença de elementos mudéjares na sua arquitetura. A janela geminada exibe arcos polilobulados característicos da arte islâmica peninsular, enquadrados por uma elaborada composição de sebka — padrão geométrico de losangos entrelaçados típico da arquitetura almóada. O alfiz que emoldura o conjunto e a banda epigráfica inferior, possivelmente com inscrições em árabe ou pseudo-árabe, reforçam a herança andaluza. A porta de madeira com cravos metálicos segue a tradição construtiva ibérica medieval. Este sincretismo artístico inscreve-se no fenómeno mudéjar, um estilo exclusivamente ibérico que combina formas cristãs com técnicas e motivos islâmicos, desenvolvido graças ao trabalho de artesãos muçulmanos ao serviço de mecenas cristãos, e exemplificado por vários conjuntos de arquitetura mudéjar inscritos na lista do Património Mundial da UNESCO.
The façade shown belongs to the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara de Tordesillas, founded in 1363 by Infanta Beatriz, daughter of King Pedro I of Castile, who established a convent of Poor Clares there. The building was originally constructed as a royal palace during the reigns of Alfonso XI and Pedro I of Castile, on top of earlier structures of Islamic origin, which explains the striking presence of Mudejar elements in its architecture. The mullioned window features poly-lobed arches characteristic of peninsular Islamic art, framed by an elaborate sebka composition—a geometric pattern of interlaced lozenges typical of Almohad architecture. The alfiz framing the ensemble and the lower epigraphic band, possibly with inscriptions in Arabic or pseudo-Arabic, reinforce the Andalusian heritage. The wooden door with metal nails follows the medieval Iberian building tradition. This artistic syncretism is part of the Mudejar phenomenon, an exclusively Iberian style that combines Christian forms with Islamic techniques and motifs, developed thanks to the work of Muslim craftsmen in the service of Christian patrons, and exemplified by several examples of Mudejar architecture included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.