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Through one of the alternate plain glass windows in the Round Church (1185) - Temple Church, London. Built by the Knights Templar, the soldier monks who protected pilgrims to the Holy Land during the crusades.
The cold, grey and windy day outside was transformed by the random ripples in the old glass.
foto 1986
Copyright © Susana Mulé
ESTA FOTO ME FUE LICENCIADA POR LA BBC DE LONDRES UK PARA SER REPRODUCIDA EN UNA NOTA DE SU MAGAZINE june/july 2017..
El prestigioso cardiocirujano platense René Favaloro se suicidaba hace 15 años al dispararse en el corazón, agobiado por la crisis que atravesaba su fundación y decepcionado ante la falta de respuestas por parte de las autoridades y de los empresarios.
El 28 de julio de 2000, un día antes de su muerte, Favaloro le envió una carta al entonces presidente Fernando de la Rúa en la que le pedía ayuda para obtener fondos de salvataje por la crítica situación financiera de su fundación.
Según confió después el propio De la Rúa, el cardiocirujano concluyó la misiva con una frase lapidaria: "Estoy desesperado".
"La carta llegó el viernes y me enteré ayer (lunes)”, confesó De la Rúa ante las cámaras de América TV. “Él me pedía si podía interceder ante empresarios para obtener una donación de seis millones de pesos", dijo el primer mandatario.
En otra de las siete cartas que dejó antes de quitarse la vida,a los 77 años, Favaloro condenó la corrupción de médicos, sindicalistas y prestadores.
“Valga un solo ejemplo: el PAMI tiene una vieja deuda con nosotros (creo desde el año 94 o 95) de 1.900.000 pesos; la hubiéramos cobrado en 48 horas si hubiéramos aceptado los retornos que se nos pedían (como es lógico no a mí directamente)”, explicaba.
“Estoy pasando uno de los momentos más difíciles de mi vida, la fundación tiene graves problemas financieros. En este último tiempo me he transformado en un mendigo. Mi tarea es llamar, llamar y golpear puertas para recaudar algún dinero que nos permita seguir”, escribió Favaloro en una de las cartas que dejó a modo de despedida.
Nacido el 12 de julio de 1923 en el barrio El Mondongo, e hijo de un carpintero –Manuel— y de una modista –Ida Raffaelli--, Favaloro ingresó a la facultad de Medicina de Universidad Nacional de La Plata a fines de los años 30.
Realizó su residencia en el Policlínico, donde vivió durante dos años de forma muy austera entre los pacientes que atendía, hasta que se recibió en 1949.
A poco de graduarse, le llegó una carta de un tío, quien vivía en la localidad de Jancito Aráuz, en la zona desértica de La Pampa, en la cual le contaba que en se pueblo de 3500 habitantes se necesitaban médicos.
Junto con su hermano Juan José puso en marcha un centro asistencial y logró reducir la mortalidad infantil en la zona, al igual que las infecciones en los partos y la desnutrición, todo gracias a campañas de difusión sanitarias que realizaba con la ayuda de las Iglesias, las escuelas y las instituciones intermedias.
En ese entones, Favaloro volvía una vez por año a La Plata, donde además de presenciar algún partido de Gimnasia, el club de sus amores, aprovechaba sus visitas para ponerse al día en materia de conocimientos médicos.
La cirugía toráxica era uno de los temas que más le interesaban, y lo entusiasmaba la idea de viajar a Estados Unidos con el propósito de nutrirse de los últimos avances en materia de intervenciones cardíacas.
Tras 12 años como médico rural, se traslada a Cleveland, y tras trabajar en el tratamiento de las afecciones vasculares comienza a interesarse, en 1967, por la utilización de la vena safena en las intervenciones coronarias.
La estandarización de esa técnica sería conocida como bypass, y sus especificidades serían publicadas en 1970 en revistas especializadas de los Estados Unidos.
En 1971, Favaloro retorna al país con el deseo de crear una clínica de alta complejidad similar a los centros asistenciales en los que había trabajado en el exterior.
Cuatro años más tarde nace la Fundación Favaloro, donde se formaron más de 450 residentes provenientes de las provincias argentinas y de los países de Latinoamérica.
En 1980, creo el laboratorio de Investigación Básica, dependiente del área de formación de la Fundación, y sobre la base de esta experiencia se creó en 1998, la Universidad Favaloro.
La Fundación atendía afecciones que iban más allá de lo cardivosaculares, y recibía pacientes que eran derivados desde diversas obras sociales.
En 2000, ese emprendimiento médico de excelencia acarreaba una deuda de 18 millones de dólares.
El 29 de julio de ese año, se encerró en el baño de su casa y se pegó un tiro en el corazón, hundido en una profunda depresión y “cansado de luchar y galopar contra el viento, como decía Don Ata (en referencia a Atahualpa Yupanqui)”, decía en una de las siete cartas en las que intentaba explicar su decisión.
La thomise variable se poste à l'affût sur des fleurs, qui surplombent en général la végétation environnante, parfois aussi sur des feuilles. Sa livrée correspond généralement parfaitement à la couleur du support sur lequel elle se tient. Les femelles adultes sont capables de modifier leur couleur de base en fonction de leur environnement (en général, blanc ou jaune). Cette transformation n'est pas immédiate, elle peut prendre plusieurs jours.
The old Police Married Quarters (PMQ) has been transformed into a design and creative hub. It’s got lots of quirky little shops like this one which sells Mahjong tiles with cats as flower tiles.
Crocus クロッカス, crocuses or croci
5th series Ukiyo-e Floating World
Digital Woodprint From The Master of 浮世絵 Tudio
Fifth Series 'pictures of the floating world'
Crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family comprising 90 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra in central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, on the islands of the Aegean, and across Central Asia to Xinjiang Province in western China.
In Classical mythology, Crocus (Greek: Κρόκος) was a mortal youth who, because he was unhappy with his love affair with the nymph Smilax, was turned by the gods into a plant bearing his name, the crocus (saffron). Smilax is believed to have been given a similar fate and transformed into bindweed.
In another variation of the myth, Crocus was said to be a companion of Hermes and was accidentally killed by the god in a game of discus. Hermes was so distraught at this that he transformed Crocus' body into a flower. The myth is similar to that of Apollon and Hyacinthus, and may indeed be a variation thereof.
Oi meninas! Td bem?!
Ontem , conversando com a Mari (oi Mari!), ela me disse que tinha tranformado o Selene (BU) em um lilás neon, colocando algumas gotas de Azul Cobalto nele. Eu nunca fui de fazer misturinha, até pq não tenho habilidade pra isso, mas como essa era muito fácil decidi experimentar!
Como eu não quis transformar meu vidrinho inteiro do Selene, coloquei metade dele em uma embalagem do roxinho da Colorama que já estava no fim (e olha o brilho que ficou!), e pinguei algumas gotas de Azul Cobalto. Ficou igual o Azulle da Ludurana! Mas aí me empolguei e coloquei mais algumas cores...
As fotos não estão NADA fiéis. A cor ficou bem parecida com o Azulle mesmo, só com um pouquinho mais de azul e com alguns brilhinhos...
A receita:
1/2 vidro Selene - BU
3 gotas Azul Cobalto (Impala)
5 gotas Paris - Risqué
10 gotas Julieta (Impala Gloss)
10 gotas Renda Vidrilhos (Risqué)
Não sou nenhum pouco criativa e não consegui dar um nome pra ela, mas quem sabe alguma hora venha uma luz e eu batize a lindinha! Rs...
Vou tentar achar alguma foto que seja ao menos parecida com a cor real, e se achar mostro aqui pra vcs!
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Usei:
1 camada base - Colorama
3 camadas Misturinha
Comecei com esse projeto ano passado, SHUAHSAUSH. Primeiro encontrei a foto da modelo, que por sinal não sei o nome. Depois tive a idéia de transforma-la em uma enfermeira do mal. E depois de dias e depois da virada do ano, consegui terminar :D
Ponham notinhas *-*
3 manipulação que faço
Alva Noto
Book :
Access Kafka
Jüdisches Museum Berlin
2024
Sketch . Franz Kafka
CD + Postcard :
Josef K
Entomology
Domino Recordings
REWIG30
Use Hearing Protection
GMA
Union Pacific dispatched a Customer Special through Salt Lake City, Utah on May 20, 2024. Symbol SESML 16 carried a large transformer, en route from East St. Louis, Illinois to Moss Landing, California. The train originated in Mcgehees, Alabama, handled by HLI Rail Rigging Logistics, and shipped by CSX to East St. Louis. The load is mounted to a 12-axle, low boy type flat car. The other seven random freight cars were included for buffering and braking.
L'intérieur du musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg (MAMCS) transformé par Daniel Buren dans le cadre de l'exposition "Comme un jeu d'enfant, travaux in situ"
Daniel Buren a collé des films colorés et des bandes alternées verticales de 8,7 cm (sa marque de fabrique), sur les 1.500 m2 de la façade vitrée du musée qui a été conçu par l'agence d'architecture Adrien Fainsilber (l'architecte de la cité des sciences et de l'industrie à Paris) et inauguré en 1998.
En raison de son succès, l'exposition in situ, qui a débuté le 14 juin 2014, a été prolongée jusqu'à l'été 2016, on commence d'ailleurs à observer des signes de dégradation des films qui se décollent des vitrages.
Le caractère ludique et festif de ce travail "in situ" a été salué dans la plupart des médias, même si son caractère carnavalesque étonne au premier abord dans l'environnement historique de la "Petite France".
La fréquentation du musée a nettement augmenté à l'occasion de cette exposition ce qui était un des buts recherchés pour un musée assez peu visité malgré la qualité de ses collections et de son architecture et dans une région frontalière et de passage aussi peuplée que l'Alsace.
D. Buren a récidivé en 2016 à la fondation Louis Vuitton en colorant les voiles du bâtiment conçu par Frank O. Gehry mais l'artiste revendique les aspects répétitifs de son oeuvre plastique, ce qui permet de faire taire les critiques.
Daniel Buren à la fondation L. Vuitton (photo dalbera)
www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/27317399866/in/album-721576...
Exposition de Daniel Buren sur le site web du MAMCS
www.musees.strasbourg.eu/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,deta...
y también en Twiter
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Adelantándose a la lluvia de las Perseidas, otras pequeñas estrellas cargadas de luz han llegado ya al agua, son diminutas algas que como Pediastrum , prenden con la belleza de su armonía cualquier gota de agua en cualquier rincón del Planeta
Pediastrum lleva en su nombre y en su figura la esencia de la armonía de las estrellas, equilibrio mágico que le da la vida, se trata de un género de algas verdes representado en la actualidad por 42 especies aceptadas que corresponden a los más de 400 nombres diferentes dados a los diferentes taxones encontrados. Siempre diminutas y siempre repartidas por las aguas dulces del Planeta desde el ártico hasta las zonas de climas tropicales.
Hoy Pediastrum boryanum salpica con magia las aguas de un embalse próximo a Logroño, el embalse de la Grajera con la misma magia con la que construye su cuerpo. Estrella recorrida por laberintos que dibujan dieciséis células independientes y gemelas, que sin saber cómo, misteriosamente, se han ordenado para construir este puzle de diminuto y hermoso astro vivo.
Las células del contorno de esta agrupación colonial siempre rematan en dos pequeños cuernos paralelos que se prolongan en unos casi invisibles invisibles filamentos. Esta distribución equilibrada unida a los pequeños hilos que rodean a esta estrella, hace que pueda flotar siempre mirando al sol imitando a sus radios en el agua.
Esa magia desconocida de la vida construye con Pediastrum agrupaciones cenobiales en las que las células de una misma generación se van agrupando silenciosa y misteriosamente hasta crear estas formaciones de simetría radial, equilibrio y belleza de 8, 16, 32 o 64 piezas.
Pediastrum tiene algo que es poco común entre el grupo de las algas verdes a las que pertenece y es que las paredes de sus células contienen una gran cantidad de silicio y presentan además unas redes cristalinas de D-glucosa unidas a otras de D-manosa que se organizan en estructuras anulares.
Se ha comprobado además, que esta especie, Pediastrum boryanum tiene la capacidad de absorber grandes cantidades de mercurio que puedan estar presentes en el medio en el que vive, sin que este compuesto llegue a alterar su metabolismo.
En todas estas estrellas de Pediastrum la reproducción asexual se lleva a cabo mediante unas esporas nadadoras especiales, son zoosporas que al perder sus flagelos y tras sucesivas divisiones se transformarán al reunirse, en estos pequeños astros verdes y hermosos. En la reproducción sexual intervienen gametos del mismo aspecto: isogametos con flagelos, que tras fusionarse y dividirse varias veces también se unirán para construir nuevas estrellas.
Pediastrum boryanum es una especie relativamente común que habita siempre en zonas de aguas tranquilas, generalmente en lagos y charcas ricas en materia orgánica, en ellas, debido a la presencia de nutrientes bulle intensamente la vida y el agua pierde su transparencia, pequeñas algas como esta estrella de Pediastrum son su faro entre la niebla.
La fotografía, tomada sobre una muestra recogida el día 2 de agosto de 2016 junto a la orilla del embalse de la Grajera, en Logroño se ha realizado en vivo a 400 aumentos utilizando la técnica de contraste de interferencia.
shooting for a blog at -15 celsius (5 F) is not that great...but the result is worth it!
Hit the L key for a better view. Thanks for the favs and comments. Much appreciated!
Model: Julia
Location: St.Albert
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All of my photographs are under copyright ©. None of these photographs may be reproduced and/or used in any way without my permission.
© VanveenJF Photography
Pointblank from G1 Transformers cartoon series, turns into a futuristic speedster. Transformation doesn't require reassembly of parts.
I am taking inspiration from both his original toy version from the 80s and also some design cues from his cartoon/comic version.
For more photos and writeups of this LEGO creation, do pay a visit to my blog link below ! Thank you!
alanyuppie.blogspot.com/2018/05/lego-former-targetmaster-...
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Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
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L'Hôtel Solvay est un hôtel de maître bruxellois de style Art nouveau conçu par l'architecte belge Victor Horta en 1895-1903 et transformé en musée, situé au n° 224 de l'avenue Louise à Ixelles (Bruxelles). Acheté en 1958 par Louis Wittamer, ce dernier lui a redonné son lustre d'antan. L’hôtel particulier de Armand Solvay ne fut pas la seule commande que cette famille passa à Victor Horta. Ces industriels étant également de grands mécènes et philanthropes, ils passèrent des commandes à différents grands architectes de cette période (Horta entre autres, mais encore Paul Hankar, Henry Van de Velde, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Ernest Blerot et Paul Cauchie. Victor Horta réalisa par exemple, pour la société Solvay, le pavillon pour l’Exposition universelle de 1905.
Excepté le rez-de-chaussée, la façade est symétrique, constituée de verre, de fer et de pierre naturelle comme la pierre bleue du Hainaut. La porte fenêtre du bel-étage donnant accès à un balcon est flanquée de deux bow-windows. Horta innove en disposant l'entrée sur le côté sous un porche où les calèches entrent, déposent les voyageurs et poursuivent jusqu'aux écuries au fond du jardin. De plus, il minimise la maçonnerie au profit d'une structure en fer qui lui permet d'obtenir un puits de lumière éclairant l'intérieur de lumière naturelle.
L'entrée est pavée de marbre et éclairée par des colonnettes surmontées de lampes avec des abat-jours en forme de corolle. Un tableau de Théo Van Rysselberghe orne le haut de l'escalier. Le mobilier, l'ornementation, les boiseries, les marbres et les ferronneries ont été dessinés par Horta lui-même qui a également imaginé une solution pour distribuer l'air chaud de manière égale dans tout le bâtiment. Un premier escalier, muni d'une balustrade tourbillonnante en métal doré, conduit du rez-de-chaussée au bel-étage où se trouvent les espaces de réception (salons en façade avant et salle à manger à l'arrière). Ces derniers sont séparés les uns des autres par des cloisons vitrées pouvant s'ouvrir pour créer un énorme espace continu sur quasiment toute la surface de la maison. Cet escalier d'apparat est surmonté d'une impressionnante verrière dont la courbure assure également une répartition optimale de l'air chaud, dispensé par les bouches de chauffage situées au pied de l'escalier. Vu la présence de cette verrière, créée par Raphaël Évaldre, un second escalier, décalé, permet d'atteindre les étages supérieurs, où se trouvent les chambres et salles d'eau.
Une grande porte donne accès aux écuries qui se trouvent derrière le bâtiment, dans le jardin. Le rez-de chaussée comporte également les cuisines et le fumoir. L'entrée est pavée de marbre et est éclairée par des colonnettes surmontées de lampes avec des abat-jour en forme de corolle. Un tableau de Théo Van Rysselberghe orne le haut de l'escalier. Le mobilier, l'ornementation, les boiseries, les marbres et les ferronneries ont été dessinés par Horta lui-même qui a également imaginé une solution pour distribuer l'air chaud de manière égale dans tout le bâtiment (cf.wikipédia, merci Steve Cadman pour la photo).
Photo André Knoerr, Genève. Reproduction autorisée avec mention de la source.
Utilisation commerciale soumise à autorisation spéciale préalable.
Pour desservir le cirque Knie, qui fête son centenaire en 2019, l'antenne de l'Allmend de la ligne de trolleybus 5 a été réactivée, malgré la dépose de la ligne aérienne bifilaire suite à la transformation du carrefour au terminus.
Le trolleybus historique FBW 25 a été équipé de la nouvelle technologie du Swisstrolley Plus lui permettant de s'affranchir de la caténaire car les VBL n'ont pas obtenu les crédits nécessaires à l'acquisition de véhicules neufs.
19956
It has recently had Continental TKC80s fitted which transform the look of it and make it much happier on tracks without much affecting road handling.
🌿✨ Transform your space into a serene English garden escape – all under 700 prims! ✨🌿
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Arcane transforms into a crane (vehicle) and crane (bird) and robot.
Pay a visit to my blog below for photos and my ramblings /writes of this creation.
Fenix II development transforms old warehouse by stacking new apartments on top of the 100yr old building.
"Tout est dans un flux continuel sur la terre. Rien n'y garde une forme constante et arrêtée, et nos affections qui s'attachent aux choses extérieures passent et changent nécessairement comme elles."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlvUepMa31o&feature=related
Claude Debussy
With my gorgeous friend Lorraine.
As ever we had a wonderful evening at the Carrington Hotel in Katoomba.
Great friends, wonderful dance music and over the top hospitality.
Transformal number nine was a great success.
Demonstration video of the SNES Transformer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=583EZB93ZRc
This a slightly retooled variation of my LEGO Super Nintendo Transformers set, which was altered to have some of its principal joints removed to make it non-transforming. This was done in September while I was editing raw footage for my demonstration video, since I did this for the sole purpose of submitting my concept to LEGO Ideas. And basically, I wanted to submit an entry of a solid, non-transforming game console much akin to the official NES set from 2020, as the transformation function would be too cumbersome for average consumers – not to mention licensing issues with Transformers, as they're property of Hasbo. Unfortunately, after making these changes to my MOCs and shooting these photos, I prepared an entry to LEGO Ideas but was instantly rejected due to licensing restrictions with Nintendo as an intellectual property.
With that said, I decided to still release these photos of the updated console/accessories, since the new aesthetic changes are more accurate to a real SNES. For example, the dummy game cartridge looks more like a real SNES cartridge than the transforming version I built, since I wasn't confined to the usage of certain joint pieces which made the creations look wonky. Another set of joints I removed was the ball and socket set on the front of the console by the controller ports, and thus I fixed the little red light on the front left.
Maybe LEGO Group will change their minds and allow me to submit this as a model; I'd love to share this as a retail set.
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Le vestibule s'ouvre sur une volée de marches en marbre blanc et contremarches en marbre noir qui dessert un long couloir distribuant dans les espaces de réception. Face à l'entrée (ici au milieu à gauche), deux boîtes à lumière en acier et verre opalin dotées d'éclairage indirect, rappelant les décors de cinéma conçus par Mallet-Stevens, enserrent une petite porte noire donnant dans l'immense hall-salon. De chaque côté, des jardinières et des cache-radiateurs en aluminium répondent aux quatres appliques aux cerceaux de Jacques Le Chevalier et René Koechlin.
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Inaugurée en 1932, la villa Cavrois à Croix, Nord est une commande de Paul Cavrois, industriel roubaisien du textile, à l'architecte parisien Robert Mallet-Stevens.
Elle fait l’objet d’un classement au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 12 décembre 1990.
Une conception moderniste:
La villa Cavrois témoigne de l'art de vivre tel que le concevaient les architectes modernes contemporains de Le Corbusier. Luminosité, hygiène et confort sont les maîtres mots qui animent leurs constructions. La villa Cavrois illustre avec simplicité et élégance cet esprit. Ce grand château moderne s'organise pour gérer au mieux la vie des neuf membres de la famille et le travail du personnel de maison. Son style rompt totalement avec celui des demeures de la même époque qui lui sont voisines. Le programme de cet édifice commandé en 1929 est clair : "air, lumière, travail, sports, hygiène, confort et économie".
Le travail de Mallet-Stevens ne se limite pas à agencer les volumes d'un bâtiment pour répondre au mieux aux besoins de son client, il conçoit également la décoration des espaces intérieurs et les jardins qui l'entourent. Le plan de la maison est étudié pour faciliter les déplacements et organiser de manière rationnelle la vie domestique. Autour du grand hall qui accueille les visiteurs, se développe le domaine des parents dans l'aile est, tandis que l'aile ouest est réservée aux enfants et aux domestiques. Elle abrite également les pièces où se réunit la famille, telle que la salle à manger et la salle à manger des enfants, reliée au parc par un escalier extérieur.
Le choix des matériaux et du mobilier intérieur fait écho à la hiérarchisation des espaces : tout est pensé et adapté à l'usage des lieux. Simplicité et fonctionnalité du mobilier règnent dans toutes les pièces. Le luxe de cette habitation ne s'étale pas dans les lambris ou les dorures, il se déploie dans la richesse des matériaux employés, comme les différents marbres et essences de bois. La villa Cavrois offre surtout à ses occupants un grand nombre d'équipements particulièrement rares pour l'époque, comme la distribution d'eau chaude, froide et adoucie. L'électricité occupe une place particulière dans cet édifice: chaque pièce dispose d'un haut-parleur de TSF et d'une horloge électrique. Les appareils pour nettoyer le linge, l'aspirateur ou la glacière sont aussi électriques. Les Cavrois ont également à leur disposition des chauffe-peignoirs! Le téléphone, présent dans toutes les pièces, permet aux habitants de communiquer entre eux ou avec l'extérieur. L'éclairage a également fait l'objet d'un soin particulier, en collaboration avec l'ingénieur Salomon.
Une évolution difficile :
À partir de 1940 l'armée allemande réquisitionne la villa. En 1947, à la demande de Paul Cavrois, l'architecte Pierre Barbe effectue des transformations afin d'adapter la demeure aux nouveaux modes de vie de la famille qui accueille désormais plusieurs couples. Après la mort de Madame Cavrois en 1986, le mobilier est dispersé et la maison est vendue à une société immobilière qui projette de lotir le parc. La villa est laissée à l'abandon et est très vite pillée, squattée et saccagée.
En 1990, l'ensemble de la villa et du parc est classé d'office Monument Historique sur décision du Conseil d'État. Cette même année voit la naissance d'une association de sauvegarde qui réunit les personnes sensibles au destin de la maison et qui souhaitent agir en vue de sa sauvegarde. Cette association n'a cessé, depuis sa création, de solliciter les autorités compétentes sur le sort de la villa et a engagé de très nombreuses actions de sensibilisation.
L'État (Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication) a racheté l'édifice en 2001 et a engagé, à partir de 2004, une première campagne de travaux pour la restauration du gros œuvre (clos et couvert, terrasses, fenêtres…) et la restitution des volumes intérieurs d'origine.
Par arrêté du 18 décembre 2008, l’État a remis la villa Cavrois en dotation au Centre des monuments nationaux, avec la mission d’assurer sa restauration et de prévoir son ouverture au public.
Le Centre des monuments nationaux conduit actuellement la restauration de l’aménagement et des décors intérieurs de la villa (sols, revêtements muraux, polychromie, mobilier) afin de restituer l’art de vivre au XXe siècle. Le CMN a également prévu une vaste restauration du parc (replantation d’arbres, restauration du miroir d’eau, réfection des allées d’origine, mise en lumière du parc), ainsi que l’aménagement d’un parc de stationnement.
La villa sera progressivement ouverte au public à partir de 2013 et offrira une programmation culturelle tendant à faire de la villa un pôle de rayonnement national et international pour l’architecture et le design moderne.
Le montant global des travaux prévus par le Centre des monuments nationaux en vue de l’ouverture de la villa Cavrois au public est estimé à 9 millions d’euros.
Source : Wikipédia
Villa Cavrois
Croix | Nord (59) | Nord - Pas-de-Calais | France
The view from our living room window is of a flowering tree. It's nice, but unremarkable. In fact, the small yellow flowers fall and gather on the ground and make a mess.
Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 55-200 VR. Several Topaz programs achieved the effect here, with lots of tweaking. Happy Sliders Sunday!
Rochester Cathedral has been transformed by ‘Peace Doves’ an artwork by Peter Walker Sculptor
Bringing a message of peace and hope, the Peace Doves artwork has been created from around fifteen thousand individually hand made paper doves, together they collectively form this beautiful artwork which as a whole reflects joining together in unity, peace and hope moving forward.
Peace Doves is an artwork that has been re-curated for different spaces as it tours the UK, adaptations have been seen in Liverpool, Lichfield, Derby, Sheffield and now at Rochester.
The Peace Doves project has incorporated educational engagement with many schools and community groups in the local area and each person has written individual messages of peace and hope onto each dove.
Throughout history the dove has been viewed as a symbol of peace in many different cultures. For example in Greek mythology the dove is a symbol of the renewal of life, and liturgically within the Bible the dove appears at the Baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan and in the teachings of Noah and the Ark as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
www.rochestercathedral.org/peacedoves
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The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Rochester, the second oldest bishopric in England after that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The edifice is a Grade I listed building (number 1086423)
The Rochester diocese was founded by Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied Augustine of Canterbury to convert the pagan southern English to Christianity in the early 7th century. As the first Bishop of Rochester, Justus was granted permission by King Æthelberht of Kent to establish a church dedicated to Andrew the Apostle (like the monastery at Rome where Augustine and Justus had set out for England) on the site of the present cathedral, which was made the seat of a bishopric. The cathedral was to be served by a college of secular priests and was endowed with land near the city called Priestfields.[3][a][b]
Under the Roman system, a bishop was required to establish a school for the training of priests.[4] To provide the upper parts for music in the services a choir school was required.[5] Together these formed the genesis of the cathedral school which today is represented by the King's School, Rochester. The quality of chorister training was praised by Bede.
The original cathedral was 42 feet (13 m) high and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide. The apse is marked in the current cathedral on the floor and setts outside show the line of the walls. Credit for the construction of the building goes to King Æthelberht rather than St Justus. Bede describes St Paulinus' burial as "in the sanctuary of the Blessed Apostle Andrew which Æthelberht founded likewise he built the city of Rochester."[c][7]
Æthelberht died in 617 and his successor, Eadbald of Kent, was not a Christian. Justus fled to Francia and remained there for a year before he was recalled by the king.[8]
In 644 Ithamar, the first English-born bishop, was consecrated at the cathedral.[d] Ithamar consecrated Deusdedit as the first Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury on 26 March 655.[9]
The cathedral suffered much from the ravaging of Kent by King Æthelred of Mercia in 676. So great was the damage that Putta retired from the diocese and his appointed successor, Cwichelm, gave up the see "because of its poverty".[10]
In 762, the local overlord, Sigerd, granted land to the bishop, as did his successor Egbert.[e][11] The charter is notable as it is confirmed by Offa of Mercia as overlord of the local kingdom.
Following the invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror granted the cathedral and its estates to his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux. Odo misappropriated the resources and reduced the cathedral to near-destitution. The building itself was ancient and decayed. During the episcopate of Siward (1058–1075) it was served by four or five canons "living in squalor and poverty".[12] One of the canons became vicar of Chatham and raised sufficient money to make a gift to the cathedral for the soul and burial of his
Gundulf's church
Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, amongst others, brought Odo to account at the trial of Penenden Heath c. 1072. Following Odo's final fall, Gundulf was appointed as the first Norman bishop of Rochester in 1077. The cathedral and its lands were restored to the bishop.
Gundulf's first undertaking in the construction of the new cathedral seems to have been the construction of the tower which today bears his name. In about 1080 he began construction of a new cathedral to replace Justus' church. He was a talented architect who probably played a major part in the design or the works he commissioned. The original cathedral had a presbytery of six bays with aisles of the same length. The four easternmost bays stood over an undercroft which forms part of the present crypt. To the east was a small projection, probably for the silver shrine of Paulinus which was translated there from the old cathedral.[f] The transepts were 120 feet long, but only 14 feet wide. With such narrow transepts it is thought that the eastern arches of the nave abuted the quire arch.[14] To the south another tower (of which nothing visible remains) was built. There was no crossing tower.[15] The nave was not completed at first. Apparently designed to be nine bays long, most of the south side but only five bays to the north were completed by Gundulf. The quire was required by the priory and the south wall formed part of its buildings. It has been speculated that Gundulf simply left the citizens to complete the parochial part of the building.[16] Gundulf did not stop with the fabric, he also replaced the secular chaplains with Benedictine monks, obtained several royal grants of land and proved a great benefactor to his cathedral city.
In 1078 Gudulf founded St Bartholomew's Hospital just outside the city of Rochester. The Priory of St Andrew contributed daily and weekly provisions to the hospital which also received the offerings from the two altars of St James and of St Giles.[17]
During the episcopates of Ernulf (1115–1124) and John (I) (1125–1137) the cathedral was completed. The quire was rearranged, the nave partly rebuilt, Gundulf's nave piers were cased and the west end built. Ernulf is also credited with building the refectory, dormitory and chapter house, only portions of which remain. Finally John translated the body of Ithamar from the old Saxon cathedral to the new Norman one, the whole being dedicated in 1130 (or possibly 1133) by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by 13 bishops in the presence of Henry I, but the occasion was marred by a great fire which nearly destroyed the whole city and damaged the new cathedral. It was badly damaged by fires again in 1137 and 1179. One or other of these fires was sufficiently severe to badly damage or destroy the eastern arm and the transepts. Ernulf's monastic buildings were also damaged.
Probably from about 1190, Gilbert de Glanville (bishop 1185–1214) commenced the rebuilding of the east end and the replacement on the monastic buildings. The north quire transept may have been sufficiently advanced to allow the burial of St William of Perth in 1201, alternatively the coffin may have lain in the north quire aisle until the transept was ready. It was then looted in 1215 by the forces of King John during siege of Rochester Castle. Edmund de Hadenham recounts that there was not a pyx left "in which the body of the Lord might rest upon the altar".[14] However, by 1227, the quire was again in use when the monks made their solemn entry into it. The cathedral was rededicated in 1240 by Richard Wendene (also known as Richard de Wendover) who had been translated from Bangor.[14][18]
The shrines of Ss Paulinus and William of Perth, along with the relics of St Ithamar, drew pilgrims to the cathedral. Their offerings were so great that both the work mentioned above and the ensuing work could be funded.
Unlike the abbeys of the period (which were led by an abbot) the monastic cathedrals were priories ruled over by a prior with further support from the bishop.[19] Rochester and Carlisle (the other impoverished see) were unusual in securing the promotion of a number of monks to be bishop. Seven bishops of Rochester were originally regular monks between 1215 and the Dissolution.[20] A consequence of the monastic attachment was a lack of patronage at the bishop's disposal. By the early 16th century only 4% of the bishop's patronage came from non-parochial sources.[21] The bishop was therefore chronically limited in funds to spend on the non-monastic part of the cathedral.
The next phase of the development was begun by Richard de Eastgate, the sacrist. The two eastern bays of the nave were cleared and the four large piers to support the tower were built. The north nave transept was then constructed. The work was nearly completed by Thomas de Mepeham who became sacrist in 1255. Not long after the south transept was completed and the two bays of the nave nearest the crossing rebuilt to their current form. The intention seems to have been to rebuild the whole nave, but probably lack of funds saved the late Norman work.
The cathedral was desecrated in 1264 by the troops of Simon de Montfort, during sieges of the city and castle. It is recorded that armed knights rode into the church and dragged away some refugees. Gold and silver were stolen and documents destroyed. Some of the monastic buildings were turned into stables.[22] Just over a year later De Montfort fell at the Battle of Evesham to the forces of Edward I. Later, in 1300, Edward passed through Rochester on his way to Canterbury and is recorded as having given seven shillings (35p) at the shrine of St William, and the same again the following day. During his return he again visited the cathedral and gave a further seven shillings at each of the shrines of Ss Paulinus and Ithamar.
The new century saw the completion of the new Decorated work with the original Norman architecture. The rebuilding of the nave being finally abandoned. Around 1320 the south transept was altered to accommodate the altar of the Virgin Mary.
There appears to have been a rood screen thrown between the two western piers of the crossing. A rood loft may have surmounted it.[23] Against this screen was placed the altar of St Nicholas, the parochial altar of the city. The citizens demanded the right of entrance by day or night to what was after all their altar. There were also crowds of strangers passing through the city. The friction broke out as a riot in 1327 after which the strong stone screens and doors which wall off the eastern end of the church from the nave were built.[24] The priory itself was walled off from the town at this period. An oratory was established in angulo navis ("in the corner of the nave") for the reserved sacrament; it is not clear which corner was being referred to, but Dr Palmer[25] argues that the buttress against the north-west tower pier is the most likely setting. He notes the arch filled in with rubble on the aisle side; and on nave side there is a scar line with lower quality stonework below. The buttress is about 4 feet (1.2 m) thick, enough for an oratory. Palmer notes that provision for reservation of consecrated hosts was often made to the north of the altar which would be the case here.
The central tower was at last raised by Hamo de Hythe in 1343, thus essentially completing the cathedral. Bells were placed in the central tower (see Bells section below). The chapter room doorway was constructed at around this time. The Black Death struck England in 1347–49. From then on there were probably considerably more than twenty monks in the priory.
The modern paintwork of the quire walls is modelled on artwork from the Middle Ages. Gilbert Scott found remains of painting behind the wooden stalls during his restoration work in the 1870s. The painting is therefore part original and part authentic. The alternate lions and fleurs-de-lis reflect Edward III's victories, and assumed sovereignty over the French. In 1356 the Black Prince had defeated John II of France at Poitiers and took him prisoner. On 2 July 1360 John passed through Rochester on his way home and made an offering of 60 crowns (£15) at the Church of St Andrew.[27]
The Oratory provided for the citizens of Rochester did not settle the differences between the monks and the city. The eventual solution was the construction of St Nicholas' Church by the north side of the cathedral. A doorway was knocked through the western end of the north aisle (since walled up) to allow processions to pass along the north aisle of the cathedral before leaving by the west door.[27][28]
In the mid-15th century the clerestory and vaulting of the north quire aisle was completed and new Perpendicular Period windows inserted into the nave aisles. Possible preparatory work for this is indicated in 1410–11 by the Bridge Wardens of Rochester who recorded a gift of lead from the Lord Prior. The lead was sold on for 41 shillings.[g][29] In 1470 the great west window at the cathedral was completed and finally, in around 1490, what is now the Lady Chapel was built.[27] Rochester Cathedral, although one of England's smaller cathedrals, thus demonstrates all styles of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.[30]
In 1504 John Fisher was appointed Bishop of Rochester. Although Rochester was by then an impoverished see, Fisher elected to remain as bishop for the remainder of his life. He had been tutor to the young Prince Henry and on the prince's accession as Henry VIII, Fisher remained his staunch supporter and mentor. He figured in the anti-Lutheran policies of Henry right up until the divorce issue and split from Rome in the early 1530s. Fisher remained true to Rome and for his defence of the Pope was elevated as a cardinal in May 1535. Henry was angered by these moves and, on 22 June 1535, Cardinal Fisher was beheaded on Tower Green.
Henry VIII visited Rochester on 1 January 1540 when he met Ann of Cleves for the first time and was "greatly disappointed".[31] Whether connected or not, the old Priory of St Andrew was dissolved by royal command later in the year, one of the last monasteries to be dissolved.
The west front is dominated by the central perpendicular great west window. Above the window the dripstone terminates in a small carved head at each side. The line of the nave roof is delineated by a string course above which rises the crenelated parapet. Below the window is a blind arcade interrupted by the top of the Great West Door. Some of the niches in the arcade are filled with statuary. Below the arcade the door is flanked with Norman recesses. The door itself is of Norman work with concentric patterned arches. The semicircular tympanum depicts Christ sitting in glory in the centre, with Saints Justus and Ethelbert flanking him on either side of the doorway. Supporting the saints are angels and surrounding them are the symbols of the Four Evangelists: Ss Matthew (a winged man), Mark (a lion), Luke (an ox) and John (an eagle).[52] On the lintel below are the Twelve Apostles and on the shafts supporting it King Soloman and the Queen of Sheba.[53] Within the Great West Door there is a glass porch which allows the doors themselves to be kept open throughout the day.
Either side of the nave end rises a tower which forms the junction of the front and the nave walls. The towers are decorated with blind arcading and are carried up a further two stories above the roof and surmounted with pyramidal spires. The aisle ends are Norman. Each has a large round headed arch containing a window and in the northern recess is a small door. Above each arch is plain wall surmounted by a blind arcade, string course at the roof line and plain parapet. The flanking towers are Norman in the lower part with the style being maintained in the later work. Above the plain bases there are four stories of blind arcading topped with an octagonal spire.[54]
The outside of the nave and its aisles is undistinguished, apart from the walled up north-west door which allowed access from the cathedral to the adjacent St Nicholas' Church.[28] The north transept is reached from the High Street via Black Boy Alley, a medieval pilgrimage route. The decoration is Early English, but reworked by Gilbert Scott. Scott rebuilt the gable ends to the original high pitch from the lower one adopted at the start of the 19th century. The gable itself is set back from the main wall behind a parapet with walkway. He also restored the pilgrim entrance and opened up the blind arcade in the northern end of the west wall.[55]
To the east of the north transept is the Sextry Gate. It dates from Edward III's reign and has wooden domestic premises above. The area beyond was originally enclosed, but is now open to the High Street through the memorial garden and gates. Beyond the Sextry Gate is the entrance to Gundulf's Tower, used as a private back door to the cathedral.
The north quire transept and east end are all executed in Early English style, the lower windows light the crypt which is earlier. Adjoining the east end of the cathedral is the east end of the Chapter Room which is in the same style. The exact form of the east end is more modern than it appears, being largely due to the work of Scott in the 19th century. Scott raised the gable ends to the original high pitch, but for lack of funds the roofs have not been raised; writing in 1897 Palmer noted: "they still require roofs of corresponding pitch, a need both great and conspicuous".[56]
On the south side of the cathedral the nave reaches the main transept and beyond a modern porch. The aisle between the transepts is itself a buttress to the older wall behind and supported by a flying buttress. The unusual position of this wall is best explained when considering the interior, below. The southern wall of the presbytery is hidden by the chapter room, an 18th-century structure.
he western part of the nave is substantially as Gundulf designed it. According to George H. Palmer (who substantially follows St John Hope) "Rochester and Peterborough possess probably the best examples of the Norman nave in the country".[60] The main arcade is topped by a string course below a triforium. The triforium is Norman with a further string course above. The clerestory above is of perpendicular style. From the capitals pilasters rise to the first string course but appear to have been removed from the triforium stage. Originally they might have supported the roof timbers, or even been the springing of a vault.[61]
The easternmost bay of the triforium appears to be Norman, but is the work of 14th-century masons. The final bay of the nave is Decorated in style and leads to the tower piers. Of note is the north pier which possibly contains the Oratory Chapel mentioned above.[62]
The aisles are plain with flat pilasters. The eastern two bays are Decorated with springing for vaulting. Whether the vault was ever constructed is unknown, the present wooden roof extends the full length of the aisles.
The crossing is bounded to the east by the quire screen with the organ above. This is of 19th-century work and shows figures associated with the early cathedral. Above the crossing is the central tower, housing the bells and above that the spire. The ceiling of the crossing is notable for the four Green Men carved on the bosses. Visible from the ground is the outline of the trapdoor through which bells can be raised and lowered when required. The floor is stepped up to the pulpitum and gives access to the quire through the organ screen.
The north transept is from 1235 in Early English style. The Victorian insertion of windows has been mentioned above in the external description. Dominating the transept is the baptistery fresco. The fresco by Russian artist Sergei Fyodorov is displayed on the eastern wall. It is located within an arched recess. The recess may have been a former site of the altar of St Nicholas from the time of its construction in 1235 until it was moved to the screen before the pulpitum in 1322. A will suggests that "an altar of Jesu" also stood here at some point, an altar of some sort must have existed as evidenced by the piscina to the right of the recess.[64] The vaulting is unusual in being octpartite, a development of the more common sexpartite. The Pilgrim Door is now the main visitor entrance and is level for disabled access.
he original Lady Chapel was formed in the south transept by screening it off from the crossing. The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary was housed in the eastern arch of the transept. There are traces of painting both on the east wall and under the arch. The painting delineates the location of the mediaeval north screen of the Lady Chapel. Around 1490 this chapel was extended westwards by piercing the western wall with a large arch and building the chapel's nave against the existing south aisle of cathedral. From within the Lady Chapel the upper parts of two smaller clerestory windows may be seen above the chapel's chancel arch. Subsequently, a screen was placed under the arch and the modern Lady Chapel formed in the 1490 extension.
The south transept is of early Decorated style. The eastern wall of it is a single wide arch at the arcade level. There are two doorways in the arch, neither of which is used, the northern one being hidden by the memorial to Dr William Franklin. The south wall starts plain but part way up is a notable monument to Richard Watts, a "coloured bust, with long gray beard".[65] According to Palmer there used to be a brass plaque to Charles Dickens below this but only the outline exists, the plaque having been moved to the east wall of the quire transept.[66] The west wall is filled by the large arch mentioned above with the screen below dividing it from the present Lady Chapel.
The Lady Chapel as it now exists is of Decorated style with three lights along southern wall and two in the west wall. The style is a light and airy counterpart to the stolid Norman work of the nave. The altar has been placed against the southern wall resulting in a chapel where the congregation wraps around the altar. The window stained glass is modern and tells the gospel story.
The first, easternmost, window has the Annunciation in the upper light: Gabriel speaking to Mary (both crowned) with the Holy Spirit as a dove descending. The lower light shows the Nativity with the Holy Family, three angels and shepherds. The next window shows St Elizabeth in the upper light surrounded by stars and the sun in splendour device. The lower light shows the Adoration of the Magi with Mary enthroned with the Infant. The final window of the south wall has St Mary Magdelene with her ointment surrounded by Tudor roses and fleurs-de-lis in the upper light with the lower light showing the Presentation in the Temple. The west wall continues with St. Margaret of Scotland in the upper light surrounded by fouled anchor and thistle roundels. The reference is to the original dedication of the cathedral as the Priory of St Andrew. The lower light shows the Crucifixion with Mary and St Peter. The final window is unusual, the upper light is divided in three and shows King Arthur with the royal arms flanked by St George on the left and St Michael on the right. The lower light shows the Ascension: two disciples to the left, three women with unguents to the right and three bare crosses top right.
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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Ufford, Suffolk
Upper Ufford is a pleasant place, and known well enough in Suffolk. Pretty much an extension northwards of Woodbridge and Melton, it is a prosperous community, convenient without being suburban. Ufford Park Hotel is an enjoyable venue in to attend professional courses and conferences, and the former St Audrey's mental hospital grounds across the road are now picturesque with luxury flats and houses. And I am told that the Ufford Park golf course is good, too, for those who like that kind of thing.
But as I say, that Ufford is really just an extension of Melton. In fact, there is another Ufford. It is in the valley below, more than a mile away along narrow lanes and set in deep countryside beside the Deben, sits Lower Ufford. To reach it, you follow ways so rarely used that grass grows up the middle. You pass old Melton church, redundant since the 19th century, but still in use for occasional exhibitions and performances, and once home to the seven sacrament font that is now in the plain 19th century building up in the main village. Eventually, the lane widens, and you come into the single street of a pretty, tiny hamlet, the church tower hidden from you by old cottages and houses. In one direction, the lane to Bromeswell takes you past Lower Ufford's delicious little pub, the White Lion. A stalwart survivor among fast disappearing English country pubs, the beer still comes out of barrels and the bar is like a kitchen. I cannot think that a visit to Ufford should be undertaken without at least a pint there. And, at the other end of the street, set back in a close between cottages, sits the Assumption, its 14th century tower facing the street, a classic Suffolk moment.
The dedication was once that of hundreds of East Anglian churches, transformed to 'St Mary' by the Reformation and centuries of disuse before the 19th century revival, but revived both here and at Haughley near Stowmarket. In late medieval times, it coincided with the height of the harvest, and in those days East Anglia was Our Lady's Dowry, intensely Catholic, intimately Marian.
The Assumption was almost certainly not the original dedication of this church. There was a church here for centuries before the late middle ages, and although there are no traces of any pre-Conquest building, the apse of an early-Norman church has been discovered under the floor of the north side of the chancel. The current chancel has a late Norman doorway, although it has been substantially rebuilt since, and in any case the great glories of Ufford are all 15th century. Perhaps the most dramatic is the porch, one of Suffolk's best, covered in flushwork and intriguing carvings.
Ufford's graveyard is beautiful; wild and ancient. I wandered around for a while, spotting the curious blue crucifix to the east of the church, and reading old gravestones. One, to an early 19th century gardener at Ufford Hall, has his gardening equipment carved at the top. The church is secretive, hidden on all sides by venerable trees, difficult to photograph but lovely anyway. I stopped to look at it from the unfamiliar north-east; the Victorian schoolroom, now a vestry, juts out like a small cottage. I walked back around to the south side, where the gorgeous porch is like a small palace against the body of the church. I knew the church would be open, because it is every day. And then, through the porch, and down into the north aisle, into the cool, dim, creamy light.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, 21st August 1644, Ufford had a famous visitor, a man who entered the church in exactly the same way, a man who recorded the events of that day in his journal. There were several differences between his visit and the one that I was making, one of them crucial; he found the church locked. He was the Commissioner to the Earl of Manchester for the Imposition in the Eastern Association of the Parliamentary Ordinance for the Demolishing of Monuments of Idolatry, and his name was William Dowsing.
Dowsing was a kind of 17th century political commissar, travelling the eastern counties and enforcing government legislation. He was checking that local officials had carried out what they were meant to do, and that they believed in what they were doing. In effect, he was getting them to work and think in the new ways that the central government required. It wasn't really a witch hunt, although God knows such things did exist in abundance at that time. It was more as if an arm of the state extended and worked its fingers into even the tiniest and most remote parishes. Anyone working in the public sector in Britain in the early years of the 21st century will have come across people like Dowsing.
As a part of his job, Dowsing was an iconoclast, charged with ensuring that idolatrous images were excised from the churches of the region. He is a man blamed for a lot. In fact, virtually all the Catholic imagery in English churches had been destroyed by the Anglican reformers almost a hundred years before Dowsing came along. All that survived was that which was difficult to destroy - angels in the roofs, gable crosses, and the like - and that which was inconvenient to replace - primarily, stained glass. Otherwise, in the late 1540s the statues had been burnt, the bench ends smashed, the wallpaintings whitewashed, the roods hauled down and the fonts plastered over. I have lost count of the times I have been told by churchwardens, or read in church guides, that the hatchet job on the bench ends or the font in their church was the work of 'William Dowsing' or 'Oliver Cromwell'. In fact, this destruction was from a century earlier than William Dowsing. Sometimes, I have even been told this at churches which Dowsing demonstrably did not visit.
Dowsing's main targets included stained glass, which the pragmatic Anglican reformers had left alone because of the expense of replacing it, and crosses and angels, and chancel steps. We can deduce from Dowsing's journal which medieval imagery had survived for him to see, and that which had already been hidden - not, I hasten to add, because people wanted to 'save' Catholic images, but rather because this was an expedient way of getting rid of them. So, for example, Dowsing visited three churches during his progress through Suffolk which today have seven sacrament fonts, but Dowsing does not mention a single one of them in his journal; they had all been plastered over long ago.
In fact, Dowsing was not worried so much about medieval survivals. What concerned him more was overturning the reforms put in place by the ritualist Archbishop Laud in the 1630s. Laud had tried to restore the sacramental nature of the Church, primarily by putting the altar back in the chancel and building it up on raised steps. Laud had since been beheaded thanks to puritan popular opinion, but the evidence of his wickedness still filled the parish churches of England. The single order that Dowsing gave during his progress more than any other was that chancel steps should be levelled.
The 21st of August was a hot day, and Dowsing had much work to do. He had already visited the two Trimley churches, as well as Brightwell and Levington, that morning, and he had plans to reach Baylham on the other side of Ipswich before nightfall. Much to his frustration, he was delayed at Ufford for two hours by a dispute between the church wardens over whether or not to allow him access.
The thing was, he had been here before. Eight months earlier, as part of a routine visit, he had destroyed some Catholic images that were in stained glass, and prayer clauses in brass inscriptions, but had trusted the churchwardens to deal with a multitude of other sins, images that were beyond his reach without a ladder, or which would be too time-consuming. This was common practice - after all, the churchwardens of Suffolk were generally equally as puritan as Dowsing. It was assumed that people in such a position were supporters of the New Puritan project, especially in East Anglia. Dowsing rarely revisited churches. But, for some reason, he felt he had to come back here to make sure that his orders had been carried out.
Why was this? In retrospect, we can see that Ufford was one of less than half a dozen churches where the churchwardens were uncooperative. Elsewhere, at hundreds of other churches, the wardens welcomed Dowsing with open arms. And Dowsing only visited churches in the first place if it was thought there might be a problem, parishes with notorious 'scandalous ministers' - which is to say, theological liberals. Richard Lovekin, the Rector of Ufford, had been turned out of his living the previous year, although he survived to return when the Church of England was restored in 1660. But that was in the future. Something about his January visit told Dowsing that he needed to come back to Ufford.
Standing in the nave of the Assumption today, you can still see something that Dowsing saw, something which he must have seen in January, but which he doesn't mention until his second visit, in the entry in his journal for August 21st, which appears to be written in a passion. This is Ufford's most famous treasure, the great 15th century font cover.
It rises, six metres high, magnificent and stately, into the clerestory, enormous in its scale and presence. In all England, only the font cover at Southwold is taller. The cover is telescopic, and crocketting and arcading dances around it like waterfalls and forests. There are tiny niches, filled today with 19th century statues. At the top is a gilt pelican, plucking its breast.
Dowsing describes the font cover as glorious... like a pope's triple crown... but this is just anti-Catholic innuendo. The word glorious in the 17th century meant about the same as the word 'pretentious' means to us now - Dowsing was scoffing. But there was no reason for him to be offended by it. The Anglicans had destroyed all the statues in the niches a century before, and all that remained was the pelican at the top, pecking its breast to feed its chicks. Dowsing would have known that this was a Catholic image of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and would have disapproved. But he did not order the font cover to be destroyed. After all, the rest of the cover was harmless enough, apart from being a waste of good firewood, and the awkwardness of the Ufford churchwardens seems to have put him off following through. He never went back.
Certainly, there can have been no theological reason for the churchwardens to protect their font cover. I like to think that they looked after it simply because they knew it to be beautiful, and that they also knew it had been constructed by ordinary workmen of their parish two hundred years before, under the direction of some European master designer. They protected it because of local pride, and amen to that. The contemporary font beneath is of a type more familiar in Norfolk than Suffolk, with quatrefoils alternating with shields, and heads beneath the bowl.
While the font cover is extraordinary, and of national importance, it is one of just several medieval survivals in the nave of the Assumption. All around it are 15th century benches, with superbly characterful and imaginative images on their ends. The best is the bench with St Margaret and St Catherine on it. This was recently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the Gothic exhibition. Other bench end figures include a long haired, haloed woman seated on a throne, which may well be a representation of the Mother of God Enthroned, and another which may be the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven. There is also a praying woman in a butterfly headdress, once one of a pair, and a man wearing what appears to be a bowler hat, although I expect it is a helmet of some kind. His beard is magnificent. There are also a number of finely carved animals.
High up in the chancel arch is an unusual survival, the crocketted rood beam that once supported the crucifix, flanked by the grieving Mary and John, with perhaps a tympanum behind depicting the last judgement. These are now all gone, of course, as is the rood loft that once stood in front of the beam and allowed access to it. But below, the dado of the screen survives, with twelve panels. Figures survive on the south side. They have not worn well. They are six female Saints: St Agnes, St Cecilia, St Agatha, St Faith, St Bridget and, uniquely in England, St Florence. Curiously, the head of this last has been, in recent years, surrounded by stars, in imitation of the later Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Presumably this was done in a fit of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm about a century ago.
The arrangement is similar to the south side of the screen at Westhall, and it may even be that the artist was the same. While there is no liturgical reason for having the female Saints on one side and, presumably, male Saints on the other, a similar arrangement exists on several Norfolk screens in the Dereham area.
Much of the character of the church today comes from it embracing, in the early years of the 20th century, Anglo-catholicism in full flood. As at Great Ryburgh in Norfolk, patronage ensured that this work was carried out to the very highest specification under the eye of the young Ninian Comper. Comper is an enthusiast's enthusiast, but I think he is at his best on a small scale like here and Ryburgh. His is the extraordinary war memorial window in the south aisle chapel, dedicated to St Leonard. It depicts Christ carrying his cross on the via dolorosa, but he is aided by a soldier in WWI uniform and, behind him, a sailor. The use of blues is very striking, as is the grain on the wood of the cross which, incidentally, can also be seen to the same effect on Comper's reredos at Ryburgh.
Comper's other major window here is on the north side of the nave. This is a depiction of the Annunciation, although it is the figures above which are most extraordinary. They are two of the Ancient Greek sibyls, Erythrea and Cumana, who are associated with the foretelling of Christ. At the top is a stunning Holy Trinity in the East Anglian style. There are angels at the bottom, and all in all this window shows Comper at the height of his powers.
Stepping into the chancel, there is older glass - or, at least, what at first sight appears to be. Certainly, there are some curious roundels which are probably continental 17th century work, ironically from about the same time that Dowsing was here. They were probably acquired by collectors in the 19th century, and installed here by Victorians. The image of a woman seated among goats is curious, as though she might represent the season of spring or be an allegory of fertility, but she is usually identified as St Agnes. It is a pity this roundel has been spoiled by dripping cement or plaster. Another roundel depicts St Sebastian shot with arrows, and a third St Anthony praying to a cross in the desert. However, the images in 'medieval' glass in the east window are entirely modern, though done so well you might not know. A clue, of course, is that the main figures, St Mary Salome with the infants St James and St John on the left, and St Anne with the infant Virgin on the right, are wholly un-East Anglian in style. In fact, they are 19th century copies by Clayton & Bell of images at All Souls College, Oxford, installed here in the 1970s. I also think that the images of heads below may be modern, but the angel below St Anne is 15th century, and obviously East Anglian, as is St Stephen to the north.
High above, the ancient roofs with their sacred monograms are the ones that Dowsing saw, the ones that the 15th century builders gilt and painted to be beautiful to the glory of God - and, of course, to the glory of their patrons. Rich patronage survived the Reformation, and at the west end of the south aisle is the massive memorial to Sir Henry Wood, who died in 1671, eleven years after the end of the Commonwealth. It is monumental, the wreathed ox heads a severely classical motif. Wood, Mortlock tells us, was Treasurer to the Household of Queen Henrietta Maria.
There is so much to see in this wonderful church that, even visiting time and time again, there is always something new to see, or something old to see in a new way. It is, above all, a beautiful space, and although it no longer maintains its high Anglo-catholic worship tradition, it is is still kept in high liturgical style. It is at once a beautiful art object and a hallowed space, an organic touchstone, precious and powerful.