Watch an old building with anxious care...

earwigbiscuits:

“Watch an old building with anxious care; guard it as best as you may, and at any cost, from every influence of dilapidation. Count its stones as you would jewels of a crown; set watches about it as if at the gates of a besieged city; bind it together with iron where it loosens; stay it with timber where it declines; do not care about the unsightliness of the aid: better a crutch than a lost limb; and do this tenderly, and reverently, and continually, and many a generation will still be born and pass away beneath its shadow.” ~ John Ruskin, from Seven Lamps of Architecture (Chapter VI, The Lamp of Memory) (1849)
mediumaevum: De Vere House, LavenhamPhotograph: E. Smith (1965)Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection In many ways, this photograph typifies the popular notion of Medieval architecture. The entrance to a warped, half-timbered building, it exudes an intriguing charm. Immediately noticeable is the door, or rather doors. The main door has been much patched in its long history; off-centre, and contained within, is a much smaller door, capped with an ogee arch. Why was this so arranged? Who exactly could fit through it? The carved figures also demand attention. Standing like sentries either side, they may have become blunted by time, yet still have presence. Who were these men? Looking beyond, the wonderful mixture of materials becomes apparent. Predominantly this is built of timber, and most beams appear raw in their basic form. A few were once finely worked, but time has blunted these carvings. There is also some brick-filling, laid in diagonal or herringbone patterning. Crammed above the door are tiny leaded windows, their diamonds misshapen. What a contrast to the rectilinear, modern metal drainpipe, unhappily stuck onto the old building. source

mediumaevum:

De Vere House, Lavenham
Photograph: E. Smith (1965)
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection

In many ways, this photograph typifies the popular notion of Medieval architecture. The entrance to a warped, half-timbered building, it exudes an intriguing charm.

Immediately noticeable is the door, or rather doors. The main door has been much patched in its long history; off-centre, and contained within, is a much smaller door, capped with an ogee arch. Why was this so arranged? Who exactly could fit through it? The carved figures also demand attention. Standing like sentries either side, they may have become blunted by time, yet still have presence. Who were these men?

Looking beyond, the wonderful mixture of materials becomes apparent. Predominantly this is built of timber, and most beams appear raw in their basic form. A few were once finely worked, but time has blunted these carvings. There is also some brick-filling, laid in diagonal or herringbone patterning. Crammed above the door are tiny leaded windows, their diamonds misshapen. What a contrast to the rectilinear, modern metal drainpipe, unhappily stuck onto the old building.

source