Therron Welstead

For today's #fontsonfriday is the lovely mid-12 century font in St Peter's Church, Cambridge. It's decorated with four mermen, each grasping one end of their divided tails in each hand. A 3d digital model of the font can be found here. skfb.ly/o8v9r
A similar font can be found in Anstey, Herts.

I have a joke about Aethelred, but I don't think you are ready for it.

A grey barrel shaped object with a separate domed lid. Image by T. Welstead

After WWII there were shortages of all sorts of materials including wood. In Britain, to counter this (alongside a need to encourage #bees), there were attempts to make concrete beehives.
This one is of a few prototypes that survive. You can see it in
Horsham Museum , W. Sussex. (Not) #woodensday

ok new list is here!

go.bsky.app/6TE7o75

Are you a #PhD researcher looking at #castles?
Would you like more people to know about your
AMAZING work? If so, please let me know & I can include your abstract in the next Castle Studies Group Bulletin. The bulletin is read by all sorts of castle bods.
#Academicsky #Research

Can i be added to the new list please.
therronwelstead.bsky.social

Thankyou.

Pip 'n' Jay's Church, Bristol (St Philip & St Jacob's) has a lovely square Norman font with a scalloped basin, however its cover steals its thunder. The font cover, dating to 1623, has two rows of open arches the whole topped off with a finial.
#Fontsonfriday

Could you add me, please?

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An open wooden medieval gate. Image by T.Welstead

The other half of the open gate. Image by T.Welstead

Detail of gate including iron knocker and iron rivets. Image by T.Welstead

Hanging on the gatehouse of Carisbrooke Castle (Isle of Wight) are a pair of 14th-century gates. They are made of oak with vertical boards on the outer face & braced on the inner with wooden bars set at right angles to each other forming a lattice of squares. #adoorablethursday #medievalsky

The pendent ceiling looking directly up. The pendants fron below look like diamonds. To the right is a wooden crucifixion. Top and bottom the mason arches of the nave can be seen. Image by T. Welstead

The nave of St David's Cathedral, (Pembrokeshire) houses an important and stunning 'pendant ceiling': so named due to how parts of it hang down. Each one 1.5m long and 1m wide. Samples of the Welsh oak have been tested and provided dates of the mid C15 to the mid C16. #Woodnesday #History #Wales

Image of the Giant's Grave. Either end are tall stones which originally were the shaft a cross with 4 long rounded stones in between. Image by T. Welstead

Traditionally, the monument is said to have belonged to Owen - who was elected King of Cumberland in AD 920 and died in AD 975. There are several legends built up around these stones, including one that they mark the grave of a boar hunter. 3/3

The Hogback stones (each around 2m in length), as well as the cross shafts, are now heavily worn in places. Originally, each one would have had a different design. The images are sketches by WG Collingwood in 1821. 2/3

Outside St Andrew's Church, Penrith, Cumbria, there is what is locally called 'The Giant's Grave'.
At either end of the 10th-century monument is the remains of a cross shaft. In between, there are 4 'hogbacks' stones (so called to their resemblance of the animal's back). #tombtuesday #history 1/3🧵

Which scenario won?

William Stukeley's sketch (1770s) of Arthur's Round Table (left of image) and a now lost henge.

King Arthur’s Round Table got its name due to a revival of legends associated with King Arthur in C17. Excavations in 1937 found evidence of 2 standing stones at one of the entrances. A long shallow trench was also found near the centre of the platform: possibly where cremations took place. 2/2

A series of earthworks in the centre is a flat circle around it is a ditch with a raised entrance crossing the ditch on the left. Image T.Welstead

King Arthur’s Round Table (Cumbria) is a Neolithic earthwork henge c2000BCIt’s a relatively typical design: a circular platform surrounded by a wide ditch & bank. Originally there were 2 entrances to the central area but one was destroyed when a road was constructed. #skystorians #englisheritage 1/2

A panorama of Mayburgh Henge. Image by T.Welstead

Mayburgh Henge is of an unusual design due its large enclosing bank and lack of a surrounding ditch. The bank which stands up to 7.3m in height is largely made of river pebbles stones, probably from the nearby River Eamont. The bank encloses a flat area of near perfect circle of 90m in diameter. 2/2

A standing stone standing a large grassed area. In the background there is a bank, with a couple of trees on, which formed part of the ring around the henge. A flock of sheep eating grass. Image by T. Welstead

In the centre of the late Neolithic Mayburgh Henge (Cumbria) there is a standing stone (2.79m tall). In mid C17, it was recorded that there were 7 other similar stones, but these have since been removed.
#StandingStoneSunday #EnglishHeritage #Skystorians 🧵1/2

The interior of Bowes Church looking towards the east end. To the left is one of the fonts. Wooden beams in the ceiling and pews can be seen dating from the Victorian restoration.

When I visited, I had a REALLY short amount of time to explore the church and since found out about several other features that I missed such as a Roman inscribed stone which was used as a millstone and a piscina with an unusual basket work back. Only one thing for it… a return visit somewhen. 6/6

A large stone slab with text engraved on its face. Either side are smaller pieces of masonry which formerly belonged to Roman Altars. Image T. Welstead

In grounds of the castle (which itself was built with a Roman fort), a large 3rd century slab was found. The slab is now housed within the church. Adjacent to it is a Roman Altar which was reused as a gravestone with Charles Capsley engraved into it. #romansitesaturday 5/6

Nearby there is another C12 font with a zigzag decoration. This font stand on the shaft which probably originally belonged to the C13 font. It has been argued that the separation of bowl and base occurred when the church was ransacked during one of the Scottish raids. 4/6

Within the church are several examples of change and reuse. This includes a C13 font bowl decorated with bands of leaf work. This stands on a part of a Roman altar, this part itself was reused as a C17 gravestone before becoming part of the font. 3/6

A worn crucifixion scene carved in stone inset above a pointed archway. Image by T. Welstead

The rather worn crucifixion scene on that greets you as you enter the c.1404 south porch is an indication of many features to keep your eyes out for within the church. 2/6

A church on the right with a bell cote. In the foreground is a cemetery. in the background to the left is the ruins of Bowes Castle. Image by T. Welstead

Yesterday’s thread was about Bowes Castle (Co. Durham), today we will move onto the adjacent St Giles Church. The nave was built in the mid C12. The church saw several later churches over its long life, incl the C13 chancel, C14 the N & S transepts, & a major C19 renovation. #churchcrawling 🧵1/6

A view looking up at the latrine chutes including the urinal or cistern chute on the left. Image by T. Welstead

Above the left latrine there is a narrow channel (1 & 2). It may have related to a urinal from the 2nd floor, but it may also relate to a cistern holding rainwater at roof level. If it was the latter, this would have been used to flush the latrine below. A VERY early example of a flushing toilet.6/6

One of the features to highlight is the latrine system on west side of the tower which has been exposed due to a partial wall collapse. There are two latrines (3) which were independently accessed from chambers. Both of latrines had their associated chute and outlets (4). 5/6

The interior of Bowes Castle. Several people are exploring the castle showing the large size of the rooms. Image by T. Welstead

There seems to have been a second floor, but its exact form is not known for sure, due the partial collapse of the walls. There may have been a gallery overlooking the hall and an addition chamber on the other side (background of image). 4/6

A ruined castle. There is a round headed opening where the first floor entrance used to be. Image by T.Welstead

The tower is rectangular standing on a fine chamfered graduated plinth, on each corner is a clasping buttress and a central pilaster buttress on each side. As is usual, the entrance was on the first floor which gave access the main chambers and hall. The basement was used for storage. 3/6