Wolverton to Basingstoke

 St Catherine's Wolverton. A Georgian church of 1771 with Victorian restoration, associated with Wolverton Park. The manor was in royal ownership from Norman times until the 1200s, passing to the Fitz Herberts and much later to the Duke of Wellington.

The Victorian restoration changed the windows quite radically which explains why they don't look at all Georgian. I'm guessing they were much more like the louvred openings of the upper tower in character.

 

I'm not sure what to make of the "Dutch Gable" treatments, it would help if we had a drawing or painting of the Georgian church as it was before the renovation. I'm suspecting that at least the transept ends were modified in the 19th century.

All in all it adds variety to my dataset. Some 17 churches modeled to a similar level now I think. Just a small dent on the total number included on the map sheets, but definitely a useful sample.

 

I am taking short walks to break up the day and guard against sitting down and staring at screens for too long. Sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes 20, always interesting. There has been strong wind, rain showers and also bright sunshine.

Brickwork is always a favourite. I'm guessing at a bit more than a century old for these walls. There is a two-brick pier in English Bond, a gatepost that I have noticed before. A yellow brick, overburnt to a purple-blue at times and heavily aged with soot and grime. What caught my attention here is the white on blue enamel number. I don't think this is original, but it goes so well. Splatters of a white mould or lichen also. I don't think it's efflorescence in a wall of this age.

Around the corner and down the passage, garden walls. Green moss on spalling red brickwork. Once again, beautiful to my eye. Then there's the coping, a half round brick special. The ground is rising steadily here, so the wall steps, necessitating a roll and mitre detail. This is so drenched in memories for me.

My bricklaying teacher Mr Cox demonstrated how to do this 50 years ago. I was enthralled. Ten years later I set it as an exercise for my own students at the University of Zimbabwe. Mature teachers who were upgrading to degree level. The drawing which I did by hand one evening was an exercise for working in pairs, as most brickwork is done.

 

I noted conkers (horse chestnuts) on the ground the other day. This time it's acorns. I have missed these signs of the passing seasons. Looking up I spotted crab apples. It's just a term for semi-wild apples really. Trees that have reverted to a smaller, less sweet fruit.

The other two images are over ageing and weathered details. Sometimes this can happen in a picturesque way that appeals to my eye as in the previous post. But sometimes it goes beyond that. The porch roof might be fun to draw or paint, but it's dangerously close to failure. I have mixed feelings about that one.

The stained brickwork from an overflowing gutter is not even picturesque. Just a eyesore to me. Signs of some kind of creeper involved in the problem, now removed. How subjective is my take on these situations? Not sure, but I suspect we all draw a line somewhere between ageing gracefully and ugly mess.