Aberglasney

     From Carmarthen we drove east up the Towy valley to the gardens at Aberglasney.

'Y Cymru Ramantaidd'

     To Carmarthen yesterday and the former palace of the Bishops of St David's at Abergwilli, now the Carmarthenshire Museum. We were there to visit the 'Romantic Wales' exhibition - 'Y Cymru Ramantaidd'.  And quite the little treasure trove it was.  There were works by Turner (obviously), Samuel Palmer, and David Cox; John Nash, Graham Sutherland, and John Piper.  I was much taken with two of the works by Piper: Llanthony Abbey of 1941, and Grongar Hill of 1942.  'A Welsh Funeral, Betwys y Coed', of 1847-50, by David Cox was rather a revelation in terms of technique; vibrant brushwork, almost Impressionist.  And then there was Turner's 'Tintern Abbey' 0f 1792, watercolour on paper with graphite underdrawing.  Masterly.
     My favourite, however, was Samuel Palmer's sensuous oil painting of 1835-6. 'Pistyll Mawddach'.  I think Samuel Palmer must be one of my favourite artists.

     The palace dates back to the Middle Ages, and went through various vicissitudes Post-Reformation.  In 1904 it suffered a fire and was subsequently restored by the Arts and Crafts architect W D Caroe (1857-1938).  The 'Buildings of Wales' implies that he played with fast and loose with the extant historical details on the exterior.  He is responsible for acres of roughcast.  The interior is interesting, if rather institutional; the best room is the chapel which, although over pewed, has some very good detailing.  Not a room designed, though, for ritual.

Kettle's Yard

     "I thought we'd make our way to Kettle's Yard, if that's alright."
     "I was hoping you'd say that."

     Well, not exactly a verbatim transcript of our conversation on Tuesday morning as we were leaving 'Hot Numbers Coffee' on Trumpington St. And that's about it - if you've read this blog before you will know all about Kettle's Yard and why it is so unbelievably special - on with the photographs!!!

St Edward, King and Martyr, Cambridge I

     Tucked away, in the remaining warp and weft of the Medieval city, stands St Edward's church, midway betwixt St Benet and Great St Mary.  From King's Parade you enter a narrow, atmospheric alley between shops - St Edward's Passage.  In a short while you emerge in a small urban space, quite picturesque, almost village-y.  Sadly that atmosphere is not maintained at the e end, where the massive Guild Hall looms over all.

     St Edward's, is itself a rather village-y affair, humble with an interesting mix of materials particularly the use of plaster, which here and elsewhere in se England suggests the 18th & early 19th century.  There is a slim w tower, short nave (no clearstory), and chancel with two large chapels that were built to serve two of the University colleges - Trinity Hall on the N & Clare College on the S.*  They were apparently constructed post 1446, though the s chapel, if I didn't know better, looks entirely Dec to me (Yes, I know the tracery is probably 19th century or later).  It reminds me somehow of the s elevation of the chancel of St Benedict in Lincoln, although they are in fact completely different designs.   I can't help feel the design would be improved by a high pitched roof.  Wide, flat e end; e window by Sir George Gilbert Scott.  The church has been rather harshly restored at some point in the 19th century, probably by Brandon.  The west window and door are particularly regrettable.  I think Sir Albert Richardson worked here in the 20th century.

    A long time ago, when we were teenagers, a friend and I worshiped in this church one Sunday morning, sitting behind two elderly ladies, one of whom spent the whole service loudly criticizing the priest.

* Reginald of Ely, the first master mason of King's College chapel, has been suggested as the designer of these chapels, but the evidence is flimsy.  Firstly there is the question of the window in the s chapel.  It is supposed to be like Ely's tracery at King's College Chapel, but I can't see it.  Secondly, how can we trust the current tracery anyway?  If it was Ely's work it would be incredibly anachronistic.  Nearly a hundred years out of date.

Great St Mary, Cambridge I

     I am in Cambridge. Here for three days.  I arrived yesterday after a 'trying' journey from the Infernal City, and I am staying in the serene St Catherine's College on Trumpington St.  My room is very close to the chapel and inside, at the moment, a choir is practicing.  In less than half an hour the college clock will strike the hour.

     This morning, earlier, before I had to be at the station to meet a friend, I went to Great St Mary to take some photographs for the blog. Sadly you will have to wait until a day or so for some pictures of the interior as there was some sort of conference going on.  This large church, which I described in a previous post as Anglican establishment, being both the civic and University church, and the sort of church where ambitious incumbents pass through on the way to deaneries and bishoprics.  Appropriately enough, it stands poised between 'Market Hill' and 'Senate House Hill', the academic centre of the University.  It is built of stone (rubble and ashlar) and some brick.  The stone will have come across the Fens from the quarries of the Limestone Belt, such a Barnack and Ketton.  It is a Late Gothic basilican plan church with square ended chancel and side chapels; an ostentatious display of the mercantile wealth and piety of the city* and the prestige of the University.  A proud building rather like the other great burghal churches of E Anglia and Essex, such as Lavenham and Saffron Walden.  Rubble walled aisles contrasting with sophisticated ashlar clearstory.  No n porch, but on the s side there are the rood loft stairs and a south porch which looks entirely Victorian.  Apparently, it is a copy of the Medieval original. The base of the w tower is of the same period as the church but the top story and battlements are Post-Reformation.  It is surrounded by a small graveyard, but, I believe, it was once hemmed in by buildings to the e.  Below the e window is the Boer War Memorial, cast bronze in a Gothic frame.  Restorations by Essex, Salvin, and George Gilbert Scott.

* Cambridge was than a mercantile city plugged in, via King's Lynn, to an international trade network across northern Europe as far east as the Baltic.