Sunday, May 13, 2007

MYSTIC ENGLAND!

FROM STONEHENGE TO SALISBURY - DECEMBER 2004

«Around The Gherkin…» was the 100th post on this blog. So after contemporary architecture, I think it makes sense to review the early beginning!

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STONEHENGE

According to Wikipedia, Stonehenge «is a henge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected around 3200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 [...]».





"THE MENHIRS - Obelix was missing!"


"BARROWS"


"FAREWELL PICTURE"

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SALISBURY


"THE KINGS ARMS HOTEL, Salisbury, a nice place to have lunch"


"ST. ANN'S GATE - An entrance to the cathedral's grounds"


"SALISBURY CATHEDRAL - The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury(its official name) is Britain's finest 13th Century Cathedral, has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (123 m), the best preserved of only four surviving original Magna Carta (1215), a unique 13th century stone frieze of bible stories in the Chapter House, the largest cloister in England, Europe's oldest working clock (1386), and the largest Cathedral Close in Britain"


"WEST FAÇADE - The building of the cathedral commenced when in 1220, and due to the high water table in its location, the cathedral was built on only four feet of foundations! By 1258 the nave, transepts and choir were complete, the west front being finished by 1265. Because the cathedral was built in only 38 years, the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary has only a single architectural style, Early English Gothic. Salisbury is one of only three English cathedrals to lack a ring of bells, the others being Norwich Cathedral and Ely Cathedral"


"THE NAVE"


"THE VITRALS"

21 comments:

alice said...

Obelix was in Brittany, with Asrerix, i met them in Carnac ;-)!

Peter said...

Very nice pictures. Nice to see a cathedral in such a single and pure style.

Did you read "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet? Fascinating, with cathedral building during the 12th century as background.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I tried to find out some approximate answers to your questions.

Emilieee said...

Nice photos of the stonehenge and love the pictures of cathedral! I love seeing pictures of cathedral because it's so beautiful and amazingly well-builted. But too bad we don't have any cathedral back in my country.

Thanks for the lovely comment and have a nice day in Portugal :)

inspired said...

That's Well put together, i must say...

Cuckoo said...

For months I had the picture of stonehenge as wallpaper on my computer. So much fascinated I am with it. :)

And the pictures of the cathedral are wonderful.

Thanks.

@Peter: I just bought that book by Ken Follet ! Let me see when I get time to read it.

lv2scpbk said...

Nice photos. That cathedral is wonderful. Alot of detail work in there. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Amazing move from the very basic architectural creation of stonehenge to the masterpiece of Salisbury. A few thousand years in between...
Un excellent raccourci historique!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody, thanks for dropping by and commenting.

Alice, I thought he was gone, running away from Assurancetourix..

Peter, I'll try to find that one!

Emily, loved to see your blog.

Salems, Cuckoo, Lv2 thanks!

Nathalie, merci!

Anonymous said...

stunning photos, i should say. Europe is really the place to visit if your eyes are longing to see magnificent structures, like those stonehenges and cathedrals.. anyway, good luck on your trips. :)

Dsole said...

yes, Stonehenge must be such a mystic place... there's so much mistery around its story.. wow, amazing. I'm so jealous you know lots and lots of places all over the world!!

Sigma said...

Great pictures. I loved the one of "The Nave" - What an amazing symmetry!!

Meg said...

Somewhere in the North Island of New Zealand, there is a Stonehenge made of wire mesh and concrete, I think. It's 10 years old at the oldest, but there have even been interesting gatherings and ceremonies held by pretend (?) Druids.

GMG said...

rcon, you're right; we have some wonderful cathedrals as well as megalithic monuments in Europe...

Dsole, no need to be jealous; you’ve plenty of time ahead…

Sigma, Salisbury is a masterpiece!

Meg, there are also some druids around Stonehenge on June 21st. Let’s see what happens next month…

Meanwhile, I’m going to be in Michigan and New York till next Monday, so I won’t be posting or visiting your blogs in the near future. I’ll come back next week…
Enjoy your week!

Seda said...

Very nice pictures. I adored the green fields. They look peaceful.

Peter said...

You should be able to find the book I recommended. It was a bestseller. Good reading (1200 pages in the pocket version)!

angela said...

I'm British and I've never visited either, to my shame though both are on my wish list.
Thanks for the guided tour round all this magnificence.
These Cathedrals put our poured concrete to shame.
Angela

Kalyan Panja said...

WoW...some EXCELLENTLY captured shots. The beauty of the Stonehenges captured so beautifully along with the other shots...Simply Superb Work!

Anonymous said...

I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Salisbury - you're so lucky.

Aditi said...

I am so fascinated with stonehenge it is on my must see list.. nice write-up

Ash said...

Beautiful images!

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody, just returned from the US; tomorrow I’ll try to catch up with your latest posts...

Seda, Kalyan and Ash thanks for the comments.

Peter, I saw the book at Heathrow Terminal 4 when departing. It was huge and I decided to buy it on the way in to avoid carrying it around. On the way back, I couldn’t find it on Terminal 1. But I’ll get it...

Angela, it’s now your turn to get to the British wonders...

Piika, Aditi, you’re right! Salisbury or Stonehenge are supposed to be in any must see list of England sites.