Tagged Architecture

Climate Change and the Impact on Historic Houses – Felbrigg Hall

Felbrigg Hall was the first stop on the Attingham Trust Norfolk Country House course. A fascinating site under any circumstances, the timing of our visit allowed us the opportunity to observe first-hand the impacts of climate change on historic properties. But first, a brief history of Felbrigg Hall. The estate was established by the Felbrigg…

A Fascinating Visit to Flintham Hall with the Attingham Summer School

The start of the 68th Attingham Summer School yesterday brought back wonderful memories from attending last year.  Attingham was an amazing experience to study the architecture, art, decorative arts, landscape and material culture of English country houses from medieval times to the late 19th century.  It was an incredible opportunity and I am still learning…

Restoration and Renovation at the Chancognie House

For most of my time here at the Chancognie House, work has focused on restoration – bringing various parts of the house, such as the second-floor piazza archways, pictured below, back to their original appearance.  Recently, as you may have noticed from my posts on Instagram and Facebook, I embarked on a renovation project here…

The Day the Chancognie House Almost Burned Down

Like most early American cities, Charleston has a long history of fires both small and large.  Wooden buildings in close proximity to each other along with fire-building for cooking and warmth were all too often a combustible combination.  The fire of April 27-28, 1838 burned over 500 properties and stopped just down the street from…

An Insider’s Tour of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton

One of the many highlights of my Attingham Summer School experience was the rooftop tour of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.  Rooftop is a bit misleading, however, as we not only went up to the roof, we went inside the roof. Coming from the US, I am always amazed at things I can do in…