Imagine if all beautiful buildings, whether dedicated to the gods of commerce or religion, were to be filled with shelves of books, and beautiful furniture, and dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge. And that everybody went there as often as possible. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful world?
I have always liked Victorian architecture, particularly the public and municipal buildings. It wasn’t enough to just build a wool exchange, a town hall, a school or even a water-pumping station that was fit for purpose, they always went the extra mile in making them look good. Even the ordinary bits like iron girders were cast with ornate detailing if they were to be visible – and often when they were hidden. The original Victorian London sewers designed by Bazalgette were a masterpiece of neo-Gothic architecture with features more becoming of a great cathedral than a network of tunnels for dealing with the capital’s effluent.
Yes, some may say that they were expensively over-designed and over-engineered, but I’d defy anybody to visit the wool exchange turned book shop and not be struck by its beauty.
This beauty is about 6 miles as the crow flies from me and a 5 minute drive away from Byron’s ancestry home, Newstead Abbey, not quite Victorian, being a 16thC house incorporating the ruins of a 12thC monastery.
OK, if the B&W get together is happening there, count me in! :)
That would be a good place for it!
There have been some partial ones already, at various conferences and things.
Yeah, I’m down with that venue… Gorgeous stuff…
And books.
Imagine if all beautiful buildings, whether dedicated to the gods of commerce or religion, were to be filled with shelves of books, and beautiful furniture, and dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge. And that everybody went there as often as possible. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful world?
Will nobody think of the sheep?
I have always liked Victorian architecture, particularly the public and municipal buildings. It wasn’t enough to just build a wool exchange, a town hall, a school or even a water-pumping station that was fit for purpose, they always went the extra mile in making them look good. Even the ordinary bits like iron girders were cast with ornate detailing if they were to be visible – and often when they were hidden. The original Victorian London sewers designed by Bazalgette were a masterpiece of neo-Gothic architecture with features more becoming of a great cathedral than a network of tunnels for dealing with the capital’s effluent.
Yes, some may say that they were expensively over-designed and over-engineered, but I’d defy anybody to visit the wool exchange turned book shop and not be struck by its beauty.
AoS:
Then feast your eyes upon this, which is a restored Victorian water pumping station close to where I live:
https://www.teescottage.co.uk/
A venue for the annual B&W get-together #2.
This beauty is about 6 miles as the crow flies from me and a 5 minute drive away from Byron’s ancestry home, Newstead Abbey, not quite Victorian, being a 16thC house incorporating the ruins of a 12thC monastery.
http://www.papplewickpumpingstation.org.uk/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newstead_Abbey