Launch Date!

My three books will be released on an unsuspecting (except for you dear readers) public on September 24. If you’re in the Cardiff area you will be welcome at the launch.

MR BRIDGES’ ENLIGHTENMENT MACHINE: Forty Years on Tour in Georgian Britain

This is a book which began from my research into the rebuilding of Bristol Bridge. Not the famous one built by I K Brunel, but the city’s namesake in the centre of the city which is so busy with traffic that many people don’t even notice it. It was rebuilt against much local apathy and … Continue reading →

Barnard Castle Market House

This the first round market house I’ve found with a second storey, which makes it rather special. It has been used as a prison, court house and of course for markets. It is at a busy intersection so you risk limb though probably not life in visiting it. I am told it sometimes causes accidents … Continue reading →

Inside St Peter’s Bristol

When we were campaigning to save Bristol’s Castle Park, we were repeatedly told this mediaeval church was at risk of falling inwards, weakened by the fire that destroyed it in The Blitz. But it’s still standing and now volunteers have access to it to help maintain the adjoining garden. It’s misnamed the Physic Garden, but … Continue reading →

Teazel House

Trowbridge was for centuries a major centre for the wool trade.I think its last weaving factory closed about 1980, and many former mills have been converted to other uses, with one being engulfed into the shopping centre as part of the local history museum. But when I was told about this one, called Handle House, … Continue reading →

Trowbridge Town Hall Arts Centre

One of the major consequences of modern technology has been the problems adapting old buildings to accommodate the extra wiring, and changes of use in office space etc. In the former wool town of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, they have converted the wonderful Victorian former town hall to a community art space and I was granted a … Continue reading →

Newton’s Great Promoter

Most people have heard of Sir Isaac Newton, though most are vague on the details of his theories on gravity etc. But his work was written in Latin and they were incredibly complex and hard to comprehend, even by his fellow scientists. But they were understood by French born vicar John Theophilus Desaguliers who devised … Continue reading →

Durham Cathedral

After my disappointment at Liverpool Anglican cathedral, I thought I’d balance things out with an account of Durham Cathedral, a place I’ve never been, but the wonderful music journalist Stuart Maconie has. This is from his book ‘Pies and Prejudice’ in which he cites Pevsner with: Durham is one of the great experiences of Europe … Continue reading →

Wavy Walls

Walls are generally straight, they follow boundaries, and are made with a minimum of materials to save money and time. But sometimes they are bendy. I recall a few in isolated places that had trees planted in the bends. The walls were in an area where fields had lots of stones, so were a nuisance … Continue reading →

Rita McBride”s ‘Portal’ – Liverpool Biennial

This is a work of art that covers 2 of my favourite things – industrial archaeology and art that you can wander round. It is in what was Toxteth Reservoir, built in 1853 in response to the latest outbreak of cholera, and to provide water for firefighting down on the docks, where most building and … Continue reading →