12 Comments CherryPie on Jan 10th 2012
8 Comments CherryPie on Jan 9th 2012
8 Comments CherryPie on Jan 9th 2012
Certainly, knowledge is a lock and its key is the question.
Ja’far Al-Sadiq (702 – 765)
10 Comments CherryPie on Jan 8th 2012
Stokesay castle as we see it today was built in the 1280s to 90s by Laurence of Ludlow who was a wool merchant and one of the richest men in England. Although it appears military in appearance it was not intended to withstand a serious siege, but was designed to protect his wealth and withstand robbers.
12 Comments CherryPie on Jan 7th 2012
14 Comments CherryPie on Jan 6th 2012
Every time I visit Stokesay Castle it takes me by surprise. One look at the gatehouse which was built in 1640-41 makes me feel that I have stepped back in time. The gatehouse as it stands now, probably replaces an original stone structure of which little is known.
The detailing on the gatehouse is quite elaborate with stars, moons, angels, dragons, Adam, Eve and more incorporated into the design:
The biblical story of the fall of man is carved along the lintel above the entrance, with the trees of life and of the knowledge of good and evil at each end, and Adam, the serpent and Eve between them. Adam and Eve appear again on the brackets flanking the entrance, while the brackets to the south are carved as acanthus leaves and those to the north as a pair of dragons. Angels top the wooden pilasters set on either side of the window above.
The inner side of the gatehouse repeats the exterior design, with the addition of two doors, but the carving is even more flamboyant. Dragons grasp a shield over the doorway and on the brackets on either side are a man and woman in Jacobean dress, accompanied respectively by a nude woman, half-hidden, and a nude man. More human figures support the low arches beneath the window above.*
*From the Stokesay Castle guidebook.
8 Comments CherryPie on Jan 5th 2012
