Ely Cathedral bullet scars - can you help?

The west wall of Ely Cathedral. Image: Ely Cathedral Guides' Research Group.

Can anyone please help?

Ely Cathedral Guides' Research Group has got in touch about some pockmarks on the external west wall of the cathedral's Lady Chapel, possibly caused by ECW musket fire ...

Where was Prince Rupert's House?

A watercolour of Prince Rupert's Palace in Beech Street, Barbican, from the garden (1796). © The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

I knew that after fleeing into exile in 1644 Prince Rupert had a naval career before returning to England after the Restoration, but was surprised to find that one of his private houses survived into the 19th century.

Or did it? This was meant to be a post about the building's location and architecture, until I started digging a little deeper ... 

Churches built during the Commonwealth (1649-1660)

Staunton Harold church, Leicestershire (1653). Photo: David Stowell (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Various numbers are quoted for how many churches were built during the Commonwealth (1649-1660), usually ranging from four to seven. A web search suggests no consensus, with the lack of clarity seeming to hinge on whether the churches were entirely new constructions, re-modellings of older ones, or whether you include Scotland or not.

Here's a rundown of all the contenders, with a stab at some conclusions ...

Bromley Hall: London's oldest brick building

A grim stretch of the Blackwall Tunnel northern approach is hardly where you'd expect to find London's oldest brick building - or an English Civil War gunpowder factory, for that matter ...

The Danby Gate @ Oxford Botanic Garden

The Danby Gate in Oxford (1632-33). 

I previously wrote a couple of articles about the York House Water Gate in London. The architect Nicholas Stone is now considered to have been its designer and builder, and comparisons are often drawn with the Danby Gate in Oxford, built 1632-33.

I managed to have a look round the Danby Gate, now the entrance to the Botanic Garden, on a recent visit to the city. Here are some pics ...

Wooden replica of 17th century London burnt

Here's the video of the 120m-long wooden replica of 17th century London being set alight.

The model was built by US artist David Best to mark 350 years since the Great Fire of London in 1666. To mark the anniversary the Museum of London has created a website as a permanent resource for information on the fire:

www.fireoflondon.org.uk

The York House Water Gate: Part Two - The Water Gate in Art

A view of the Thames from the Buckingham stairs water gate towards the Adelphi Terrace, Saint Paul's Cathedral beyond. Circle of William Marlow (1740-1813).

Read first! The York House Water Gate: Part One

The York House Water Gate has been a source of inspiration for many artists since its completion in 1626, though sadly only as a remnant of the once-great Thames-side mansion rather than as the grand waterside entrance to the ill-fated Duke of Buckingham's lodgings.

Here are some examples ...

London in the 17th century

A three-dimensional fly-through of 17th century London produced by a team of De Montfort University students recently won the prestigious Off the Map challenge.

The nationwide competition is sponsored by game developer Crytek, and runs in conjunction with the British Library and GameCity, a Nottingham Trent University initiative celebrating video game culture.

Click on the video above to see the winning entry.

More about the project
More articles on 17th century architecture

Astley Castle and the English Civil War

Astley Castle in Warwickshire. Photo: © RIBA

The 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture was recently won by Astley Castle in Warwickshire.

In the publicity surrounding the prize a brief mention was given to its role as a Parliamentarian garrison in the 1640s. Here's a bit more about it's role during the conflict (video and map below) ...

The York House Water Gate: Part One - History of the Water Gate

The York House Water Gate, Embankment Gardens, New Year's Day 2012.

A 17th century Italianate arch lies 150 yards from the Thames, weather-worn and hidden between the office blocks.

In its pomp a gateway for kings and courtiers, it marked the riverside entrance to one of Europe's most sumptuous houses.

So how has it come to stand marooned in a park? And how did it survive the centuries?
 

Madingley and William Dowsing

An engraving by Kip of Madingley Hall in 1705. Credit: University of Cambridge

I enjoyed this blog post by Adrian Barlow about Madingley Hall, Cambridgeshire, during the English Civil War.

The Hynde family who built the Hall were committed Royalists, as were the Stewkeleys of Hinton Ampner, who inherited the estate, though their allegiance to the King would eventually bring them to the attention of a notorious iconoclast ...

Queen's House Conference 2012

Queen's House, Greenwich (1614-17). Photo: © Bill Bertram 2006, CC-BY-2.5

This year's Queen's House Conference is entitled 'Inigo Jones, the Queen's House and languages of Stuart culture'.

The building has had many uses over the centuries, and is slated to play a role in the 2012 Olympic Games ...

Rarely seen Charles I painting in government collection

An Interior with King Charles I, Queen Henrietta Maria, Jeffery Hudson,
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and his brother Philip Herbert,
later 4th Earl of Pembroke, Henry van Steenwijck, c,1630-35, (GAC)

The current series of exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery in London marks the first time the Government Art Collection (GAC) has been exhibited the public in its 113-year history.

Although not earmarked at the time of writing for public viewing, a painting of Charles I surely ranks as his most informal adult depiction ...