tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post1497107016907748004..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Craswall, HerefordshirePhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-64740702913707715002020-10-27T14:32:14.249+00:002020-10-27T14:32:14.249+00:00Hels: It's hard to convey in a photograph, but...Hels: It's hard to convey in a photograph, but there is a sense in which the fragmentary nature of the building actually adds to the atmosphere. It's a shame the despoilers didn't think of us tourists (yes, I did laugh out loud), but it's worth remembering the architectural compensations, e.g. all the other buildings put up using recycled monastic materials. There are several houses in my town and at least one pub with fabric that includes lumps of carved stone that – beyond all reasonable doubt – came from the demolition remains of the local abbey, which has disappeared almost completely. <br />Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-16891740279887615052020-10-27T14:27:39.951+00:002020-10-27T14:27:39.951+00:00Joseph: Thank you. I agree that the local impact o...Joseph: Thank you. I agree that the local impact of medieval monasteries in the ways you mention is often overlooked. They were less 'apart' from local communities than many people think. Yes, even Craswall, though it was indeed small.<br />Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-15739901633280574722020-10-25T03:50:21.354+00:002020-10-25T03:50:21.354+00:00A church’s apsidal east end, the chapter house and...A church’s apsidal east end, the chapter house and the wall of other monastic buildings are well worth examining, nod. But the ruins in the photo are so fragmentary that the atmospheric quality is missing. <br /><br />I think that if the authorities had to suppress religious houses over the centuries, they should have left enough architecture to keep future tourists and historians happy. Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-29905528003818267672020-10-24T14:38:39.097+01:002020-10-24T14:38:39.097+01:00No doubt some of the present remoteness is due to ...No doubt some of the present remoteness is due to the disappearance of the monastery - compare Llanthony Priory over the mountain in the neighbouring valley. The small farms, whoever then owned them, would need to take up livestocking, on a less commercial scale, perhaps: although, as with the valleys of rural Mid Wales that are next door, the number of people living at them would have been much higher in the 18th-19th century than now. See the numerous graves and monuments at the local parish churches either side of the border. Even living very simply, those monks would need to organise some sophisticated agriculture to put food on the table: as Hilaire Belloc pointed out in his book on the Thames Valley, the monastic houses didn't have to provide for descendants and dowries, so often had the readies to invest in infrastructure such a bridges (regarded as an act of piety), etc. to assist efficient transmission to markets. Even little Craswall might have been fairly bustling at times. The Bonhommes at Edington, Wiltshire, didn't seem short of a penny, judging by the scale of building. Joseph Biddulph (Publisher)https://www.blogger.com/profile/08655472675410890012noreply@blogger.com