English Medieval Towns … and their architecture

Happy New Year everyone. I have a feeling that this year will be positive, full of new opportunities and bright experiences.

In my last post I explored London’s fashion and architecture. After being in one of the most fashionable cities in the world, I embarked in a week trip to England’s midlands. Was it cold? you cannot imagine. Was it priceless? you cannot imagine.

The town where I spent most of my time was called Oakham the county town of Rutland (smallest county in England) It lies 17.4 miles east from Leicester, and has a total resident population of 9,975.

There I fell in love with its main church called All Saints Church which was built during the 14th century. I also enjoyed my visit to the Oakham Castle. The interior decoration of the castle is simple and medieval, and it is dominated by hundreds of horseshoes left there by the royals.

All Saints Church

Oakham Castle - Exterior

Horseshoes at Oakham Castle

Walking through the streets of Oakham, specially at night, you can feel as part of a medieval movie and imagine people carrying torches and wearing hooded capes. My favorite street became Dean’s Street which houses some of the oldest cottages in downtown Oakham. You can also appreciate Dutch style roofs.

Oakham Streets

For a couple of weeks we took small trips to a town called Stamford located 100 miles north of London. Stamford used to be a wool town and since them it has retained a lot of  its old architecture. “Many of the buildings are constructed from old Lincolnshire limestone”.  Stamford is house of many churches as well, which I enjoyed visiting and admiring.

Stamford old architecture and stainglass windows

We also paid visit to the most beautiful chapel called Normanton Church. The church stands in front of a man-made reservoir, and it escaped being demolished when the reservoir was built. “It was deconsecrated in 1970 and a Trust was formed to try and ensure its preservation”. You can feel closer to the higher spirits when you reach the back of the church and look towards the water.

Normanton Church

Closer to the higher spirits

Finally we explored the beauty and solitary life of a small village called Hambleton which houses Hambleton Hall where the royals enjoy spending a couple of days a year. In this village we enjoyed a cold Stella and admired the beauty of its small cemetery.

Hambleton Centre and Cemetery

Enough snow for now. I must admit England is beautiful and full of history. Where will I head in the year 2011 … don’t know yet, and I must say, Colombia is calling.

Till next post …

London’s Fashion and Architecture

This year’s end has brought me to one of the most fashionable and architecturally conscious cities in the world, London.

I always wondered what was about London that every Londoner I met had such an exquisite taste for fashion and elegance. Now I get it. “The great thing about London is that it lives and breathes fashion. The street is still the best way to get a snapshot of London style.” - Todd Lynn

Classic look of Londoner even after a snow storm.

During the day and the beginning of the evening, people are reserved and practical, but the night brings the best of the best. Out in the streets you can admire women in high heels and coats and men  in fashionable trousers stepping on the ground with confidence and elegance. Once you enter a restaurant skin is exposed and silk dresses and shirts become the hot topic. Do not be surprised if their underwear reflects their style. No surprise London-based Agent Provocateur has proved to show why being the sexiest woman is priceless.

Fashion does reflect the city’s architecture which reflects history and modernity at the same time. Some structures such as the Tower of London have been alive since before the Great Fire of 1666.

Other buildings such as St. Paul’s Cathedral have been rebuilt four times after being devastated by the Great Fire. The first one  built in 886 and destroyed in the fire of 962. The second cathedral was begun in 962 and burnt, with the whole city, in the fire of 1087. The third  St Paul’s, known as Old St Paul’s, was begun by the Normans. Its built took over 200 years, and a great deal was lost in a fire in 1136. Thereafter, the roof was once more built, and by 1300 it was the third longest church in Europe with one of Europe’s tallest spires at 585 feet (178 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide.”Old St Paul’s” was gutted with the fire of 1666. Great Fire of London of 1666. While it might have been salvageable a decision was taken to build a new cathedral in a modern style instead. The current building was designed by one of the most famous architects in the history of England Sir Christopher Wren.

Old St. Paul's

St. Paul's on a winter afternoon

Skyscrapers are not famous in London as development building codes protect the views from St. Paul’s Cathedral. Nevertheless, you can see some tall buildings in central London such as the 30 St Mary Axe mostly known as the Gherkin by Sir Norman Foster.

View Towards Gherkin from top of The Monument.

Other notable modern buildings include  the Great Court of the British Museum also designed by Norman Foster.

Court at British Museum

Several monuments pay homage to people and events in the city such as The Monument by Sir. Christopher Wren which provides views of the surrounding area whilst commemorating the Great Fire of London which originated nearby.

The Monument

Nelson’s Column is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, providing a focal point for the whole central area of London.

Nelson's Column

Trafalgar Square

Finally, I must say the most beautiful architectural icon of London Architecture and history is the Big Ben located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. The clock first ticked on 31 May 1859. And it served an honor to me by allowing me to hear the noon bells on December 17th 2010. Indeed an emotional moment for a lover of fashion and architecture in London.

Big Ben

Next blog post will exposed medieval towns in England’s midlands, so please stay tuned.

Merry Christmas to all.

Au Revoir McAllister House

Finally after a whole month of hard work looking for a new place to live and emptying the castle I am leaving behind, I have some time to catch up with my blog.

“It’s not surprising that legends swirl around apartment houses designed by James Francis Dunn. With their undulating, cloudlike facades and lion-headed brackets, his buildings are among the most picturesque and provocative in San Francisco, and the most redolent of the grand boulevards of Paris.” (SF Chronicle)

1347 McAllister Street

Two and a half years ago, I arrived to one of Francis Dunn’s houses in search of a new home in San Francisco, and life gave me the opportunity to inhabit such. The McAllister House, one block North from Alamo Square saw me coming as a young woman named Cristina, and this week sees me leaving as a much more mature woman: Isabel. Great changes took place under the influence of French Renaissance architecture.

“The sinuous, wrought-iron balconies on 1347 McAllister St., it is said, were copied after the boxes inside the Paris Opera. Dunn’s client hoped to please a beautiful diva. When she dropped the love-sick swain, the story continues, in fury he turned the place into a bordello.”

Guardians of our dreams

“A Dunn building is likely to have curves everywhere — in bay windows, wrought-iron balconies that often integrate the fire escape into their designs, and window mullions. Decorative detail abounds — cartouches, shields, drips of all sorts, women’s faces, bearded men’s heads, eagles or phoenixes holding up balconies and cornices.

Gaudi Inspired Entrance

Many of Dunn’s buildings have a broad, heavily ornamented cornice at the top — and another above the first floor, to set off the building’s entry from its living floors.

“Weirdo,” an architectural surveyor for the Junior League wrote in 1977 about one Dunn building. “Especially the lions’ heads.”

But fans don’t agree. What sounds on paper like excess comes across in reality as stunning, thanks to Dunn’s compositional skills and taste.”

Living in a Dunn’s building was an honor. Amazing views from the living room also known as the hall of mirrors made each gathering in this space celebratory. The oval windows witnessed everyone’s story.

Hall of Mirrors

Many times when leaving the house, I saw travelers taking pictures of the façade, and once they saw me they would say: “we are taking pictures of your house”. Well, not any more, but at least it was so for a while.

Walking the steep stairs reminded me of my muscles, and always made me aware of the grandness (and sacrifice) of living in a house with high ceilings.

The interior of the house is filled with beautiful plaster ornaments such as a big start surrounding a chandelier, wooden details around the stairs, etc.

A chandelier detail that witnessed my dreams for seven months

Who said that designing from the inside out was a new concept? Dunn practiced such concept with rooms opened to the outside world, such as the living room and the guest area which point toward City Hall.

Guest area opening towards flower deck: home of wasps, roses, tomatoes and many friends.

Dunn was “born and raised in a working-class, largely Irish South of Market neighborhood by a widowed mother, he was self-taught as an architect — but remarkably well taught. He mastered Parisian architecture by studying the latest journals. In later years he traveled throughout the United States, and probably in France, and his work was always up to date, reflecting current trends in New York and Paris.”

1347 McAllister was finished in 1902 and says au revoir to my life in 2010. Now I must seek new inspiration in the vibrant neighborhood of the Mission.

More information about James Francis Dunn’s architecture and buildings around San Francisco at San Francisco Chronicle’ French Connection article.