I like the idea of "Strange Portrait Photography"....

 

This is my nearest church, the Great Warford Baptist church, about 1/2 mile from my house and according to a stone on the wall dates back to 1642.


Great Warford Baptist Church by Nigel G, on Flickr

From the rear

Great Warford Baptist Church rear by Nigel G, on Flickr

And this hinge on the front door from 1712 presumably. I don't know what NoTHE4 means though.

1712 by Nigel G, on Flickr

 

No = number? 4 of the series THE?
Very interesting.

 

But they do cough up a lot for statues. I had to do everything on public display in Spelthorne for the new national archives and it was a lot of work.

 

I guess I should have googled it first. From the wiki page it wasn't acquired as chapel meeting place until 1712, so it will have something to do with that.

 

According to the all-knowing interweb, this was the fourth Baptist Church to open in the area, so that makes sense.

I understand that it's also been speculated as meaning Nov the 4th 1712 ('NoTHE4') - the date upon which the building is believed to have opened as a church.

Cheers, Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff.

 

True. Though they don't always look after public art very well - the mosaic in the middle of the High Street needs serious repairs, they allow the people whose offices are by the old Crooked Billet roundabout to hide a piece behind bushes and hoardings and so on.

 

Thank you! I was puzzling over that one.

 

Oh cripes, I didn't miss one did I? Spelthorne was put to bed about Sept last year. What is it?

 

Going by the Art Walk Leaflet (PDF file and not all statues), numbers 19 (Shields) is the hidden one and 22 (Borough mosaic) is the damaged one.

Hmm, there seem to be couple on there I don't remember. Mind you, I remember when the Swan Master was at the other end of ton, behing the building of the insurance company that commissioned it (now pulled down so they could build even more flats) and teh War memorial was in the park, which also had a bandstand. Oh well, all things change.

 

A recent picture of the shields/trident.

Though they do seem to have removed some of the bushes.

 

Ah yes, I did the shields and noted the obstructions. The Regus one looks new. Didn't realise that was the site you meant, but they didn't want the mosaics. Actually I had a panic last week. The guy in charge if the statues part of the project at Art UK called me and said "Did you do Spelthorne, I can't find the shots?" Answer was yes and I have deleted everything after you confirmed. He then confessed he hadn't looked in the DB for the shot he needed, just thought it was easier to ask me. Phew.

 

So a few more of different Epsom College buildings before I move on. Lovely grounds too.

_7180448 by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

_7180449 by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

_7180458 by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

_7180461 by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

 

Pevsner (or one of his minions) is quite rude about Egham (apart from the church), just down the road from Staines; definitely local, as it used to take me less than an hour to walk there. Probably takes me longer these days!

Anyway, one building he completely ignores (in the edition I have) is the Literary Institute and Museum. A converted C18 house used, I was told, by the king of the time for riotous parties after a day at the races; Egham had it's own race course in them days - it got closed down because the police couldn't control the ne'er-do-wells who infested it!

Anyway, the building:
Egham Literary Institute by SteveH, on Flickr

Very friendly staff - they tried to help me find some info concerning one of the Water Company buildings on the Causeway.

 

One corner of Exeter's Princesshay rebuild project looks just like a cover illustration for a 1930s pulp science fiction magazine...

 

For as long as I can remember, certainly 35 years+ there was a nightclub on this site on the outskirts of the village. This was in a state of disrepair/derelict for probably the last 10 years. A developer has now built a housing estate on it. There are houses ranging from 2 bed semis (affordable houses), to 4 bed detached all in the same shipping container style. To the right is the busy Manchester to London trainline and behind me is a hockey pitch with floodlights. They re worse in the flesh. The camera has made it look better, if that's possible.

Todays quiz. Can you guess the price range?

 

Another couple of 21st century buildings. And a question.

London Road - Safestore building by SteveH, on Flickr, at the Staines end of London Road.

London Road - McDonalds by SteveH, on Flickr, at the Ashford Hospital crossroads. Which may be useful!

The question. Both are purpose built and are basically functional, so why does the McD's building look wrong? Something irrational or is it because it looks like an office building that got re-used?

 

Another sci-fi entry from Exeter's Princesshay. I expect to see this on an episode of Dr Who sooner rather than later...

 

Exeter has its own estate of modern pillboxes. The city council tends to the left so has sited them (with some malice) in the Topsham area: the city's answer to Hampstead Garden Suburb. They don't like it up 'em I tell you...