Romanesque font, Avebury March 23, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Wiltshire, World Heritage Site.Tags: Wiltshire, Avebury, WW2, church, village, St James, wyvern, Romanesque, font, tub font, 12 century, 9th century, stone circles, crosier, bishop, nave, Saxon, Norman, aisles, font cover, carving, World War Two, wyverns, dragons, mythical beast, Wessex
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Romanesque font, Avebury
The church of St James, Avebury, Wiltshire, is an old one, with a nave that is part Saxon. It dates from around 1000AD and has had Norman aisles added to the original struture (there are still two Saxon windows high up in the nave). You could say that Christianity was the minor religion of this tiny village at the time the church was founded, as it is likely that veneration of the nearby massive stone circles continued for some time.
In the church is a splendid example of a tub font, which would have originally been plain, but has been carved in the Romanesque style. There is great debate on the dating of this font, with some authorities giving an estimate of the 12th century, and others a date of 880-890. I think that the carving may have been added during the 12th century, to the much earlier plain font. The carved wooden font cover is very pleasing, and is dates from 1941, the very darkest period of World War Two.
The design appears to be composed of flowing elements, including the figure of a bishop; he is carrying a crosier, and is either being attacked by two wyverns, or is treading on their heads! Some say that the animals are dragons, but the use of wyverns would be most appropriate, as that mythical beast is the symbol often used for Wessex, in which this church stands. It could be that this represents the church’s triumph over the primitive religion of the stone circles, which are very close at hand.
Staaken Flitzer Z-21A – ‘If the name’s German, the engine’s German, and it looks German, it must be…German’ (Captain Edmund Blackadder’s Theory of Aeronautics) March 20, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Wiltshire, aircraft.Tags: 7-cylinder radial, Aerovee VW engine, aircraft designer, Alan Newton, Australian, aviation artist, Avions Pierre Robin DR 400/180, beechwood, biplane, Blackadder, Captain Edmund Blackadder, components, Deutsche Luftstreitkrafte, Dudley Patterson, engine bearers, firewall, Flight-line, Flitzer Z-2 Schwalbe, Flitzer Z-21A, G-DUDZ, G-ERIW, G-FLIZ, German, Gloster Gamecock, grass strips, GVFWE, Jabiru 2200 engine, Keevil, Lynn Willliams, maximum loaded weight, PFA-approved, Popular Flying Association, radial engine, RAF Lossiemouth, Rotec radial engine, Rupert Wasey, Staaken, Swindon Aircraft Timber Company, VW engine, wire wheels, wooden propeller, World War One
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- Staaken Flitzer Z-21A – ‘If the name’s German, the engine’s German, and it looks German, it must be…German’ (Captain Edmund Blackadder’s Theory of Aeronautics)
In this case, (as in most cases), the esteemed Captain Blackadder has it wrong. Despite the name, the motive power, and the ’sit’ of the aircraft, it is actually a product of the fertile brain of the British aviation artist and designer Lynn Williams. It must be admitted that the ’round-tailed’ version of this PFA-approved kit ‘plane looks like something you would have found on the flight-line of some unit or other of the Deutsche Luftstreitkrafte during World War One. The Flitzer may be operated safely from small grass strips (provided they are level) and the relatively light weight (750lbs, maximum loaded weight) gives its modified Aerovee VW engine, driving a traditional wooden propeller, the chance to provide a sprightly performance for such a small unit (the aircraft will also take the 4-cylinder Jabiru 2200).
Avebury World Heritage Site December 14, 2008
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Prehistory, Wiltshire, World Heritage Site.Tags: Avebury, barrow, earthworks, England, Europe, henge, manor, museum, Neolithic, sarsen stones, Silbury Hill, standing stones, stone circle, Swindon, West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire, World Heritage Site
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Stone circle, Avebury, Wiltshire
