Newbury is a market town in West Berkshire, England, in the valley of the River Kennet. It is 26 miles (42 km) south of Oxford, 25 miles (40 km) north of Winchester, 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) west of Reading. It is also where West Berkshire Council is headquartered.
Avebury is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 5.5 miles (9 km) west of Marlborough and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Devizes. Much of the village is encircled by the prehistoric monument complex also known as Avebury. The parish also includes the small villages of Avebury Trusloe and Beckhampton, and the hamlet of West Kennett.
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar, to wall or cover formed structures.
Sir John Soane was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy and an official architect to the Office of Works. He received a knighthood in 1831.
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) west of Newbury, 9 miles (14 km) east of Marlborough, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the River Dun, a major tributary of the River Kennet. The confluence with the Kennet is to the north of the centre whence canal and river both continue east. Amenities include schools, shops, cafés, restaurants, and facilities for the main national sports. Hungerford railway station is a minor stop on the Reading to Taunton Line.
Sulhamstead is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It occupies an approximate rectangle of land south of the (Old) Bath Road (A4) between Reading, its nearest town and Thatcham. It has several small clusters of homes and woodland covering about a fifth of the land, in the centre and north beside which is Thames Valley Police's main Training Centre at Sulhamstead House. Its main amenities are its Church of England parish church and a shop and visitor centre by the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Galleting, sometimes known as garreting or garneting, is an architectural technique in which spalls are pushed into wet mortar joints during the construction of a masonry building. The term comes from the French word galet, which means "pebble." In general, the word "galleting" refers to the practice while the word "gallet" refers to the spall. Galleting was mostly used in England, where it was common in South East England and the county of Norfolk.
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone.
Limpley Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Avon valley between Bath and Freshford, and is both above and below the A36 road.
Hilperton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is separated by a few fields from the northeastern edge of the town of Trowbridge and is approximately 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from Trowbridge town centre.
The Diana Chronicles is a 2007 British biographical book by Tina Brown that chronicles the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The book's release coincided with the increased attention Diana had received leading up to the tenth anniversary of her death in 1997. Brown writes in a preface: The biography was based on over 250 interviews with men and women – members of Diana's intimate circle, associates in her public life and partners in her philanthropy.
Alec Clifton-Taylor was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.
Architecture criticism is the critique of architecture. Everyday criticism relates to published or broadcast critiques of buildings, whether completed or not, both in terms of news and other criteria. In many cases, criticism amounts to an assessment of the architect's success in meeting his or her own aims and objectives and those of others. The assessment may consider the subject from the perspective of some wider context, which may involve planning, social or aesthetic issues. It may also take a polemical position reflecting the critic's own values. At the most accessible extreme, architectural criticism is a branch of lifestyle journalism, especially in the case of high-end residential projects.
Wilcot is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wilcot, Huish and Oare, in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Marlborough and 1.5 mi (2.4 km) northwest of Pewsey. In 2011 the parish had a population of 558.
Westwood is a large village and a civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. The village is about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) southwest of the town of Bradford-on-Avon.
The Craftsman is a book by Richard Sennett about craftmanship and its importance to individuals and society.
Mary Spencer Watson was an English sculptor. Watson was born in London and spent most of her life in Dorset and was inspired by watching masons carving Purbeck stone, close to her family home there. Her works can be seen at Cambridge University and Wells Cathedrals, among other sites.
Eleanor Catherine Parker is a British historian and medievalist.
The Pottery Cottage murders were a series of murders committed in Eastmoor, Chesterfield between 12 and 14 January 1977. The murders occurred after William Thomas Hughes escaped from custody whilst being transferred from prison to court to face charges of rape and grievous bodily harm. Hughes stabbed two prison officers during his escape before holding a family of five hostage at Pottery Cottage for over two days, ultimately murdering four members of the family.
