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Ragstone
Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones that are quarried in thin pieces, such as Horsham Stone, sandstone, Yorkshire stone, and the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. Near London, "rag-stone" often means Kentish rag, a material from the neighbourhood of Maidstone. Rag-stone is peculiarly suited for medieval work. It is often laid as uncoursed work, or random work, sometimes as random coursed work and sometimes as regular ashlar. Ragstone, a dull grey stone, is still quarried on an industrial scale close to the Kent Downs AONB. It has traditionally been used within the AONB as a road stone, cobble or sett and a walling block. Although difficult to 'dress' with a regular face, it has been used as rectangular blocks for the construction of walls and buildings and was very popular for the construction of 19th-century churches. More frequently, owing to the difficult and variable nature of the stone, it is seen as ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dryhill Nature Reserve
Dryhill is an geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and an area of is a Local Nature Reserve This former quarry exposes rocks dating to the Aptian stage in the early Cretaceous, around 120 million years ago. It is famous for its rich and diverse brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ... and bivalve fossils, which are important for palaeoecological research. There is access from Dryhill Lane. References {{Local Nature Reserves in Kent Local Nature Reserves in Kent Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Geological Conservation Review sites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. The term comes ; ; . Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements. The practice, which began in the prehistoric era, has been used as a way of expressing culture for civilizations on all seven continents. For this reason, architecture is considered to be a form of art. Texts on architecture have been written since ancient times. The earliest surviving text on architectural theories is the 1st century AD treatise ''De architectura'' by the Roman architect Vitruvius, according to whom a good building embodies , and (durability, utility, and beauty). Cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of very thin joints between blocks, and the visible face of the stone may be quarry-faced or feature a variety of treatments: tooled, smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect. One such decorative treatment consists of small grooves achieved by the application of a metal comb. Generally used only on softer stone ashlar, this decoration is known as "mason's drag". Ashlar is in contrast to rubble masonry, which employs irregularly shaped stones, sometimes minimally worked or selected for similar size, or both. Ashlar is related but distinct from other stone masonry that i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enfield, London
Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Enfield Town, Enfield Wash, Forty Hill, Freezywater, Gordon Hill, Grange Park, Hadley Wood, Ponders End, and World's End. South of the Hertfordshire border and M25 motorway, it borders Waltham Cross to the north, Winchmore Hill and Edmonton to the south, Chingford and Waltham Abbey, across the River Lea, to the east and north-east, with Cockfosters, Monken Hadley and Oakwood to the west. Historically an ancient parish in the Edmonton Hundred of Middlesex, it was granted urban district status in 1894 and municipal borough status in 1955. In 1965, it merged with the municipal boroughs of Southgate and Edmonton to create the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London, of which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponders End
Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of Enfield, north London, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the Lea Valley in neighbouring Edmonton and Brimsdown, with manufacturing giving way to warehousing in the late-20th century. The area consists heavily of social housing, with streets also lined with 19th and early-20th century suburban terraced housing. As a result of increased levels of immigration, the area has become the most ethnically diverse part of Enfield, with the majority of the population now belonging to an ethnic minority background as first recorded in the 2011 census. The area is undergoing large-scale regeneration, with the high-rise Alma Road Estate currently undergoing demolition and redevelopment by Countryside Properties. The population of Ponders End was 15,664 as of 2011. Geography Elevations range from to above sea level, uniformly dropping fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London. It is the principal town of the Sevenoaks district, followed by Swanley and Edenbridge. A settlement was recorded in the 13th century, when a market was established. Construction of Knole House in the 15th century helped develop the village. Sevenoaks became part of the modern communications network when one of the early turnpikes was opened in the 18th century; the railway was relatively late in reaching it. In the 21st century, it has a large commuting population. The nearby Fort Halstead defence installation was formerly a major local employer. Located to the south-east of the town is Knole Park, within which lies Knole House. Educational establishments in the town include the independent Sevenoaks Schoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabions
A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping. For erosion control, caged riprap is used. For dams or in foundation construction, cylindrical metal structures are used. In a military context, earth- or sand-filled gabions are used to protect sappers, infantry, and artillerymen from enemy fire. Leonardo da Vinci designed a type of gabion called a ''Corbeille Leonard'' ("Leonard basket") for the foundations of the San Marco Castle in Milan. Civil engineering The most common civil engineering use of gabions was refined and patented by Gaetano Maccaferri in the late 19th century in Sacerno, Emilia Romagna and used to stabilize shorelines, stream banks or slopes against erosion. Other uses include retaining walls, noise barriers, temporary flood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, these imply strength, permanence, and expense, all reinforcing the onlooker's sense of a structure's presence. Stone quoins are used on stone or brick buildings. Brick quoins may appear on brick buildings, extending from the facing brickwork in such a way as to give the appearance of generally uniformly cut ashlar blocks of stone larger than the bricks. Where quoins are decorative and non-load-bearing a wider variety of materials is used, including timber, stucco, or other cement render. Techniques Ashlar blocks In a traditional, often decorative use, large rectangular ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kent Downs AONB
The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/ Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Borough of Bromley. The AONB also includes the Greensand Ridge, a prominent sandstone escarpment which lies south of the chalk escarpment of the North Downs. It was first designated as an AONB in July 1968 and covers 878 square km (326 square miles). The AONB's highest point is Toy's Hill, at 250m above sea level, and its boundaries include three main rivers: the Darent, Medway and Stour. To the west, Surrey Hills AONB adjoins the Kent Downs AONB, and includes a continuation of the North Downs chalk ridge which runs through the Kent Downs, stretching from Farnham to the English Channel and reappearing within the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale in France. High Weald AONB lies to the south east, separated by a distance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Easte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's outer solid layer, the crust, and most of its interior, except for the liquid outer core and pockets of magma in the asthenosphere. The study of rocks involves multiple subdisciplines of geology, including petrology and mineralogy. It may be limited to rocks found on Earth, or it may include planetary geology that studies the rocks of other celestial objects. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools in the Earth's crust, or lava cools on the ground surface or the seabed. Sedimentary rocks are formed by diagenesis and lithification of sediments, which in turn are formed by the weathering, transport, and deposition of exis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services. Toponymy Saxon charters dating back to ca. 975 show the first recorded instances of the town's name, ''de maeides stana'' and ''maegdan stane'', possibly meaning ''stone of the maidens'' or ''stone of the people''. The latter meaning may refer to the nearby megalith around which gather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
