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Pierhead Building
The Pierhead Building () is a Grade I listed building in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company. The Pierhead Building is part of the estate of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ), which also includes the Senedd building and Tŷ Hywel. The clock on the building is unofficially known as the "Baby Big Ben" or the "Big Ben of Wales". History The building was built in 1897 and designed by the English architect William Frame. It was a replacement for the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company which burnt down in 1892. Frame's mentor was William Burges, with whom he worked on the rebuilding of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch until Burges's death in 1881. The Bute Dock Company was renamed the Cardiff Railway Company in 1897. A coat of arms on the building's façade bears the company's motto "" ("by water and fire"), encapsulating the elements creating the steam power which transformed Wales. The building became the administrative off ...
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French Gothic Architecture
French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, and Amiens Cathedral. Its main characteristics are verticality, or height, and the use of the rib vault and flying buttresses and other architectural innovations to distribute the weight of the stone structures to supports on the outside, allowing unprecedented height and volume. The new techniques also permitted the addition of larger windows, including enormous stained glass windows, which fill the cathedrals with light. French scholars divide the Gothic of their country into four phases: British and American historians use similar periods. * ( Primary Gothic) or (First Gothic), from short before 1140 until shortly after 1180, marked by tribunes above the aisles of basilicas. The British and American term fo ...
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Coat Of Arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full achievement (heraldry), heraldic achievement, which in its whole consists of a shield, supporters, a crest (heraldry), crest, and a motto. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to the armiger (e.g. an individual person, family, state, organization, school or corporation). The term "coat of arms" itself, describing in modern times just the heraldic design, originates from the description of the entire medieval chainmail "surcoat" garment used in combat or preparation for the latter. Roll of arms, Rolls of arms are collections of many coats of arms, and since the early Modern Age centuries, they have been a source of information for public showing and tracing the membership of a nobility, noble family, a ...
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Pennal Letter
The Pennal Letter was a historical letter by Owain Glyndŵr to Charles VI of France, Charles VI, King of France. Owain composed the letter in Latin, in Pennal, in the north of Wales, in 1406, and set out his vision of an independent Wales. The letter is regarded as unique as the only surviving written documentation detailing secular and religious policies for a potential independent Wales in the Middle Ages. In the letter, Owain pledges obedience to Antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon, supported by Charles VI during the Avignon Papacy, as opposed to the Province of Canterbury and Pope Innocent VII, the pope in Rome, who was supported by the English king Henry IV of England, Henry IV. He describes the English government as "the barbarous Saxons, who usurped to themselves the land of Wales" and calls for Pope Benedict XIII to try and punish Henry IV as a heretic for the burning of many church buildings and the execution of members of the Welsh church. History The letter was sent b ...
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Terra Nova (ship)
''Terra Nova'' was a whaler and polar expedition ship. The ship is best known for carrying the Terra Nova Expedition, 1910 British Antarctic Expedition, Robert Falcon Scott's last expedition. Construction ''Terra Nova'' (Latin for "new land") was built in 1884 for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet and was ideally suited to the polar regions and had been operating for 10 years in the annual Seal hunting, seal fishery in the Labrador Straits. Expedition relief In 1903, ''Terra Nova'' sailed in company with fellow ex-whaler to assist in freeing the Discovery Expedition, National Antarctic Expedition's from McMurdo Sound. On return to Great Britain, expedition leader Commander Robert Falcon Scott was promoted to the rank of captain. On return from the Antarctic, ''Terra Nova'' was purchased by the American millionaire William Ziegler (industrialist), William Ziegler and placed under the command of a Norwegian, Captain Johan Kjeldsen. She sailed to the Arctic to return members ...
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Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition, ''Terra Nova'' expedition of 1910–13. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Antarctic Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. On the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after Amundsen's South Pole expedition. On the return journey from the Pole, a planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite Scott's written instructions, and at a distance of from their base camp at Hut Point and approximately from the next depot, Scott and his companions died. When Scott and his party's bodies were discovered, they had in their possession the first Antarctic fossils discovere ...
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Wrexham County Borough
Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to the east and south-east respectively along the England–Wales border, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The city of Wrexham is the administrative centre. The county borough is part of the preserved county of Clwyd. The county borough has an area of and a population of 136,055. The north of the county borough is relatively urbanised and centred on Wrexham, with a population of 44,785, its Wrexham industrial estate, industrial estate and several outlying villages, such as Brynteg, Wrexham, Brynteg and Gwersyllt. To the north east is the border village of Holt, Wrexham, Holt, while to the south of Wrexham, Rhosllanerchrugog, Ruabon, Acrefair and Cefn Mawr are the main urban villages. Furth ...
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Ruabon
Ruabon (; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ..., Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from Mabyn, St Mabon, the original church name, of earlier, Celtic origin. An older English language, English spelling, ''Rhuabon'', can sometimes be seen. From the mid-19th century, Ruabon became famous across the UK, for its red bricks and terracotta. This earnt the village the nickname "Terracottapolis". The local discovery of high-quality Etruria marl clay led to the rise of the Dennis Ruabon Tile Factory, whose durable and richly coloured products were used nationwide. The tiles were used in landmark projects such as Cardiff's Pie ...
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Acrefair
Acrefair (; ) is a village in Wrexham County Borough, north-east Wales, in the community of Cefn. It was formerly part of the ancient parish of Ruabon, and is located between Wrexham and Llangollen. It is close to the villages of Trevor, Cefn Mawr, Ruabon and Plas Madoc. The name ''Acrefair'' originates from the Welsh word for acres—, or acre in the local Welsh dialect—and , the Welsh name for Mary. The English meaning of ''Acrefair'' is Mary's Acres. Parts of Acrefair have views across the River Dee and the Dee Valley. Acrefair has a chemist, kebab shop and two Chinese take-aways and once had a petrol station and newsagents / post office. It boasts many buildings built from " Ruabon Red brick", including several chapels which are now closed and converted. Edward Lloyd Rowland established an ironworks in Acrefair in 1817. Following his bankruptcy in 1825, the works were bought by the British Iron Company. The company was re-formed in 1843 as the New British Iron C ...
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Terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below. Usage and definitions of the term vary, such as: *In art, pottery, applied art, and craft, "terracotta" is a term often used for red-coloured earthenware sculptures or functional articles such as flower pots, water and waste water pipes, and tableware. *In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines and loom weights not made on a potter's wheel, with vessels and other objects made on a wheel from the same material referred to as earthenware; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or shaping technique. *Terracotta is also used to refer to the natural brownish-orange color of most terracotta. *In architecture, ...
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Ceramic Glaze
Ceramic glaze, or simply glaze, is a glassy coating on ceramics. It is used for decoration, to ensure the item is impermeable to liquids and to minimize the adherence of pollutants. Glazing renders earthenware impermeable to water, sealing the inherent porosity of earthenware. It also gives a tougher surface. Glaze is also used on stoneware and porcelain. In addition to their functionality, glazes can form a variety of surface finishes, including degrees of glossy or matte finish and color. Glazes may also enhance the underlying design or texture either unmodified or inscribed, carved or painted. Most pottery produced in recent centuries has been glazed, other than pieces in bisque porcelain, terracotta, and some other types. Tiles are often glazed on the surface face, and modern architectural terracotta is often glazed. Glazed brick is also common. Sanitaryware is invariably glazed, as are many ceramics used in industry, for example ceramic insulators for overhead power li ...
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Gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls and eroding the Mortar (masonry), mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on a building to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize potential damage from rainstorms. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually elongated fantastical animals because their length determines how far water is directed from the wall. When Gothic art, Gothic flying buttresses were used, aqueduct (watercourse), aqueducts were sometimes cut into the buttress to divert water over the aisle walls. Etymology The term originates from the French language, French ''gargouille'' (Old French ''gargoule'' (1294) "conduit for waterflow"), com ...
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