1.
River Avon, Bristol
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The River Avon /ˈeɪvən/ is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of rivers of the same name. The name Avon is a cognate of the Welsh word afon, the Avon rises just north of the village of Acton Turville in South Gloucestershire, before flowing through Wiltshire. In its lower reaches from Bath to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth near Bristol, the Avon is the 19th longest river in the UK at 75 miles although there are just 19 miles as the crow flies between the source and its mouth in the Severn Estuary. The catchment area is 2,220 square kilometres, the name Avon is a cognate of the Welsh word afon river, both being derived from the Common Brittonic abona, river. River Avon, therefore, literally means River River, several other English and Scottish rivers share the name, the County of Avon that existed from 1974 to 1996 was named after the river, and covered Bristol, Bath, and the lower Avon valley. The Avon rises east of the town of Chipping Sodbury in South Gloucestershire, running a somewhat circular path, the river drains east and then south through Wiltshire. Its first main settlement is the village of Luckington, two miles inside the Wiltshire border, and then on to Sherston, at Malmesbury it joins up with its first major tributary, the Tetbury Avon, which rises just north of Tetbury in Gloucestershire. This tributary is known locally as the Ingleburn, which in Old English means English river, here, the two rivers almost meet but their path is blocked by a rocky outcrop of the Cotswolds, almost creating an island for the ancient hilltop town of Malmesbury to sit on. Upstream of this confluence the river is referred to as the River Avon to distinguish it from the Tetbury Branch. This was supplemented in Norman times by the bridge that still stands today. The Norman side is upstream, and has pointed arches, the side has curved arches. The Town Bridge and Chapel is a grade I listed building and it was originally a Packhorse bridge, but widened in the 17th century by rebuilding the western side. On the bridge stands a building which was originally a chapel. The Avon Valley between Bradford on Avon and Bath is a classic example of a valley where four forms of ground transport are found, road, rail, river. The river passes under the Avoncliff and Dundas Aqueducts and at Freshford is joined by the Somerset River Frome, Avoncliff Aqueduct was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, between 1797 and 1801. The aqueduct consists of three arches and is 110 yards long with an elliptical arch of 60 ft span with two side arches each semicircular and 34 ft across, all with V-jointed arch stones. The spandrel and wing walls are built in courses of ashlar masonry
2.
Bath, Somerset
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Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859, Bath is in the valley of the River Avon,97 miles west of London and 11 miles south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, the city became a spa with the Latin name Aquæ Sulis c. AD60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre, the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the properties of water from the springs. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood, the Elder, and in the 18th century the city became fashionable, Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II, the city has software, publishing and service-oriented industries. Theatres, museums, and other cultural and sporting venues have helped make it a centre for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art, the city has two universities, the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F. C. while TeamBath is the name for all of the University of Bath sports teams. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, the hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort, and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. A long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets, have been recovered from the sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin, and cursed people whom the writers felt had wronged them, for example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse, naming the suspects, on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD 60–70, and a complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into the mud to provide a stable foundation, in the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium. The town was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, in March 2012 a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig
3.
Bath and North East Somerset
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Bath and North East Somerset is the district of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset Council that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the county of Somerset. Its administrative headquarters is in Bath, Bath and North East Somerset covers an area of 136 square miles, of which two thirds is green belt. It stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills, the city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Westfield and the Chew Valley. The area has varied geography including river valleys and rolling hills, the history of human habitation is long but expanded massively during Roman times, and played significant roles in the Saxon era and English civil war. Industry developed from an agricultural basis to include coal mining with the coming of canals. Bath developed as a spa resort in Georgian times and remains a cultural tourism centre having gained World Heritage City status. Although BANES was only created in 1996 the area it covers has been occupied for thousands of years. The age of the monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown. Solsbury Hill has an Iron Age hill fort, the hills around Bath such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, Bathampton Camp may have been a univallate Iron Age hill fort or stock enclosure. A Long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, the finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke, the Saxon advance from the east seems to have been halted by battles between the British and Saxons, for example, at the siege of Badon Mons Badonicus, or Bathampton Down. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD, the Western Wandsdyke was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. The ditch is on the side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, in 675, Osric, King of the Hwicce, set up a monastic house at Bath, probably using the walled area as its precinct. King Offa of Mercia gained control of this monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973. King William Rufus granted the city to a physician, John of Tours
4.
Bath stone
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Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. An important feature of Bath Stone is that it is a freestone, so-called because it can be sawn or squared up in any direction, unlike other such as slate. Bath Stone has been used extensively as a building material throughout southern England, for churches, houses, some quarries are still in use, but the majority have been either converted to other purposes or are being filled in. Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate laid down during the Jurassic Period when the region that is now Bath was under a shallow sea. Layers of marine sediment were deposited, and individual spherical grains were coated with lime as they rolled around the sea bed, under the microscope, these grains or ooliths are sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. That name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg, strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0. 25–2 mm. Rocks composed of larger than 2 mm are called pisolites. They frequently contain minute fragments of shell or rock, and sometimes even decayed skeletons of marine life, Bath stone was taken from the Bath Oolite Member and the Combe Down Member of the Chalfield Oolite Formation, part of the Great Oolite Group. An important feature of Bath Stone is that it is a freestone, that is one that can be sawn or squared up in any direction, unlike other such as slate. In the Roman and Medieval periods, Bath Stone was extensively used on domestic, ecclesiastical, the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, which was founded in 1738, was designed by John Wood the Elder, and built with Bath stone donated by Allen. It is a Grade II listed building, there is a fine pediment on the building, in Bath stone, which depicts the parable of the good Samaritan. St Stephens church, situated on Lansdown Hill in Bath, was constructed from a limestone sourced from the Limpley Stoke mine, the church has recently been restored. The material has also used widely outside Bath itself. Claverton Pumping Station at Claverton, which was built of Bath Stone in about 1810, pumps water from the River Avon to the Kennet and Avon Canal, using power from the flow of the River Avon. The stone was used for the Dundas Aqueduct, which is 150 yards long. Bristols Cabot Tower was also faced with Bath Stone, arnos Court Triumphal Arch was built from Bath stone in about 1760, and was later dismantled before being rebuilt in its current location. Bath Stone was also favoured by architect Hans Price, who designed much of 19th century Weston-super-Mare, in Barnstable, the 1855 construction of Butchers Row used Bath Stone. Apsley House, the house of the Dukes of Wellington, was remodelled by the 1st Duke
5.
Robert Adam
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Robert Adam FRSE FRS FSA FSA FRSA was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam, Scotlands foremost architect of the time, with his older brother John, Robert took on the family business, which included lucrative work for the Board of Ordnance, after Williams death. In 1754, he left for Rome, spending five years on the continent studying architecture under Charles-Louis Clérisseau. On his return to Britain he established a practice in London, here he developed the Adam Style, and his theory of movement in architecture, based on his studies of antiquity and became one of the most successful and fashionable architects in the country. Adam held the post of Architect of the Kings Works from 1761 to 1769, Robert Adam was a leader of the first phase of the classical revival in England and Scotland from around 1760 until his death. He influenced the development of Western architecture, both in Europe and in North America, Adam designed interiors and fittings as well as houses. He served as the member of Parliament for Kinross-shire from 1768 to 1774, Adam was born on 3 July 1728 at Gladney House in Kirkcaldy, Fife, although the family moved to Edinburgh later that same year. As a child he was noted as having a feeble constitution, in autumn 1743 he matriculated at Edinburgh University, and compulsory classes for all students were, the Greek language, logic, metaphysics and Natural philosophy. Students could choose three subjects, Adam attended classes in mathematics, taught by Colin Maclaurin, and anatomy. His studies were interrupted by the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Highlanders, at the end of the year, Robert fell seriously ill for some months, and it seems unlikely that he returned to university, having completed only two years of study. On his recovery from illness in 1746, he joined his elder brother John as apprentice to his father and he assisted William Adam on projects such as the building of Inveraray Castle and the continuing extensions of Hopetoun House. Williams position as Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance also began to generate much work, William Adam died in June 1748, and left Dowhill, a part of the Blair Adam estate which included a tower house, to Robert. On William Adams death, John Adam inherited both the business and the position of Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance. He immediately took Robert into partnership, later to be joined by James Adam, the Adam Brothers first major commission was the decoration of the grand state apartments on the first floor at Hopetoun House, followed by their first new build at Dumfries House. For the Board of Ordnance, the brothers were the contractor at Fort George. In the winter of 1749–1750, Adam travelled to London with his friend and he took the opportunity for architectural study, visiting Wilton, designed by Inigo Jones, and the Queens Hermitage in Richmond by Roger Morris. His sketchbook of the trip shows an continuing interest in gothic architecture. Among his friends at Edinburgh were the philosophers Adam Ferguson and David Hume, other Edinburgh acquaintances included Gilbert Elliot, William Wilkie, John Home and Alexander Wedderburn
6.
Palladian architecture
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Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from and inspired by the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio. That which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of Palladios original concepts, Palladios work was strongly based on the symmetry, perspective and values of the formal classical temple architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. From the 17th century Palladios interpretation of classical architecture was adapted as the style known as Palladianism. It continued to develop until the end of the 18th century, Palladianism became popular briefly in Britain during the mid-17th century, but its flowering was cut short by the onset of the Civil War and the imposition of austerity which followed. In the early 18th century it returned to fashion, not only in England but also, the style continued to be popular in Europe throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, where it was frequently employed in the design of public and municipal buildings. However, as a style it has continued to be popular and to evolve, its pediments, symmetry. Buildings entirely designed by Palladio are all in Venice and the Veneto, with an especially rich grouping of palazzi in Vicenza and they include villas, and churches such as Redentore in Venice. Palladio always designed his villas with reference to their setting, if on a hill, such as Villa Capra, facades were frequently designed to be of equal value so that occupants could have fine views in all directions. Also, in cases, porticos were built on all sides so that occupants could fully appreciate the countryside while being protected from the sun. Palladio sometimes used a loggia as an alternative to the portico and this can most simply be described as a recessed portico, or an internal single storey room, with pierced walls that are open to the elements. Occasionally a loggia would be placed at floor level over the top of a loggia below. Loggias were sometimes given significance in a facade by being surmounted by a pediment, Villa Godi has as its focal point a loggia rather than a portico, plus loggias terminating each end of the main building. Palladio would often model his villa elevations on Roman temple facades, the temple influence, often in a cruciform design, later became a trademark of his work. Palladian villas are built with three floors, a rusticated basement or ground floor, containing the service and minor rooms. The proportions of each room within the villa were calculated on simple mathematical ratios like 3,4 and 4,5, earlier architects had used these formulas for balancing a single symmetrical facade, however, Palladios designs related to the whole, usually square, villa. Palladio deeply considered the purpose of his villas as both farmhouses and palatial weekend retreats for wealthy merchant owners. These symmetrical temple-like houses often have symmetrical, but low, wings sweeping away from them to accommodate horses, farm animals. The wings, sometimes detached and connected to the villa by colonnades, were designed not only to be functional but also to complement, the Palladian, Serlian, or Venetian window features largely in Palladios work and is almost a trademark of his early career
7.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
8.
Cantilever
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A cantilever is a rigid structural element, such as a beam or a plate, anchored at only one end to a support from which it is protruding. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs, when subjected to a structural load, the cantilever carries the load to the support where it is forced against by a moment and shear stress. Cantilevers are widely found in construction, notably in cantilever bridges and balconies, in cantilever bridges the cantilevers are usually built as pairs, with each cantilever used to support one end of a central section. The Forth Bridge in Scotland is an example of a truss bridge. A cantilever in a timber framed building is called a jetty or forebay. In the southern United States a historic barn type is the barn of log construction. Temporary cantilevers are used in construction. The partially constructed structure creates a cantilever, but the structure does not act as a cantilever. This is very helpful when temporary supports, or falsework, cannot be used to support the structure while it is being built. So some truss arch bridges are built each side as cantilevers until the spans reach each other and are then jacked apart to stress them in compression before final joining. Nearly all cable-stayed bridges are built using cantilevers as this is one of their chief advantages, many box girder bridges are built segmentally, or in short pieces. This type of construction lends itself well to balanced cantilever construction where the bridge is built in both directions from a single support and these structures are highly based on torque and rotational equilibrium. In an architectural application, Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater used cantilevers to project large balconies, the East Stand at Elland Road Stadium in Leeds was, when completed, the largest cantilever stand in the world holding 17,000 spectators. The roof built over the stands at Old Trafford Football Ground uses a cantilever so that no supports will block views of the field, the old, now demolished Miami Stadium had a similar roof over the spectator area. The largest cantilever in Europe is located at St James Park in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, less obvious examples of cantilevers are free-standing radio towers without guy-wires, and chimneys, which resist being blown over by the wind through cantilever action at their base. Another use of the cantilever is in fixed-wing aircraft design, pioneered by Hugo Junkers in 1915, early aircraft wings typically bore their loads by using two wings in a biplane configuration braced with wires and struts. They were similar to bridges, having been developed by Octave Chanute. The wings were braced with crossed wires so they would stay parallel, the cables and struts generated considerable drag, and there was constant experimentation for ways to eliminate them
9.
Weir
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A weir /ˈwɪər/ is a barrier across the horizontal width of the river that alters the flow characteristics of the water and usually results in a change in the vertical height of the river level. There are many designs of weir, but commonly water flows freely over the top of the weir crest before cascading down to a lower level, Weirs are commonly used to prevent flooding, measure discharge and help render rivers navigable. In some locations the terms dam and weir are synonymous, a dam is usually specifically designed to impound water behind a wall, whilst a weir is designed to alter the river flow characteristics. A common distinction between dams and weirs is that flows over the top of a weir or underneath it for at least some of its length. Accordingly the crest of a spillway on a large dam may therefore be referred to as a weir. Weirs can vary in size both horizontally and vertically, with the smallest being only a few inches in height whilst the largest may be hundreds of metres long, some common weir purposes are outlined below. Weirs allow hydrologists and engineers a method of measuring the volumetric flow rate in small to medium-sized streams/rivers or in industrial discharge locations. Since the geometry of the top of the weir is known and all flows over the weir. However, this can only be achieved in locations where all water flows over the top of the weir crest, if these conditions are not met it can make flow measurement complicated, inaccurate or even impossible. The discharge calculation can be summarised as, Q = C L H n Where Q is flow rate of fluid C is the flow coefficent for the structure, Flow measurement weirs must be well maintained if they are to remain accurate. As weirs are a physical barrier they can impede the movement of fish and other animals up. This can have an effect of fish species that migrate as part of their breeding cycle. For example, weirs in the Great Lakes region have helped to prevent invasive Sea lamprey from colonising further upstream, mill ponds are created by a weir impounding water that then flows over the structure. The energy created by the change in height of the water can then be used to power waterwheels and power mill, Weirs are commonly used to control the flow rates of rivers during periods of high discharge. Sluice gates can be altered to increase or decrease the volume of flowing downstream. Weirs of this purpose are commonly found upstream of towns and villages, by slowing the rate at which water moves downstream even slightly a disproportionate effect can be had on the likelihood of flooding. On larger rivers a weir can also alter the characteristics of a river to the point that vessels are able to navigate areas previously inaccessible due to extreme currents or eddies. Many larger weirs will have built in that allow boats and river users to shoot the weir
10.
Sir John Soane's Museum
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Sir John Soanes Museum was formerly the home of the neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and models of Soanes projects and the collections of paintings, drawings, the museum is located in Holborn, London, adjacent to Lincolns Inn Fields. It is a public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media. Soane demolished and rebuilt three houses in succession on the side of Lincolns Inn Fields. 12, externally a plain brick house, after becoming Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy in 1806, Soane purchased No. 13, the next door, today the Museum. In 1808–09 he constructed his office and museum on the site of the former stable block at the back. In 1812 he rebuilt the front part of the site, adding a projecting Portland Stone facade to the basement, ground and first floor levels, originally this formed three open loggias, but Soane glazed the arches during his lifetime. Once he had moved into No,13, Soane rented out his former home at No.12. After completing No.13, Soane set about treating the building as an architectural laboratory, in 1823, when he was over 70, he purchased a third house, No. 14, which he rebuilt in 1823–24 and this project allowed him to construct a picture gallery, linked to No.13, on the former stable block of No.14. The front main part of this house was treated as a separate dwelling and let as an investment. When he died No.14 was bequeathed to his family, the Museum was established during Soanes own lifetime by a Private Act of Parliament in 1833, which took effect on Soanes death in 1837. The Act required that No.13 be maintained as nearly as possible as it was left at the time of Soanes death, and he also wrote an anonymous, defamatory piece for the Sunday papers about Sir John, calling him a cheat, a charlatan and a copyist. The Museums Trustees remained completely independent, relying only on Soanes original endowment, since that date the Museum has received an annual Grant-in-Aid from the British Government. The Soane Museum is now a centre for the study of architecture. In 1997 the Trustees purchased the house at No.14 with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The acquisition of No.14 enabled the Museum, under its new Director, Tim Knox, to embark on Opening up the Soane and it is funded by the Monument Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Soane Foundation in New York, and other private trusts
