Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Church, Worcestershire', 1852-4. Museum no. PH.24-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Bredicot Church, Worcestershire'
England
1852-4
Unwaxed paper Negative
Museum no. PH.24-1982
Anonymous loan

This is the church of  St James the Less at Bredicot, Worcestershire, in which Turner married Agnes Chamberlain in 1847. The building is 13th century in origin but was restored in 1843, probably at the instigation of the Chamberlain family. Amongst the 19th century fittings are floor tiles produced at the Chamberlain factory. Chamberlain tiles can also be seen on the floor of Worcester Cathedral.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Windmill

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Windmill, Kempsey, Worcestershire', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.10-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Windmill, Kempsey, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.10-1982

Kempsey was an ideal location for windmills, being in fact notoriously windy. In 1802 a hurricane blew the sails of the windmill round so fast that it was set on fire. This tower-mill has a wooden top that would have rotated - by means of the wheel and pulley rope attached - to allow the sails to face into the wind. The sails lack a substantial amount of canvas - a sign that the building was not in use for its original purpose. By the 1850s the use of windmills as a form of grinding grain was drawing to a close. They could not compete with the mechanised production of the new steam-driven mills.

Although a windmill had stood at Kempsey for over 500 years this one was the last. It was demolished about twenty years after the photograph - but the history of the site is still preserved in the present road name, 'Windmill Lane'. Today just the brick cottages to the right of the windmill, and a millstone in a nearby garden, remain. There are still views across open fields to the River Severn and the Malvern Hills beyond, though these are not visible on Turner's photograph.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Tree

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Tree, Cherkenleap'. Museum no. PH.13-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
'Hedgerow Tree, Cherkenleap'
England
Museum no. PH.13-1982

The figure posing here is probablyTurner himself - the long exposure of perhaps several minutes would have allowed him to take up position. The fence the man leans on has been built in the old-fashioned way with timbers of hand-cleft, rather than machine-sawn, oak following the natural grain of the wood. The ancient trees are heavily cut back or pollarded to promote growth of new, slim branches used perhaps for firewood, brooms or weaving into baskets. Wood from these trees was also probably used to make the fence. Visual interest hinges on the repeated 'V'-shaped forms of the paired trees which echo one another. More than a country scene of ancient oaks and time-honoured rural skills, the implied theme is the cycle of nature, pairings and perhaps companionship.

Much open countryside remains at Clerkenleap, a small place with a few houses and petrol station on the A38 just south of Worcester's southern ring road. Whilst the exact location of this photograph has not been identified, there are still many views in the area where the scene remains relatively unchanged to those seen in Turner's photographs.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crowle Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crowle Court', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.14-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Crowle Court'
Worcestershire
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from calotype negative   
Museum no. PH.14-1982

This medieval moated manor was held by the priors of Worcester, who visited it frequently, as recorded in the 16th century journals and accounts of Prior William More. The moat, visible to the right of the raised entrance roadway, was once used as a defence, though later as a decorative status symbol, and indicates the importance of the site. Turner was no doubt drawn by the way the ancient building seems to grow out of its surrounding terrain.

The Court was in a very poor state of repair in Turner's time and demolished by the end of the 19th century. Next to the present small farmhouse can be seen the surviving sandstone walls of one of the ground floor rooms with a fine fireplace and remains of a tiled floor. South of the moat, the farmyard and tithe barn have recently been restored and converted to houses.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap, Worcestershire', about 1850. Museum no. PH.15-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap, Worcestershire'
England
About 1850
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.15-1982

The idiosyncratic shape of the two trees which form the main subject of this image, would have been created by deliberate pruning or 'pollarding'. This process promotes the growth of smaller branches, out of the reach of livestock, used as firewood or for crafts. Pollarding was common place during the medieval period. Pollard trees were often situated on the boundaries of fields and were common property; but the enclosure acts of the 18th and early 19th century resulted in their private ownership. This photograph therefore shows a nostalgia for the past while revealing the effects of political change in the rural landscape.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot, Worcestershire', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.16-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.16-1982

The lane at Bredicot, photographed here in dramatic, plunging perspective, is an ancient public carriage road which was, and is still, the only route into and through the village. The tallest structure on the left - with its distinctive brick foundation, timber walls and thatched, hipped gable roof - can be identified as the opposite end of the large barn seen in Foldyard, Bredicot, Court, Museum no. PH.23-1982 . The barns have disappeared during the 20th century as the working farm has developed, and been replaced with more up to date functional buildings. Two of the cottages on the right can still be seen today.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot, Worcestershire', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.18-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.18-1982

Today Court Cottage is one of the least altered buildings from the Bredicot of Turner's day, though some of the timber framing is now hidden by a later extension. Note that the corner of the timber framed dovecot is just visible to the right of the house, helping us to pinpoint the site of this vanished building, shown here .

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot, Worcestershire', about 1852-54. Museum no. PH.19-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
About 1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.19-1982

Today named 'Court Cottage', this building is the second largest dwelling in Bredicot village after Bredicot Court. The 'L'-shaped half-timbered house dates probably from the 16th century but was restored with brick work on its end wall in the 18th century. Its compact but interesting shape made it a subject that could be satisfyingly photographed from a variety of aspects. Turner showed it from both back, as in this image, and from the front.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot, Worcestershire', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.20-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.20-1982

This timber framed dovecote was used to keep doves or pigeons for their fresh meat and eggs. The birds, that nested in slots built along the tall inside walls, were reached by a ladder. By the 19th century most new dovecotes were built as decorative features. This ancient example may have been in use as a store by the time it was photographed by Turner. Rustic equipment adds interest to the scene: the thatched shelter in need of repair, a hand made tip-cart on the right and, in the foreground, a flat roller for compressing earth with logs placed on top to add extra weight.

The dovecot has long disappeared, and its location to the east of Court Cottage is almost forgotten. This photograph emphasises the value of Turner's pictures as historical and archaeological records of lost buildings.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cottage

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cottage, Bredicot Common', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.21-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Cottage, Bredicot Common'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.21-1982

This 17th and 18th century part timber framed building near Spetchley survives today as 'Ash Tree Cottage', though it has been much altered. No longer part thatched, with new windows and further extended, it can be identified by its plan, shape and chimneys.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Court', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.22-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot Court'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.22-1982

Turner used this image as his contribution to The Photographic Album for the Year 1855. In the accompanying text he noted 'taken by Fox Talbot's process in April, 10 am, in clear sunshine. Exposure 30 minutes'. The main structure of Bredicot Court is an early 17th century half-timbered brick house of two storeys and an attic with a tiled roof added in the 18th century. The lower building to the right is a piggery. Piggeries were traditionally located close to farmhouses so that the pigs could be conveniently fed on household waste.

The Court remains the farmhouse, and although modernised has been little changed externally. Much of the foreground area is now taken up with 20th century farm buildings.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Abbey Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Abbey Church, Pershore', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.8-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Abbey Church, Pershore'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.8-1982

Today, like most English churches, Pershore Abbey is stripped of its ivy. The pinnacles added to the tower in 1871 and two large flying buttresses, constructed in 1913 to shore up the increasingly unstable crossing and tower, significantly alter its appearance from Turner's photograph.

Structural problems have been recorded for much of the history of the Abbey church at Pershore. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, the townspeople purchased the east end of the church as their place of worship for £400 and the nave was demolished, weakening the building. The ivy on the south transept cannot have helped the state of the fabric, which was a growing cause of concern following the collapse of the north transept in 1686. The Abbey was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1862 and 1864.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the small image below to view the scene as it is today.

 

 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Old Doorway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Old Doorway, Pershore Abbey', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.9-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Old Doorway, Pershore Abbey'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.9-1982

Both Turner's views of Pershore Abbey are taken from the park of Abbey House, and the site of the medieval monastic buildings. Abbey House was demolished in the 1930s, after which the park was united with the churchyard to form Abbey Park and the castellated boundary wall seen in Turner's photographs was removed. Here, Turner concentrates on a closer look at the rich textures of stone, ivy and brick.

The 14th century Decorated style ruined doorway gave access from the nave of the abbey church to the monastic cloisters. It is one of the few surviving reminders of the living quarters of the monks who occupied this great Benedictine monastery from its foundation in the 8th century until 1539.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Foldyard Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Foldyard Bredicot Court', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.23-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Foldyard Bredicot Court'
England
1852-1854   
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.23-1982

This scene is redolent of summer. The atmospheric effects of 'aerial' perspective (a sense of depth through increasingly softened focus in the distance) are evident in the backdrop of the gently rising land with its detail lost in a warm, golden haze, enhanced by the honey colour of the print. The evidence of agricultural activity also helps to pinpoint the season. A foldyard is usually where cattle are kept in winter, but here it is being utilised for a different purpose. Hay, cut in the summer months, has been heaped here prior to storing it in the barn ready to feed the animals through the winter.

Although the yard is still in the same place today, it is hard to recognise Turner's idyllic scene. The cottage in the background survives as almost the sole surviving structure, though in the present view it is obscured by 20th century farm buildings. Churchill Wood on the skyline beyond remains a constant feature in this changed landscape.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Worcester Cathedral

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Worcester Cathedral, from across the Severn', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.6-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Worcester Cathedral, from across the Severn'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.6-1982

Taken from across the River Severn, where the county cricket ground and Kings School playing field are now located, this photograph captures the west end of the Cathedral. Predating its 1860s renovation, this image shows the transept of the cathedral missing a turret. The building at the bottom left has also been subsequently demolished leaving just the medieval masonry of the former monastic reredorter (lavatories) and undercroft to the infirmary. Other buildings can still be seen today, particularly the medieval Watergate to the right. In medieval times the river was tidal and the gateway would flood twice a day, creating a small dock where boats could unload. The river bank was changed when the promenade was created in 1844.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Edgar Tower

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Edgar Tower, Worcester', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.7-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'The Edgar Tower, Worcester'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.7-1982

Turner often used gateways as a device to introduce a theme or geographical location. This fortified gateway to the southern part of the monastic precinct of the Cathedral was built in the 14th century. It was formerly known as St Mary's Gate. By the 18th century it was believed to have been built during the reign of King Edgar in the 10th century and so it became known as Edgar Tower.

This view from College Green remains remarkably unchanged today, though the stonework of Edgar Tower was restored in 1912. Note the bay window which has been added later to the house in the background along Edgar Street, visible through the arch.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Earl's Croome Church'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Earl's Croome Church', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.12-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Earl's Croome Church'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.12-1982

Earl's Croome church was built in the 12th century. However, the stone tower captured in this photograph replaced an earlier timber-framed structure in 1832. The Norman fabric of the nave and chancel retain fine 12th century doorways, though the many of the windows were changed in the later middle ages. The window in the south east corner of the chancel has unusual wooden tracery. The gables have been rebuilt with the loss of some Norman stonework which is still evident in Turner's photograph.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Earl's Croome Court

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Earl's Croome Court, 1852-54. Museum no. PH.11-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
Earl's Croome Court
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.11-1982

According to A History of the County of Worcester (1913):

'The village of Earl's Croome contains nothing of any particular interest, with the exception of Earl's Croome Court, a half-timber house of the early 17th century, which has, however, been considerably altered and modernized. This was formerly the residence of the Jeffery family.'

The Court stands opposite the church, but can be glimpsed today in a more distant view from the west across the fields from the A38.