Doors 96 – A selection of doors from the Orchard Street/Lane area of Bristol
Just a quick one this week. A few doors that I photographed back in December just round the back of the Bristol Hippodrome. The houses around here survived the Blitz, unlike many others in the centre of town.
Green door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Arched garden door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Fine door with a gorgeous awning, Bristol, December 2019Door, Bristol, December 2019Unusual panelled door, Bristol, December 2019
So, a set of period doors all of which I rather like in one of the older bits of the centre of Bristol.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
The Bristol Hippodrome is part of the cultural ‘beating heart’ of the city and has been so since December 1912 when it was first opened. The history of the theatre is well worth reading about, but because this is a post about doors (and I am notoriously lazy) I would direct you to this magnificent specialist theatre history site – Arthur Lloyd.co.uk.
I have seen many great performances here including several operas by the Welsh National Opera, plays and of course pantomimes when the children were younger.
Another link I have with the old place is my mother performed here with the Sadler’s Wells National Opera in the 1950s as a principal dancer with the company. She has fond memories of the theatre and the city.
On to the doors. The feature photograph, also repeated below for those who look at these posts on smart phones, shows the main entrance to the Hippodrome. What you don’t see here is that every night after the theatre closes, several homeless people sleep in front of the doors where it is safe and dry – theatre staff tend to gently move them on in the morning as I walk past on my way to work. This is the 5th wealthiest nation in the world, something is very wrong!
Front entrance to the Bristol Hippodrome, Doors, December 2019Side doors (in need of a little TLC), Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Access entrance doors, Bristol Hippodrome, Decmber 2019Fire exit doors, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Fire exit doors and quick exit after a performance, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019The all important Stage Door for cast, musicians, tecnicians and groupies, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Ever wondered how they get the scenery in? Barn Doors, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019
So there it is, my first door post of the new decade. May I wish you all a very happy 2020.
If you like doors, you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
This wonderful piece by Andy Council on Sevier Street on the entrance to a ‘green’ food market has been around for quite some time, but I just never got round to photographing it until this ‘car shot’ in July this year
Andy Council, Sevier Street, Bristol, July 2019
Andy Council is Bristol personified and his works record the magnificent landmarks of the city and presents them woven into the form of an animal, in this case some kind of beetle. When one thinks of Bristol murals, Andy Council is always front of mind.
Looking back to September when the weather was just lovely and I managed to capture a few more doors from the beautiful cornish village (town) of Fowey. Fewer words this week – enjoy the doors.
Black door, Anchor House, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019Large folding door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019See the blue door on Ferryside, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019Anchor knocker door, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019Unusual recessed front doors, A nice pair of blue doors, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019A nice pair of blue doors, Fowey, Cornwall, September 2019
All a bit rushed this time.
Meanwhile, please go take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Alright… I have had a couple of weeks off from Thursday doors, mainly because I have been pretty busy at work and just ran out of time. I am still pretty busy but have carved out a few moments to give you my third and final set of doors from a skiing trip to Flaine in France back in March of this year.
The ski resort was built in the brutalist style, so if you are expecting ‘chocolate box’ doors then probably best to skip the rest of this post. These doors are ugly, but even ugly doors have some fascination, in the case of most of these it is their functionality.
Enjoy if you can:
Doors on a gondola at the top of Les Grandes Platieres lift, Flaine March 2019Lift hut, Flaine March 2019Door within a door, Grand Platieres, Flaine, March 2019Dodgy two-person step on lift – self closing doors, Flaine, March 2019Church in the centre of ‘brutalist’ Flaine, March 2019Doors of the church in the centre of ‘brutalist’ Flaine, March 2019Flaine 0153 9-16 Mar 2019Post box, Flaine March 2019
That’s it… collective relief all round. Some rather nicer doors next week, maybe.
Please go take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Mid-way along North Street is a rather nice craft shop called Creative space, and recently Andy Council gave the upper level a fabulous makeover. I think it was part of the Upfest Summer Editions event, which has more than made up for the lack of a full blown festival this year.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
The space is not an easy one to paint and I think that Andy Council has made a great job of creating a symmetrical piece over the two windowswith what looks like two Chinese dragons facing off in the middle.
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
As with all his pieces, if you take a little look closer you can see that it is made up of buildings and architectural features, and around the beasts there is a liberral sprinkling of toadstools. This is a stunning piece (difficult to photograph on account of the bright skies behind) that exemplifies the talents of this most treasured Bristol artist.
A real rush to get these doors out – 10 minutes between finishing work and going off to play 5-a-side football… so not much of a story here, simply some more doors from a trip to Dorset some three weeks ago.
Door, Dorchester, June 2019Door, Dorchester, June 2019Door, Dorchester, June 2019Door, Dorchester, June 2019
Sorry for rushing it, but nothing gets between me and my weekly football. Please go take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
I went to a meeting in Dorchester last week and had quite a lot of time to kill either side of the meeting and my train journeys. I have never been to the town before, so there was an obvious doorscursion opportunity, and what an appropriately named place for such a thing.
The town left me a little puzzled. Compared to Bristol it is a rather sleepy and sedate place although both share an extraordinary history and abominable post-war architecture. The most striking thing was the abundance of retirees as a proportion of the total population. Maybe this was an artifact of the time of day I was visiting, I don’t know.
Because of its Roman heritage I had imagined ancient doors all over the place, but instead there was a curious mix of old, new, weird and beautiful doors. You’ll be glad to hear there were no graffiti doors in Dorchester.
Here we go:
Dorset museum. Shame about the hoarding and door in front of the door. Dorchester, June 2019Shop door, Dorchester, June 2019Rather old and redundant? Shop door, Dorchester, June 2019Charming blue door, Dorchester, June 2019Pair of doors – I particularly like the worn step, Dorchester, June 2019This dwelling is appropriately named ‘Lilliput House’, the door was about 5ft 6 and I would have struggled to get in. Dorchester, June 2019
So there we have it for another week – there will be more from Dorchester in due course. Meanwhile why not go and check out the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Exploring new parts of Bristol always has its rewards, and I found this piece by Andy Council completely by accident when I went on a pilgrimage to see the My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton collaboration up on Windmill Hill.
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
It seems that Andy Council’s pieces are dotted all over Bristol, and after five years of writing posts like this one, I still have several more to find. The reason that his work is so dispersed is that he does a lot of private commissions and so he is not confined to the few ‘legal’ spots in Bristol to show off his fabulous work.
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
This splendid peacock is a great example of Andy Council at his very best in which the whole creation is made up of buildings typical of the area in Bristol. The blue colour scheme suits this piece and the wall superbly. A great find, and good to know that there are still these hidden gems all over the place.
Flaine is a very high ski resort in the French Alps conceived in 1960 and completed in 1969. The brutalist style of concrete apartment blocks sets up a synergy or contrast with the Alpine landscape, depending on your point of view. An excellent essay on the development of Flaine by Alastair Philip Wiper can be found here and is worth a read if you are interested in architecture.
So my photographs are perhaps not what you’d expect from a skiing trip in the Alps… sorry. There are however doors, you get them everywhere, perhaps just not so quaint.
Enjoy if you can…
Double doors, funicular railway, Flaine, France, March 2019Ordinary door, Flaine, France, March 2019Door, Flaine, France, March 2019Mountain hut – what is it with the petrol? Flaine, March 2019Piste basher door, Flaine, France, March 2019Piste basher door, Flaine, France, March 2019
So there it is. Flaine doors (part one).
Access to more superb doors can be found at the inspired Norm 2.0 blog (check out the comments section for links)
Natural adventures 