Doors 318 – Doors of Godalming, Surrey, March 2025 (Part IV)
Rather remarkably, I have remembered that Dan is taking a Thursday Doors holiday this week, but I have decided to press ahead with this week’s selection as I have a little bit of time (last night in fact) to write this post and I might as well make hay while the sun shines.
This is the fourth and penultimate selection of doors from Godalming in Surrey, photographed on a work trip overnight stay. This week’s doors are mostly from the High Street running through the centre of the town. Enjoy.
Beautiful timber frame building with Specsavers shopfront and dull grey door, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Timber frame house and wonky black door, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Wonky black door, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Tudor archway, Crown Court, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Yard double door and archway dated 1836, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Grand entrance to The King’s Arms and Royal Hotel, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025A roof door at The King’s Arms and Royal Hotel, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025Classic door with porch and twin trees, High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Godalming High Street, like so many other high streets in English towns, is stuffed full of little gems and wonderful history, heritage and architecture. It is all too easy to keep your head down and not look at what is around you. Having an interest in doors acts like a portal (no pun intended) into this world of curiosity of your surroundings, and it has certainly prompted me to look at the places where I happen to be through a different lens. One more selection and then I move on to another place. See you next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 317 – Doors of Godalming, Surrey, March 2025 (Part III)
A quick one this morning as I haven’t left myself much time to write. This is the third selection of doors from Godalming, a small town in deepest Surrey, a place that on the face of it is reasonably affluent, and definitely has some lovely buildings dotted about the place. I hope you enjoy these doors:
Blue door and high chimney stacks, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025Yellow door, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025Blue door and covered passage, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025Door with large hinges to St Peter and St Parl’s church, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025A pair of inset doors, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025A rather nice blue door with fanlight and lamp, Church Street, Godalming, March 2025Unusual wide and low door, High Street, Godalming, March 2025A classy old studded door, High Street, Godalming, March 2025Shopfronts and doors in the early evening, but it is those windows that are really special, High Street, Godalming, March 2025
I rather like this selection of doors and the range of periods, but that last building is a beauty in my view. Here is an excerpt from a website called Geograph, about the building:
Godalming High Street: Nos. 74-76
I was puzzled by this building. A date-stone says 1663, but at first glance I thought that unlikely – probably because I was taken in by the honeycomb glazing bars.
Later, dipping into the Surrey volume of ‘The Buildings of England’ I found Ian Nairn having one of his rants: ‘Nos. 74-76 . . . coming right at the end of the C17 Artisan tradition of brickwork in Surrey, and a deplorable end too . . . All sense of proportion, and even of picturesque outline, is gone’. He makes the useful point that the window design is of 18th century origin – lifted from one of Batty Langley’s pattern books.
Nairn goes on to concede that (along with No. 80, somewhat similar) Nos. 74-76 are ‘good fun to have in a town’ – even if they lack architectural merit. My own view would be that brick-built structures dating from the 1660s are pretty rare in a small-town context, and we should be grateful for those that survive.
So That’s it for this week, more to come from Godalming next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 316 – Doors of Godalming, Surrey, March 2025 (Part II)
I am writing this all in a bit of a hurry last night, because today I’ll be travelling to Eastbourne to run a workshop for a large nature partnership. Expect to see some doors of Eastbourne some time in the future.
Today’s doors are the second helping from Godalming, a small town in Surrey bristling with character and heritage, which I visited on a similar work trip back in March this year. If nothing else, my work rewards me with opportunities to go to parts of the country I’d perhaps have never thought of going to, and Godalming is probably one of those.
I took these pictures in the evening I arrived and early in the morning before my workshop started, it is a routine I have mastered over the last year or two. I hope you enjoy these doors and some of the timber frame architecture.
Black door on High Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Black door and attractive surround, Church Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Door to The Pepperpot (formerly the town hall), Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Inner door to The Pepperpot (formerly the town hall), Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Door and shopfront to Pavilion (no more), Church Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Sealed door and shopfront to Pavilion (no more), Church Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Green door to a timber frame house, Church Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Blue door and accountant shopfront, Mint Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Two doors, brick and stone ground floor and timber frame building, Church Street, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
That’s enough Surrey culture for the time being. More to come next time. May I wish you all a very happy weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
One of the downsides of working from home (and to be frank, there are mostly upsides), is that I don’t get to wander around the streets of the centre of town as much as I used to. I am leading up to an excuse about why I haven’t posted this piece before, and the simple answer is I haven’t found it before. I am only human and can’t be on top of everything.
Irony, Unity Street, Bristol, June 2025
The beautiful Siamese cat on the door is by Irony – one of the best artists in the UK, in my view. The piece was painted for/curated by Upfest, and it is a rare expansion of Upfest’s sphere of influence into North Bristol. The piece is looking a little tired, and I would have loved to have found it sooner – I am guessing it is several years old. So happy though to bag another Irony piece, they are the best.
Doors 315 – Doors of Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
It sounds like an interesting place, Godalming, but I had never visited until earlier this year, and as it turns out, it is a lovely, small, Surrey town. I was there with work for a partnership workshop I was leading, preparing for a celebration event for England’s newest National Nature Reserve, called Wealden Heaths. Sadly I never got to go to the celebration event itself, but I am told it was a perfect day, and we generated plenty of local and national coverage. Job done.
The town is very much centred around a single main street, called High Street, which is home to a wonderful array of timber-framed shops and houses in a Surrey style, quite different to those I have encountered in other parts of the country. This first set of doors are found on the route from the station to the High Street. I hope you enjoy this first of three or four collections from Godalming.
Station building and black door, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Ghost door on the station building, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Surrey Place (not so) luxury office suites, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Front door to Surrey Place (not so) luxury office suites, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Timber framed house and door, Mill Lane, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Small cottage and gabled front door, Mill Lane, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
Beautiful surrey timber framed cottage and front door, Mill Lane, Godalming, Surrey, March 2025
More to come from this rather pretty town next time, and perhaps for the next couple of times after that. Meanwhile, I am basking in the brilliant and unusually wonderful summer sunshine we are having in Bristol, with little sign of rain for more than a week.
That’s it for another week. I prepared this post in advance, and I am publishing it very early (UK time) on Thursday, because when I did this by mistake a few weeks ago, I had far more views than I would normally expect. I am testing the idea once again, but this time deliberately, to see if that was an anomaly or a real effect.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 314 – Street art and graffiti doors of Bristol, Manchester, London and Nottingham, February to April 2024
Having completed the marathon of doors from Copenhagen and three weeks’ worth of doors from Leicester, I couldn’t make up my mind what to move on to next, so this week I have decided to go for some street art doors, which combines my love of doors and street art.
These doors were originally posted in February to April last year as part of my street art/graffiti category, but may have been photographed some time before that. I hope you enjoy them. Normal service will resume next time, but I still need to decide what to share next.
Djembello, Ridgeway Road, Bristol, February 2024
D7606, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Ethan Lemon and Fredrik, Northern Quarter, Manchester, February 2024
Kid30, Nottingham, March 2024
Dan Kitchener, Southampton Row, London, March 2024
Dan Kitchener, Southampton Row, London, March 2024
Dan Kitchener, Southampton Row, London, March 2024
3Dom, Sevier Street, Bristol, April 2024
Door with witty street art, Nottingham, November 2023
Graffiti door, Nottingham, November 2023
That’s it for another week. I prepared this post in advance, and I am publishing it very early (UK time) on Thursday, because when I did this by mistake a few weeks ago, I had far more views than I would normally expect. I am testing the idea once again, but this time deliberately, to see if that was an anomaly or a real effect.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 313 – Leicester, Leicestershire (part III) – May 2024
This is the final selection of doors from a visit I made to Leicester with work in May 2024. I did however return in June 2024 and captured a whole load more doors, but I will save these for another day. While Leicester is the sort of city that you drive past or have to have a good reason to go there, it has an interesting history and special culture all of its own, and the surrounding countryside is quite beautiful.
I hope you enjoy the final selection in this series:
Arrivals gateway at Leicester Station, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Ornate Indian restaurant door, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Gate and black door, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Ordinary door to the thinnest of buildings, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Fancy doorway with as utilitarian door, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Grey door to the disused Carron Buildings, Rutland Street, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Three doors into the Secular Society secular hall, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Ghost door on the weighbridge toll collector’s house, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Large arched door with ornate balcony, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Well that’s it for another week and the end of this visit to Leicester. Something different to come next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 312 – Leicester, Leicestershire (part II) – May 2024
This is a second selection of doors from Leicester, a city I visited for the first time in May 2024. I was there for work, but made the most of my overnight stay to explore the city and naturally take some door photographs.
Leicester is not a ‘honey pot’ city that you would necessarily choose as a holiday destination, but it has its own distinctive history, heritage and charm, and is surrounded by some beautiful Leicestershire countryside.
These doors are the middle selection of three, I hope you enjoy them:
You have to love doors within doors like this one, Leicester, May 2024Grey door with interesting panelling, Leicester, May 2024Two fine black doors, Leicester, May 2024Ornate door and large lamp, Leicester, May 2024Sumptuous deep red doors, Leicester, May 2024Street art door, Leicester, May 2024Entrance to Royal Arcade, with doors aplenty, Leicester, May 2024Haymarket memorial clock tower with gated arches, Leicester, May 2024Haymarket memorial clock tower with gated arches, Leicester, May 2024
So that’s it for this week, with one more selection from Leicester, although that isn’t quite true, because I returned to the city a couple of months later, with my team in to visit the new Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood National Nature Reserve which had just been declared and was the purpose of my visit on this occasion, so expect a second set of doors from Leicester in due course.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 311 – Leicester, Leicestershire (part I) – May 2024
One of the main reasons that I am enjoying my work so much at the moment is that I get to travel around the country helping teams and partnerships declare new National Nature Reserves. These NNRs are the lesser-know sibling of National Parks and National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)). There are about 220 NNRs in England, and they are the country’s best places for nature.
There is a Government target to create 25 new significant NNRs over a five-year period, and we are in the second year of rolling this out. In May 2024, a new National Nature Reserve was declared called Bradgate Park, which is a ten-minute drive outside Leicester. I was lucky enough to be there at the launch event and stayed the night before in Leicester – naturally it was an opportunity to photograph some doors. This is the first selection of doors from that visit:
Door and gable end to Grade I listed Leicester Guildhall, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Door to Grade I listed Leicester Guildhall, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Blue door and sprinkler stop valve, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Main door to Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Door to Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Old wooden door and glass panels, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
Wide old door, Leicester, Leicestershire, May 2024
While Leicester Cathedral isn’t much to write home about, the guildhall next door is a pretty special building. More to come from this trip to Leicester next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Doors 310 – Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, September 2023
This week I am taking you to a sleepy Lincolnshire town, once a celebrated seaside destination, but now a faded Victorian haunt where poverty and deprivation is intermingled with former prosperity.
I was lucky enough to visit Cleethorpes in September 2023 for the launch of the first of 25 new National Nature Reserves (NNR) being declared over a period of five years called the King’s Series in celebration of King Charles III coming to the throne. These National Nature Reserves are bigger, better and more joined up, allowing nature to overspill into surrounding areas. This first one (the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR) spans a long stretch of the Lincolnshire coast adjacent to urban areas, providing opportunities for people to easily connect with nature on their own doorstep. It incorporated some already well established nature reserves, such as Donna Nook, famous for its seals.
While I was stopping over, I managed to get a long walk under my belt and snapped a few doors, which is pretty much my modus operandi wherever I go these days. I hope you enjoy these doors, and of course the mandatory English Victorian seaside town pier.
Cleethorpes Pier, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Victoria Hotel Garage doors, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Door and fine doorway to the re-purposed Cleethorpes Post Office, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Rather forlorn Beach Nightclub doors, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Pub door with a wonderful Tetley’s lamp, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Abdul’s wonderfully themed restaurant door, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Classic seaside town door and house frontage, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
A nice pair of red doors, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Superb blue door and Victorian gable fronted porch, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
The Mermaid fish and chips restaurant, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Doorway into the Mermaid fish and chips restaurant, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Classic seaside town beachfront food stall, shuttered up, Cleethorpes, England, September 2023
Before I went to Cleethorpes, my expectations were quite low, generally it is considered to be an ‘eyebrow raising’ moment when you tell anyone you are going to Cleethorpes, but I have to say I rather fell in love with the place. The coastline with its marshes is spectacular, the seafront shops and guest houses, and there is something rather wistful about the place.
I’m not sure where I’m going for Thursday doors next time – it’ll have to be a surprise.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Natural adventures 