Journal Entry 2: The Queen's House

Commissioned for King James I of England’s wife, Anne of Denmark, what we call the Queen’s House is located in Greenwhich, a suburb of London. Although it was first commissioned for Anne, in 1614, the architect, Inigo Jones altered it in 1635 for Henrietta Maria, queen of King Charles I. Sprawled nicely along the water front, the Queen’s house makes a nice photo opportunity.


Seen from the Royal observatory, the Queen’s house has an unobstructed view from many angles. What is really interesting, and called Palladian architecture, is that the wings are not connected to the house, and can be accessed by a columnar walkway.
To live there in the 17th century must have been something different. Different in a sense that architecturally, not it was unique at this moment in time, so it would have commanded respect and attention.
One of my favourite parts of the Queen’s house was the Tulip Staircase.



The Tulip Staircases are seem to be completely unsupported from the bottom, and play tricks with my mind. I couldn’t help but stare at them and just wonder how they were still standing almost 400 years later. The ironwork of the railing was really entrancing and also very gorgeous. Had I been living there, coming down the staircases would always put a smile on my face and also give me a sense of power and money, as I would have known that this staircase was unique, and I was indeed in the Queen’s House and was meant to be living like royalty.


For me, the queen’s house was just a really cool place to see. Even the ceilings of one of the rooms I couldn’t stop staring. I lied down on the bench and just looked at the intricate work of the woodcarving and was just amazed:








Queens house from across the river:

Journal Entry 1: The British Museum

The British Museum is HUGE and so full of ‘stuff.’ Particularly, in the words of Peter ‘stolen stuff.’ Well, some of this stolen stuff I really enjoyed. Although it is the British Museum, which was established in 1753 to showcase the collection of Sir Hans Sloan, it now acts as a world cultural showcase. Sloan was a physician and naturalist who collected what we call now ‘antiques’ but he had a massive collection of texts and wanted to showcase it to the world and not have it broken up. He sold his collection to King George II. First meant to be a library, the British Museum started with collections of books, and eventually expanded to include more.

Undergone many remodelling, the British museum had to build extensions to be able to hold its ever growing collection.
Of particular interest to me was the great court, which I understand only looks the way it does thanks to HMQ Elizabeth II.


The great court surrounds the Round reading room from 1857. The roof is my favourite part of the Great Court, designed by Buro Happold, the tessellation of triangles is just awe-inspiring, remind me of how fascinated I used to be with tessellations and how my notebooks were covered with them while spacing out to the boring maths lectures of grade school.

Being at the British Museum when it first opened, or even during one of its many remodels, would have had the same effect on me as it has now. It’s just amazing, the history and the uniqueness of the items showcased. Probably being lower class back then, seeing others’ possessions would have been culturally refreshing, although I’m quite certain that through my mind would be complete and utter jealousy and then determination to make something of myself. Looking at all the books and just the columns that remind me of roman architecture, would have made me a very happy commoner, assuming I was not a victim of the plague or had I been able to afford stilts as to not walk on a batch of poo.

Blog

So my homework will be on this blog... hopefully no one discovers it and sees how badly I write. If you do happen to stumble or ifI horribly made a mistake and guided you here, then.... i'm sorry, turn back before you shake your head furiously at me.

Journal Entry Requirements

"For each entry you need to choose TWO different things or places. Don't choose anything too big. Choose something that interested you and that you can write about in some detail both from what you have been told and from your own observations.

For each entry you need to include the following:
* Some historical and/or factual information
* Some detailed reference to specific features which particularly interested you
* Some means of illustrations (e.g. pictures, drawings, photographs, sketches)
* Reflection on what it might have been like to live there or be there in that period, or some reflection on the ideas suggested to you by an artifact or building
* Some personal evaluation or reflection