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Friday 13 August 2010

The Guildhall at Thaxted, Essex

Courtesy of Wikipedia
The Guildhall at Thaxted in Essex, England is still in active use today. The location was chosen in 1390 by the Guild of Cutlers because Thaxted was famous for production of cutlery until about 1550. With the  rise of the Industrial Revolution Sheffield, in Yorkshire, become the world-renowned centre of cutlery manufacture.
The open lower floor is paved was used as a market place.
The building is wooden-framed and is in a good conditon having been restored after it fell into decay when the years of wealth production ended for Thaxted. The small country town retains a chocolate-box appearance and is a popular destination for tourists.
The church in the background was also began over six hundred years ago and has the tallest stone spire in the county.

This post was inspired by my regular visits to the writer Philp Wilkinson's English Buildings blog. I recommend a visit!


6 comments:

Rob said...

Do you know what they made cutlery from before the ind. revolution?

I visited the english buildings blog. It's nice to see someone have such a passion for his subject.

bazza said...

The cutlery trade as we understand it now grew out of the making of weapons. There was always a demand for sharp cuting edges and some form of steel making goes back to antiquity.
I think what happened more recently was the advance in the quality of production.
I think Philip Wilkinson's blog is really excellent and of a standard that I aspire to!

THE SNEE said...

Hi Bazza, This post had a real cutting edge...I would like to visit Guildhall one day. It sparks my imagination. I also checked out Philip Wilkinson's blog and agree with you-it's got great photos, info, etc. But, It's very different than going out on an exploration to discover the magic hidden in the ice! Great post for those of us on the other side of the ocean who had no idea where our knives came from.

bazza said...

Hello Snee, (if I may address you thus). My guess is that your cutlery is manufactured by The US Cutlerly Conglomerate Corporation of America Inc. trading as 'Cutlery R Us'.
I am happy that you enjoyed this glimpse of an interesting English building.

Sir Tom Eagerly said...

This reminds me of the gatehouse to Eagerly Manor. Oh for the days of droit de seigneur to return. Probably don't know what that is, do you Bazza, old boy? See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_de_seigneur

bazza said...

Sir Tom: I'm afraid I do know what it means and you're a rascal Sir Tom! I imagine Eagerly Manor is some faded once-great building going to ruin, much like youself.
Or perhaps it's a small hovel.