The ancient craft of castle building is not practised much nowadays. But to many of us it remains a fascinating study.

These thoughts were brought on by news that a particularly fine example of castle technology had been put up for sale.

Near where I live in the West Country of England stands the oldest surviving castle in Britain. It’s called Rougemont, which means Red Hill after the iron-rich Devon soil. The French name indicates it was built by the Normans around 1070. Here’s a picture of the old gatehouse I took this morning :

The official website describes it thus : “Exeter Castle [Rougemont] is an interesting Norman stone ringwork fortress, founded by Baldwin de Brionne. The entrance with its projecting barbican, is an 11th century square three storey gatehouse, with above the gate-passage, chambers lit by unusual triangular-headed windows. Its strong earthworks and curtain wall are flanked by square and round towers, which command the north-west corner of old town wall.”

Interestingly, it has now been sold. It’s apparently been passed to a property company which wants to use it as an entertainment venue. Is that an appropriate use for this magnificent building?

Here’s another picture showing the ravishing setting of the grounds around Rougemont.

Many of the older buildings inside the castle were pulled down to make room for a Georgian courthouse, which still stands, and some more recent administrative buildings to the rear.

However, if, like me you are interested in the ancient craft of castle building, get along to see Rougemont if you can before it’s turned into yet another rock concert arena.

Our feature on William Morris, promised for March 24, will appear later this week. Apologies for the delay.

PartyDelights has a decorative Easter party banner which can be personalized online to your taste :

“Our personalised banners are suitable for indoor/outdoor use, have eyelets fitted and are printed on quality 440gsm all weather vinyl. You can upload your own photograph and preview online : 6ft x 2.5ft £29.99 [$60] or 10ft x 4ft £59.99 [$120].”

Just one suggestion for crafting this Easter. More later.

Anyone who knows about crafts will be familiar with the famous Arts and Crafts Movement of 19th-century England founded by William Morris, John Ruskin and others.

However, the Birmingham Craftsman’s Club is not so well known. The Craftsman’s Club was inspired by the ideals of Ruskin and William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. Robert Catterson Smith believed that in the age of the machine, craftsmanship had become devoid of human feeling and stated “The business of craftsmanship is to express emotion.”

The Craftsman’s Club was a movement founded in 1902 with the object of establishing a high standard of craftsmanship in Birmingham. It was founded by Catterson-Smith, then Principal of the Birmingham School of Art.

Only men could be members, unfortunately, and they had to be established practising artists or craftsmen. Crafts included were :

Painters
Jewellers
Goldsmiths
Silversmiths
Sculptors
Architects
Draughtsmen

The Club was relatively small, with 21 subscriptions in the first year, growing to 50 members in its later years. Several members of staff from the Birmingham School of Art were active members of the Club. At the monthly meetings, one of the members would present a paper illustrated with photographs or lantern slides. The Club held annual exhibitions and also arranged summer trips.

In those days, crafts were taken very seriously and were usually based around professionals rather than amateurs and hobbyists, as today.

HP has got an online project allowing you to make a Valentine’s Day photo card in a few easy steps from a photograph on your computer. It’s an excellent way to avoid the gluey products of the card shops, which never quite hit the spot.

Valentine Photo Card 1/2 Fold

The details are : Level: easy
Start to finish: 10 minutes
Media size: 8.5 x 11 inches
HP recommends: » HP Glossy Brochure and Flyer Paper-50 sht/8.5 x 11 in

To get started, select an image for your card by browsing the images on your computer.

Allowed file formats:
JPG, GIF, BMP, TIF, PNG Maximum file size: 2 MB.

Follow a few easy steps to a personalized Valentine’s Day card for your beloved.

The only snag is that they will definitely know who you are, so anonymity is out. Best kept in the family, I think.