648. 
New Brighton Tower at the head of the Mersey was the tallest building in England when completed in 1898. Like the smaller and earlier Blackpool Tower it was built as a tourist attraction and had four lifts capable of reaching the top in 90 seconds. At the base of the tower was a theatre and ball room and the whole construction was set within pleasure grounds. Unlike the Blackpool Tower or the Eiffel Tower, this tower was constructed from mild steel rather than wrought iron and after four years closed for World War 1 it was declared unsafe and demolition of the tower commenced in 1919. The theatre and ballroom survived until they went on fire in 1969.  The Beatles played there 27 times, once to their largest live  audience in England. This view shows the adjacent Dalmorton Road as it is today -a typical suburban street- and what it would have looked like had the tower survived. What a loss.

Florence Court House Co Fermanagh

Main house built in mid eighteenth century. Side wings and pavilions later c. 1771. It all looks very dramatic set within its surrounding landscape on a evening with a moody sky. The building is owned by the National Trust and open to visitors. 

Killeshandra Old Church Co Cavan. 

Killeshanrda means 'church of the rath' and, to the far side of this view, the  curved ramparts of the original circular rath can still be made out.  A medieval church was recorded here in the fifteenth century and this was  extended and renovated in the late seventeenth century by Sir Francis Hamilton, who's father was granted the area and laid out the nearby town in the Ulster Plantation. The T shaped church is very interesting  with two long thin barrel vaulted rooms separated by a heavy stone wall inside the projecting entrance transept.  The Hamilton arms are high on the entrance gable and are flanked with Renaissance style round headed windows. To either side of the transept are crude flying buttresses topped by historic brick, which give the church a unique character. The congregation moved out to a new parish church in the town in 1837 and a number of Victorian mausoleums were constructed inside the ruins of the old building.  The building has been conserved to a high standard over recent years by  Blackwood Associated Architects and when visited a new double pile metal roof was being inserted to conserve the historic barrel vaults. Well worth a detour.

Romanesque Door Kilmore Cathedral Co Cavan.
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This  Twelfth Century door is the finest example of a Romanesque door to have survived in Ulster.  According to the Archaeological Inventory of Co Cavan the door is 'believed to have originated from Trinity Island (CV020-077001-), was subsequently moved to Slandore (CV025-0109---) and from there to its present location. (Davies 1948, 101-9; Killanin and Duignan, 102)' .  The door exhibits the marks of these moves with some stones in the wrong place and a little mixed up, but  it is  a very impressive feature. Over time some stones have weathered differently and today there is a huge range of colours across its sandstone blocks. This adds to its character and is accentuated by its contrast with the surrounding dark blue limestone of the 1860 cathedral.





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Old Cathedral, Kilmore, Co. Cavan
Now used as a parochial hall, this largely seventeenth century building was formerly a church and then a cathedral with bishop's house attached. Kilmore means 'great church'  and a church has been located here since at least the 6th century.  A Norman Motte dating from 1211 is located in an adjacent field perhaps reflecting the importance of this ecclesiastical site in the medieval period. The site became the seat of the bishops of Kilmore from the 15th century and the building was largely rebuilt following the Ulster Plantation of the early seventeenth century.  In the graveyard is the tomb of  bishop Bidell (I was sitting against this when doing my drawing), who had the Old Testament translated into Gaelic.  A new cathedral was built nearby in the 1860's and has a fine Romanesque door built into one side.  Today the building is very simple, it has some nice timber lancet windows and a curving plaster vault. In the grounds are some of the ruins of the bishops palace, which was once much larger. It is a fascinating site and well worth a visit.
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Pellipar House  at the upper end of the Roe Valley near Dungiven. Constructed from the early eighteenth century onwards the two stone wings are thought to have been added in the early nineteenth century when the lease from the Skinners Company was renewed by the Ogiby family. The Ogliby’s were prosperous linen merchants in the Dungiven area . More work was carried out in the 1860s and after a fire in the 1880′s. In 1907 alterations to the roof gave the building its great French Château appearance which makes it such an unusual building for this area and greatly adds to its interest. Quite a building.

The Empire State Building, 104 floors, completed in 1931, towering over its late nineteenth century neighbours. American icon. Need I say more? This is the view from just outside Macy’s department store.

Federal Hall, Wall Street, New York. Constructed in 1842 as a custom house and acting as the US Reserve treasury from 1862- 1920, this building stands on the site where the US congress first met, where the Bill of Rights was passed and where George Washington was inaugurated President.  Behind its elegant Greek temple façade, with Doric Columns, is a  large rotunda supported on more decorative Corinthian Columns, clearly modelled on the Panteon in Rome with a coffered roof rising to a central circular rooflight. Quite a place.

Smith Tower Seattle, Fourth tallest building in the world in 1914 (44 stories) Great decorative work throughout. Indigenous American inspired decoration in the lobby and Chinese inspired decoration in the top floor restaurant. All beautifully conserved and lit with fine views from the top floor along 6th Street to the Space Needle. The original Otis lifts are, however, the best part of the conservation work. In polished brass with ornate detail they are beautiful objects lovingly restored.​