Last weekend also saw open days for Astley Castle. Now, Astley has featured on these pages fairly regularly, so yours truly decided to visit. What’s significant when there is how new and old are finely integrated, yet it’s done by the newer elements shouting their modernity. The binary contrast telegraphs the fact you’re in an ancient structure, it needs the modernity to feel old.
And, of course, it needs the ancient structure to feel modern.
And this interested me, a style that seeks to draw attention to its past by the use of the present. The difference with other approaches can be seen in Steven Wallsgrove’s article on the hidden medieval structures in a terrace of houses at West Street, Warwick.
Tell us what you think
What do you think of the mixing of old and new? Feel free to comment below, and share your views; we’d love to hear from you.
Comments
Whilst we welcome the saving of the historic Astley Castle, we feel a little let down in so much as it is a great shame that the restoration was somewhat hurtful by the materials used. Brand new stone should have been left alone and more materials used to be more in line with the stone that remained. Astley Castle is a little gem, we would love to see actors in period costume walking round the castle on open days as Lady Jane Grey or any of the other two English Queens who lived there too. Again, a little gem and we do welcome greatly its restoration.
I enjoy the contrast of old and new along side each other, also the fact that the new will also become dated over time.
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