Something that’s struck me on both my visits to Norfolk is the wonderful variety of textures in the building materials used locally. A lot of the buildings are built of flint, which I’ve never seen used anywhere else, although that could just be because I’m from the north.
It’s used whole, some of the flints in this wall have started to flake away.
And it’s often combined with brick, which I’m assuming was more expensive, so tends to be used as accents.
I love this detail on a house in Cley-next-the-Sea.
Here small flints are used round larger ones, with some cut ones in the edges.
It’s obviously been used for a long time, this is the remains of a medieval guildhall in Blakeney.
Other buildings use cut flints to make a flush surface, here with smaller shards filling in the spaces.
And this church in Cromer has them cut into rectangles and making patterns.
Once I’d started looking out for textures in buildings to photograph, I started finding them all over the place, like this wood at Burnham Overy Staithe.
And the dried up mud at Morston Quay – it’s been so dry, some of those cracks are about an inch wide.
Driftwood on the beach on Blakeney Point.
And I couldn’t resist this sad stone.
Bullrushes in a field at Cley.
A monkey puzzle tree at Blinkling Hall.
Topiary in the formal garden there.
And some chimneys, proving that not everyone in Norfolk used flint – presumably if you were rich, you imported bricks.
I can never resist taking photos of the pattern the tide leaves on the sand.
I just love the photos Helen – such interesting details. Thye flints that have been cut are called ‘napped’ flints. Seeing your photos of Blickling Hall has reminded me that I’m long overdue a visit!
Ah, I should have known that – I’ve seen Phil Harding on Time Team talking about flint napping often enough, but I suppose I’ve associated it with making tools rather than building…
Blicking Hall was a last minute decision on Friday afternoon. The gardens were lovely, but I’m sure they’ll be even more spectacular soon when the flowers are out.
We don’t have any local hard stone in Norfolk apart from flint, hence the use of it. You see brick and flint throughout East Anglia, but it’s really common in Norfolk in old buildings – that and clay lump. My Norwich-dwelling brother’s reaction to Bath was a suspicious, “It’s very yellow, isn’t it?”!
Glad you enjoyed the county, though :D Sometimes I miss the place.