Wednesday 14 August 2013

E Is For Elephant

The Elephant & Castle emblem is found on Coventry's Coat of Arms.
This stain glass window is in The Drapers' Room, St. Mary's Guildhall.
This room formed the first floor of the gatehouse and was built around 1340.


These stained glass windows date back to 1888, replacing an 
earlier Venetian window.  The Drapers' Room is loaded with history
so perhaps it would be a good idea to talk about it another day. 


  Here is the whole window above.  Below is a favorite
shot of mine of the same window taken from
St. Mary's Guildhall courtyard looking up to
Coventry Cathedral's Spire.


I used to work in St. Mary's Guildhall.  So
did Mr LOL.  History was around us
every hour of our working day.  Wonderful!

Participating in ABC Wednesday.

16 comments:

Stephanie said...

I am awed by the old buildings.

LONDONLULU said...

Oh, can't even imagine how it would be to be surrounded by that. Of course, as an American, I'm in awe of anything older than the 1700s:-) So sweet that you and Mr. LOL were both working there!

Deb said...

It's not every day you see an elephant! Nice window.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks for the lovely photos of the stained glass windows. I love this kind of art.
Wil. ABCW Team

Lowell said...

1340? Good Lord, this is a gorgeous building. And that stained-glass. At the risk of sounding ignorant, what does an elephant have to do with Coventry?

Leslie: said...

Exquisite windows!

Leslie
abcw team

Tanya Breese said...

what a gorgeous place to work! those windows, oh my!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous windows! Love the interior view in the middle.

Roger Owen Green said...

Excellent building!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

LOLfromPasa said...

Thanks for stopping by and for your question, Lowell, which has really got me going. I am going to attach a link https://sites.google.com/site/caroluschess/heraldy/elephant-and-castle

which seems to suggest that first mention of elephant in Coventry's coat of arms in 1441. Why? Completely unanswered. It is a good question but I simply do not know the answer and suspect that no one does really.

Nanka said...

Gorgeous stained glass window and an imposing spire!!

"My Post Is Here"

PerthDailyPhoto said...

It must have been wonderful working there Lauren..I had to laugh at Lulu and her 1700's I think we're even younger here in Oz by at least a century :)

LOLfromPasa said...

Thank you, Nanka!

Grace - I know! I got so excited when USA celebrated being 200 years old only to find I was working in a building soooo many years older :). Gosh for you in Oz...it would be fun to see which building is the oldest and where it is!

Suzy said...

Very nice window. Stained glass is so beautiful. And I love elephants!
Dropping by from the ABC Wed linkup
Suzy at Someday Somewhere

Daryl said...

love your elephants!

Hilda said...

The stained glass window is gorgeous, and so is your shot of the exterior!

I hope your break won't be too long—I'm going to miss your posts. Until you come back, stay safe and be happy.