Half vaulted ceilings

[xanthe]

Does anyone know much about these or know of a place I can find out? Google not throwing up much help

I was at Hever Castle on Friday and Anne Boleyn's bedroom had a large bay window and then a half-domed ceiling which threw light back into the room. According to the bumpf, it was a technique much used by the Tudors to reduce gloom.

Photography isn't allowed inside the castle (and there was a guardian in there so couldn't even take a sneaky no - flash phone shot) so I'm relying on my dreadful memory to remember how it all worked.

I want to replicate it for a new extension design and can't find any info on such things.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

was it this room?

http://www.hha.org.uk/public/Images/hever-bed-2-low-res.jpg
in which case it just appears to be a dormer cut into the roof slope

 

[xanthe]

That's the end of the Long Gallery (and part of the very lovely marriage bed of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York).

There is literally not a single photograph of it out there. The only thing even vaguely similar is the bay window of the banqueting hall at Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire.

 

[livias]

mmm how splendid and would work ok in a smaller property so I might put one in our bedroom too. I have never been to Hever Castle but I can see some research coming on ...

 

[xanthe]

It was just so simple and effective and despite being a C15th trick looked very modern. Her room was very small so it's not a grand flourish that would look out of place in a normal house or cottage.

Still no pics but am reading a lot on "passive daylighting" in architecture in the hopes of getting there. It's most annoying as every single description of the room online mentions the blooming ceiling but no-one has any photos.

Hever is well worth a visit especially with kids. The gardens are beautiful and you get a proper Yew Maze and a Water Maze (you will get drenched) along with herbs, topiary (the snail is adorable and my daughter is already eyeing up the box lumps in the garden here), a lake, large man-eating carp in the moat - with working drawbridge and portcullis - and loads more. Only downside for me was the rose garden...

Surely a castle selling itself on its Tudor links should have an Old Rose collection? I want to see Rosa Mundi and the old Mosses and Albas. Or if they're not remontant enough, then some David Austin English Roses that look and sell right. Instead there is a sea of Iceberg surrounding beds of HTs with flowers the size of small cabbages in brash modern colours and with no smell... :evil:

 

[Penners]

"passive daylighting"

It would be interesting to discover what "active daylighting" is! :wink:

 

[xanthe]

It does indeed exist!

Passive is where the architectural structures do the work as permanent fixtures.

Active is where you have all sorts of gizmos that move walls or shutters in line with the sun to increase light, reduce solar glare, maintain temperatures etc. Fascinating stuff.

I always love finding a new thing to research... you end up learning lots of probably not useful information on other stuff.

 

[Penners]

Shouldn't that be called "active daylight management"? After all, the light plays no active part in being shoved around - it just sits there and... is... !

 

[xanthe]

Lol. Probably... but I'm not one of those who deals in such things!