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Sunday 31 May 2015

Places to live - Sunday Stamps II

I wondered why stamps showing cottages warranted a set of their own in 1970. To me a cottage has always been a place to live.

I have two of that 1970 set.

Great Britain - Architecture (Cottages) 1970
I discovered that the architectural feature of this cottage is not its size or where it is located; it's all about its weatherproof coating. Lime harling is a thrown or cast-on finish consisting of a slaked lime and coarse aggregate mortar usually with a rough-textured surface. A number of Scottish castles (also places to live) are finished in this way.

Great Britain - Architecture (Cottages) 1970
Thatching was introduced into Ireland in the 17th century, and subsequently became associated with poverty and despair. Modern building methods have led to its demise.

!975 was the European Architectural Heritage Year. The five commemorative stamps issued included two impressive places..

Great Britain - European Architectural Heritage Year - 1973
Charlotte Square is part of Edinburgh's New Town which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bute House in the square houses the HQ of the SNP.

The Rows at Chester are continuous half-timbered galleries forming a second row of shops above those at street level. The Rows are unique and no-one is sure why they were built this way.

Do Charlotte Square and The Rows qualify as places to live?

Check out what others have found at Sunday-Stamps-ii-24.

7 comments:

Joy said...

I love the diversity of materials used in architecture and these stamps show it off nicely.

FinnBadger said...

Great looking stamps. I particularly like the fact that you often show stamps from the £sd era.

violet s said...

I forgot that I have the Fife Harling stamp (though, I deliberately did not use any UK stamps) but I had no idea of the special coating that harling was. Thatched cottages are lovely to look at, but in my head I can hear the mice rustling through the roof!

cathy jones said...

Love the stamps,and the building theme. Although I am not a stamp collector, I have always had a fascination for them. I enjoyed reading about the types of buildings and background information.

viridian said...

All these places look charming and historic to these American eyes.

Jo said...

Interesting stamps. Never seen The Rows before, odd construction. Pity Thatch is disappearing but then it was always a fire hazard anyway.

Mail Adventures said...

All these stamps are wonderful. I have been in Chester and then I have received the rows of Chester stamp. It is still better in real.