Orford Castle, a photo from Suffolk, England

Photographer's Note

Good Morning Everyone,

This is Orford Castle.

Orford Castle was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserved keep, described by historian R. Allen Brown as "one of the most remarkable keeps in England", is of a unique design and probably based on Byzantine architecture.

The design of the keep had a 90-foot-high (27-metre) central tower which was circular in cross-section, with three rectangular, clasping towers built out from the 49-foot-wide (15-metre) structure. The tower was based on a precise set of proportions, its various dimensions following the one-to-the-root-of-two ratio found in many English churches of the period. Much of the interior is built with high-quality ashlar stonework, with broad, 5-foot-6-inch-wide (1.7-metre) staircases. The best chambers were designed to catch the early morning sun, whilst the various parts of the keep were draught-proofed with doors and carefully designed windows. Originally the roof of the keep, above the upper hall, would have formed a domed effect, with a tall steeple above that. - Wikipedia

The keep once had a curtain but is now surrounded just by earthworks.

It is is amazing repair, all parts of the keep accessible and an audio guide is available to guide visitors.

As a complementary photograph, I will add a photograph showing the view from the top of the castle.

Thank you for your interest, Bev :-)

snunney, ChrisJ, ikeharel, Fis2, ricardomattos, papagolf21, jhm, macjake, alvaraalto, Ilonka1974, tyro, PaulVDV oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

ifege (49297) 2019-02-16 1:36

Hi Bev
Great low POV. Great small castle with beautiful detail.
Cheers
Ian

snunney (130967) 2019-02-16 1:51

Hello Bev,
I have a similar picture of Orford Castle taken many years ago before we left the UK for France. The gravel path weaving its way through the grassy area supplies a good lead to the castle. The image is well exposed with fine colour contrasts and good sharpness.

ChrisJ (172378) 2019-02-16 2:36

Hello Bev,

The meandering dirt path snaking towards the buildings adds superb lead in lines and perspective. Good sharpness and a fine upward pov on the Orford Castle. Tfs!

ikeharel (114477) 2019-02-16 2:44

Hi Beverley,
Prominently built on high ground, the four storirs castle looks as well fortified and must have a good view 360 degrees around.
A sense of distance by the path leading the viewer upwards. Blue sky and green natural grass contrast well the edifice itself.
A fine take of the ancient castle.
Wish you a nice weekend,
Ike

lousat (139914) 2019-02-16 4:38

Hi Bev,a beautiful castle,finally well presereved and restored,i seen a lot of castle in ruin from your country and it's nice to see a different thing. Magnificent capture,imposing perspective and top sharpness,well done! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

Silvio1953 (222779) 2019-02-16 5:03

Ciao cara Bev, great view of fantastic castle, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

holmertz (103540) 2019-02-16 5:34

Hello Bev,
It's marvellous to see such an old building looking so well kept, as if nothing happened to it for almost 900 years (except maybe a careful 19th century restoration). It's easy to imagine knights on horses riding up this path (minus staircase). Its good conditions make it almost more fascinating than romantic ruins. The fine light and relative simplicity of the composition makes this an enjoyable photo, and we also get an interesting reverse view in the WS.
Kind regards,
Gert

Nicou (193814) 2019-02-16 6:45

Hello

Ce chemin de terre ocre et cetescalier nous mčne au chaateau quelle vueet iamge quelle compo sueprbe quel rendu sur la pierre et ce ciel bleu sueprbe vue et captage fantastique image.
Bravoet amitié
Nicou

rychem (72187) 2019-02-16 7:01

A very interesting and beautiful castle, I like your low POV and the perspective uphill of the road, excellent clear photo
regards Ryszard

dkmurphys (79209) 2019-02-16 7:28

Hello,
Nice capture of this unusual castle. I like the POV and the colors. Well taken.

Daniel

Fis2 (171823) 2019-02-16 7:39

Witaj Bev!
A very interesting castle, I like it.
Excellent POV, composition and colors.
Beautiful stone walls and windows.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Krzysztof

kasianowak (17676) 2019-02-16 10:16

Hi Bev
Magnificent building, photographed in the best possible light. I like the way you composed the image - portrait format, including the path and the steps. It makes me feel as if I could just walk into the shot.
Have a nice Sunday!
Kasia

Tue (93328) 2019-02-16 10:59

Hello Beverley,
What an amazing castle! It looks fantastic and you captured it so well. I like the textures of the walls and they stand out from the blue sky so well, too. The narrow path leads the eye very nicely to the base of the keep.
Lars

ricardomattos (17560) 2019-02-16 13:19

Hi Bev

It is a different castle for me but I like the compositiom with the way until it. Good choose of the vertical format.

Regards

Ricardo

emka (158680) 2019-02-16 13:27

Hello Bev, Ah, Orford, not Oxford, haha. Beautiful small castle. I like the composition with the path going uphill. fantastic colours, lovely stone walls.
Kind regards MAlgo

papagolf21 (152607) 2019-02-16 23:08

Bonjour, chčreBev,
Nous retrouvons bien le style anglais. Le château garde encore des formes de forteresse. Lignes rigides et solides.
Rien qui ne puisse laisser place ŕ la ręverie ou au romantisme ; c'est ce qui fait le charme de ces vieux châteaux.
Amitiés.
Philippe

jemaflor (148124) 2019-02-16 23:55

Hi Bev,
Beautiful castle and good photo well composed with this path in the Fg, good depth effect, pleasant colors and light, well presented, tfs.

jhm (211738) 2019-02-17 4:37

Hello Bev,

Both picture are very pleasant to look at.
But as usual is the second picture the most beautiful, sorry this is personal.
Wonderful done and perfect photographed.
An excellent perspective and nice panorama view.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice Sunday,
John.

Cricri (176) 2019-02-17 6:48

Hi Beverley
Jolie prise en contre bas depuis le chemin qui conduit vers le château, fantastique rendu des pierres, le fond bleu qui le met bien en valeur en plus de la lumičre
belle complémentaire en WS
Bon dimanche
cricri

Periko (9107) 2019-02-17 10:04

Hello Beverley
I like how the trail leads us to the castle.
Beautiful vertical framing.

Regards

macjake (98544) 2019-02-17 22:28

Hi Bev
Oh man, what a subject, what a Keep! I know I say it everytime, but how does such an old structure still stand...when new homes built 50 years ago are falling apart. It makes no sense. What's wrong with builders today. This place is nearly 1000 years old! amazing. Wonderful views, lighting, sharpness, excellent WS photo as well for another perspective. I love this one. cheers
Craig

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-02-18 3:19

Hello Bev,
The material use is more or less traditional, but the design is unexpected, but certainly with a lot of artistic feeling.
I put it on my list with places to visit maybe.
Excellent work
Have a good week, groet Rob

carlo62 (81265) 2019-02-18 8:50

Ciao Bev
il castello stretto e alto assomiglia piů a una grande torre e con il taglio verticale lo hai slanciato verso il cielo, creando un'ottima prospettiva con la strada.
Saluti
Carlo

Ilonka1974 (10307) 2019-02-18 10:32

Hello Bev,
I love of old architecture and this castle is really beautiful, excellent image you have done of this Orford castle.
Very well done.
Best regards,
Janusz

tyro (30513) 2019-02-18 13:12

Hello Bev,

What an imposing structure this fine castle is! And in its day I can quite appreciate how its dominating presence could well have struck fear into those around it. Definitely not the sort of place you would contemplate attacking without some serious back-up!

And what a fine photograph of it too with the narrow pathway leading the eye right up to this massive structure stretching up into the blue sky above.

And a fascinating note too. I was really impressed by the fact that in the 12th Century the architects of this place adhered to a 1:√2 ratio with its various dimensions - not quite the Golden Mean but nonetheless a very clever way of creating a uniformity of design. In fact, did you know that a sheet of A4 paper has its sides in a ratio of 1:√2? - stick two A4 sheets together along their long sides and you now have an A3 sheet which has the ratio of √2:2 - which, of course, is the very same as 1:√2 - so all "A" sheets of paper have exactly the same ratio between their sides - quite clever, eh?

A fine workshop photograph of the splendid view from the top of the castle too!

Wonderful!

Kind Regards,

John.

gervaso (28383) 2019-02-19 8:04

Hello, Bev!

The path leads our eyes to the castle, inviting us to explore it, and also gives very good depth to the image! I like the low POV that makes it really imposing, and the beautiful well saturated colors of the scene! Wonderful job!

mkamionka (75015) 2019-02-20 9:53

Hi Bev,
lovely reportage from this so distant for me area of England.
I like very much the motif of the footpath a here so nicely leading eye to the little castle.
It makes a pleasant curve.
Very unique rough surface of the walls.
Great weather contributed well saturated green and blue colors.
Very picturesque!
The view from the top not less impressive.
Excellent work,
M

PaulVDV (63440) 2019-02-21 21:19

Hello Beverley,
With the small path leading to the castle with its high towers, the ideal presentation is of course in the vertical format.
The view upwards makes Oxford Castle look very impressive.
No other visitors in sight ... it seems like a discovery.
Best regards, Paul