iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 04/10/2026

Wow 🤩 This just flew low right over my house!

Flight Radar details. Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIX

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 04/10/2026

Standing stone at Muness, Unst, #Shetland. Location/details in ALT text. #StandingstoneSunday

A solitary standing stone covered in lichen, situated in a sheep field with sea lochs (voes) in the distance. Overcast skies. Location: Uyea Breck Standing Stone, 265m East of Clivocast, Unst, Shetland, UK. Latitude/Longitude 60° 41′ 06″ N 0° 53′ 33″ W. OS NGR HP 60599 00713. Classification: Scheduled Monument SM2046. Photo: Bob Marshall, September 2024.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 24/09/2026

A fun cutaway visual I made over a decade ago for the Scotch Whisky Experience, Edinburgh. It was updated by another artist following a major interior refurbishment a few years ago, but for a long time this image was displayed on a huge panel outside the main entrance on the Royal Mile.

A cutaway drawing of a former school building in Edinburgh converted to a visitor centre. The exterior is traditional Scottish Victorian architecture, while the interior features a modern café, bar, reception, museum, and gift shop on the lower floors, and corporate function and entertainment rooms on the upper floors.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 16/09/2026

Gosh, it's all the fun browsing the BBC technology news page these days. How many milliseconds until midnight is the Doomsday Clock at again?

The BBC Technology News page on 16 September 2026. The dominant headlines focus on the rise, impact, and uncertainty of artificial intelligence.

"OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but should trust AI firms."
"AI app ads promoting 'objectification of women' banned by watchdog."
"What is AI, how does it work and why are some people concerned about it?"
"Why are there concerns AI could threaten humanity, and how real are they?"
"Trump downplays warnings of AI risks, citing rivalry with China."
"Questions mount over what an AI 'slowdown' would look like."
"AI staff 'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC."
"Anthropic boss Dario Amodei calls for AI development to slow down."
"UK government rejects 'kill switch' idea for dangerous AI."

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 13/09/2026

De-rigged the marquees at the Smiddy this morning and went on a bike ride along the coast to unwind after a very busy day yesterday. I stopped at Aberlady church and for the first time, I noticed these interpretation panels hiding around the back, beautifully illustrated by David Simon.

Aberlady Parish Church in East Lothian County, Scotland.

Five interpretation panels with historical information and illustrations mounted on a low stone plinth overlooking a church graveyard and a golf course behind it. This photo was taken at Aberlady Parish Church, East Lothian, Scotland.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 12/09/2026

And that’s a wrap for 2026. I am exhausted, but really enjoyed welcoming and chatting to all the folk who came to visit us at the Smiddy for Doors Open day. We nearly ran out of cakes! Everyone left smiling! 😊 Your support helps keeps our rural heritage alive.

Welcoming visitors to Cousland Smiddy in Midlothian.

A blacksmith hammers a horseshoe into shape on an anvil in front of a glowing forge. Cousland Smiddy in Midlothian, Scotland.

Visitors to Cousland Smiddy in Midlothian watch a blacksmith working at an anvil in front of a forge.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 11/09/2026

We’re all set up for tomorrow’s Doors Open Day at Cousland Smiddy. Come and say hello! There will be food ;)

Cousland Smiddy - a working 18th century blacksmiths workshop, Victorian era cottage, and community heritage hub in Midlothian, Scotland.

Volunteers erecting a marquee in a field.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 06/09/2026

Up on the hill to see the Tour of Britain race 🚴🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼 pass through today. Pretty windy!

A cycle race climbs up a hill in the Scottish Borders

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 03/09/2026

The horse has most definitely bolted, ArtStation. 😡

A screen grab of an email from Artstation. The text reads:

ArtStation should be the best place for professional artists to showcase their work, connect with opportunities, and get discovered. We’ve heard your feedback where we’ve fallen short on AI and we’re taking concrete steps to keep human creativity front and center while protecting your portfolio.

Starting today, protection against AI training is enabled for ArtStation users by default. Here’s what’s changing:

NoAI Tag by Default: The NoAI tag is now automatically turned on for all new uploads, as well as past work across existing profiles.
Proactive Scraping Protection: We’re expanding our partnership with Cloudflare to leverage advanced bot-management tools, blocking unauthorized AI crawlers at scale.

We’ve updated our Terms of Service to reflect these changes.

This is just our first step toward improving discovery and keeping ArtStation focused on supporting human artists. Check out the full announcement for more details.

Best,
The ArtStation Team

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 29/08/2026

The Smiddy orchard is heavy with fruit 🍎🍏🍎🍏

An allotment garden with some compost bins behind a low stone wall and an apple tree heavy with hanging fruit on the right hand side. Vegetables are growing in raised beds and there is an old workshop and cottage in the background. Sunny day with blue skies.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 12/08/2026

Mini pinhole viewer I rustled up at lunchtime for observing the eclipse. Tested and works great! I just bet the clouds roll in a spoil the show now.

A makeshift pinhole viewer made for observing a solar eclipse fashioned out of a small cardboard box.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 12/08/2026

Me pedalling up to White Castle Hillfort, East Lothian, yesterday afternoon. 🚴🏼 #HillfortWednesday White Castle: scarf.scot/regional/ses...

A landscape view of East Lothian in Scotland on a warm summer day with blue skies. On the left side of the image in the foreground, a man is riding up a hill on a paved road. There is a fence in the middle of the image surrounded by lots of green bracken. On the centre-right side of the image are the remains of White Castle - an Iron Age hillfort.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 02/08/2026

Bothering Dunfermline Abbey by bike… again. 🚴🏼

A bicycle leaning against a lamppost with a ruinous medieval abbey refectory in the background. Dunfermline, Scotland.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 31/07/2026

Reopened my Mackintosh Art School 3D model project files from twelve years ago. Did a few test renders today at 4K resolution. The original model and animations were made using a really old version of #Blender3D, so I'm going to have to completely remake the interior cutaways.

An outline drawing (computer 3D rendering) of the North facade of the Glasgow School of Art building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The drawing depicts the building on completion of its second phase in 1909. © Bob Marshall

An outline drawing (computer 3D rendering) of the south side of the Glasgow School of Art building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The drawing depicts the building on completion of its second phase in 1909. © Bob Marshall

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 28/07/2026

I'm probably late in noticing this devil creeping into LinkedIn's privacy settings, which is turned ON by default. This really ought to be an opt-in, not an opt-out, setting. 😠

Screen grab from the LinkedIn Privacy settings. The text reads:

Data for Generative AI Improvement. Can LinkedIn and its affiliates use your personal data and content you create on LinkedIn to train generative AI models that create content?

Use my data for training content creation AI models

When this setting is on, LinkedIn and its affiliates can use your data and content to train content-generating AI models that are used in product features. The data we use for this purpose does not include your private messages.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 28/07/2026

I made this little reconstruction model of Old Castle Toward, Argyll, for a wonderful client in Idaho, USA, with ancestral connections to Clan Lamont. I'll post more detailed information about the reconstruction on my website once I've finished editing the docs. Really fun project. #Blender3D model.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 28/07/2026

Returning to the South-East for the next phase of Dover Castle visual interpretations. Glad I took the time to label and organise every part of my 3D model and kept detailed notes. It's a complex project to navigate, with thousands of elements. Long project ahead, so see you on the other side ;)

Screengrab image of the Blender 3D software viewport with an annotated outline model of a castle.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 23/07/2026

1/5: I recently collaborated with Welsh reconstruction artist Robert Gapper on reconstructions of Nassau, Bahamas, showing how the settlement might have looked around 1715, during the Golden Age of Piracy. The project was well researched, although admittedly we had to work with limited evidence.

A montage of digital reconstruction views depicting Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, as it might have looked in 1715 during the Golden Age of Piracy. The remains of a damaged artillery fort, a careened ship undergoing hull repairs, abandoned wrecks, and a timber pier line the shoreline of the early-period settlement.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 14/07/2026

Hi #PortfolioDay! I'm an Architectural Illustrator and 3D Artist from Edinburgh, Scotland. I work with historians and archaeologists to reconstruct our nation's built heritage assets using archaeological and measured survey data and by developing detailed 3D models. Website: bobmarshall.co.uk

A digital reconstruction of Dun da Lamh – an Iron Age Pictish Hillfort near Laggan, Badenoch, Scotland, by Bob Marshall. © Badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority 2020

A digital reconstruction of Baldow (Easter Raitts)–a post-medieval township near Kingussie, Badenoch, Scotland, as it may have looked in the mid-1700s, illustrated by Bob Marshall. © badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority 2020

A digital reconstruction of the chambered cairn monument at Easter Delfour near Alvie by Bob Marshall. © badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority 2020

A speculative digital reconstruction of Tor Alvie hillfort near Aviemore, Scottish Highlands, by Bob Marshall. © badenochstorylands.com / Cairngorms National Park Authority 2020

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 10/07/2026

Daily Mail polls should not be taken seriously, so this is all for the bin.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 09/07/2026

Encountered an impressive Vipera Berus (Adder) on today’s epic ride in the hills 🔥🚴🏼. This one maybe 55-60cm in length. I’ve only ever seen really small ones before. They are normally quite elusive.

A bicycle leaning against a post on the left hand side of a road leading towards distant hills in the background. Sunny day with clear blue skies.

A common European Adder (Vipera Berus) snake resting on a tarmac road

A road leading towards a cluster of large wind turbines

Dunbar Harbour in East Lothian, Scotland on a sunny day in midsummer. Mixed fishing and recreational sailing boats. The remains of an old castle are visible in the background.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 04/07/2026

Masses of these Northern Marsh Orchids out at the Sands of Forvie national nature reserve in Aberdeenshire at the moment. I snapped this photo on my walk there last week. They grew abundantly in our garden where I grew up, and my job as a kid was also to carefully mow around them!

Close up photograph of a Northern Marsh Orchid.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 01/07/2026

The view from the summit of Mither Tap, on my walk last week up Bennachie. Love the views from up here. #HillfortsWednesday

A view from the summit of Mither Tap — the highest point in the Bennachie massif, which is located to the north west of the Aberdeenshire town of Inverurie in Scotland. The view looks east across arable green farmlands from the ramparts of a granite tor and an Iron Age hillfort. Sunny day with clear blue skies. Photo by Bob Marshall 25 June 2026.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 29/06/2026

'Significant AI value' is the oxymoron of our present times.

Screen grab with the following text: Price change for your upcoming Google Workspace Business Standard renewal

Dear Google Workspace administrator,

We’re writing to remind you that your Google Workspace Business Standard subscription for [domain name] renews on June 30, 2026 with the following plan: Auto-renew. The updated subscription pricing reflects the significant added AI value, as well as the many new features we have introduced and are launching to Google Workspace editions. Learn more.

NOTE: The pricing for your Google Workspace subscription will change beginning June 30, 2026.

To view the new pricing details and to review your renewal options, sign in to your Google Admin console. Learn more about billing.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/06/2026

Strange days. ☀️❄️🤷

A screen grab of a news headline stating that road gritting lorries, which are normally used to treat icy roads in wintertime, are being used in summer to spread sand on the roads to cool them in the intense heat.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/06/2026

The last time I scaled this, it was in an howling gale on an icy day in late December. This is a bit more enjoyable ☀️. #hillforts #Bennachie #MitherTap #Aberdeenshire

A pathway leads through the heather to a distant hill with a craggy, granite tor summit. Sunny day with clear blue skies. Bennachie (Mither Tap), Aberdeenshire. Photo: Bob Marshall. 25 June 2026.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 23/06/2026

A pleasant 24°C at Balmoral today. Thinking of those of you in the south facing much warmer temperatures, as this is hot enough for me!

Balmoral Castle in the summer sunshine with blue skies and white clouds. Photo: Bob Marshall 23 June 2026

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 18/06/2026

It’s nice to be able to enjoy Hailes Castle in East Lothian again following a long period of HLM inspections, and consolidation works. I shall have to return when there is some better light in the early morning or evening.

The outer gate entrance of Hailes Castle in East Lothian showing a contemporary archway supporting older masonry above.

A view of the ruins of Hailes castle on the banks of the River Tyne in East Lothian, looking west from the location of the castle’s East range.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 14/06/2026

Sunday social 🚴🏼 ride via Papple Steading in #EastLothian today. I read a lot about this place recently, but hadn’t fully appreciated just how much care has gone into renovating these wonderful old farm buildings. No wonder it’s won some prestigious awards. Great place to come for lunch, too. 🍽️

Papple Steading, East Lothian, Scotland.

An interior view of old stable stalls. Papple Steading, East Lothian, Scotland.

An old mechanical pump and farming hand tools displayed on the walls at Papple Steading, East Lothian, Scotland.

Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland (RIAS), and Civic Trust Award plaques 2023/24 mounted on the walls of Papple Steading, East Lothian, Scotland.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 06/06/2026

This 3D reconstruction took two months to create and was one of seven high-detail images produced for the book Windsor Castle: A Thousand Years of a Royal Palace, published by Royal Collection Enterprises in 2018. www.rct.uk/collection/p...

An untextured computer 3D model reconstruction of a castle under siege in the early thirteenth century.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 06/06/2026

However, the castle sustained considerable damage, mostly to its shell keep and outer revetment, caused by the undermining of a vulnerable area on the south side of the motte.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 06/06/2026

A group of English rebel barons and their French allies, angered by King John’s rejection of the Magna Carta, assembled an army of some two thousand men and began a siege of the castle lasting two months. The castle withstood the assault with a garrison of 60 knights.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 06/06/2026

Time flies! It's ten years exactly since I embarked on this long and enjoyable project with Steven Brindle to produce new visual reconstructions of Windsor Castle for his great book charting its thousand-year history. Here are some images of my developing model of the castle during the 1216 siege.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 03/06/2026

Also went to bother some Pictish stones at Perth City Museum, while I dried off...

Pictish stone carvings depicting a Crescent and V-rod symbol, and mythical beast - possibly a dolphin.

Pictish stone carvings depicting cloaked horseriders.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 03/06/2026

Despite the rather driech weather, I enjoyed getting to see the inside of Balvaird Castle for the first time today on one of HES' organised tours. The tower interior is normally off limits to visitors due to unsafe masonry and ongoing conservation work.

Four men wearing hi-visibility vests and hardhats stand outside the walls and entrance door of an old castle.

An aumbry in the wall of a castle's hall with a decorated ogee arch - possibly a reused element from an ecclesiastical building.

Four people wearing hi-visibility vests and hardhats are standing in front of a large fireplace inside the hall of an old castle.

A view from the parapet of a medieval Scottish tower house, looking down on a circular projecting corner turret, which features a single water drainage spout. The remains of former castle buildings occupy the ground below.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 31/05/2026

Delighted to see East Lothian's Preston Tower among this year's RIAS Award winners. I am very proud to have contributed new visual interpretations to this wonderful community-led project, working alongside other collaborators. www.rias.org.uk/about/news/2...

The preserved remains of Preston Tower in East Lothian - a 15th-century Scottish Tower House with later period modifications. Now partially open to the visiting public on selected days of the year.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/05/2026

Didn't quite expect to set 32 personal records today, but I'll happily take it. Either all the winter training is paying off, or there was something in my Weetabix this morning.🚴

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/05/2026

I do love a gable that likes to stop you and tell a story or two.

Image of a building gable with a white render coating over visible remains of old window openings and a fireplace.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/05/2026

More Fife Pilgrim Way bike ride goodies... c14th Inverkeithing Friary, or Hospitium of the Grey Friars. Restored in the 1930s. Fascinating building.

The preserved Inverkeithing Friary (Hospitium of the Grey Friars).

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/05/2026

How wonderful. At last I am able to appreciate St Bridget's Kirk sans Heras fencing!

St Bridget's Kirk, near Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 25/05/2026

Cycled over to Fife today. Left at 7am. 🚴‍♂️ Already scorchio. ☀️☀️

A view of the Forth rail and road bridges from Dalgety Bay, Fife, on a sunny day with cloudless blue skys.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 20/05/2026

Quick pic of Traprain Law from my evening ride around East Lothian 🚴. #HillfortsWednesday

Traprain Law is an Iron Age Hillfort in East Lothian, Scotland. Here, it's southwest side is pictured in the evening sunlight. 20 May 2026.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 17/05/2026

Castle bothering in Kirkcudbright yesterday, en route to my eldest niece's wedding celebrations - long day, late night and much dancing! Unfortunately MacLellan's castle is still shrouded in HLM inspection scaffolding at the moment, but at least one of its facades can still be appreciated.

MacLellan's castle in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway. This view is of the east facade from street level. Built by Town Provost Sir Thomas MacLellan in the 1580s, this marked a much later chapter in Scottish castle building where domestic comforts were greater priorities than security and defence.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 10/05/2026

Stopped off at Crichton Collegiate Church on my 🚴‍♂️ ride today. I haven't visited it for maybe six years or so, even though it's right in my neighbourhood. I just missed the blossoms looking their best, but the church still makes a cracking photo.

Crichton Collegiate Church in Midlothian with a pink blossom tree in the foreground.

Crichton Collegiate Church in Midlothian on a sunny day with blue skies and some white clouds. A graveyard and headstones in the foreground.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 07/05/2026

I built my first henge on a beach in Cornwall at the age of 10, inspired by a visit to Stonehenge on my way. It was nice to collaborate with @suegreaney.bsky.social on building another, 42 years after my first attempt. 😊 📖 Stonehenge: Story of an Icon www.english-heritageshop.org.uk/stonehenge-s...

A young boy wearing a checked shirt is standing in front of Stonehenge.

A young boy wearing a blue shirt is behind a pile of stones on a sandy beach.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 16/04/2026

Went for a quick scramble up the Seat after my meeting today. Although I live locally, I haven’t been up here in 20 years. There’s about ten times as many tourists up here than I remember since last time!

A view of Edinburgh Castle and the City of Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat on a sunny day with Salisbury Crags ridge in the foreground.

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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 14/04/2026

I show Brough Castle fully lime-rendered at the time of Lady Anne Clifford in 1633. But why did I not treat Brougham Castle the same way? At first, I did; however, the historians were less convinced and persuaded me to change it.

An aerial view reconstruction of Brougham Castle from the North East as it may have looked in 1388. Brougham Castle stands beside the River Eamont near Penrith on the site of the Roman fort of Brocavum. The castle was founded in the early 13th century by Robert de Vieuxpont, who built the great stone keep c.1200–1210 and enclosed it with a curtain wall to control a key route into northern England. Through marriage, it passed to the Clifford family. Roger de Clifford strengthened the defences in the late 13th century, adding the east range and improving the gatehouse. His son, Robert de Clifford, a prominent supporter of Edward I, expanded the residential buildings and strengthened the fortifications during the Anglo-Scottish wars, thereby consolidating Brougham as a northern stronghold. This digital reconstruction shows how the castle may have looked in 1388 following the additions and alterations made by Roger Clifford, 5th Baron (1333-89). Artist: Bob Marshall. © English Heritage Trust / Historic England 2023.

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