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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

On the lookout. Romanesque capital, south doorway, St Mary, Great Wymondley. #stoneworkSunday

Stone carved face with protruding ears and a dimpled chin. Sitting on top of the main doorway shaft, this guy (and his opposite on the other side of the doorway), looks out at everyone entering the church

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

It's dark. It's cold. It's that time of year again. #thedarkisreading

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Feast day of St Martin of Tours. 15th C Laon Cathedral #medieval

Statue of a man dressed in the uniform of a Roman soldier, on horseback, turning to face the viewer. His leg, and both arms are missing, but his cloak (the main part of his legend) is visible to the left, draped over both Martin and his horse.

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Reposted by Dr Sally Spong

Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

This is utterly disgraceful.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Walking on gorgeous Therfield Heath today, so here are some #tombsonTuesday. The Heath is an ancient chalk landscape and home to tumuli and barrows spanning several thousand years. Most of it is still common land. More info in alt text. Bonus points for spotting smol dog

View of hilly grassland, some of which has been mown as it's a golf course. On the centre right is a wood, of which this section is mostly beech trees. A chalk path can be seen on the left, winding up the hill. To it's right is a round tumuli emerging from the rough grass. Another tumuli can just be seen on the top of the hill, up and to the right of the first. These are both early bronze age. At the bottom left of image is a wire-haired dachshund, snuffling about in the grass.

This image shows the next ridge along. Again, the chalk path can be seen to the left and to its right three tumuli are visible on the crest of the hill. To their right, a neolithic long barrow can just be seen on the horizon.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

'Alexa. Show me a dog who has totally got it made.' #dogsofbsky #dachshund

A very handsome* mini wire-haired dachshund lounging on a red sofa with his head propped on a cushion. *opinions are my own

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

A reminder of life before vaccines. #memorialsMonday #earlymodern All Saints, Southill 📷 my own

Wall memorial to members of the Ringsted family, commemorating - amongst others - 'Four of their sons John, George, Charles, and Ralph, who were cut off in their bloom of life by that fatal distemper the small pox'

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Not much beats an autumnal Green Lane.

Image shows a sunken lane in north Herts. The bottom of the lane is deep is in fallen leaves, while the trees curve overhead to form a tunnel winding away down the hill.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Designed by Sir Albert Richardson in 1937 and dedicated to Joscelyne Whitbread, daughter of Samuel Howard and Madeline Whitbread, who died in 1936, aged 29. All Saints, Southill. #fontsonFriday @poorfrankraw.co.uk any idea who did the lettering? 📷 my own More info in alt text

Beautifully carved round bowl of pale stone, sitting on a slim pedestal. This is mounted on a small octagonal base, which sits on a larger octagonal surround, all of the same stone. Around the edge of the basin is carved the name Joscelyne Whitbread. The Whitbreads were a local Bedfordshire family who made their fortune from brewing. Since 1795 the family have owned and lived in Southill Park, next to the church. My ancestors are documented as living in the village from as early as the first surviving records in the 1500s.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

⭐ The ADS Data Catalogue is Live!⭐ Explore hundreds of thousands of archaeological resources including over 100,000 reports and 5,000 archive collections. 👉To find out more and start exploring visit buff.ly/BMulYqQ

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Nature doing what nature does. Autumnal churchyard bench #woodensday 📷 my own

Part of a wooden bench covered in vigorously growing moss and lichens.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Exquisite. 2 of 4 semi-circular enamels depicting the evangelists. End of 12th beginning of 13th century. Troyes cathedral treasury. 📷 my own #medievalMonday more info in alt text

Set together to form a circle, each enamel is set in gold and surrounded by precious stones (including, I think, citrines and an amethyst), with floral and filigree gold decorative work surrounding them. Some of the other stones appear to be intaglios, though it's hard to make out what they show. Even though there wasn't any information on the display, my guess is that they are probably re-used Roman intaglios. The left semi-circle depicts Matthew as an angel, while the right is an eagle to represent John.

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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

The "Vienna" model or sample book, c. 1410-20. An aid for workshops and travelling artists so that they had a stock of motifs & shapes. Silverpoint drawing on paper, maple wood, leather. Dimensions: 9.5 cm × 9 cm. A small thing. (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien)

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Lovely people of Suffolk (and nearby bits of Cambs & Essex). Happening on Oct 11th in Suffolk's smallest town to fundraise for the school. Bar, Food, and laughs! claredoescustardcomedy.eventbrite.co.uk

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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Meanwhile, in 'ya don't f*king say' land, Reform discover that governing ain't quite so easy... ' "Everyone thought we'd come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away but there just aren't," said a third senior Reform cabinet member in Kent. '

Reform poised to raise Kent council tax as Musk-inspired attack on costs falters

ANNA GROSS - KENT

Kent's local authority will probably raise council tax rates next year as Reform UK struggles to find big savings under an Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting drive.

Kent was one of 10 councils that Nigel Farage's rightwing populist party seized in a swath of local election victories in May. He vowed to save "a lot of money" by abolishing "wasteful" spending.

But Diane Morton, Reform's cabinet member for adult social care on Kent county council, told the Financial Times that services were already "down to the bare bones". an

"We've got more demand than ever before and it's growing," she said, stress-ing she did not believe access to those services should be limited. "We just want more money." As with many local

authorities in England, the bulk of Kent's budget went on adult and chil-dren's social care, as well as on children with special educational needs, which together accounted for about 50 per cent of its £2.5bn annual expenditure.

All councils have a legal duty to bal-ance their books and will set next year's budgets in February or March. Ahead of that, most councils in England are expected to increase council tax by 5 per cent, the maximum allowed.

"I think it's going to be 5 per cent," Morton said of where Kent would land on tax rises, adding that every 1 per cent increase equated to an extra £10mn.

Council leader Linden Kemkaran, a former BBC journalist, said Kent was a test bed for the party's national policies and the "shop window through which everybody is going to see what a Reform government might look like". She

declined to say whether council tax would be raised but other Reform coun-cillors said they wanted to avoid hitting the full 5 per cent.

Reform's experience highlights some of the obstacles it may face in national government if it won the next general election and pursued its pledge to slash taxes and spending. "Everyone thought we'd come …

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

What lies beneath. #ceilingsonSunday #alwayslookup Église Saint-Pantaléon, Troyes. Repairs ongoing... 📷 my own More info in alt text

The wooden ceiling of the church - which should be covered and decorated - can be seen exposed. The planks have the remnants of plaster on them, so are off-white in colour. The ceiling bosses can clearly be seen at the intersections. The ceiling is supported by pillars which have been seriously baroqued in the middle and upper sections. The church itself is a total mash-up of architectural styles, all slamming into each other, but is crazily appealing. It wins the prize for the most plastic flowers and lace doilies around an altar I have ever seen, and desperately needs a lot of money to stop more bits of it falling into the nave and aisles.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

A bit of late 17th century woodwork for #adoorableThursday Chapelle Notre-Dame de Compassion, Bulle, Switzerland

Carved, wooden doors into the church. The wood is light coloured (it looked like walnut), and decorated with scrolls, arches, pillars, cherub-heads, and flowers. The date 1688 is on the surrounding stonework.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Magnificent moustache #woodensday Bench end at St Peter's, Coton

Carved, wooden bench end of a man's head with a full, droopy moustache and long, curling beard.

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Reposted by Dr Sally Spong

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

The sort of history I absolutely love.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Dating to 1472 (date on the fireplace), the Maison du Dauphin is one of the oldest house in Troyes. #medievalMonday 📷 my own

The beautifully wonky end-gable wall of a timber-framed house. The rendered walls are washed in an ochre colour, with the window frames and drain pipes in red. In front are cobbles, and to the left is a later building

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Stunning stuff from the 13th century. #stainedglassSunday at Laon Cathedral 📷 my own. More info in alt text #medievalsky

3 lancet windows, with the central being the most visible. They are full of beautiful stained glass. The central window shows (bottom to top), the story of the crucifixion, beginning in the bottom left hand corner with Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The windows are surrounded by slim Gothic arches of light coloured stone. The cathedral has introduced subtle lighting at the bottom and top of each window to enhance their impact and reflect the candlelight which would have originally lit the scene.

Detail from the bottom of the window showing Jesus entering Jerusalem, the last supper, and the betrayal in the the garden of Gethsemane

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Early 12th century fabulousness for #fontsonFriday. St Peter's, Coton #medieval 📷 my own. More info in alt text

Description from the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture. "The bowl is square and supported on five shafts, the four at the corners slender and modern, the central shaft thicker with a cushion base. The inner bowl is circular and lead lined. The faces of the bowl are carved with four different designs as follows:

E face: sixbay arcade with block capitals and bases supporting semicircular intersecting arches.

S face: five bay arcade with block capitals and no bases supporting semicircular arches. The arcade appears to lean alarmingly, but this is mainly due to inaccurate fitting of the bowl on its base.

W face: Arcade of three bays without capitals or bases. Under each arch is a bundle of four-five vertical reeds.

N face: three rows of lateral face chevron at the top meeting another three rows at the bottom point-to-point to form a horizontal row of lozenges at the centre of the face. That, at any rate, seems to have been the intention, but the whole thing is inaccurately carved and the second lozenge from the R is one unit of chevron higher than it should be."

W face: Arcade of three bays without capitals or bases. Under each arch is a bundle of four-five vertical reeds. This photo also includes details of the inner font bowl and wooden lid

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

LMAO at another top thread from @fakehistoryhunter.net 💯 no notes

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Jettied building with carvings. Troyes, France. 📷 my own #earlymodern #woodensday

Carved, oak timbers, paled by weathering, support a tiled, timbered building. An iron bracket in the very top right of the image sticks out beyond the beams, showing how much shrinkage has happened due to age and damage.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

#medieval #towersonTuesday Laon Cathedral above the walls of the old hospital and 13th century cloisters. 📷 my own

Top of image L-R romanesque tower topped by grey tiles. Next an ornate early French gothic tower with 4 layers visible above the red-tiled roof of the cloister. This tower is topped by a small campanile. Foregrounding the top right of the image is street lamp hanging from a curled, iron wall holder. Bottom left is a gateway into the cloister containing a black, iron double gate. The buildings are both made of light coloured stone, darkened by age and pollution in places

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Restored #earlymodern bling for #momentomoriMonday & #memorialsMonday for Andrew Downes, one of the translators of the King James Bible. Regius Prof. of Greek at Cambridge and one of six who revised the translation for publication. Died, aged 77, in 1627. Buried at St Peter's, Coton

Ornate memorial set on the bare brick wall of the chancel. Several parts indicate death and the passage of time: coloured gold, a skull and crossbones is set over a gold, crossed pick and shovel, and 2 hourglasses set on either side above Cambridge College coats of arms. The latin inscription white lettering on a black background, set inside a frame. 3 red tudor roses sit below, while a very bling angel with red and gold wings peeps over the top of the words. The memorial is topped by 3 red pillars crowned by gold balls

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

'Stay and chat with the international Runologists' 😍 #medievalsky

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Reposted by Dr Sally Spong

Dan Armstrong @historydan1066.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

A final reminder that the deadline for abstract submissions is the end of next week #medievalsky Details 👇

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

#medieval #tombsonTuesday in Châlons-en-Champagne. 📷 my own. Tomb marker dated to second half of 13th century

A very large tomb marker stood against part of the church wall. The marker is carved with the image of a married couple, standing under a canopy of gothic arches. The woman has a head covering with a chin strap, and long robes, while her husband wears a short head covering and a shorter set of robes. The couple both have their hands together in prayer and both of them have smiley dogs at their feet who, like the couple, face each other.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

This #medieval #skystorian got very excited when spying this in Troyes cathedral. #medievalMonday #memorialsMonday 📷 my own. For more info on the Counts of Champagne check out the work of Theodore Evergates

A memorial stone to Theobald III (Thibaut) count of Champagne 1179-1201. The stone is black with white-highlighted lettering, and is hung on a pale stone wall in a chapel inside Troyes cathedral. The stone explains that Theobald's body was moved into the cathedral from St Stephen's church on 17 Feb 1792.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Modern meets #medieval at Église Saint-Vincent, Montreux for #stainedglassSunday. Glass by Jean Prahin (1908-2008) 📷 my own

Set within stripped down gothic and romanesque arches and arcades, is a very modern piece of stained glass. Part of set representing the 4 evangelists, this one is predominantly comprised of bright and light blues, highlighted with bright orange and red. In the lower third of the window is an image of a winged lion, representing St Mark.

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

One for both #staircaseSaturday and #windowsonWednesday Château de Gruyères, Switzerland. 📷 my own. Link to a video tour of the castle in alt text

4 steps of a stone spiral staircase found in the medieval part of the castle. The stairs are roped off in this area and the rope crosses the image from left to right in the lower third of the photo. Above the stairs is window set into the curved wall. The window itself in rectangular, but is set into an arched stone surround. Through the window, and set against a bright blue, cloudless sky, is a stone tower with a high, tiled, pointed roof, with an arched window set underneath the roofline. https://www.chateau-gruyeres.ch/en/experience-the-legend/

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

'And to make it more complicated, there are the non-financial benefits such as evidence of longer lifespans and better personal wellbeing than for non-graduates.' If universities had spokespersons who understood what we do, somewhere in this article there might be a mention of the life of the mind.

theguardian.com

We ask the experts: does it still pay to go to university? ‘It’s complex’

The time and money you invest in education should be repaid by a rewarding career, but is that always the case?

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Dr Sally Spong @drsalspong.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Herbie had a growth on his foot and had to have his toe amputated today. He is currently one sad sosige.

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Andy Marshall @fotofacade.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

😱Suspended from ropes, lowered through the ceiling boss at Beverley Minster – a once-in-a-lifetime perspective. I’ve tried to capture it in words & film. Full story + video here: 🔗 www.digest.andymarshall.co/andy-marshal...

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