Christ Church Cathedral Dublin

I wanted to share some more pictures of the Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.  For a quilter, it is a treasure trove of quilt designs!

This first picture is actually from the Long Room in the Library at Trinity College.  I just loved the old, fancy book cases full of old books.

"Located in the heart of the medieval city of Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral is one of the city's finest buildings.  Founded by the Hiberno-Norse, rebuilt by the Anglo-Normans and extensively restored in the 1870's, the present building is an intriguing blend of original 12th and 13th century material alongside exactingly recreated Victorian Gothic features."

OK- here is a little bit of history as you enjoy the photos and get inspired to design a quilt:


c.1030
Cathedral building begins under Dúnán, first bishop of Dublin and Sitriuc Silkenbeard, Norse King of Dublin.
(How would you like to have the last name of Silkenbeard? And King Silkenbeard, no less!)

c.1163
Augustinian canons regular introduced by Archbishop Lorcán Ua Tuathail, former abbot of Glendalough.

1170
Anglo-Normans gain control of Dublin, Cathedral rebuilding begins c.1186 in a Romanesque style.

Late 1350's
Archbishop John de St. Paul extends building forming a "long quire".

1487
Coronation of Lambert Simnel os Edward VI


(How many quilt blocks do you see in the photo above, this one and the one below?)

There are tile floors like this throughout the cathedral.


1562
Collapse of the south nave wall, west wall and roof

1742
The Choir of Christ Church take part in the first performance of Handel's Messiah!

1871
Seven year restoration of the cathedral by George Edmund Street, funded by Henry Roe.

1999
Augmentation of the bells to a ring of 19-
the largest in the world!
(We heard the bells ringing, they're fantastic!)

I look at this and I see half square triangles and quarter square triangles, pinwheel blocks......

This section is original medieval floor tiles.  There are 63 patterns in all, which the Victorians copied throughout the cathedral.



2000
Restoration of the cathedral crypt

I've been working on quilting Dear Jane all week!  I have a big section of the middle done.  I stitch in the ditch and stabilize a section, then quilt the blocks in that section, then repeat in another section, working from the middle outwards. I'm changing the thread quite a bit as I quilt each block individually.  It's taking a long time but I'm liking it so far and haven't had to pick out too much thankfully!  I hope that continues as I keep at it!  And, if I get tired I stop!  Because that's when I usually end up picking out - after quilting tired....

Hope you enjoy these pictures and have a great weekend!
Oh, I haven't forgotten the bog butter - I better post that picture tomorrow!