Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From? A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain.
Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often utilized by Romans to decorate their fountains. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the building of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Modern fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
Anglo-Saxon Grounds During the Norman Conquest
Anglo-Saxon Grounds During the Norman Conquest Anglo-Saxons encountered extraordinary changes to their day-to-day lives in the latter half of the eleventh century due to the accession of the Normans.
At the time of the conquest, the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons in building design and cultivation. But before focusing on home-life or having the occasion to think about domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire society. Castles were more standard constructions and often erected on blustery hills, where their tenants spent both time and space to practicing offense and defense, while monasteries were considerable stone buildings, commonly positioned in the widest, most fruitful hollows. Gardening, a peaceful occupation, was impracticable in these unproductive fortifications. The best example of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent in modern times is Berkeley Castle. The keep is reported to have been conceived during the time of William the Conqueror. A monumental terrace serves as a discouraging factor to invaders who would attempt to mine the walls of the building. On one of these parapets is a picturesque bowling green covered in grass and enclosed by an aged hedge of yew that has been designed into coarse battlements.