Following an eye test last Monday, I had a walk in the Museum Gardens in York. It was a dull day,and the mist never cleared. This shot was taken in the lower part of the gardens, looking towards the Hospitium.
The Hospitium was built as part of St Mary’s Abbey in the medieval period. The name Hospitium (related to hospitality) suggests that the building was used for housing guests. These would have been people such as merchants who were not allowed to stay in the main abbey with the monks.
Being close to the river and the shape of the building suggests that it may have been a warehouse as well as a guest building. The stone ground floor mostly dates to the 1300s with a water gate arch added around 1500. The stone building would have been necessary given that the River Ouse would have flooded regularly. Today it is protected by a flood bank.
Since the dissolution of the abbey the Hospitium has gone through numerous stages of reuse, disrepair and renovation. In 1828, the newly founded Yorkshire Philosophical Society made significant repairs and housed their collections at the Hospitium before and after the building of the Yorkshire Museum.
The hospitium is now a popular venue for weddings and other events.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
November seems to have settled into a rather grey and wet pattern of weather, presenting different challenges to those of recent months!
If you want to see a clearer illustration of the building - https://365project.org/fishers/365/2020-07-09
Ian
Thank you all. I've not done many shots in the mist or fog before, so it was interesting to try something new!
Ian