Will Wyeth
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willwyeth.bsky.social
Will Wyeth
@willwyeth.bsky.social
4.1K followers 590 following 1.3K posts
Archaeologist & historian (mainly castles). Curator of History @ English Heritage. (Mostly) Recovered Long Covid. Views mine, he/him.

Work stuff: https://linktr.ee/willwyeth; header: Sanam Khatibi.
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willwyeth.bsky.social
Angelic C15 portal for #ADoorAbleThursday from The Courtauld Gallery. An apparently frame-built door w ledges & studs as ornamentation. A pull-ring is visible on the middle ledge.

While the door is square-headed, the masonry doorway has a more ornate shouldered arch. The door swings away from us.
Photograph of a 15th-century image depicting The Annunciation in The Courtauld Gallery, London. The Label reads: Master of the Judgement of Paris (active around 1400-1450) The Annunciation Around 1430-40 Egg tempera and gold leaf on wood Although small in scale, this work is full of colour and drama. The angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary, sitting in the courtyard of her house, that she is miraculously pregnant with the son of God. Nearby, the Holy Spirit appears as a dove. The rich composition and lively details encourage viewers to explore the scene and contemplate the importance of the event. Mark Gambier-Parry bequest, 1966 Zoomed-in image of the same item, focussing on an ajar door on the background.
January 22, 2026 at 8:50 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
From lunchtime wander.
Photograph of a rocky bay with sea water rushing in.
January 21, 2026 at 2:13 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Fun new find: a 1549-50 list of repairs at Chester Castle records the name of the best-surviving tower (‘Julius Cesares Tower’) on site today. C19 records call it smthg similar.

I’d assumed the tower’s modern name, Agricola T, was a recent coining. The name’s actually over 450 yrs old!
Detailed view of TNA, E 314/66/25, with yellow highlight over word ‘Julius Cesares Tower.’ View of London, TNA, E 314/66/25: repairs to Chester Castle, 1549-50. Photograph of the north side of the inner ward at Chester Castle. On the right is a tall medieval gatehouse of red stone: the Agricola Tower.
January 17, 2026 at 9:25 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Post your least proper museum stuff, everyone!
Photograph of a recreated Viking sauna on an interpretation board in Orkney. A seated nude Viking man holds a drinking horn and looks towards the viewer. The overall impression is humorous.
January 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Went for a walk in the cold this afternoon; it was chilly but it brings out the best landscape!
Photograph of a choppy bay, blue sky and whispy white clouds.
January 2, 2026 at 6:10 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Just met a deer by the river.
Photograph of a young deer in the loop of a small river.
December 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
From several years ago, Warkworth from the south.
Photograph of Warkworth Castle from the south, set against a broad blue and white sky.
December 28, 2025 at 9:13 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Good bit of Lochaber hillscape from this morning, unusually mild.
Photograph of two peaks in Lochaber. Photograph of a tall hillside in Lochaber in the western Highlands.
December 21, 2025 at 8:57 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Goodly spread of timberwork for #ADoorAbleThursday, though only the middle is actually a door, the other three being shutters for the windows of the great hall at Ludlow Castle. Good bit of saltire bracing for the fans, too.
Photograph of four timber doors or shutters.
December 18, 2025 at 9:42 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
High and mighty, albeit late, contrib to #ADoorAbleThursday: the grandiose entrance to the church of Shap Abbey, below the tower.
Photograph of the elevation of a tall stone church tower.
December 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Fill your castle boots next summer at @imc-leeds.bsky.social #IMC2026.

Looking forward to all of these, as well as a tour of mighty Middleham Castle for folk who haven’t quite had their fill of fortifications.
Screengrab of a schedule of a speaker at Leeds IMC in 2026. The three items are: 425 Monday, 6 July 2026: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM No Time Like the Past: Medieval Structures and Their Communities in Continuous Evolution - A Round Table Discussion Round Table Participant 1119 Wednesday, 8 AM-12:45 PM Time, Ownership, and Heritage: Research on Speaker July 2026: 11:15 Medieval Castles and the Legacies of British Slavery. 1516 2026: 9:00 AM-10:30 AM Thursday, 9 July Time for Change: Temporalities & Castles Organiser
November 28, 2025 at 4:36 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
The medieval well-house of Haughmond Abbey with a sturdy, if battered, medieval-style door.

Happy #ADoorAbleThursday to all who celebrate.
Photograph of a small stone building surrounded by foliage. The photo shows a gable face with a trefoil-head niche above an ogee-head doorway. The doorway is sealed by a timber door, covered in studs in diamond array and with two heavy plain straps and a bolt with hasp and modern padlock. This building is the well-house of Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire.
November 27, 2025 at 8:16 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Working sketch of 13th c wall painting borders at Chester Castle.

Very much an exercise in understanding what you’re looking at!

Try, try, try, succeed.
Photograph of a piece of paper covered with sketches of a pattern. Three sketches, some careful others freehand, are scribbled out. One is left I scribbled out.
November 26, 2025 at 3:16 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Not saying my earlier exploits angered some small god of private apples, but…
Photograph of the front part of a small black car parked in a lay bay on a motorway. The forward tire is flat.
November 22, 2025 at 6:41 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Out for a walk.

Found an apple tree.

Freed some apples.
Photograph of a small Apple tree by the side of a farm track in the countryside. The tree has no leaves, but still has apples on its branches and many which have come off for tree, on the ground. Photograph of a man’s hand, a blue jacket sleeve visible, holding four yellow-green apples in hand. In the background is a tarmac farm track.
November 22, 2025 at 10:50 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
The second is a door to a service room at the lower end of the same hall. Built in a similar way, with an external face of vertical boards joined V-edge, and an internal brace of saltire framing (I think).

The hinge straps look authentic, but it’s likely at least upper has been refitted to door
Photograph of the external doorway of a service room at the lower end of the great hall at Ludlow Castle. Inside the stone doorway hangs the partial remains of a timber door. Photograph for the same door, again from the exterior, here the view focusses on the iron hinge straps. Several of the nail holes in it do not contain nails, and there is no evidence of nail holes on the door. This suggests the strap has been fitted to the door in a secondary phase. Photograph of a section of the outer face of the door, showing the joining of boards. As with the hall door, red arrows added to the image by me show V-edges jointing.
November 20, 2025 at 8:29 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
It’s #ADoorAbleThursday, and a great chance to share pics of *two* probably medieval doors still hanging in Ludlow Castle.

First is at entrance to great hall: a large single-leaf door w lattice framing & a prob later wicket inserted. Looking up, you can see how the outer boards are joined: V-edged.
Photograph of the outer face of the stone doorway into the first-floor hall at Ludlow Castle. Inside the doorway hangs the partial remains of a large timber door. Photograph of the inside face of the same door. It’s possible to see that although a large part of the door is missing, its back was framed with latticework. There is a wicket-shaped gap in the door. I think the wicket was inserted later because it cuts clean through the latticework. I may be wrong on this theory though. Photograph of a section of the vertical boards on the outer face of the door. Red arrows added to the image show the positions of where the boards join: they have been finished in V-edged style, creating a seamless face of vertical boards.
November 20, 2025 at 8:29 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Some seriously good castle-bothering to be had at Ludlow Castle, from earlier this week.
Photograph of the round chapel remains at Ludlow Castle. The doorway features classic Romanesque dressings. Photograph of the interior face of the outer wall of the great hall at Ludlow Castle. Photograph of the east internal face of the chamber block at Ludlow Castle. It’s possible to see three stories of features: corbels, fireplaces, doors, windows. Photograph of the east wall of the Norman keep at Ludlow Castle. In the centre of the image are two bays of arcading, with round arches, resting upon cushion capitals. The central and left detached shafts are present, the roght missing. I am suspicious of the central and left column capitals, because one appears to be made of metal (this may be an iron accretion).
November 19, 2025 at 10:45 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Am back on the March today (not that one 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 the other one 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿).

Driving from Lancashire to Shropshire, I stopped by Beeston Castle.

Lovely set of buildings, great views all around, ridiculous bridge.
Photograph of the inside face of the main gatehouse at Beeston Castle. It is partly ruined. In the centre of the image is the large opening for a gate. Photograph across the low lying areas around Beeston Castle, which is on a tall hill. The clouds are thick and heavy, but this photo was taken at sunset, so there is a bright horizontal band of sunlight, wedged between the thick clouds and green fields and woods. The impression is striking and beautiful. Photograph of the exterior face of the inner gatehouse at Beeston Castle. In the foreground is a modern, long and steeply rising footbridge which gives access to the inner part of the castle, through the passage of the inner gatehouse.
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
And a double-rainbow!
Photograph of a double rainbow over a choppy coast.
November 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Extremely windy on the coast at lunchtime.
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Are we there yett? #ADoorAbleThursday

Big iron yett from Dunbeath Castle in Caithness, at National Museum of Scotland.
Iron yett from Dunbeath Castle, Caithness.
November 13, 2025 at 7:38 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Here’s Buittle Castle, alongside Roxburgh one of high medieval Scotland’s lesser-known Big Deal castles.

It was a seat of the Lords of Galloway (of whence Dervorgilla). Balliol College owns it but has let maintenance lapse a little since the pandemic, which is a shame.
Photograph of a large mound of Earth covered in tall grass, shrubs and a few trees. This is what remains of Buittle Castle.
November 11, 2025 at 8:55 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Image of football manager Sean Dyche with a quote of his in foreground: “utter woke nonsense.” The ‘e’ on woke has been covered by an image of a cooking pot. The quote now reads ‘utter wok nonsense.’
November 10, 2025 at 11:39 AM
willwyeth.bsky.social
Bottom of the article 🤦🏻‍♂️
Screen grab of an advert for a new BBC show presented by Celebrity Traitors star Prof David Olusoga, about the history of the British Empire. This is a face slap moment because Ardross Castle was built by a fortune developed from cruel and immoral actions of agents and supporters of the British Empire.
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM