Ionic Pillars College Green

Which pillars are these ruthanne? The ones that once formed the open collonade of the left-hand screen wall? Were these not partially recycled when the wall engaged them? Or were columns replaced in the 1970s that you refer to? Or is it the Commons chamber columns? There’s been a lot of changes over the years!

I presume all the originals were retained in the 1970’s restoration – a near-wholescale replacement of granite took place then, but presumably all/most of the Portland was retained.

It all seems reasonably weathered, if suspiciously crisp in places. It’s possible the capitals were just lightly chiselled in the 70s to touch them up a bit.

And they all appear to be of the same ‘crispness’ as the West Front across the way, which as far as I know wasn’t touched as regards stone replacement in the 1993-95 cleaning.

To be honest I’m not too sure when they are from! But thank you for your reply, the pictures are great.

maybe it’s an urban myth?

Looking yesterday, it does indeed seem that all the Portland was thankfully retained. Just patched up like a quilt 🙂

And look how beautifully the arches were orginally constructed to the underside. The stone up there is also in excellent condition, avoiding all the ill-effects of weather.

Many of the columns exhibit signs of age. It’s interesting to see the way facings are used and positioned can weather parts of the same column in different ways.

It’s odd that all the granite was replaced, while most/all of the Portland retained. One would think the limestone would be the first to go…