Significant Numbers

The dare devil teen has completed his latest thrilling quest this week[the next one is a 10000' skydive]. He's climbed the roof of the O2 and fortunately for him, the weather was perfect and the views across London were stunning. This time he was helping special needs young people on an outing for a local charity that he volunteers for in his spare time.

Discussing the details of his trip he gave me a few juicy facts about the construction of the Millennium Dome as it was then. The tidy part of my brain immediately sat up and took note...it does so like a bit trivia about symbolism! The dome is 52 metres high representing each week of the year, 365m wide for each day and has 12 spokes representing both the months and a clock face as a nod to its siting on the Greenwich Meridian.

These deliberate links between key numbers and structural elements of a building has put me in mind of the Rushton Triangular Lodge in Northants. It's a place I have only read about so far, but is one I will definitely visit if I'm ever in that neck of the woods. Designed and built by Thomas Tresham between 1593 and 1597, it is a reflection of his staunch Catholicism. Imprisoned for refusing to convert to Protestantism, his belief in the Holy Trinity is echoed throughout with the repeating use of three. Deliberately choosing a triangle for his folly it has three walls which are all 33' long and which in turn each have three triangular windows with three gargoyles mounted above them. There are three floors and each facade has a Latin inscription upon it made up of 33 letters. It will come as no surprise to discover that the chimney follows suit and is triangular. One assumes he managed to get his message across! More info here http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rushton-triangular-lodge/

Arilx