Religion, Archaeology and Modern Calendar Buildings: A Study of Avon Tyrrell House in England

This paper will explore a modern example of the tradition of constructing cities and sacred sites as reflections or embodiments of the sky. By creating spaces which were connected to the celestial bodies it was possible to create human communities which were linked to celestial ones, encouraging social stability and harmony. Such ideas underpinned traditions of the foundation of cities from China, through India, the Middle East and Mesoamerica. The paper focuses on Avon Tyrrell House, a substantial private residence which was designed and built in 1891–93. The architect, William Lethaby (1857–1931), was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and one of England’s leading modernists. The paper will frame discussion of the building within notions of the continuity of ancient traditions of solar symbolism in architecture, the consideration of function in the archaeology of the present and immediate past, and will refer to the theory of vernacular and material religion.