About the BRF Collection
The Byzantine Research Fund Archive (BRF) is a unique collection of architectural drawings, photographs and notebooks created from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century by a small team of British architects trained in the Arts & Crafts tradition whose studies of Byzantium shaped the Byzantine Revival in later years.
The collection contains over 1,500 drawings and 1,000 photographs, numerous notebooks and the corporate records associated with the Byzantine Research and Publication Fund, the original body created in 1907 to support this work. Although the Fund was associated with the BSA from the time it was founded, it was not until 1937 that the BSA formerly took over the property and operation of it. The BRF Archive contains records of Byzantine monuments in Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Near East, Egypt, and Cyprus. In some cases, the collection contains the only record of a monument before its destruction in modern times, the most important example being the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessalonike which was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917 shortly after being recorded by one of the BRF architects, Walter Sykes George. It also contains personal records of the following architects; Robert Weir Schultz, Sidney Howard Barnsley, Walter Sykes George, William Harvey, Harold Swainson, Peter Gus Corbett, and A.H.S (Peter) Megaw. The aspirations of the BRF Archive Project today are to make these materials accessible to a wide range of researchers.
Detail of the wooden carved templon - Templon icon. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Detail of the wooden carved templon (upper part). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Distant view from the west. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
West door, Carved marble lintel. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of the interior looking west-east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
West façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of interior: the dome. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
North-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Column with capital. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
West façade (the belfry). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Carved slab (iconostasis). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of the belfry. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Distant view of the castle. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
North-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Close view of the dome. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of the interior looking east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of the interior (east end). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View from the east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
North façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Close view of the dome. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
West façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Distant view of the belfry. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Donor portrait in the iconostasis. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. The church has been mis-identified. It is labelled as 'Hagios Demetrios' in pencil at the back of the photograph.
South-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. The church has been mis-identified. It is labelled as 'Hagios Demetrios' in pencil at the back of the photograph.
South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. The church is called 'Hagia Marina' by Traquair who follows Leake. In fact Hagia Marina is a ruin about a quarter of a mile south-west of the church.
View of the interior (the surviving frescoes on the vaults and dome). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Distant view of the tower. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Schoolmaster and family. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. The location of the monument has been misspelled as: 'Thrianda Felia'.
Distant view from south-east. The photogaph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also BRF 02/01/14/029 with old archive no: 02/05/22/01
Distant view from south-east. The photogaph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also BRF no 02/01/14/018 with old archive no: 02/05/21/01
Closer view of the town from the Metropolis. The photogaph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also BRF no 02/01/14/031 with old archive no 02/05/24/01
Closer view of the town from the Metropolis. The photogaph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also BRF no 02/01/14/030 with old archive no 02/05/23/01 .
North-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Interior looking south-west. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Interior looking south-east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
North chapel (narthex), Tomb-niche of Thedore II Palaiologos (d. 1443). The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west chapel: Detail of imperial decree. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
South-west chapel: Detail of imperial decree. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
East façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
View of the interior looking east. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Carved marble slans in the nave. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.