About this Blog

My name is Ann Williams, and one of my great interests is vernacular architecture – houses and commercial properties with strong local character, built essentially from local materials by local people for local people

A few years ago I had a great idea to write a book on traditional houses in Greece – I did lots of research and submitted a beautifully produced proposal to several agents in London. Some ignored me, some wrote back saying simply “no”, while others were a bit kinder and admired my research and writing, but still said no. Rather than letting this work languish on a disk somewhere, I thought I would give it an airing on a blog.

Dovecot in Syros, Greece

I’ve added stories from other parts of the world, particularly Hong Kong where I used to live, and India, one of my favourite travel destinations.

Dwelling in Tamil Nadu, India

And why do I call the blog “Vernacular Vernacular”? I love the word so much, I thought I’d write it twice!

Rural house in Hong Kong’s New Territories

My other passion is painting and drawing, and old buildings feature strongly Here. Check out my work at AnnWilliamsArt.