St Mary's, Saffron Walden

Saffron Walden church is one of the finest in Essex. Like many other towns in East Anglia, it's wealth peaked in the 15th century as a wool town, exporting cloth to the continent. In those days, wool was big business. There was no cotton, and no polyester. Wool was essential. And English wool had a reputation for being the finest.

In earlier periods, Wool had made Northamptonshire wealthy, and later it brought prosperity to The Cotswolds. The richest church architecture of each period is often closely linked to the region's dominance in the wool trade.

The townsfolk of Saffron Walden built a church which reflected this wealth. Mostly perpendicular, it has a high embattled tower, with a recessed spire. The body of the church is broad and high with wide aisles and a grand clerestory.

 

To this day, the spire and the clerestory tower over the Mediaeval, Georgian and Victorian buildings of the town, which is famed for its beauty.

http://www.stmaryssaffronwalden.org/

East Bergolt Bell Cage

Just been reading an interesting blog post at English Buildings about East Begholt's unusual bell cage...

http://englishbuildings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/east-bergholt-suffolk.html

Hare & Hounds, Kilpeck Church

Kilpeck Church in Herefordshire is a beautifully preserved romanesque church with fantastic carving. The building consists of three cells: nave, chancel and apse. The whole building is of pink sandstone. It is famous for its collection of carved corbels, each with human and animal figures, such as the charming hare and hound. They have a soft, cartoon-like quality and deep piercing eyes. Of particular not is the doorway. The church's survival is probably thanks in part to its remoteness, in the wild borderlands of England and Wales. The churchyard is right up against a farm yard, and shows the closeness of religious and manorial sites in many ancient settlements.

Some Links:

http://hoary.org/snaps/engl/kilp.html

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/kilpeck-church.htm

Kirton Church, Lincolnshire... Got any spare cash?!

This beautiful Grade I listed church in Kirton, just south of Boston, Lincolnshire, needs some cash! It's £40,000 short to pay for roof repairs. Can you help? It has a beautiful perpendicular clerestory

The news story:
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Lincolnshire-church-facing-closure-pound-40k-roof/story-17094159-detail/story.html

Listed Building Description:
http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-192089-church-of-st-peter-and-st-paul-kirton-li

A cottage in Buckinghamshire...

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to visit this pair of old estate cottages hidden deep in a wood in Buckinghamshire. It's collapsing. There are trees growing through the roof. It has no services. It's amazingly beautiful, but also quite scary. The rear facade was built to look like a wealden house.

The Thatched Church at Markby, Lincolnshire

One hundred years apart... spot the differences. (I think there are five)

Scratch Dials / Mass Dials

A little known feature of many of England's mediaeval parish churches is Scratch Dials or Mass Dials. They were essentially small sundials built into the South wall of churches, presumably to indicate the times of church services back in the days when most people were illiterate. Most of them have lost their indicating stick, so no longer work, and others have been moved to other walls, are upside down, or have been relocated to the North walls of churches.

The Sundial Society is compiling a list of all known scratch dials, so if you know of one, let them know!

http://www.sundialsoc.org.uk/massdials.htm