Churches, Castles & Campanology

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Hi, Andrew........yes, i am am Canadian, born and bred, but i am in Ontario, never been to Vancouver, but it is beautiful out there.

I had to Google, Sutton Hoo...........WOW, i would love that place!!

What is that last picture of, Ziggy?

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Those are all so nice, Marley.

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Wow, great church marley. Have you spotted the ghost in your first pics ?

Penny, that was just a close up detail of a filled in putlog hole, they sometimes stand out but often are very carefully pointed in to match the rest of the masonry.

Got offered a years work doing stone repairs on a big library in your neck of the woods, then I found out it was -18celcius most winters

Heres a shrine to keep you going,



The shrine of Saint Witte, in Whitchurch Canonicorum church.

If you've got an ailment, then you put the affected part in one of the holes & she makes it better.

They opened the tomb & found some bones which dated back to saxon times as far as I can remember, we were only there to repair the plaster & re decorate.



This corner had suffered major water damage from a roof leak, all the plaster was hanging off.

After I'd replastered & distempered the architect said if he didn't know what work i'd just done, he would have thought it was original.

I was well chuffed :thumb:

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Whitchurch also has the grave of Georgi Markov



The inscription is in english on one side.



And Bulgarian on the other.

For those of you who are too young to remember the story, have a look here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Markov

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Some great pics, Ziggy and Marley.

Here's my favourite church, hidden away in a remote and spectacularly beautiful Welsh valley. It's called Pennant Melangell. Melangell is a sort of Welsh St Francis - she hid a hare from the Prince of Powys when he came hunting.

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The lychgate, with a nice crop of apples overhead:-





The ancient yews in the churchyard are probably around two thousand years old. It is thought that Druids used this area for worship long before the Christian church was built.




Melangell has a shrine, but unfortunately it got knocked about during the Reformation. Bits of it were found all over the place. So what you see today is a reconstruction which incorporates some ancient fragments which were found on the site. It's become the custom for people to write little prayers and requests for help on the printed cards which you can see at the bottom of the shrine.




http://www.st-melangell.org.uk/English/Church/stmelangellchurch.htm

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Gosh, interesting stuff. I love old churches and even belong to a church architecture group locally. They are sooooooooooo stuffed with history.

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

That last picture, Marley, with that view, is stunning!!:gnthb:

What a beautiful church, Clara.:wink::thumb:

Thats so cool, Ziggy:thumb:.....do you remember where the library was?

And -18 is down right balmy.....for us anyway:hehe::hehe::hehe::wink:!!

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Hi John and Ziggy

I think you're right about the 'standing stones' in the lychgate, Ziggy. I don't remember seeing any others, but there might well be. I believe the curved wall - I'm sure there's a proper name for that bit of the church but I don't know it - is quite unusual. It's a rebuild, I think, but is based on archaeological evidence.

Pennant Melangell is a really special place - in fact the whole Tanat Valley area is wonderful. I use the picture below (taken from the Bala road as it winds its way through the Berwyns) as a screen saver and people always want to know where it is.




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Churches, Castles & Campanology

Wow, Clara........what a view!!

 

Churches, Castles & Campanology

Yes, Penny, you have to visit Wales as well! Looks like it's going to be a very, very long trip ...