I mentioned that I would come back to Thorpe Salvin church as there were a number of features that I wanted to show you.
The church dates back as far as the 12th century...
The church porch is quite striking with its half-timbered frame ...
Inside the porch is this staggering doorway which I have seen described as Saxon ...
Here's a closer look at the stonework ...
You may have noticed in the top photo a stone feature in front of the porch. There is a different face on each side ...
Is it a sundial ? On the photo below you can see that something has been affixed in time gone by ...
... and perhaps those marks in the stone were part of a sundial.
Finally a couple of gravestones ... this one in memory of 17 year old Charles Bradley ...
The wording beneath Charles Bradley's name reads :
BE WARNED BY MY SUDDEN CALL
AND STRAIGHT FOR DEATH PREPARE
YE KNOW NOT WHEN THE LORD MAY COME
IN MANNER, HOW, OR WHERE
Finally the stone marking the passing of Charles Battersby ...
The wording reads :~
IN LOVING MEMORY OF CHARLES,
THE BELOVED SON OF
GEORGE & KATHERINE BATTERSBY,
WHO DIED NOV 19TH, 1899
AGED 6 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS;
WE MISS THEE HERE, WE MISS
THEE THERE,
DEAR CHILD : WE MISS THEE
EVERYWHERE
Inside the church there's a 12th century font showing the four seasons. Unfortunately the churchdoor was locked when I visited. Click heritage inspired to see a photograph of the font and learn a little more about the church.
I would love to go on a Jenkins tour of the thousand best churches. The four faces on the pillare are haunting me. I want to know their story. When I saw the face with all the lines I thought it might be the four stages of someone's life but couldn't see one that looked like a youth. Also their noses are all different. Let me know if you find out more of their story.
ReplyDeleteI have found something out about the sundial ~ see http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-335837-sundial-approximately-5-metres-to-south- ~ I hope you can see it.
DeleteWhat a lovely doorway,a pity you couldn't go in Charlie.I wonder if the sundial depicts the faces of man as the day passes by.He looks as if he has his eyes closed on one side.Ann
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether they might have been the four churchwardens or something like that. As I have mentioned to Karyn, I found some more information here ~ http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-335837-sundial-approximately-5-metres-to-south- ...
DeleteVery picturesque. The old stone work is wonderful, and in really good shape for it's age. Charles Bradley's gravestone looks as though it could have been made recently - or at least restored?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your photos Charlie. It is most appreciated.
Glad you like the photos Diana ~ it is great that other people can appreciate what I see on my walks. As for Charles Bradley's gravestone I would have thought that it is original ~ some of them [depending on the materials] last a long time.
DeleteA church with a lot more interest than the average parish building. I love the half-timbered porch frame, quite unusual on an old stone building such as this. The 'Saxon' archway is just superb!! Yes, the four-faced object could very well have been a very ornate sun-dial holder. On the final one of the four photos, looking at your original size photo on Flickr, there do appear to be faint gradation marks that could well have been the hour markings of a dial.
ReplyDeleteThere's more information about the sundial here Mitch ~ http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-335837-sundial-approximately-5-metres-to-south- ~ I obviously didn't feed the keywords into Google ! It seems the wording on the sundial has eroded over the years too !
DeleteThis is amazing, I checked the site and you can even see it on the Google Map/Street View.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the wording was onto the stone itself or was on metal under each head...
I rather think there was some wording below each face, in the stone. Having said that I'm not quite sure that all the wording quoted on the listed buildings site would fit on the stone. I'm glad you liked this Diane.
DeleteI was wondering whether the faces were representations of the points of the compass. Interesting church though; that's a fabulous arch!
ReplyDeleteI didn't check its orientation Neil ... if I am ever passing by again I will whip out my compass and see what's what.
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