The church of St Mary at Upleadon, Gloucestershire stands about a mile from the centre of the village next to an old farm. The nave is of the Late Norman period i.e. c.1150 and a round-arched doorway of that time can be seen in the photograph. For the church architecture enthusiast the striking feature of its exterior is the tower, a structure of probably c.1500. It stands on a stone plinth with, above, a timber frame of close studding filled with bricks on all but the east face which is stone.
The pyramidal cap is of green slate. Unusually, the timber frame has no exterior diagonal bracing. Inside the building the framing is visible - cross bracing, heavy timbers, and a belfry floor. The building was closed when we visited but we will return during its brief open period. Incidentally, the dry spring and summer, with attendant high temperatures continues and the sheep in this seemed to have about as little energy as we did.
photos © T. Boughen Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
