Miners' Brass, Newland

In the medieval church of All Saints in Newland, Gloucestershire, is a small, rectangular brass 1 foot (30cm) long. It is fixed to a late medieval tomb slab to which it does not appear to have any connection. It is known as the Miners' Brass and shows the helmet, mantling and crest representing a free miner of the Forest of Dean. The miner is holding a pick and has a hod on his back and a candle holder between his teeth. The juxtaposition of this working man and the heraldic devices associated with the nobility is an odd one, and underlines the status of the free miners of the Forest.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

All Saints, Selworthy

The church of All Saints at Selworthy, Somerset, sits on a steep slope with fine views to the south. It has a tower that seems to be of the 1300s but the remainder is largely of the sixteenth century, with the date 1538 on a column capital. It is unusual for a relatively elaborate, rural church to be whitewashed, but here the decorative elements of the stonework - window tracery, crenellations etc - are unpainted, and the treatment works quite well. The location makes the usual photographs that are possible with churches completely untenable.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

WW1 soldier's memorial

Most churches have memorials to members of the armed forces who died in WW1. Sometimes it is a list of all those in the parish who were killed. Then there are the stained glass windows commemorating an individual. But, by far the most numerous style of memorial are those in the form of a wall plaque in stone, brass or, sometimes, mosaic. The example above is a brass on marble memorial. What caught my eye here was the composition including the Lee Enfield rifles propped against the cross - something I've not seen before. It can be viewed at All Saints church at Hollybush, Worcestershire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Church with cafe, All Saints, Hereford

Many medieval parish churches open weekly or monthly for tea,coffee and a snack. Such openings usually accommodate local people and the occasional traveller. However, there are, increasingly, churches that include a permanent cafe that is open for the extended hours usual for such eating places. Cafes of this kind are often prompted by declining congregations and a need for extra funds to finance the building and the work of the parish. I don't know what led the church of All Saints, Hereford, to install this quite elaborate cafe in east end of the builing (and in the upper aisle) but they did a fine job in adapting the interior to the extended requirements.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

The Cathedral of the Forest

The village church of All Saints at Newland, Gloucestershire, is known as "The Cathedral of the Forest." It was given this name due to it being one of the biggest and most ornate churches to be found in the Forest of Dean. Construction began just before 1216. Much of the main structure dates from the C13 and C14.

The most notable work of the C15 is the pierced tower parapet and the ornate pinnacles. The photographs also show a preaching cross. Its base of five steps was rebuilt in 1864. It was presumably at this time that the column and cross were added. The sun dial on the exterior was donated by villagers to mark the millennium.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

All Saints, Brockhampton, Herefordshire

All Saints church at Brockhampton near Ross on Wye, was built in 1901-2 by W.R. Lethaby. The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "one of the most convincing and impressive churches of its date in any country." The clerk of works was A. Randall Wells, the architect of nearby St Edward the Confessor at Kempley, Gloucestershire. All Saints was built in the Arts and Crafts tradition, and, like Kempley, its style is a modernized Gothic. Unusually for a small parish church it has two towers, with the bells in the wooden tower over the porch rather than over the crossing. The building is thatched and has an interior as unusual and impressive as its exterior. Unfortunately, at the time of my recent visit, it remained closed due to the coronavirus.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10