Restoring medieval churches

We often come upon workmen who are busy restoring or repairing medieval churches. It's not surprising really - how many buildings can survive for several hundred years without regular maintenance? Recently we called in at the church of St Andrew at Allensmore in Herefordshire and found workmen busy restoring the timber frame of the south porch. This structure last had major work done in 1857 when it was completely rebuilt. The two workmen in the photograph had stripped off the roof tiles and were replacing some of the timbers that gave structure and strength to the porch. Work of this kind can't be done by just anyone, and the van of the workmen showed them to be accredited for work on ancient buildings.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

C18 slate memorial

When I lived in Lincolnshire I often came across beautifully carved eighteenth century slate gravestones and memorial tablets. The slate itself had usually come from Swithland in Leicestershire, a source of some of the finest slate in the country. What made the gravestones special was the way they looked like they had been recently carved, so well did the stone retain the details of the mason's work. The example above can be seen on the tower of St Andrew at Billingborough, Lincolnshire. Carved soon after the death of the seventeen year old girl in 1779 every letter, numeral, swirl and patera is as legible and clear today as it was all those years ago. The only thing that mars the tablet is staining from the metal brackets that hold it against the wall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10     2017

St Andrew, Hampton Bishop

It is a characteristic of medieval churches throughout Europe that they are mainly constructed of local materials and that, consequently, though they share similar architectural features, they nonetheless differ from region to region. Herefordshire churches tend to feature a lot of Old Red Sandstone and timber framing. The example above has a stone tower extended upwards using the latter. However, porch at the church of St Andrew at Hampton Bishop appears to eschew the plentiful stone for a harder less red variety. And, in the carved vesica near the apex of the porch what appears to be terra cotta proclaims the symbol of the patron saint.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100