There and Back

Another church I have not seen before was Great Waldingfield`s St Lawrence. Having been warned that it is kept locked, I was pleased to find on arrival that it was in the process of being made ready for a funeral. The people involved were very welcoming and so was able to get a photograph of the main point of interest. Like many churches in this part of the world, the Victorians really `went to town` on the restoration.It was a gentleman by the name of John Hakewill, whose major restoration of the nave was made in the 1870s. He was the brother of the more famous Edward Hakewill, but he had often designed the furnishings for his brother's restorations. His work here was enthusiastic and overwhelming, replacing not only the furnishings but also the roofs and the window tracery. The Victorians certainly `had  a thing` about their churches! The great architect William Butterfield turned up here to rebuild the chancel. Butterfield was a great enthusiast for encaustic tiles, using them ...

This post was originaly made in August 2020 but I was not able to go inside the church due to the dreaded Covid. Now, some five years later, I was able to go inside. So, same post with some interior images added! On the River Deben in Suffolk sits the tiny village of Ramsholt, a place I had never visited. From a book of photographic walks by local photographer Gill Moon , we picked this one for a walk with our cameras, on a very bright sunny day. I took a Nikon lens with a circular polarising filter, as I thought it would help with the bright sky. However, having not used the filter for some time, I had forgotten that I have ruined a number of images using a polariser, as the filter often made the sky far too dark. I almost managed the same today! However, it did help on some images. What a position to sit and have your evening meal! By the time we had finished our walk, the front terrace was getting quite full. According to the advertising blurb:  "The Ramsholt Arms is a popular ...

Today was divided between Playford Church, one which I had never visited, and a revisit to St Mary at Capel St Mary to bring up to date my record of this local church. So firstly, a drive to Playford, a small village just north of Ipswich. On the outside initial impressions are that nothing stands out. Then I noticed that it had a south tower, as opposed to the normal West. However, there are a few in Suffolk apparently. Shelley, near home, has a North tower! An interior view, with the lovely east window. The east window is a triple-lancet design, meaning it features three narrow, pointed arches. T his memorial obelisk in the churchyard was erected in 1857 to commemorate Sir Thomas Clarkson of Playford Hall (died 1846). Clarkson, who lived at Playford Hall in the latter years of his life, was instrumental with William Wilberforce in the abolition of slavery. Clarkson is said to have thought out his opposition to slavery while riding from Cambridge to London in the summer of 1785. H...

Cathedrals of UK The intention is to visit and photograph all of the Engand ones - at least to start with! Here are a few I have visited to date. Canterbury Cathedral St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast of Kent as a missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great. It is said that Gregory had been struck by the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the city market and despatched Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity. Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin’s, after St Martin of Tours, still standing today) by the local King, Ethelbert whose Queen, Bertha, a French Princess, was already a Christian.This building had been a place of worship during the Roman occupation of Britain and is the oldest church in England still in use. Augustine had been consecrated a bishop in France and was later made an archbishop by the Pope. He established his seat within the Roman city walls (the word ...