Carving on the end of a choir stall.
Seen today in Dronfield's parish church.
How many old churches have I wandered into on my many rambles? I suspect that I have visited more than most vicars or bishops. My estimate is that seventy per cent of the church doors I try are locked but that means thirty percent are left unlocked for access by parishioners and passing strangers.
I enjoy the smell of old churches and I love the fact that each old church is different from the next. They evolved over time and they are all quietly reflective of the communities they served.
As a lifelong non-believer, I am nonetheless fascinated by old churches. They speak of the people - those who entered before me. A story of christenings and weddings and funerals and Sunday services that droned on season after season, decade after decade. Here the people listened to the word of God.
I have taken hundreds of pictures of churches - trying to get the entire building in my camera's viewfinder which isn't always as easy as you might think. And within thirty per cent of those ecclesiastical edifices, I have often taken photographs of interior details such as carvings in stone or wood.
Today I walked into St John the Baptist Church in the little town of Dronfield - just outside Sheffield's southern city limits. A funeral had just occurred and the last of the mourners were exiting as I arrived. The church dates back to at least 1135 though the building you see today was mostly the result of renovations in the late thirteenth, sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
I noticed several interesting carvings on the ends of the choir stalls. The one shown at the top of this blogpost appears to show a fantastic creature with angel wings and the face of an ape or monkey. The one shown below appears to be of an eagle.
Of course and as per usual, I have no idea who was responsible for these carvings or when they were created but I find that noticing such details when you visit an old church can really add to your appreciation of the place.
Some other lovely wooden carvings I have noticed and photographed in old English churches over the years....
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/R7DPe1c