View allAll Photos Tagged ancestory
The pretty young lady on the far left is my Great Grandmother Isabella aged about 14, with her sisters, (she was born in 1883 and died in 1949)
This photograph was taken in 1897 at a studio in Selkirk Scotland. A much treasured family possesion i'd like to share with you. SadIy I never met my Great Grandmother.. she died 18 years before i was born.
Section of a tea towel sold at an Indigenous art shop in Campbell River. Part of the Magenta First Nations Collection. Hummingbird motif by Haida artist Andrew Williams.
"Andrew Williams is a carver of argillite, silver and gold as well as a graphic designer. He is part of the Raven clan in the Old Masset on Haida Gwaii. His work is a blend of traditional and contemporary art and shows his passion for his Haida Ancestory and the "old stories".
Andrew William's crests include Raven, Shark, Killerwhale, Grizzly, and Raven-Finned Killerwhale. He is self-taught, and has been carving since 1995."
~ allthegoodthingsfrombc.ca/pages/more-about-andrew-williams
Fire, wind, and earth can't stop me
I'm a natural disaster, tsunami
Baby, you've already heard about me
I'mma go, I'mma go, I'mma go
Hush"
-TSUNAMI
Finana Ryugu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her name: Asteria
Species: Harpy possible demon ancestory.
Alignment: but she's chaotic neutral,leaning to chaotic evil.
Occupation:
Hobbies: starting windstorms, stealing shiny objects with Seraphina,playing pranks with the kitsune and flying.
Her playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/6fLuq6w9Kjxc4WKnI71hkZ?si=sPgU6...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sponsored:
/Vae Victis\ - "Minerva" - Hellebore Diadem
/Vae Victis\ - "Simple Solomon" Livery Collar
/Vae Victis\ - "Solomon" - Livery Chain
Body:
SOMEONE - Evelyn Skin - Styx
SOMEONE - Goddess Body - Styx
SOMEONE - Lelutka Evo X Ear Skin - Styx
/ EARS / Raven ELF (add) 3.1
/ HEAD / lel EvoX RAVEN 3.1
MAZE.mods - eBody Reborn
REBORN by eBODY v1.69.6
Void - Nightfall Tail
FH - Busty Rigged Mesh Hair - Mosiac - Summer Braid
Nefekalum - Harpy Horns
[The DeadBoy] Carmilla Teeth
+ Ancient Wings + {Aii&Ego}
Tattoo/BOM:
VALKIRIA Day of the dead
(not seen) Arkhive :: "Teratai" front and back tattoos
/Vae Victis\ - "Sanguis" - Hemophage BOM Collar
Clothing:
+ Satin Whisper + {Aii}
Accessories:
~MR~Shoulder Pads
[:MILKBATH:] Daddy's Garter
/Vae Victis\ - "Eros" - Gemmed Crown Halo
Extras:
{Amazing} Demon eye aura
Void & Musgrave - Asteria Aura
[Cynful] Stripper Dust
Background is sold by ariverofstars as a skydome.
Item Info found here:
ladyellesmere.wixsite.com/my-site-1/post/stardusted-harpy
and
www.tumblr.com/ellesmerestarchild/753045362186534912/star...
Leila: From this photograph you would not believe how gentle this little cat is. It serves to remind how even the domestic moggy has some big cat ancestory.
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, 3.5 miles north-east of Bakewell and 9 miles west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the River Derwent, across from hills between the Derwent and Wye valleys, amid parkland backed by wooded hills that rise to heather moorland. Yet another example how the wealthy gained their lands etc through ancestory and the misdeeds.
Masked youth from our Grupo de Capoeira Contemporânea Beija-Flor commemorated their 15th. Batizado and Troca de Cordões (Belt graduation Ceremony) yesterday, May 31st 2008.
We are proud to have so many positive young people actively participating in the artistic, cultural and sporting activities offered by Hummingbird’s Street Migration Prevention Programme, because we know only too well how easy it is for underprivileged kids to put on a different kind of mask and head off on the wrong pathway...........
Growing up under the guiding and protective wings of Hummingbird prevents a lot of kids from making the wrong decisions in their lives and hitting the streets, and the few who unfortunately did, eventually come back only to regret the years they wasted away in a youth detention centre, that is, if they were lucky enough to survive.........
While driving back to London, we were looking for a place to stay that would give us a reasonable drive in to London the following day. We decided on Yeovil. Just as we were approaching Yeovil we passed the Montacute turn off. The name was familiar to me so when we arrived at our accommodation I looked up Montacute and realised that my six times grandfather was a vicar in Montacute. We went back that night for a look. I found two possible churches. The next day we visited St Catherines and found a plaque on the wall. His name was William Langdon and he was the vicar for 36 years (8th Feb 1790 - 11 Jan 1826).
My Mum's Mum Christina was born on the 23rd January 1914 and today, date of posting would have been her 95th birthday. Sadly though she passed away in January 2000 just a few days shy of her 86th birthday. The portrait was taken at Edwards photographic studio in Selkirk Scotland in 1934, her birthplace and hometown up to 1952.
I dedicate this lovely portrait to her memory and i'm absolutely certain she would not mind me posting this for you to enjoy.
Two derelict beached boats on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, 19 October, 2013. Image is an HDR blend of four originals.
While driving back to London, we were looking for a place to stay that would give us a reasonable drive in to London the following day. We decided on Yeovil. Just as we were approaching Yeovil we passed the Montacute turn off. The name was familiar to me so when we arrived at our accommodation I looked up Montacute and realised that my six times great grandfather was a vicar in Montacute. We went back that night for a look. I found two possible churches. The next day we visited St Catherines and found a plaque on the wall. His name was William Langdon and he was the vicar for 36 years (8th Feb 1790 - 11 Jan 1826).
We went to a dear friend's funeral this week, I only had my phone with me. The person in this photo is a lady bag piper, our friend's ancestory comes from around the Castle Dunnottar in Scotland so it was very appropriate and a beautiful tribute to his heritage
A New Beginning!
This is a collage of photos from the Internet I put together in Photoshop to create a concept.....Hope you like it ;-)
Here's an article on early evolution on Wiki if you'd like to read...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_origin_of_modern_humans.
In explore at #223. 3 cows with some different ancestory makes for a nice mix of colours in a photo. F 4.0 for this one as the light is poor at this time of year indoors.
A photograph of the 'Van Tromp' family and their 10 children taken in 1901.
The adult centre right sitting down is my great great grandfather William-Travers Van Tromp who was born in 1859.
To his right is my great great grandmother Eliza-Jane who was born in 1863.
The young lady top right is my great grandmother Jane aged 14. Jane or Jean as she preferred to be called was born in 1887 and died in 1973. I vaguely remember her in old age and her very distinctive face. Her daughter (my grandmother) was born in 1909 and died in 2000.
The family name was changed from Van Tromp to Trump in 1914 due to the german sounding name and the onset of The Great War despite the fact it was Dutch.
William-Travers Van Tromp was a very wealthy man and owned a machinery manufacturing company based in and around Ormskirk in Lancashire (UK).
Modern plastic trash bins (dustbins) contrast the old stone wall on the Back Brae. The building front is on Main Street,Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland, 18 October 2013.
While driving back to London, we were looking for a place to stay that would give us a reasonable drive in to London the following day. We decided on Yeovil. Just as we were approaching Yeovil we passed the Montacute turn off. The name was familiar to me so when we arrived at our accommodation I looked up Montacute and realised that my six times great grandfather was a vicar in Montacute. We went back that night for a look. I found two possible churches. The next day we visited St Catherines and found a plaque on the wall. His name was William Langdon and he was the vicar for 36 years (8th Feb 1790 - 11 Jan 1826).
A short line of 50 year old yard engines no longer needed. These will be stripped and scrapped with some key parts being salvaged for recycling into GP22C-ECO's. These locomotives went through a major rebuilding in the 1980's and you could trace their ancestory, after this rebuild any trace will be impossible.
A short line of 50 year old yard engines no longer needed. These will be stripped and scrapped with some key parts being salvaged for recycling into GP22C-ECO's. These locomotives went through a major rebuilding in the 1980's and you could trace their ancestory, after this rebuild any trace will be impossible.
Night & Day was a short lived magazine, produced under the auspices of the Chatto & Windus publishing company, that appeared for only six months from July to December 1937. It was an attempt to mimic the "New Yorker" magazine here in the UK and as well as humerous articles and cartoons it contained a selection of 'pleasures and places' in London such as concerts, plays and exhibition listings. In its short life it attracted some fine cartoonists and artists.
This is a marvellous cover by the German artist, designer and teacher Ernst Aufseeser (1880 - 1940). Aufseeser's main training was at the Steglitzer Werkstätten in Berlin but he also studied in London, including at the Slade, and spent time working in the UK. From 1919 he was Professor of Applied Arts and Commercial Graphics at the Düsseldorf Academy and, being of Jewish ancestory, he was dismissed from his post by the National Socialst regime in 1933. He died in Düsseldorf in 1940. His son was Hans Tisdall who spent his working life in the UK as a book illustrator and famous textile designer. It shows a "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", possibly the "newly weds" or worse! A couple booking in under the unbelieving eye of an hotel receptionist. It is so well captured!
Loch Killin, from the extreme north end looking towards the south. Scotland, 16 October 2013. The wind was blowing in gusts and rain had started to fall. We had just packed everything into the car when we looked back and saw light playing on the waters of the loch. A mad scamble to unpack tripods and cameras ensued.
Just back from St. Ives. Saw R and drove around the coast for the first time, getting up close to old Tin Mines.
While my family comes from Redruth, Truro and Tuckingmill (among many other places), it was still good to see these places.
We had some miners in the family tree who made it across to South Australia to mine before high tailing it to the Victorian gold fields in search of wealth (not found).
Map ref. N53. 29' 13'' W9. 12' 48''
Location; Galway Mayo border.
ONCE HOME TO THE BALLYCURRIN LYNCH'S.
(LYNCH GENEALOGY FOR BALLYCURRIN CASTLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE).
Ballycurran / Ballycar.
O' Curreens Townland or Townland of the marshy shoreline. This Townland of 557 acres to the north of Kilroe is bounded on the north and west by Lough Corrib, south by Gortbrack and east by Glassvalley, Mounthenry, and Gortatober.
An obvious place for early man to hunt and settle as it has numerous fresh water streams, springs, trees and hills. Traces of civilization dating from the Neolithic Age (4000BC ? 2000BC) have been found in this townland. Neolithic Stone Age axes were found in a field on the lakeshore in the 1980's. Similar types were found around Moycullen in the last century suggesting that the lake was used as a route of communications.
In 1827 and 1862, numerous Bronze Age discoveries were made at the northern part of the townland at Shannon ? Possibly Sean Dun. These consisted of Bronze Age swords, a shield and hundreds of amber beads? The latter are thought to have originated in the Baltic Countries. They were discovered by Stephen and Margaret Sullivan who, under the guidance of the landlord Charles Lynch, sold them to the National Museum for one pound and ten shillings as treasure trove.
There are also signs of Bronze Age lead mines in the vicinity mentioned by William Wilde in his book "Wilde's Lough Corrib". In the 1840's Elizabethan and Jacobite silver coins were found to the east of Ballycurrin Big House.
The townland is dominated by the impressive ruins of a very old Tower House, Ballycurrin Castle. It measures 64ft. long by 47ft. high. It shows signs of very early stonework. The castle dates from the 14th century approximately and many additions and alterations were made in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1966 the south wall and stairwell fell thereby ending a long tradition of engraving messages and initials in the tar/pitch roof.
Ballycurrin Castle
(A MacShoneen stronghold. MacShoneen a name now anglicised into Jennings ( De Burgo/Burke ancestory). In 1401 Thomas Mc William held the castle. Edmund Burke of Cong held the castle in 1588 and in 1628 it was granted to Earl Clanricharde.
It was a Mac Seoinin stronghold. Ulick MacSeoinin occupied it in 1574 and Richard, Earl of Clanricarde acquired it in 1610. In 1679, it was leased to Maurice Lynch ? descendants of Sir Henry Lynch, Galway, 1st. Baronet who died in 1634. Maurice Lynch's son, Joseph, got possession of the demesne in 1700. It remained in the family until Charles Lynch died in 1897. The Lynch’s built Ballycurrin House next door to the castle.
Among the better known members of this family was Henry Lynch, who, because of this love of sailing and needing a marker point and quay to get provisions from the Galway Cong steamer, built Ballycurrin Lighthouse. It is the only inland lighthouse of its type in Europe. The roof is made of a mill wheel. (map ref. N53.48519 W 9.21310.)
Beside it, he built a boathouse which has a stone engraved with "Erected by Henry Lynch Esq. A.D. 1772". The townland of Mounthenry, formerly known as Coarse Field, is named after Henry Lynch.
Another member, Peter, who became a Papal Knight, built an impressive Big House on the shores of Lough Mask , Petersburgh nowadays a popular outdoor pursuits centre.
Ballycurrin Lighthouse
The last of the Ballycurrin Lynch's was Charles who was married to Helena Joyce, Mervue, Galway. Their only son died in infancy and on Charles's death, the Clarkin family inherited the estate. A branch of the Lynch's contested the Will in a protracted law case (Lynch v Clarkin) however the Will was upheld. The Clarkin's sold the estate to the Congested Districts Board who resold the house and part of the estate to Colonel Beddington, a retired English Colonel. He renovated the house and planted and landscaped the area around the house. Many of the Lynch relatives and inlaws remained living in the area close to Ballycurrin House on the shores of Lough Corrib. Many of those Lynch's are buried in the Nave of Ross Errilly Friary (some are buried in Lynch Crypt in the nave of the church and many in an unmarked grave under or beside the the mchugh tomb N53.47971 W9.13135)
The Tomb in the Nave has been flattened to ground level and the slabs moved close to the church wall. There is also a ring fort or Rath in the area of the Parks (Lynch Parks). Originally built as a defensive homestead with surrounding circular mounds, it was then used as a Lisheen or children's burial ground up to the 1930's.
There are other historical connections, particularly, found in placenames, such as Crocan na Saighdiuiri which overlooks a little island called Priosun. The stories behind such names have been lost through the ages. In the last century, Ballycurrin had its own mill at the junction with Glassvalley, powered by the Ballycurrin stream. It also had it's own Poitin Stil in a field by the lake still known as Teach na Stile. Apparently there was a brisk trade to and from across the lake and to the islands in the illicit brew.
In more recent times, it had it's own blacksmith's forge at Molloys and a concrete block factory at Butlers.
Note,
Ballycurran House beside thecastle:
The American descendants of the Clarkin’s say that Ballycurrin house was burnt down so that the family did not have to pay English taxes. I have heard of this reason before however I believe the property had already been purchased by the congested Districts Board who were in the process of selling it to Colonel Beddington. The Australian Clarkin’s tell me that James Clarkin was present at the burning. James Clarkin's son Charles Clarkin wrote many years later that "he saw his inheritance go up in flames as it was burnt down that night as an Englishman buying the estate was not looked upon well in that part of Ireland at that time"
The wooden gates to the estate were thrown into Lough Corrib.
The contents were removed from the house before it was burnt and were auctioned by a Mrs B Clarkin in Oranmore Galway in 1921. The contents of the auction included a sword supposed to have been presented to a john O’Moore by Nelson and a large portrait of Daniel O'Connell.
James Clarkin died in 1917.
Sources,
History of Christian Names (Vol. 1). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1863)
“ theConnaught branch of the great Norman family of De Burghs first Iricised themselves into Mac William, then the Mayo stem descended from a John, or Shawn turned into MacShoneen, and finally, when taken with an English taste, became Jennings”.
www.mocavo.com/Journal-of-the-Association-for-the-Preserv...
J.F. Quinn series of articles on Mayo history published in the Western People during the 1930s
“Currin or Marsh was the original name of Ballycurrin castle. It was then a MacShoneen stronghold. Ulick MacShoneen Burke occupied it in 1574. It does not figure in the Annals. Richard, Earl of Clanricarde, got it in 1610. It was leased to the Lynchs, who retained it until Chas. Lynch, of Ballycurrin, died in 1897”
William R. Wilde's Loch Coirib - Its Shores and Islands
Chapter 6: Inis U Chuinn to Inis A' Ghaill and Cunga Fheichn (Cong)
This old tower-house, or defensive mansion, consists of a quadrangular ivy-mantled keep--now somewhat altered for modern purposes--sixty-four feet long on the south, thirty-nine on the west face, and forty-seven feet high; but possessing no architectural memorial by which to assign even a probable date to it; as the dressed stones are not chiselled, but punched, or what is styled "sparrowpicked"; massive defence and security having evidently been the main objects of its founders. Both it and the newer residence are most pleasingly situated on a green slope, rising from a sheltered little bay, and surrounded by a large park of well-grown timber. There is no reference to this ancient building in our histories or inquisitions; and the only legend attaching there to is, that it was built in the "ould times" by one of three brothers, the two others of whom erected those of Ballynahinsey and Moceara (possibly Mac Ceara), with which it forms a triangle. After the Milesian invasion, our bardic histories say that one of that race, named "Caicer, erected a castle at Dn Inn, in the West of Ireland." Upon the shore adjoining Ballycurrin there exists a mound, or earthen tumulus of that name, and mentioned in Keating's History of Ireland. There is, however, no mortared structure in Ireland older than the Christian Era. And he is also of opinion that Ceara, one of the artificers said to have come over at that time left his name to many localities in Connacht--such as Loch Ceara, Caiseal Ceara; and in this immediate neighbourhood, Tobar Ceara and Girrn Ceara, or Ceara's well and garden. In the old quit rent receipts Ballycurrin is called Ballycar, possibly a corruption or anglicized version of Baile Ceara. In the vicinity was found the collection of amber beads, and several bronze antiquities, now in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy.
BALLYCURRAN LYNCH'S.
Descendant of Sir Henry Lynch, first Baronet of Galway, who died in 1634, his son Maurice was transplanted to Ballynonagh in 1655. Maurice then got a lease of Ballicurran castle and 4 quarters of land on March 1679. He died in 1684 and his son Joseph got a renewal of the lease. Joseph had three sons ,Maurice who inherited Ballynonagh on his father’s death in 1721, Ignatius, a merchant in Galway, and Peter. A son of Ignatius, Joseph, succeeded to Ballycurran on his grandfather’s death, as he died young and without issue the property then went to his uncle Peter. This Peter Lynch built the mansion house in Ballycurran and was the first Lynch to actually live there, from 1728. Peter died in 1760 and his son Henry succeeded to the estate.
Henry died in 1820 and the Friars of Kilroe named their townland after him, Monthenry, so that all may remember him. He was succeeded by his son Capt. Peter Lynch who died in 1840, Peter had married Julia Lynch, a distant cousin, and had a large family, four sons and four daughters. His son Charles was his successor, he married Helena Joyce of Merview, Galway. Their only son died in infancy and Helena died in the famine year of 1847. Charles became High Sheriff of County Mayo and in 1849 he donated one acre of land and some material help for the construction of a national school in Kilroe
Bells Life in London and Sporting Chronicle
SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 1863.
ROYAL WESTERN YACHT CLUB OF IRELAND. The usual meetings of the members of this club continue to be held at their new and handsome club rooms in the Queen's Hotel, Queenstown; every ballot night the active and energetic secre- tary, Mr J. Lyon Thorne, R. N., has his time fully occupied, ana the prospects for the approaching season are most promising. The following members have been recently elected:— Charles Lynch, Esq, D. L., Ballycurrin Castle, Headford, cutter Fairy; Travers B. Wire, Esq, Stone House, Lewisham, cutter Elsie; Thomas Dawson, Esq, Maryville, Taunton, cutter Water Witch ; John Lancaster, Esq, Hindley Hall, Wigan, screw- steamer Deer- hound ; John Lear, Esq, Liverpool, cutter Plover ; James L. Swan- ton, Esq, Skibbereen, cutter Antelope; Mathew O'Connor, Esq, Drumshambo, cutter Querida ; William Harrington, Esq, Cork ; DaviJ Fulton, Esq, Belfast; Henry Stuart Burton, Esq, Carrigaholt Castle ; E. G. Seymour, Esq, Queenstown ; Captain Thomas C. Clarke, harbour master, Cork; and George C. Evans, Esq, Cork. It is with much regret that we learn the club is about to lose the services, as secretary, of Mr Thorne, who is about again to proceed on service ; by his courtesy, attention, and active business habits during his connection with it, he has gained the esteem and confidence of his brother officers and the members generally, and much regret will be experienced upon his leaving for Ports- mouth
Ross Abbey
Ross Abbey had up to 1584 an uneventful existence because when Henry VIII was in power, the Franciscans were fortunate in being under the protection of the friendly Clanrickardes, who left them undisturbed in their saintly work. In 1584, however, Elizabeth received information that the friars were still in occupation and she granted the monastery to an Englishman, who forthwith expelled the inmates and plundered it of it's library, books and other valuables. The destruction of the precious records and books is to be deeply lamented down to the present time. The "Poor Friars" were welcomed to the shelter of the humble homes of the people in Shrine Parish as they were also in Killursa, where they had been domiciled. For two years they were harboured in the locality until in 1586, Ulic, the third Earl of Clanrickarde, succeeded in purchasing the Englishman's interest and immediately reinstated them.
In 1612, the friars were reported again to the Lord Deputy, Chichester, who ordered William Daniel, Protestant Archbishop to Tuam, to arrest the community, which now consisted of only six priests and two lay?brothers. Though authorised to apprehend these holy men and demolishing their altars, the learned archbishop sent word privately to Ross that he was coming and advised them not to be there.
From Wilde's Lough Corrib 1867
Therefore, on his arrival at the deserted friary the Franciscans were safely sheltered in the houses of Shrine parish just across the Black River where they were, in effect, outside the jurisdiction of the archbishop. For fourteen years these saintly men remained dependent on the generosity of their neighbours until 1626, when the first Stuart king was then no more.
. In 1612, the friars were reported again to the Lord Deputy, Chichester, who ordered William Daniel, Protestant Archbishop to Tuam, to arrest the community, which now consisted of only six priests and two lay?brothers. Though authorised to apprehend these holy men and demolishing their altars, the learned archbishop sent word privately to Ross that he was coming and advised them not to be there. Therefore, on his arrival at the deserted friary the Franciscans were safely sheltered in the houses of Shrine parish just across the Black River where they were, in effect, outside the jurisdiction of the archbishop. For fourteen years these saintly men remained dependent on the generosity of their neighbours until 1626, when the first Stuart king was then no more.
The final flight of those holy men was brought about by the vengeful spirit of the natives of the West. The Abbey had now passed into the hands of Lord St. George of Headford, and under him enjoyed the same freedom as it had under the Clanrickardes. In 1753, however, St. George had won a lawsuit against an O'Flaherty of Iar?Chonnacht, and bent on revenge, O'Flaherty swore informations that his lordship was harbouring monks on his property and contributing directly towards their upkeep. He also added that those monks were residing in an Abbey, the tower of which could be seen from the windows of Headford Castle, which, of course, was not literally true. These allegations if proven, would mean serious trouble for St. George, and the Authorities resolved to investigate the matter fully. A commission was speedily sent to Ross with powers to imprison the friars, and orders to make a full report on he alleged misconduct of St. George. But his lordship must have had good friends in Galway, for news of the impending visit was brought secretly to him at Headford and he, in turn, passed the sad news to the friars.
The friary was promptly evacuated and neighbouring people, many of whom were Shrine parishioners, immediately began to give the buildings the appearance of a factory. They whitewashed the interior walls and ceilings, covering the many beautiful frescoes, and they installed spinning wheels and looms in the great church and refectories. On the arrival of the commissioners from Galway, the whole place gave the impression of housing a great woollen industry, and this was the report which was duly dispatched to he authorities. Therefore once more, by Divine Providence, the friars had eluded their enemies.
Ballycurrin Bay
Ballycurrin Bay is a very well known among our angling friends, having abundant if sometimes elusive brown trout, pike, perch, eel and an odd salmon. Ballycurrin stream is regarded as a fertile spawning ground for brown trout and significantly, with the work of the Inland Fishery Trust and the Headford and Corrib Angling club the number of "redds" is increasing annually. A noteworthy selection of Flora and Fauna thrive in Ballycurrin. Significant numbers of oak and beech as well as a few elm survivors and a variety of fir, pine and chestnut add to the beauty.
Wild native potentilla grow on the shoreline as well as a few rare wild?flowers such as Bee?Orchids and Gentians. Indeed, many wild flowers which have made the Burren famous, grow in the area particularly along the lakeshore and on the islands.
Foxes, badgers, hares and stoats have recently been joined by the pine?marten and the unwelcome signs of mink are being seen by the waterside and along Ballycurrin stream. As well as the usual birds some rarities such as .Kingfishers and Yellow Hammers are seen at intervals. Last May a keen angling visitor to the area saw a Peregrine Falcon flying over Ballycurrin Bay. In the 1960's and early 1970's, the bay was featured on Eamonn de Butleir's nature programme, "Amuigh Faoin Speir," on R.T.E. He filmed the hundreds of coots that congregated at the mouth of the Black River during spells of cold weather. Alas, these numbers have declined dramatically since then.
While researching his books on foxes and in particular the Legend of the Corrib King, their author, Tom McCaughren, paid a number of visits to the area.
Nowadays, Ballycurrin remains a tranquil rural townland which is becoming popular with many nationalities including Dutch, Swiss., German and American.
THE CONNAUGHT JOURNAL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1840
MARRIED.
On the 24th instant, in the parish church of Kilmain, County Mayo, by the Rev. F. Rutledge, of Bloomfield, Thomas Fair, Esq. of Fortville, to Margaret, second daughter of Captain Lynch; and afterwards at Ballycurrin Castle, the seat of her father, by the Rev. Richard Walsh, P.P. of Headford. The happy couple, accompanied by several friends, immediately after the ceremony proceeded to Fortville, where they partook of a dejuener prepared for the occasion.
SPORTING NEWS
A fine fox was shaken at Oldtore, on Thursday last, before the hounds of
Captain LYNCH of Ballycurrin Castle. Poor Reynard after a severe and long
run of about eighteen miles, over a very stiff country, at length baffled
the ardour and determination of his pursuers by taking refuge of an earth on
the banks of Lake Corrib. The day was peculiarly favourable, and immense
numbers thronged to witness the sport.
Amongst the foremost horeseman were the Messrs. LYNCHes, DALY, SKERRETT, and
CRAMPTON. During the day six feet walls were leaped by those gallant members
of the sporting community.---Tuam Herald.
THE LATE PETER LYNCH, ESQ.
It is with unaffected sorrow, we have this day, the painful duty of recording the death of Captain Peter Lynch of Ballycunin Castle, which melancholy event took place on the 5th instant.- Captain Lynch was in the 64th year of his age, and for many years a magistrate for this county, and endured a painful and prolonged illness with fortitude and resignation of a christian.- Through life he was a gentleman of the most tender and charitable feelings, one of the kindest and most indulgent of landlords, ever ready to assist the poor.- As as parent and a husband, the most sincere love and affection endeared him to his wife and family, while his loss, as a true Sportsman will be long felt in the neighbourhood in which he lived.- He is gone, it is hoped to a better world to enjoy the reward of a virtuous and pious life, deplored and sincerely regretted by his family and a wife circle of friends and relatives, who followed his remains (carried by his tenantry by his express desire) to the Abbey at Ross, where they were deposited to the family vault.
A history of Ross Errilly confirms the Lynch's (Ballycurrin) tomb was in the nave of the church. The Petersburg Lynch's had their vault outside the friary.
These Lynch's were not Irish. They were Anglo Norman
An extract from HARDIMAN'S THE HISTORY OF GALWAY 1820, READS,
Lynch.
This is one of the most ancient, and, until the middle of the seventeenth century, was one of the leading families in Galway. In the old volume of pedigrees, preserved in the Heralds office, it appears, that, ''William le Petit, came to Ireland, in 1185, with Sir Hugh de Lacy, who granted him, by his charter, Macherithirnar, (now the barony of Macherydernan, in Westmeath,) except the Logh and Town of Dysart; that they were palatine barons of Molingare, and that William le Petit, had a son, Nicholas, who was ancestor to the family of Lynch of Galway.
John de Lynch was the first settled of the name Lynch in Galway. He was married to the daughter and sole heiress of William de Mareschall, and, it is stated, that the eldest branch of the family, was called Mareschall, until the male line became extinct. During the greatest part of the 15, 16 and 17th centuries, they possessed the principal authority within the town.
Dominick Lynch Fitz John, commonly called Dominick Dubh, in 1484 solicited and procured the charter of Richard III. under which he caused his brother, Pierce, to be elected first Mayor, and was himself the second. His son Stephen, at the same time, sued out and obtained the bull of Innocent VIII. which established here that singular ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the wardenship.
Thomas Lynch Fitz Ambrose was the last catholic mayor in 1654. This is when the ancient inhabitants were dispossessed by Cromwell. During a period of 169 years, 84 members of this family, were mayors of Galway. The eldest line of the Lynches from which the younger branches sprung, was distinguished by the appelation of Cranmore, which means, the great tree or stock; and the house of Newcastle, descended from Emon-a-Tuane, who lived in 1342, claimed this distinction.
The present lineal descendants of this family, are, the Count Lynch late Mayor of Bourdeaux, who so eminently distinguished himself in the cause of the royal family of France, against Buonaparte. Additionally, his relative, John Lynch Alexander, Esq. of Galway.
The families of Barna, Cartron, Clough, Drimcong, Lavally, Lydican, Moycullen, Rathglass, and Shannonbridge, in County Galway, Duras in County Clare, and Ballycurren, Castlecarra or Balla, Clogher and Partry in County Mayo, are now the principal of the name.
the Galway Blazers connection,(Possibly Charles lynch of Ballycurrin or Charles lynch of Petersburg. Also ref to Patrick Lynch who was married to Charles Lynch's sister Alicia)
homepage.eircom.net/~oreganathenry/oreganathenry/lambertb...
Local history from the Act of Union to the Famine .
27 October 1843 (Connaught Ranger)
“Loyal repeal association . We held in Shruel on yesterday the Mayo arbritation court, I had the honor of presiding and was associated with Mr. Hunt of Riverview and Mr. Lynch of Ballycurren castle,1st cousin of Charles, who, in the absence of that gentleman, was unanimously selected by the people, and whose acting, though not yet published, we consider quite in conformity with the declaration made by the liberator in his speeches explanatory of the arbritation system…..however, on yesterday, so perfectly satisfied were the people that one man,who claimed a balance of rent for grazing, said (when we judged he had not established his claim) that so confident was he in the justice of our decision, that if we ruled that he was not entitled to the money he had already received he would restore it on the spot.We attend next Wednesday in Kilmaine, next Thursday in Shruel again and next Saturday in Cong. Mr. Lynch of Ballycurren Castle is nominated by the clergy and the Wardens as a fit person for the neighbouring district.”
R.D. Browne
A report in the Freemans Journal 15 October 1845 clearly shows that Charles Lynch of Ballycurrin was an ardent supporter of Daniel O’Connell and toasted “the Liberator” when he visited Mayo in 1845.
See www.newspapers.com/newspage/61104847/
when Ballycurrin burnt down in 1914 a large painting of Daniel O'Connell was removed with the other contents.
Official catalogue of the great industrial exhibition: (in connection with the Royal Dublin Society), 1853 (1853)
414 Lynch, C. Ballycurrin Castle, Headford, co.
Galway, Inv. — Model paddle wheel, the floats enter-
ing and emerging vertically, without vibration.
Headford (Co. Galway) Mr Charles Lynch, D.L. J.P. who has for several years
endeavouring to revive National pastimes in his locality is getting up a club
composed of his tenantry and others who wish to join in the parish of
Shrule. He has given the free use of grounds adjoining Ballycurran Castle for
the players and spectators. We cannot too earnestly comment the patriotic
conduct of Mr Lynch who has given free access to his lawn to the Gaelic
football players of his parish and who has undertaken in person the duty of
organising the club and instructing the players.
United Ireland, 24 July, 1886
LYNCH GENEALOGY FOR BALLYCURRIN CASTLE.
JOSEPH LYNCH BALLYNONAGH D.1721. CHILDREN.
---------MAURICE LYNCH D.1747.
---------PETER LYNCH D.1760.
---------IGNATIUS LYNCH.
---------ELLEN LYNCH.
PETER LYNCH’S CHILDREN.
-----------HENRY LYNCH D.1820. HIGH SHERRIFF 1772.
-----------JOHN LYNCH MOUNTROSS D. CIRCA 1815.
-----------THOMAS LYNCH HEADFORD D.?
----------- PETER LYNCH
-----------ANASTAS (ANASTASIA) LYNCH.
---------- JOANE LYNCH.
---------- MARY LYNCH.
HENRY LYNCH AND MARGARET BROWNE’S CHILDREN.
---------CAPT. PETER LYNCH BALLYCURRIN D.1840.
---------CATHERINE MARGARET.
---------EDWARD. MARRIED MARY O'SULLIVAN DAUGHTER OF DENIS O'SULLIVAN BEAR OF INISHMICATEER ISLAND LOUGH CORRIB. TWO DAUGHTERS MARGARET AND BRIDGET. AN UNNAMED SON IS ALSO MENTIONED IN 1843. WAS EDWARD OF THE BALLYCURRIN LYNCH'S OR THE PETERSBURG LYNCH'S? I AM NOT SURE! HE WAS ONLY REFERRED TO AS CHARLES LYNCH'S UNCLE.
CAPT. PETER LYNCH’S CHILDREN.
------- -HENRY D.1825 UNMARRIED NO ISSUE.
-------- MARGARET FAIR D.1880
---------CHARLES LYNCH D.1897. CHILD DIED IN INFANCY
-------- ROBERT LYNCH D.1840. UNMARRIED NO ISSUE
--------ARTHUR LYNCH D. 1842. UNMARRIED NO ISSUE
--------SOPHIA LYNCH D.1852.
--------ALICIA LYNCH D.1851.
--------CATHERINE D.1876. MARRIED MYLES MCDONNELL OF CARNACON.(Youngest son of Myles McDonnell of Doo castle.)
(CHARLES LYNCH'S SON DIED IN INFANCY. HE HAD NO OTHER CHILDREN.
CHARLES LYNCH WAS THE LAST LYNCH TO LIVE AT BALLYCURRIN.)
CHILDREN OF ALICIA LYNCH (HUSBAND PATRICK HENRY LYNCH OF CLOGHER)
--------HENRY MICHAEL LYNCH NEWGROVE HOUSE, NEWGROVE AVE. SANDYMOUNT.
--------MARY LIVING 1898
------- CAPT. PETER JOSEPH LYNCH D.1878 AGE 43 AT MILLMOUNT LOUGHREA.
--------JULIA LYNCH BALLINROBE NUN FOUNDER OF CONVENTS IN AMERICA.
PATRICK HENRY LYNCH WAS REPUTED TO BE A MILLIONAIRE AND A “SUNDAY MAN”
Earlier Lynch's include Stephen Lynch FitzArthur (D.1579) of Doughiska (now Merlin Park) and his Grandson SIR HENRY LYNCH of Galway 1ST BARONET. D. FEB 1634
MORE DETAILS ABOUT BALLYCURRIN / BALLYCURRAN AT www.lawrencetown.com/history/longago.htm
A fragment of the 1821 census of the Ballycurrin home of the 11 year old, Charles Lynch There he lived with his parents, Peter and Julia Lynch, three brothers, three sisters, three relatives, a cook, a groom, a house maid, a kitchen maid, a laundry maid, a pantry boy, a servant and a tutor (the 21 year old, Thomas Fallon). His mother, Julia, was the granddaughter of Sir Peter Lynch of Petersburgh house, Clonbur, Co Galway.
The Headford Lynch’s.
Thomas Lynch of Headford was the 3rd son of Peter Lynch of Ballycurran.
He had 16 children very few survived. The following are the known survivors.
Louisa married (1840) Dr. James P. Browne of Claran house parish of Killursa. They lived Chicago. She died circa 1876. Robert Bloss Lynch “The Fenian” died Washington 1884 after an eventful life. Peter his brother and his wife Clarissa lived in Milwaukee and was there from 1850 - 1880. ( Peters children were Robert b. 1843. Henry C. Lynch born 1847. Mary b. 1849. Louisa b. 1853 and Walter b. 1859). Maria Anne was living in Chicago with Mrs Burke her sister. She was still living in 1891 (She was the last of the Headford Lynch’s). Henry first moved to Manchester England and then to St Louis and then probably to New York. His children were Mary, born 1851 Manchester died N.Y. Thomas born Manchester in 1855 and Louisa Ann B. 1855 Manchester emigrated to N.Y. Circa 1873. Mary married a man called John Martin.
(Robery Bloss Lynch spent many years in Milwaukee before living in Chicago and Washington) He was first educated with his cousin in his Uncles house. His Uncle was Anthony Bowes Daly Esq. of Dalysfort Cahernaheeny Headford Co Galway)
Our connection with the Lynch's of Ballycurrin is through John Lynch of Ballycurran and later Mount Ross and his youngest son Thomas J. Lynch who died in Kilkee 1897
St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk
Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a Mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a Synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.
The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church.
As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.
No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology - a problem that, to some extent, the Church of England has never entirely solved.
Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.
With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?
This may seem like a digression, but I hope it will become apparent why I've raised it. For similar questions have been asked throughout the history of Christianity.
So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. Here we are, roughly halfway between Bury and Stowmarket - like nearby Woolpit, this must once have been a more important place than it is today, and perhaps St Ethelbert gives us evidence of that.
The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding me rather of neighbouring Rougham, although this is a small church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.
Although not comparable with Woolpit, the porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. If both are locked, then there is a keyholder, because the people of this parish really want you to see inside this church. And it is as well that they do, for, if you didn't know already, this is one of the most fascinating interiors in the county.
In a way, it is rather good to enter it from the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel appears rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.
Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs, although I don't know enough about furniture to be sure if this is the case (or about wigs, for that matter). The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors.
The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.
The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of what existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Reseach in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. THere is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.
The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.
Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have included a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.
Secondy came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions.
Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic - many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas - the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues, for example. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provide a local site for discussion and exemplification.
To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.
So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.
Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara is a mythical saint, relegated to non-league status in recent years by the Catholic Church, who nevertheless was very popular in early medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend; her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.
Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.
In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the left appears to be winged, while the figure on the right is barefoot, and may be carrying a beam or scales. The Archangel St Michael is often shown weighing souls in doom paintings, but I do not think this is part of a doom (again, it would be exceptional for this to appear over a south door) and I do not think it is St Michael.
I think that the figure on the left is probably Gabriel, and this is part of a later Annunciation painting overlapping an earlier image, the barefoot man. So who is he? Another suggestion is that it is St John the Baptist, as he is often shown barefoot. But what if the beam of the 'weighing scales' is actually part of a yoke? The supporting beam appears to continue over the figure's right shoulder, but the left side of his body is lost to us.
Could it be that it is not a Saint at all, but some representation of an agricultural worker? Perhaps it is part of a larger image (and we should not forget that the surviving paintings are a small part of what must have been there before). Perhaps it is even part of a hagiography - think of the wheel of the bullock cart in the St Edmund sequence at Thornham Parva, interpreted for many years as St Catherine's wheel. However, I wonder if it might even be a lost image of that most circumscribed of East Anglian saints, Walstan. He is carrying a scythe on the wall a few miles off at Cavenham - could this be him here? Whatever, it is likely to be part of a hagiographical sequence which was later replaced by a Life of Christ sequence, which usually ran from west to east along the south wall. This would also explain the location of what might be part of an Annunciation scene.
The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?
Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestory of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust.
Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century Calvinistic prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this cathecetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.
The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetic tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants; the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.
The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. It rises from the medieval perception that Christ was a working man, a carpenter, and it symbolises the dignity of labour and of craftsmanship.
I think it is extremely unlikely that it shows symbols of things which shouldn't be done on a Sunday, although Anne Marshall's Painted Churches site contains an interesting argument to the contrary.
Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.
At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.
The glass alone is worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of three ranges: the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle, and a heavily restored but nonetheless fascinating sequence of the life of Christ in the west window. This bears close attention, for the fragments set into the restored work include several fascinating details, including the punctured feet of Christ ascending to heaven in a cloud of glory, and a Harrowing of Hell including the crushing of a fallen angel.
In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.
The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. A rather more sober school of thought argues that it is a fuller's club, used for dying clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.
Unfortunately, this is not convincing. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary.
What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.
This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less, and it really is a fuller's club. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.
If the windows and wallpaintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.
At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is a great story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened; on account of the missing key, it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true: Dowsing never visited Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here.
Or, more precisely they aren't - both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.
But there are lifesize photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.
In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.
And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it; we are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.
Postscript: I wrote the above in 2000, adapting it in 2003 and 2006. I have left the structure of the narrative as it was when I made those early visits. I have corrected some confusion in the description of the glass, a consequence of my general inability to tell my left from my right. I have also taken the opportunity to go through the text and make myself sound slightly less pompous.
One of the delights of Hessett is that there really are genuine mysteries about some of the wall paintings and glass. Digital enhancement has added to these mysteries rather than solving them. In addition, one thing I have learned as I get older, and perhaps a little bit wiser, is that there really are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our early 21st century philosophy. If this has led to an unravelling of the certainties previously offered, then I can only plead that this is another excuse to go back soon.
For thousands of years people have been drawn to ‘the valley of the two lakes‘ for its spectacular scenery, rich history, archaeology and abundant wildlife. Glendalough is a remarkable place that will still your mind, inspire your heart and fill your soul.
...understanding and respecting our ancestory................
These masks were originally created by us for our Capoeira opening ceremony performance called ROOTS at the Førde International Folkmusic Festival in Norway last year. The presentation was a great success as were these masks, which are now being incorporated with AfroBreak's latest dance production called Tribal Union.
Looking south across a valley off of the B8073 road near Dervaig, Isle of Mull, Scotland, 18 October 2013.
St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk
Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a Mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a Synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.
The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church.
As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.
No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology - a problem that, to some extent, the Church of England has never entirely solved.
Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.
With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?
This may seem like a digression, but I hope it will become apparent why I've raised it. For similar questions have been asked throughout the history of Christianity.
So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. Here we are, roughly halfway between Bury and Stowmarket - like nearby Woolpit, this must once have been a more important place than it is today, and perhaps St Ethelbert gives us evidence of that.
The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding me rather of neighbouring Rougham, although this is a small church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.
Although not comparable with Woolpit, the porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. If both are locked, then there is a keyholder, because the people of this parish really want you to see inside this church. And it is as well that they do, for, if you didn't know already, this is one of the most fascinating interiors in the county.
In a way, it is rather good to enter it from the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel appears rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.
Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs, although I don't know enough about furniture to be sure if this is the case (or about wigs, for that matter). The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors.
The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.
The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of what existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Reseach in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. THere is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.
The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.
Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have included a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.
Secondy came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions.
Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic - many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas - the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues, for example. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provide a local site for discussion and exemplification.
To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.
So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.
Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara is a mythical saint, relegated to non-league status in recent years by the Catholic Church, who nevertheless was very popular in early medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend; her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.
Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.
In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the left appears to be winged, while the figure on the right is barefoot, and may be carrying a beam or scales. The Archangel St Michael is often shown weighing souls in doom paintings, but I do not think this is part of a doom (again, it would be exceptional for this to appear over a south door) and I do not think it is St Michael.
I think that the figure on the left is probably Gabriel, and this is part of a later Annunciation painting overlapping an earlier image, the barefoot man. So who is he? Another suggestion is that it is St John the Baptist, as he is often shown barefoot. But what if the beam of the 'weighing scales' is actually part of a yoke? The supporting beam appears to continue over the figure's right shoulder, but the left side of his body is lost to us.
Could it be that it is not a Saint at all, but some representation of an agricultural worker? Perhaps it is part of a larger image (and we should not forget that the surviving paintings are a small part of what must have been there before). Perhaps it is even part of a hagiography - think of the wheel of the bullock cart in the St Edmund sequence at Thornham Parva, interpreted for many years as St Catherine's wheel. However, I wonder if it might even be a lost image of that most circumscribed of East Anglian saints, Walstan. He is carrying a scythe on the wall a few miles off at Cavenham - could this be him here? Whatever, it is likely to be part of a hagiographical sequence which was later replaced by a Life of Christ sequence, which usually ran from west to east along the south wall. This would also explain the location of what might be part of an Annunciation scene.
The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?
Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestory of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust.
Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century Calvinistic prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this cathecetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.
The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetic tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants; the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.
The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. It rises from the medieval perception that Christ was a working man, a carpenter, and it symbolises the dignity of labour and of craftsmanship.
I think it is extremely unlikely that it shows symbols of things which shouldn't be done on a Sunday, although Anne Marshall's Painted Churches site contains an interesting argument to the contrary.
Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.
At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.
The glass alone is worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of three ranges: the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle, and a heavily restored but nonetheless fascinating sequence of the life of Christ in the west window. This bears close attention, for the fragments set into the restored work include several fascinating details, including the punctured feet of Christ ascending to heaven in a cloud of glory, and a Harrowing of Hell including the crushing of a fallen angel.
In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.
The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. A rather more sober school of thought argues that it is a fuller's club, used for dying clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.
Unfortunately, this is not convincing. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary.
What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.
This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less, and it really is a fuller's club. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.
If the windows and wallpaintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.
At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is a great story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened; on account of the missing key, it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true: Dowsing never visited Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here.
Or, more precisely they aren't - both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.
But there are lifesize photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.
In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.
And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it; we are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.
Postscript: I wrote the above in 2000, adapting it in 2003 and 2006. I have left the structure of the narrative as it was when I made those early visits. I have corrected some confusion in the description of the glass, a consequence of my general inability to tell my left from my right. I have also taken the opportunity to go through the text and make myself sound slightly less pompous.
One of the delights of Hessett is that there really are genuine mysteries about some of the wall paintings and glass. Digital enhancement has added to these mysteries rather than solving them. In addition, one thing I have learned as I get older, and perhaps a little bit wiser, is that there really are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our early 21st century philosophy. If this has led to an unravelling of the certainties previously offered, then I can only plead that this is another excuse to go back soon.
More light & shade. Normanton mpd was on the old Midland main line so most of its allocation was of former LMS ancestory as well as austerities. However, in lts latter years it came under the north-east area of BR, being numbered 55E in 1957 and it gained an allocation of Q6 0-8-0s. 63397 is seen sunbathing surrounded by Ivatt Class 4 moguls.
A little about Melody:
Melody is a merpuki who lives on Cockle Cove Beach. I don't know how much you know about merpukis, but the ones I've met have magical 'talents'. This is the result of their ancestory which dates way back to the days when sprites and mermaids married. Merpukis are their offspring.
Can you guess what Melody's 'magical talent' is? It's singing of course! However, although she was born with a beautiful voice, Melody's parents were both talented sea-weed artisans, and so she had no one to help her to train her voice. As a result she can sometimes sing out of tune. This often results in all sorts of magical-mishaps.
I hope to explain this all better in a photostory soon :)
my impression of jkonig (one of them anyway)
parting from my main muse late tuesday afternoon, the inimitable parking garage, this solitary sentry flashed before my eyes with a much needed burst of color. it was tilted, as if unsure of which direction it would travel next. it was all proud-like, with its military-style uniform chains and hardhat.
it reminded me sometimes of when you feel like yer searchin' for something, not quite sure what it is. when you look around, you see a world largely unlike you, much like this grass around the sentry. looking further and deeper, you spot something in the distance. it has the same color. it might be a little bit different from you, but it's more like you than not.
you know that feeling when you finally sense you found a place or people with which or whom you belong, can be comfortable around, and can share yourself, while others share back with you?
yeah. that.
that's when I know I've found a kindred spirit.
(happy birthday Jen) ok? ok
Loch Killin, from the extreme north end looking towards the south. Scotland, 16 October 2013. The wind was blowing in gusts and rain had started to fall. We had just packed everything into the car when we looked back and saw light playing on the waters of the loch. A mad scamble to unpack tripods and cameras ensued.
The D'Bhuyaa Saaj is musical group formed by Trinidadians of Indian descent. It's believed they are the 6th or 7th generation there. Their style of music and dance called the "Chutney and Soca" is a lively combination of Indian and Calypso rhythms. Their lyrics include Bhojpuri and Trinidadian English. They also mix their musical instruments using both the Dholak and Steel pan!! One of their instruments -- the Dhantaal which is played sitting, is an old Indian instrument, that has survived in the Carribean -- but is nearly unheard of now in the northern plains of India where it originated.
Sometime in the 1930s, English powerhouse foundry Stephenson Blake started including this family tree diagram at the beginning of their specimen catalogs. It’s a useful thing because their lineage goes way back to 15th-century Caxton and involves gobs of foundry mergers and name changes, including Caslon, Fry, Thorne, Thorowgood, Besely, Reed, and Fox. Not included here is the absorption of their last major competition in the UK, Miller & Richard, which closed in 1952.
This chart is included, unchanged, in SB’s 1969 catalog.
Edinburgh Castle from North Castle Street. Prominent in the photo is the back of the monument to Reverand Thomas Chalmers. It stands in the middle of of North Castle Street and George Street. Beyond the monument the street name changes to Castle Street. Edinburgh, Scotland, 8 October 2013.
Highland Cattle are a hardy bread adapted to the harsh conditions of the Scottish highlands. (Scottish Gaelic: Bò Ghàidhealach) (Scots: kyloe). Image taken along route B8073 near Norman's Ruh on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, 18 October 2013.
Capital:
Stonewald, founded by Lenard of Roawia himself, is a large city and holds the throne to High Lord Godfrey in Lenards Keep. It has a rather big port mainly to give room to all the fishing boats that roam Everlyns Tears Lake. Laid in the centre it holds a strategic point as a gateway to all corners of Lenfald.
Great cities:
Ainesford, a prosperous town which has gained wealth through its large market, lumbermills and convenient placing almost exactly on the border of Lenfald and Loreos. It is the easiest way to cross the Aines River
Strongborough, is a young city but strong and heavily fortified. It has a rich history and holds one of the most honorable houses in Lenfald. It tracks its lineage back to Vyctor Strong a bastard son of a Lenfel Lady and unknown Garheim Lord. Because he was a bastard he chose to live in exile and gathered a following in the Dragon Scale Mountain Range and eventually built a fortress, later called the Strong Borough, in the Wolfs Fang Pass. The Wolfs Fang pass is essential for passing through the mountains as holds the passage to the Eagles Eye Valley. Strongborough still grants passage to the Valley and has most of its city built on the fertile lands of the Valley itself.
Crakenhaven, a grand port built on the largest islands of the Merkorliss Isles: Norholm. The isles of Merkorliss take their name from the estranged son of Lenard who wanted a kingdom of his own and decided he would expand his realm from the island he conquered with a small army. Not really a strong feat, because simple, primitive tribes used to live on these Islands. After his coming he civilized the tribes and built strong keeps and castles for his men. The house of Merkorliss laid their equivalent of a sword, a trident, at the feet of the King of Lenfald, when he showed up with the entire fleet to lay the city of Crakenhaven to waste. The big market square still holds a statue of the King of Lenfald with the trident of the house of Merkorliss at his feet.
Smaller cities:
Falkenborg, rival city of Ugleheim.
Dragonsmouth, city at the entrance of the Dragon Scale Mountain Range, called so because of the large gate that resembles the grotesque mouth of a Dragon.
Sioc Dubh (Black Frost), port in the north, wealthy town that is the gateway to the mainland for the Merkoliss Isles, named by the tribes that live in the Airgid Corónaigh .
Standfast, the last city of the isles of Merkorliss that was taken by the King, located on Refuge the smaller island of the Merkorliss Isles.
Isil Oro (Moon Rise),port to the south of the Frostpeaks, old Elven port abandoned when the Age of Men began, named so because the port is crescent shaped.
Bladefall, Where it is said the first battle between the Garhim en Lenfel was fought. Its port is frequently visited by Garhim ships.
Durrough, a harbor city which held the last Loreesi outpost in Lenfald. It has been changing factions since long before the Kingdom of Roawia was founded
Elavia/Arragnos, a ruined city in the Strath Armen. It is believed that Huron the Despoiler was born in this city when it was still a village, but he made it into a prosperous town. After Magic was abolished from Roawia and Huron started his descent towards evil it kept growing until a group of Outlaws, thought to be followers of Huron burned the whole city to the ground. It is believed to be haunted and is given the name Arragnos, Dawn in Ashes.
Landmarks:
Everlyns Tears lake, named after Lady Everlyns lost her husband on the banks of the lake defending them from Thirian raiders in the first Era.
Dragon Scale Mountain Range, it is said that the first dragon found his last resting place here and that his scales make up the Mountains.
Armendahls Mountains, realm of Armendahl the Great who expanded his territory from his fortress on Armendahls Peak and held a firm grip on the lands of Lenfald at the end of the first Era and in the beginning of the second Era, before Roawan the Conqueror stood up and united the lands of Roawia.
Airgid Corónaigh, mountains in the north a dangerous and harsh place, only the most hardened of people reside here. It is said that the Garhim and the tribes of the Airgid Corónaigh share ancestory.
Iolar Aill (Eagle Cliff), cliffs that make the shoreline in the north. It is said that this is the last place they saw the Eagle fly before he took off to the Realms Beyond the Sea. The Eagle was the favorite form of Lorthoric, highest of the Elder Gods.
Wandering Woods, forests that hold magical creatures, such as Elves, centaurs, trolls and some say even Dragons. People avoid this part of the woods and therefore no-one knows what truly lives in this dark place.
Strath Armen, the valley to the south of Armendahls Mountains, birthplace of Armendahl the Great and the place where he started his reign over Lenfald.
Lenness, ‘the nose of Lenfald’, the most western cape of Lenfald.
Nan Deorc, the valley that leads from Sioc Dubh through the Airgid Corónaigh.
Aines, the river that functions as a natural border between Loreos and Lenfald, named after the daughter of Lenard, founder of Lenfald. Named after maiden Aines, daughter of Lenard, founder of Lenfald. It is said she used to cross the river at that exact point often to visit her lover who was of Loreosi descent. The river is now often referred to as the Fork, or Aines Fork, a play on the city name and the shape of the river itself.
Isax, the street between the Merkorliss Isles and the mainland of Lenfald.
Fyrla, river that runs from the Dragonscale Mountain Range across the border to Garheim. It is believed that in the beginning of time Godess Fyrla created this river as an escape from her husband Dragor, creator of Dragons, when she discovered he created creatures that could breath fire, her only weakness. She escaped to what is now known as Garheim and created the harsh climate, so that the Dragons could not follow her.
Issala, river that runs from the Airgid Corónaigh to Everlyns Tears. Meaning Icy river in Old Lenfel, the waters of the Issala are always refreshingly cool, even in the warmest of seasons.
Lománsruth, river that runs from Everlyns Tears to the Aines, its name meaning a stream for logs, it is the most important route for timber to the lumbermills in Ainesford.
Dragansruth, river that runs from the Dragonscale Mountains to the Aines, literally meaning Dragon Stream, it runs to a series of hot springs in the Dragonscale mountains which means it has a strong sulfur smell, which gives it the illusion it is on fire.
If you add cities please do it in the comments, so It won't get to crowdy in the map.
While driving back to London, we were looking for a place to stay that would give us a reasonable drive in to London the following day. We decided on Yeovil. Just as we were approaching Yeovil we passed the Montacute turn off. The name was familiar to me so when we arrived at our accommodation I looked up Montacute and realised that my six times great grandfather was a vicar in Montacute. We went back that night for a look. I found two possible churches. The next day we visited St Catherines and found a plaque on the wall. His name was William Langdon and he was the vicar for 36 years (8th Feb 1790 - 11 Jan 1826).
Looking across Loch Tuath towards the the island of Ulva. Panorama from two images. Taken from just off route B8073 between Burg and Tostarie on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, 18 October 2013
St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk
Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a Mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a Synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.
The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church.
As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.
No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology - a problem that, to some extent, the Church of England has never entirely solved.
Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.
With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?
This may seem like a digression, but I hope it will become apparent why I've raised it. For similar questions have been asked throughout the history of Christianity.
So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. Here we are, roughly halfway between Bury and Stowmarket - like nearby Woolpit, this must once have been a more important place than it is today, and perhaps St Ethelbert gives us evidence of that.
The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding me rather of neighbouring Rougham, although this is a small church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.
Although not comparable with Woolpit, the porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. If both are locked, then there is a keyholder, because the people of this parish really want you to see inside this church. And it is as well that they do, for, if you didn't know already, this is one of the most fascinating interiors in the county.
In a way, it is rather good to enter it from the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel appears rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.
Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs, although I don't know enough about furniture to be sure if this is the case (or about wigs, for that matter). The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors.
The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.
The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of what existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Reseach in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. THere is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.
The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.
Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have included a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.
Secondy came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions.
Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic - many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas - the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues, for example. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provide a local site for discussion and exemplification.
To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.
So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.
Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara is a mythical saint, relegated to non-league status in recent years by the Catholic Church, who nevertheless was very popular in early medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend; her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.
Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.
In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the left appears to be winged, while the figure on the right is barefoot, and may be carrying a beam or scales. The Archangel St Michael is often shown weighing souls in doom paintings, but I do not think this is part of a doom (again, it would be exceptional for this to appear over a south door) and I do not think it is St Michael.
I think that the figure on the left is probably Gabriel, and this is part of a later Annunciation painting overlapping an earlier image, the barefoot man. So who is he? Another suggestion is that it is St John the Baptist, as he is often shown barefoot. But what if the beam of the 'weighing scales' is actually part of a yoke? The supporting beam appears to continue over the figure's right shoulder, but the left side of his body is lost to us.
Could it be that it is not a Saint at all, but some representation of an agricultural worker? Perhaps it is part of a larger image (and we should not forget that the surviving paintings are a small part of what must have been there before). Perhaps it is even part of a hagiography - think of the wheel of the bullock cart in the St Edmund sequence at Thornham Parva, interpreted for many years as St Catherine's wheel. However, I wonder if it might even be a lost image of that most circumscribed of East Anglian saints, Walstan. He is carrying a scythe on the wall a few miles off at Cavenham - could this be him here? Whatever, it is likely to be part of a hagiographical sequence which was later replaced by a Life of Christ sequence, which usually ran from west to east along the south wall. This would also explain the location of what might be part of an Annunciation scene.
The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?
Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestory of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust.
Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century Calvinistic prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this cathecetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.
The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetic tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants; the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.
The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. It rises from the medieval perception that Christ was a working man, a carpenter, and it symbolises the dignity of labour and of craftsmanship.
I think it is extremely unlikely that it shows symbols of things which shouldn't be done on a Sunday, although Anne Marshall's Painted Churches site contains an interesting argument to the contrary.
Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.
At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.
The glass alone is worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of three ranges: the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle, and a heavily restored but nonetheless fascinating sequence of the life of Christ in the west window. This bears close attention, for the fragments set into the restored work include several fascinating details, including the punctured feet of Christ ascending to heaven in a cloud of glory, and a Harrowing of Hell including the crushing of a fallen angel.
In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.
The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. A rather more sober school of thought argues that it is a fuller's club, used for dying clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.
Unfortunately, this is not convincing. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary.
What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.
This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less, and it really is a fuller's club. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.
If the windows and wallpaintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.
At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is a great story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened; on account of the missing key, it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true: Dowsing never visited Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here.
Or, more precisely they aren't - both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.
But there are lifesize photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.
In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.
And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it; we are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.
Postscript: I wrote the above in 2000, adapting it in 2003 and 2006. I have left the structure of the narrative as it was when I made those early visits. I have corrected some confusion in the description of the glass, a consequence of my general inability to tell my left from my right. I have also taken the opportunity to go through the text and make myself sound slightly less pompous.
One of the delights of Hessett is that there really are genuine mysteries about some of the wall paintings and glass. Digital enhancement has added to these mysteries rather than solving them. In addition, one thing I have learned as I get older, and perhaps a little bit wiser, is that there really are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our early 21st century philosophy. If this has led to an unravelling of the certainties previously offered, then I can only plead that this is another excuse to go back soon.
Western Isles Hotel, off Back Brae and perched on a small hill overlooking Tobermory's harbour and the Sound of Mull. Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland, 18 October 2013.
Who knew in Mexico we'd gain a love for Lebanese food? Mexico has a very large population of people of Lebanese heritage. They brought the cuisine & culture to Mexico with them in the later part of the 1800's through the 1920's. We have many friends in Mexico who have Lebanese heritage. As many as 400,000 people in Mexico claim this ancestory.