Normanton Church

Normanton Church

St Matthew's Church sits beside Rutland Water in Rutland, England. The church was saved from being lost to the water when the area was flooded as a reservoir. It is a Grade II listed building and is now de-consecrated. It dates from 1826 and was built in classical style. Originally it was the private chapel for the Normanton Estate.

Prints for sale

Prints now for sale

Today I finally set up an account at etsy in order to make some of my photographs available for purchase. The first listing is Foggy Graveyard and can be found using the link below.

etsy.com/shop/ShereeNicholsonPhoto

Essentially, I am open to listing for sale any photo's upon request, but I will be listing more in the coming days.

I currently offer three sizes 6x4, 5x7 and 8x10, which are supplied matted in white surrounds, ready for framing in frames of, 8x6, 9x7 and 12x10.

Old Doorway

Old Doorway

An old doorway from St Nicolas's Church, Lockington, Leicestershire, England. This is possibly the 12th Century door, which is one of the earliest remaining features. It definitely has the right shaping to be as old as that. 

Lockington Church

Lockington Church

Here is the wonkiest church window that I have ever seen and it belongs to the Church os St Nicholas. The church is in the village of Lockington, Leicestershire, England.
It is a Grade I listed building, which dates mostly from the 13th Century, but features a doorway from the 1200's.

Church Detail

Church Detail

This is a detail from St Winifred's Church, Kingston On Soar, Nottinghamshire, England. A church has been on the site from around 1171. Originally it was called St Wilfred's, but the church has undergone many changes over time. Little is left of the church that was completed in 1538 by the Babbington family. Alterations were made in 1832 and when the eldest son of Baron Belper died in 1898, the church was rebuilt by his father in his memory. The church reopened in 1900 as St Winifred's.

Thomas Berridge

Thomas Berridge

This is a stone found in the churchyard of St Winifreds Church, Kingston on Soar, Nottinghamshire, England.

Here

Lie the Remains of

Thomas Berridge

Who departed this Life

May 31 1777

Aged 77 Years

This stone was fixed here

At the sole Expense of

Mary his last Wife

Interesting footnote on this one, I don't remember seeing anything quite like that before and it makes you wonder if Mary was trying to make a point to someone, or was it a social display of their/her wealth. 

Not a lot of symbolism at work on this one, although the upper corners appear to have a torch like carving. An upright flaming torch is symbolic of life, and Thomas had a long one at 77 years old.

Memento Mori

Memento Mori

I found this stone in the churchyard of the Baptist Church in Kegworth, Leicestershire, England. I love these early skull carvings. The Memento Mori inscription means "remember death".

There are some good examples of the use of symbols on this stones. The crossed thigh bones can appear with or without a skull, but are representative of mortality. The skull and accompanying bones are believed to be what is needed for resurrection. 

Here is the stone in full. On the shoulders we can see draped urns. Urns are representative of the soul and when draped form a classical representation of grief or mourning.

The inscription reads:

Beneath this stone

Lie the earthly Remains of

Richard Crane     Sarah

Who departed        Wife of

This mortal Life         Richard Crane

February 25th 1818       Who died July 27th

                          1846

St Andrew's Doorway

St Andrew's Doorway 

A doorway from the Church of St Andrew's in Kegworth, Leicestershire, England. This church has had little alteration from it's 14th Century rebuild. You can see that some restoration has taken place on the arch, but otherwise, this could well be mostly 14th Century in date.

St Andrew's Kegworth

St Andrew's, Kegworth

St Andrews is the parish Church for the village of Kegworth, Leicestershire, England. The earliest remaining part is the lower levels of the tower, which are Norman in date. The rest was rebuilt in the late 1300's. Where most medieval churches have been added to and altered over time, this one has remained relatively unchanged since the late 1300's.

Face Detail

Face Detail

This is a face detail from the Church of St Mary, Sileby, Leicestershire, England. This church is well decorated with faces, Grotesques and Gargoyles.

St Mary's Doorway

St Mary's

A small door from St Mary's Church, Sileby, Leicestershire, England.

Door handle details

Door handle details

The door handle details of St Mary's Church, Sileby, Leicestershire, England. St Mary's is a Grade II listed church dating from around the 13th Century.

Edward and George

Edward and George

Nestled behind the headstone of their parents lies the stone for Edward Junior and his brother George. Found in the churchyard of St Mary's,Sileby, Leicestershire, England.

Here lieth the bodyes

Of Two Children of 

Edward & Mary Barradell

Edward died May the 2nd

1715 George died October

The 11th 1723

Thomas Barradell

Thomas Barradell

More Barradells of Sileby, Leicestershire, England. 

Here Lieth the body of Thomas

Barradell who was Clark 

Of This parich 35 years

Who Departed this life

November the 3rd in the 63rd

Year of his Age 1706

As you see me

So you may bee

Interesting to see that Thomas was Clark of the Parish, and Edward who dies in 1769 was the Church Sexton. The Barradells appear to have strong links to their Church and community.

Edward and Mary Baradell

Edward and Mary

This beautiful stone was found in the churchyard of St Mary's church in the village of Sileby in Leicestershire, England.
I really liked the carving on this one and the style of he/she died is not often seen. The epitaph below is particularly touching and reveals that Edward was the church Sexton. Sextons were usually in charge of building and churchyard maintenance. In some instances, a Sexton can be identified in the carving of the tools of his trade on the headstone. The Sexton would be responsible for the digging of graves.

Here

Lie interred the bodies of

Edward Baradell

And Mary his wife

Viz.

He dy'd March 15th 1759 Aged 74

She dy'd May 30th 1759 Aged 75

For fifty two revolving years

Devoutly he attended pray'rs

With mellow voice and solemn knell

He sung the psalms and toll'd the bell

But cruel death spoil'd his last stave

And sent the Sexton to his grave

And his dear wife loving and kind

Stay'd but a little while behind

St James the Great

St James the Great

St James the Great church, Birstall, Leicester, England, is a Grade II listed church which has medieval origins, and was heavily restored in the 1860's. 
There were many nice examples of slate headstones in the churchyard, the oldest I found was dated to 1680.

John and Mary Pole

John and Mary Pole

Here Lyeth the

Bodyes of John

Pole & Mary 
His wife who

Hath lived in 

Wedlock about

29 years and 

Were both buryed

In this grave the

26th Spetember

Anno Domi 1680

From the churchyard of St James the Great, in Birstall, Leicester, England.

Rebeccah

Rebeccah

Here Lieth

Interr'd the body of

Rebeccah, the dau'r of

Robert & Eliz. Beadman

She departed this life

June the 4th 1768

Aged 3 years

And 19 weeks

A beautiful old slate stone from the churchyard of St James the Great, Birstall, Leicester, England.

Evelyn Grace Blakeway

"Under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge"

This is the memorial of Evelyn Grace Blakeway, which sits in the churchyard of St James the Great in Birstall Leicester.
Evelyn died at the age of 25 in 1901 and was "deeply and truly mourned" by her husband who had this stone erected in her memory. 

Edwin Carr

"He did what he could"

This is the memorial of Edwin Carr who died in 1915. It is an impressive and highly decorated Celtic style cross. The inscription is in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement, and I would say that this is echoed in the carved design on the cross. 

I did a quick internet search looking up the name Edwin Carr, as this is a large stone. I found reference to Carr's Fever Powders, for cold and flu. Apparently an Edwin Carr once manufactured these powders in Wharf Street, Leicester.

This stone was found in the Belgrave Cemetery near to Leicester, England. 

Norman Doorway

Norman Doorway

Following on from yesterdays post, here is another Norman doorway from St Mary de Castro church in Leicester. This is the refurbished North Door, which has the successive chevron style mouldings. The wood work is a Victorian copy of the previous 15th century design. 
The statue of the Virgin Mary was placed in the niche above the door as a thanksgiving memorial for the church's survival in WWII. Leicester suffered it's worst bomb damage during the night of November 19th in 1940, in the Leicester Blitz. Several buildings were destroyed and many people were killed.

Norman Doorway

Ornate Norman Doorway

Here is an ornately carved Norman doorway from St Mary de Castro church in Leicester, England. The church is a Grade I listed building and it once stood within the Bailey of the castle, de Castro denoting "of the castle". 
The church is said to date to around 1107. Today it is closed to the public after the spire was removed when cracks appeared in it, and the tower is also in need of repair. There is much of interest to see on the outside of the building, as this is not the only example of Norman architecture. The churchyard also contains some interesting and nicely carved slate headstones.

Leicester Guidlhall

Leicester Guildhall

The oldest parts of Leicester's Guildhall date from around 1390, but much of it dates to the 15th Century.

The Guildhall is a grade I listed timber framed building close to the Cathedral of St Martin's, in one of the cities three conservation areas.

The Guildhall once acted as a town hall and has been used over the years for council meetings, a courtroom, and for feasts. Today it is used as a performance venue and a museum.

It is said to have five ghosts within, making it Leicesters most haunted building and ghost tours are a popular attraction for the public and paranormal groups.

Old Graves

Sarah Ogden

My favourite graves are those dated to before the 1800's. I like the often simple style, the archaic language and the fact that they have managed to survive for so long.

This example was found in the graveyard of St Nicholas church, Leicester, England. It reads:

Here Lyeth 

Interred the Body of

Sarah the Wife of Joseph

Ogden who Departed

this life October the 30th

Anno Domi 1717

Aged (57) 

A best guess for the age of Sarah, as it was not very clear.

St Nicholas Church

St Nicholas Church

St Nicholas Church is the oldest place of worship in Leicester, England. Parts of the church date to around 880 CE. The church sits beside the remains of a Roman bath complex and the reuse of Roman rubble can be seen in the fabric of the church and Saxon features can still be found inside.

The remnants of a Roman column can be seen on the corner of the paths. By 1885, the church was in a very poor state, in fact the spire was long gone as there had been no money for it's repair. The church was almost set to be demolished in the 1800's and a replacement built on the site, but fortunately, enough money could not be raised. Eventually repairs and alterations were made. It is now the official church of near by Leicester University, which has in effect saved it's fortunes, as the clearing of slums in the 1950's and changes in the road layouts of the expanding city removed what little parishioners were left.

King Richard III

The grave of King Richard III

Excavated burial of Richard III

Today I visited the King Richard III exhibit in Leicester, England. King Richard III died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, the last of the battles in the Wars of the Roses. His body was then taken to Leicester and eventually buried in the church of Greyfriars Friary.

Richard died at just 32 years old and was the last king to die in battle. In 2012, a search for his remains began. An adult male found in the choir of the church was later identified as King Richard.