St Bartholomew's

St Bartholomew's, Elvaston

St Bartholomew's is the Parish Church for Elvaston and the near-by villages of Thulson and Ambaston, in Derbyshire, England. The church sits close to Elvaston Castle, which isn't a true castle, more a stately home. This is a statue of a saint from one of the ends of the church.

The church was restored from an early version in the 1400's with some modification and extensions in the 1800's. The church is Grade I listed.

Grotesques

A Grotesque 

From the now redundant Church of St Werburgh in Derby city centre, Derbyshire, England.

The church has been re-built over time, with the oldest parts dating from the 1600's. There are some interesting features to be seen inside the church, such as the wrought iron pulpit and font cover, a reredos inscribed with the Ten Commandments, Lord's Prayer and with Queens Anne's Royal coat of arms sat above it.

In 1735, Dr Smauel Johnson married Elizabeth Porter in the church. Dr Johnson was an English writer, who published after nine years of work, A Dictionary of the English Language. Although not the first dictionary, it was the most commonly used one for 150 years until the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928.

Grotesques should not be confused with gargoyles, which have the water spouts. Both are features of Gothic styled churches and buildings.

All Saints Church, Bakewell

All Saints Church

All Saints Church in Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, is a Grade I listed church that was founded in 920. The churchyard still contains two 9th Century Saxon crosses. There is a collection of fragments of Saxon carved stone in one of the porches and some ancient stone coffins.

The present church dates from the 12th Century. The church looks out over the small market town of Bakewell and rural Derbyshire. 

William and Ann Blount

William and Ann Blount

From the graveyard of All Saint's Church at Rempstone, Nottinghamshire, England. 

Beneath

Are deposited the Remains of

William Blount       Ann, the wife of,

           Who departed     William Blount         

    this mortal Life     she departed  

July the 10th 1795;  this mortal Life

               Aged 72 Years            the 4th of August 1791    

                                Aged 70 Years

His Epitaph

Upon the Road I met pale Death,

Who soon deprived me of my Breath;

All in a Moment awful Thought

My Soul eternal Mansions sought;

From accident, no man is free,

The next, Oh reader! may be thee

Then when you view my Grave, my dust

Prepare, be ready, die you must.

Her Epitaph

All her Afflictions she with Patience bore,

Was not surpriz'd when Death was at the Door

For in her Maker was her only trust,

In Hopes to rise in Glory with the Just.

Our clues here suggest that William may have died as the result of an accident, as the epitaph warns us it could happen to anyone, and Ann possibly from an illness, of which it came as no surprise that death was at the door. Still, reaching your 70's was quite an achievement in those days.

Afflictions Sore

Afflictions Sore

A popular epitaph adorns this stone found in the abandoned graveyard of St Peter in the Rushes, Rempstone, Nottinghamshire. 

Afflictions sore long time I bore,

Physicians were in vain:

Till God did please to give me ease

And rid me of my pain.

An epitaph such as this gives a hint as to how the person died, in this case, in great pain after a lengthy illness. Epitaphs such as this give a sense of the fragility of life before modern medicine, but 81 was a good age for the day.

The inscription reads:

Here lyeth interr'd the

Body of Thomas Steel

Who departed this Life the 26th

Of June Ann Dom 1731

In the 81st Year of his Age

Betty Orton WAAF

Betty Orton

In the cemetery at Sileby, Leicestershire, England, was a war grave for Betty Orton, who was in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).  For obvious reasons, war graves of women are not a common find. I have tried to find out if anything specific happened on the 11th June, but was unsuccessful. 
Women did not fight in combat, but they were exposed to any of the "home front" action that the men were, for example working in military targets such as munitions factories/stores, reconnaissance and intelligence operations. Nursing orderlies in the WAAF would also be on board aircraft, flying to and from the site of battle and this could put them at risk of aviation accidents or being targeted by the enemy.

Sileby Cemetery

Sileby Cemetery

The Cemetery at Sileby, Leicestershire, England, was opened in 1881 and consists of two mortuary chapels and two acres of grounds. Yew tree hedging lines the route up to the chapels hiding many of the older stones behind it. This is one such example, and the only one I forgot to get a date for. There were some good examples of slate stones, not often seen outside of older graveyards, but many of the stones were too modern for me, and therefore not so interesting.

Little Angel

Little Angel

An Angel memorial from the graveyard of All Saints' Church, Sawley, Derbyshire, England.
The church is grade I listed and dates from the 11th Century.

Francis Harley, Surgeon

Francis Harley, Surgeon

This is a stone from the graveyard at All Saints Church, Rempstone, Nottinghamshire. Francis Harley died in 1849 aged 54. The stone was erected at the joint expense of surviving relatives and "the brethren of the loyal Rushcliffe Lodge".

Hear O ye living! cast a serious eye:

Review my tomb, and learn what 'tis to die,

For ere to morrow's burning sun may shine

"The monster death" may lay your heads like mine.

On Life's great stage I heard his dread command

And sank beneath his pale destroying hand:

Nor can the most robust escape the blow

For all must die, and things eternal know!

At the top of the stone is a collection of symbols. the shield is the Oddfellows Coat of Arms.The hourglass represents mortality and the passing of time. The crossed keys represent the keys to heaven, as held by St. Peter, or more specific to the order, knowledge and security. The beehive is often used by Masonic groups and symbolizes human industry, faith, education and domestic virtues. The lamb is symbolic of innocence and purity.

The hand holding the heart is another Masonic symbol, which symbolizes charity. The globe on which it sits represents the pleasures of the world and is often depicted being offered by Death to the deceased.

Amicitia, amor et veritas is the motto written below the symbols and it means friendship, love and truth.

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.