View allAll Photos Tagged Grotesque
Today’s Cathedral has its roots in the seventh century, when England’s pagan monarchy first became Christians.
In 635, Cynegils, king of the West Saxons, was baptised. Just over a decade later, his son Cenwalh built the first Christian church in Winchester, the heart of Anglo-Saxon Wessex.
This small, cross-shaped church became known as Old Minster. You can still see where it stood, its outline traced in red brick, just north of the present building.
Soon, Old Minster became a cathedral, housing the throne (cathedra) of a bishop who held sway over a huge diocese that stretched from the English Channel to the river Thames.
This was now the most important royal church in Anglo-Saxon England. It was the burial place for some of the earliest kings of Wessex, including King Alfred the Great.
Here too King Cnut, who ruled England and Denmark in the early 11th century, chose to be buried, and was joined by his wife Queen Emma on her death in 1052.
By the early 16th century, much of the Cathedral you see today was complete.
New secular names became linked to this place, to add to those of mighty kings and bishops, from the 17th-century angler Izaak Walton to the great early 19th-century English novelist Jane Austen.
The 19th century saw much restoration work, including new stone statues for the huge 15th-century Great Screen behind the altar. The Cathedral’s Organ, a cut-down version of a huge organ displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, was bought.
By the early 1900s, there were fears that the east end of this ancient building would collapse, after centuries of subsidence. Deep-sea diver, William Walker, worked under water in total darkness for six years to stabilise them.
Today, after 12 centuries, this great Cathedral church remains the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. Its beautiful spaces continue to echo to the sound of daily prayers and glorious sacred music.
For all in between please see: www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/our-history/
28.10.05. Thornton Gate. 700 (right) was rebuilt to pre-war condition, contrasting with this grotesque mobile advertising hoarding.
Week 14/52
This week’s theme for my 52 project is “Painting with Light.” This small gargoyle is only a little over 2 inches tall. I used a flashlight and long exposure to create this shot. I wanted the light primarily coming from the left but added light from other directions to bring out details.
Technically, this is a grotesque rather than a gargoyle. A gargoyle incorporates a water spout to carry water off a building.
Part of a series of beautiful grotesques on the landing, half way up to the upper assembly hall of the scuola. ( 1557-58 )
Têtes sculptées de la cathédrale Notre-Dame, Reims (Marne). Circa 1880.
Joseph Trompette (1845-1891).
Palladio-platinotype sur papier Arches Platine.
Format : 21 x 27.3 cm - Papier : 28 x 38 cm.
Palladium-platinum print on Arches Platine paper.
Size: 8.25” x 10.75” - Paper size: 11” x 15”.
Tirage Laurent Gloaguen. 2013.
"This is a valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight."
-The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is another novel that I read over and over. It has been a few years since my last journey through East and West Egg...perhaps it is time again.
TOTW -- Literary Genius
My Face is My Canvas -- my take on Emulation Week #1.
TRP -- White and Negative. More white, less negative.
Large and On Black
Fountain adjacent to Olmsted's Esplanade at Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC. In fair weather, he spouts water.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Taken at rockstorm Audition.The first band to pull off the lather jacket and white make-up style.Congratulation....clap..clap..clap
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Detail of the east side of the 14th century choir screen or pulpitum.
The arches originally formed part of a small cloister arcade which was sealed in to provide vestry space in the 19th century. These panels replace the internal windows inserted at this time.
Southwell Minster is a remarkably preserved piece of Romanesque church architecture, dating from between 1108-50. The only English church to retain its full set of three complete Norman towers, the nave and transepts retain their original 12th century appearance, whilst the eastern limb was replaced by the present early Gothic choir in c1230 after its Norman predecessor was found to be too small. The last substantial addition to the building was the fine Decorated chapter house on the north side a few decades later in 1284.
The Minster was originally built as a collegiate church but stripped of this status at the Reformation, becoming merely a parish church (albeit one of the grandest in the country) for several centuries until finally being elevated to cathedral status in 1884 as the seat of the new Nottinghamshire diocese. Though on a more modest scale than most of our great medieval cathedrals, Southwell Minster fits its cathedral status so well that it is hard to imagine it not being built as such, though Southwell itself does seem a surprisingly quiet location for so grand a church, a small rural town that has become England's smallest cathedral city.
Inside the Norman character of the church is preserved in the subdued lighting of the 12th century nave and transepts, whilst east of the crossing, beyond the fine medieval choir screen, all is Gothic in the 13th century choir and aisles, light, airy and lit by tall lancet windows.
Perhaps the most famous part of the building is the octagonal chapter house entered from the north choir aisle via a vestibule. Whilst a gem of medieval architecture in its own right, the building is most renowned for its superb foliate carvings, the finest and most delicately carved to survive from medieval England The technical skill and unusually naturalistic treatment of the carved capitals and spandrels here means the 'Leaves of Southwell' should not be missed by any visitor.
Little remains of the Minster's original furnishing or decoration, following Civil War damage and a major fire caused by lightning strike in the early 18th century (which affected the high wooden ceilings of nave and crossing and the pyramid spires of the west towers, later replaced to their original design). It has however been embellished in more recent years with some outstanding glass including the huge west window installed at the end of the 20th century.
Southwell Minster is a delight to visit, and perhaps the most peaceful of all English cathedrals. For more see the link below:-
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Harlton, Cambridgeshire
From the Eversdens, I crossed the Cambridge to Sandy road into the lovely village of Harlton. Now, I lived in Cambridge for twenty years, and I cycled out into the countryside frequently, but I do not ever recall visiting Harlton before. Cambridgeshire has a group of villages close together with similar names - Harlton, Hauxton, Harston - but I am sure I would remember it if I'd been here. It is a super little village, feeling more remote than it is, and the church is set away from the High Street in the grounds of the Hall.
This is a large perpendicular church but with a stumpy tower, making the church seem less interesting and perhaps even bigger than it is. The artist and writer Gwen Raverat has a memorial in the porch. The exterior gives no indication of how splendid the interior will be. There are no clerestories, but this is because the arcades are so tall they reach right up to the nave roof, a spectacular sight. To the east is Cambridgeshire's only stone rood screen. The Fryer memorial of the 1630s stands as big as a bus in the south aisle. It features life size polychrome kneeling figures of Sir Henry Fryer and his parents Sir Thomas and Lady Mary. The most startling figure, though, is his step-mother Lady Bridget, who reclines full-length at the foot of the memorial. On the Sunday after my visit the churchwardens noticed that her nose had been vandalised, and seeing my name in the visitors book they contacted me to see if it had already been vandalised at the time of my visit (I was there on a Thursday). My photograph was able to show that it was, and therefore the police know this was not a Hallowe'en prank. It looked to me as if someone had tried to climb on the monument and their foot had slipped off of Lady Bridget's head.
The medieval reredos survives with 13 niches, and these are now occupied by 1920s figures of the 12 apostles by Henry Ian Ellison in Eric Gillesque style. He is also responsible for the Madonna and Child in the churchyard. I think he was the son of the Vicar who died in 1925, in which case the figures are probably a memorial to him. The central niche is now occupied by a tabernacle, indicating the very High Church sympathy of the time. In Medieval days it probably contained a crucifix.
All in all a super church, and along with Kingston my church of the day. I was close to the orbit of the city now, so broke away to head clockwise past the Lord's Bridge radio telescopes towards one of my ancestral parishes, Comberton.