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Wikipedia: This is a Romanesque Church and the word “fuoricivitas” means outside of the first set of city walls. The current building was completed in 1344. The church was severely damaged by the Allied bombings during World War II, and has undergone meticulous restoration during 1960 through the 1990s.
NB The narrow street next to the Church makes it difficult to photograph.
A window in the south transept of St Mary’s in Amersham. It was executed in 1864 by Ward & Hughes, and is dedicated to two members of the Tyrwhitt-Drake family. It depicts the raising of Lazarus, the Nativity, and Christ walking on the water.
St Mary’s Church is a Church of England parish church of the Diocese of Oxford in Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and a grade I listed building.
The site of St Mary's Church has had Christian associations for many centuries. Early missionary monks of St Augustine and St Birinus – the Apostle of the West Saxons – travelled via the Roman Road known as Akeman Street, converting the local population to Christianity and baptising them in the River Misbourne. A place of worship has existed on this site since around 1140. The present church dates from the 13th century with additions and extensions in the 14th and 15th centuries – the tower dates from the 15th Century.
The parish has connections with the persecution of the Lollards in the early 1500s when a group of locals known as the Amersham Martyrs were burned at the stake on the hill overlooking the old town. The Amersham Martyrs Memorial was placed on a hill overlooking the church in 1931. In 1553, Scottish reformer John Knox preached his last sermon at Amersham before going into exile to flee the wrath of Queen Mary. Despite these associations with early Protestant radicalism, the parish has a moderately High Church tradition today.
The patrons of the parish are the Drake family, the Lords of the Manor of Amersham, related to the famous naval captain Sir Francis Drake. Around 1637, Sir William Drake purchased the Borough of Amersham from the Earl of Bedford. There are numerous memorials to Drake family members in St Mary's Church. Several descendants of the Drakes have served as rector of the parish, including Rev. Edward Drake, who commissioned a major restoration of the church in 1890, and the external appearance of the church dates from this time.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia and information from the excellent buckschurches.uk
The best thing I can do for a description of St Peter's in the Wiltshire village of Poulshot, near Devizes, is to copy the text of the Small Pilgrimage Places Network page about the church, which is repoduced with gratitude.
“St Peter’s Church lies in the vale of Seend, to the north of the Salisbury Plain. To truly appreciate the tranquil, peaceful atmosphere present within the St Peter’s, it requires a visit. There is an air of still and calm throughout the church. It is a simple, not large, stone church set apart from the village in the countryside. This makes it a quiet place, being surrounded by fields. Unlike many other historic churches, St Peter’s is a light place, with lots of sunlight, giving it a life giving and open feel. It is a place particularly suited for the Celtic services held there once a month on a Wednesday evening. Its unpretentious nature and peaceful atmosphere make it ideal for quiet contemplation and prayer. Its simplicity makes it a place to concentrate the mind and to centre oneself in the still calm.
“The oldest parts of the church, including the Nave, date to the 13th Century. It underwent considerable alterations in the 15th Century. A fire in the church in 1916 destroyed the main part of the nave roof which was subsequently rebuilt.
The church was built outside of the village and to this day remains set apart from the village. This was thought to be because of Plague fears, which link with the history of St Peter’s through the presence of Plague pits in the churchyard, denoted by the location of skull and crossbones set in the stone on one side of the church. This is a fascinating part of St Peter’s history, giving reason for why the main part of Poulshot is so distant from the church. The history of St Peter’s is also found in the presence of a dole stone in the corner of the churchyard on which alms and dole would have been distributed to those in need in the village.
“The churchyard is a picturesque place, with grassy verges and snowdrops in spring as well as other wildlife throughout the year. Situated where it is, it also has beautiful views of Salisbury plain and the countryside around.”
Looking west from the quire of Tewkesbury Abbey, down the nave to the Great West Window. This shows off the barrel vaulting in the centre aisle of the nave particularly well. The window's superstructure is surprisingly modern, built in 1686 to replace the medieval original, which was blown in by the wind in 1661. The glass, by John Hardman and Company, dates from 1886. It was commissioned by the Rev'd C W Grove in memory of his wife and depicts scenes from the life of Christ.
The rood and choir screen, also late Victorian look interesting when backlit.
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury – commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey – is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain, it has the largest Romanesque crossing tower in Europe. Tewkesbury had been a centre for worship since the 7th Century. A priory was established there in the 10th Century. The present building was started in the early 12th Century. It was unsuccessfully used as a sanctuary in the Wars of the Roses. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it became the parish church for the town. George Gilbert Scott led the Restoration of the building in the late 19th Century.
The churchmanship of the Abbey is strongly Anglo-Catholic.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia. The choir screen and rood, also Victorian, are shown off well in silhouette.
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury – commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey – is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain, it has the largest Romanesque crossing tower in Europe. Tewkesbury had been a centre for worship since the 7th Century. A priory was established there in the 10th Century. The present building was started in the early 12th Century. It was unsuccessfully used as a sanctuary in the Wars of the Roses. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it became the parish church for the town. George Gilbert Scott led the Restoration of the building in the late 19th Century.
The churchmanship of the Abbey is strongly Anglo-Catholic.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.
"On a low wall-tomb in the south or Wyke aisle, rests the cross-legged effigy of a knight in stone. It is life-size; but the sculpture is in bad condition."
A Crusader tomb in the Lady Chapel of St Peter’s Church in the Hampshire village of St Mary Bourne which dates from about 1300, identified tentatively as Sir Roger des Andelys of Wyke Manor. Sir Roger was not involved in the main crusades, but instead was killed in the suppression of the Albigensian sect, the so-called Cathars, in the south of France, and died between 1209 and 17. It is rather interesting that he seems to have been memorialised so long after his death.
The Old Town of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Vilniaus senamiestis), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, has an area of 3.59 square kilometres (887 acres). It encompasses 74 quarters, with 70 streets and lanes numbering 1487 buildings with a total floor area of 1,497,000 square meters. The oldest part of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, it has developed over the course of many centuries, and has been shaped by the city's history and a constantly changing cultural influence. It is a place where some of Europe's greatest architectural styles - gothic, renaissance, baroque and neoclassical - stand side by side and complement each other.
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of early English Gothic architecture. Its main body was completed in 38 years, from 1220 to 1258. Salisbury Cathedral is also home to the Magna Carta
Southwark Cathedral in south London dates back to 1106AD but has been a holy site for many years longer. I took these photos with my Canon camera. The cathedral is surrounded by other buildings and is difficult to get any long shots
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
Looking east along the nave of Winchester Cathedral.
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winchester Cathedral, is the cathedral of the city of Winchester, England, and is among the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and is the mother church for the Church of England’s Diocese of Winchester.
The cathedral as it stands today was built from 1079 to 1532. It has a very long and very wide nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style, an Early English retrochoir, and Norman transepts and tower. With an overall length of 170 metres, it is the longest medieval cathedral in the world, and only surpassed by five more churches, four of them built in the 20th Century. It is also the sixth-largest cathedral by area in England.
The first Christian church in Winchester can be traced back to c. 648, when King Cenwalh of Wessex built a small, cross-shaped building just north of the present building. This ‘Old Minster’, became the cathedral for the new Diocese of Winchester in 662, but no trace of it other than its ground plan exists today. From 963 to 993, bishop Æthelwold and then Alphege greatly expanded the church, which was briefly the largest church in Europe. Also on the same site was the New Minster, in direct competition with the neighbouring Old Minster, begun by Alfred the Great but completed in 901 by his son Edward the Elder.
The present building, however, was begun after the Norman Conquest, perhaps inevitably. William the Conqueror installed his friend and relative Walkelin as the first Norman Bishop of Winchester in 1070, and nine years later, in 1079, Walkelin began the construction of a huge new Norman cathedral, on a site just to the south of the Old and New Minsters, the site of the present building. The new cathedral was consecrated with the completion of the east end in 1093, and the following day, demolition of the New and Old Minsters began and left virtually no remains.
Work quickly progressed to the transepts and central tower, and these were certainly complete by 1100. In 1107, the central tower fell but was reconstructed and much of the work on this core of the present building was completed by 1129 to a very high standard, much of it surviving today.
A new Early English retrochoir was started in 1202, but the next expansions after that would not start until 1346, when Bishop Edington demolished the Norman west front and began building a new Perpendicular Gothic facade, featuring a huge west window, which still stands today. Edington also began renovation of the nave, but this was mostly carried out by his successors, most notably William of Wykeham and his master mason, William Wynford, who remodelled the massive Norman nave into a soaring Perpendicular Gothic masterpiece. This they achieved by encasing the Norman stone in new ashlar, recutting the piers with Gothic mouldings and pointed arches, and reorganising the three-tier nave into two tiers, by extending the arcade upwards into what was the triforium and extending the clerestory downwards to meet it. The wooden ceiling was replaced with a decorative stone vault. Following Wykeham's death in 1404, this remodelling work continued under successive bishops, being completed ca. 1420.
Between then and 1528, major rebuilding and expansion was carried out on the Norman choir and Early English retrochoir. This work included the building of further chantry chapels, the replacement of the Norman east end with a Perpendicular Gothic presbytery, and the extension of Luci's retrochoir into a Lady Chapel. Unlike the rebuilding of the nave some 100 years earlier, the Gothic presbytery was vaulted in wood and painted to look like stone, as at York Minster. With its progressive extensions, the east end is now about 34 metres beyond that of Walkelin's building.
With Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Priory of Saint Swithun, was dissolved in 1539, and the cathedral’s shrines and altar were destroyed. The monastic buildings, including the cloister and chapter house, were later demolished, mostly during the 1560–1580 tenure of the reformist bishop Robert Horne.
The 17th century saw important changes to the interior, including the erection of a choir screen by Inigo Jones in 1638–39, the insertion of a wooden fan vault underneath the crossing tower (previously the tower was open to the church) and the destruction of much medieval glass and imagery by Parliamentarian soldiers in December 1642, including the near-complete destruction of the massive Great West Window by Cromwell and his forces. The window was put back together by the townspeople as a mosaic following the Restoration of the Monarchy, but it has never regained its original appearance, the damage was too great.
In the 18th century, many visitors commented on the neglect of the cathedral and the town; Daniel Defoe described the latter in about 1724 as “a place of no trade… no manufacture, no navigation”. Major restoration, however, followed in the early 19th Century under the direction of architect William Garbett and then John Nash
At the turn of the 20th century, Winchester Cathedral was in grave danger of collapse. Huge cracks had appeared in the walls, some of them large enough for a small child to crawl into, the walls were bulging and leaning, and stone fell from the walls. After several false solutions that may have made things worse, over six years from 1906-12, diver William Walker worked six or seven hour shifts every day diving through septic water full of corpses and laying a new cement under-layer for the cathedral and its foundations. Walker laid more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks. In 1911, flying buttresses were also added along the length of the south nave to complete the work.
In 2011, a new single-story extension in the corner of the north presbytery aisle was completed, the first new extension on the cathedral since the mid-16th Century, housing toilet facilities, storage and a new boiler. An extensive programme of interior restoration was completed between 2012-19.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.
Saturday 14th of August 2021 and a trip to the closest Cathedral to me in Portsmouth. Portsmouth Cathedral was built in 1180AD and paid for my a local wealthy Norman merchant. It has a very interesting history. In 1449AD the Bishop of Chichester was murdered in Portsmouth by sailors so the cathedral was closed for a time and the people of Portsmouth excommunicated! The Cathedral is just a short walk from the closest beach at the Hot Walls.
This Fridays trip was a short one to Winchester Cathedral. The original cathedral was founded in 642AD an todays cathedral was built by the Normans in 1079. Winchester in Hampshire was once the capital city of Anglo Saxon England. Winchester cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.
It is well worth reading the Wiki page if you are interested in English history.
The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury known as Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral was built in 1180 and paid for my a local wealthy Norman merchant. It has a very interesting history. In 1449 the Bishop of Chichester was murdered in Portsmouth by sailors so the cathedral was closed for 58 years and the people of Portsmouth excommunicated! It reopened in 1508 when the excommunication was lifted. Queen Elizabeth 1st worshipped there. The remains of the sailors taken from the Tudor warship Mary Rose when she was lifted from the seabed just off Portsmouth are all in a tomb inside the cathedral.
The Cathedral is just a short walk from the closest beach at the Hot Walls. This photo was taken with my Samsung phone camera
This Fridays trip was a short one to Winchester Cathedral. The original cathedral was founded in 642AD an todays cathedral was built by the Normans in 1079. Winchester in Hampshire was once the capital city of Anglo Saxon England. Winchester cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.
It is well worth reading the Wiki page if you are interested in English history.
Katelholm Castle is a well-preserved castle ruin whose walls could tell many an exciting tale. One Swedish noble family in particular, the House of Vasa, showed great interest in the castle. Both Gustav Vasa and Duke John spent time here. Moreover, for a few months Erik XIV was imprisoned here along with his wife Karin Månsdotter.
Tallinn's Old Town is a beautifully preserved medieval gem, where every corner tells a story. The cobblestone streets, winding through the heart of the city, are lined with historic buildings that have stood the test of time. As we explored the Old Town, we encountered narrow alleyways leading to hidden courtyards and towering spires rising above the rooftops, creating a skyline straight out of a fairy tale. The old stone towers, remnants of the city’s formidable defenses, stand as silent guardians over the narrow streets below. These images capture the charm and rich history that make Tallinn's Old Town arguably the most attractive city in the Baltic region - Tallinn, Estonia
Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, United Kingdom. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075. I visited again on the 28th of July 2021. Had a nice walk around inside the cathedral and around the outside too where the changing clouds made an interesting backdrops
This Fridays trip was a short one to Winchester Cathedral. The original cathedral was founded in 642AD an todays cathedral was built by the Normans in 1079. Winchester in Hampshire was once the capital city of Anglo Saxon England. Winchester cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.
It is well worth reading the Wiki page if you are interested in English history.
The Church of St Giles in Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset, is a Grade I listed building, with an unusual faceless clock. It is part of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells.
A church in Leigh was first recorded in the 13th Century, as a chapel of ease connected to St Andrew’s, a larger church in the parish of Mells. In the late 14th Century, the current parish of Leigh-on-Mendip was established and the first church, as we would recognise the building today, was built between 1350 and 1390.
The 28.5-metre tower dates from around 1464, and contains six bells, five of which date from the 1750s. A scratch sundial can be seen on one of the buttress at the foot of the tower.
During a series of renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries the historical and artistic value of various features was fully recognised. These include a nearly complete set of medieval pews that is now considered to be of national importance, fragments of medieval stained glass and original woodwork.
The Quinquennial report of 2016 identified that urgent repairs were needed to the church, particularly the 300-year-old roof lead, which was leaking badly. A substantial restoration project for the magnificent nave roof was therefore completed in 2018-19.
I am indebted to the Friends of Leigh Church for this description.
The cobbled streets, quirky passageways and terracotta roofs of medieval Tallinn have earned a reputation as a pearl of Baltic Europe.
Bryggen is a historic harbour district in Bergen, one of North Europe’s oldest port cities on the west coast of Norway which was established as a centre for trade by the 12th century.
In 1350 the Hanseatic League established a “Hanseatic Office” in Bergen. They gradually acquired ownership of Bryggen and controlled the trade in stockfish from Northern Norway through privileges granted by the Crown. The Hanseatic League established a total of four overseas Hanseatic Offices, Bryggen being the only one preserved today.
The east end of Exeter Cathedral dates from the early part of the 14th century. The Great East Window features medieval glass, and the figures of Abraham, Moses and Isaiah at the top date from 1304. The cathedral suffered bomb damage in WWII, but fortunately the glass and other treasures had been removed to a safe place.
The Cathedral of St Peter was originally built by the Normans with its foundation in 1133, but it took many more years to complete. Following the appointment of Walter Bronescombe as bishop in 1258, the building was already recognized as outmoded, and it was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style, following the example of nearby Salisbury. However, much of the original Norman building was kept, including the two massive square towers and part of the walls. Unlike many other English cathedrals, there is no centre tower. It was constructed entirely of local stone, including from the quarries at Beer in Devon, plus Purbeck Marble. The new cathedral was complete by about 1400, apart from the addition of the chapter house and chantry chapels.
For other photos of Exeter Cathedral please see my Album.
St Mary's in the Devon town of Axminster, often simply known as "The Minster", has Norman origins, although much of the building dates from the 13th-15th centuries. The earliest surviving section of the church is a reset doorway from the Norman period, while the tower, rebuilt in the 13th century, was restored in 1896. The church suffered an arson attack in 2014, and underwent restoration and repair work before reopening in 2015.
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.
Wonderful Arundel Castle in West Sussex England. This Norman castle dates back to 1067 and is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk.
Travelled up to Salisbury today to revisit the wonderful cathedral. It has the tallest spire in the United Kingdom. I climbed to the top of the spire last time I visited back in 2014. The tower is not open at the moment due to Covid-19 rules on social distancing. Salisbury cathedral is one of our newer Norman cathedrals as it was not built until 1220AD. Sadly the weather today as you can see was cloudy and overcast.
Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, United Kingdom. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075. I visited again on the 28th of July 2021. Had a nice walk around inside the cathedral and and around the outside too where the changing clouds made an interest back drop
Tallinn is the oldest capital city in Northern Europe.
Tallinn's Old Town is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world.
Source: Wikipedia
Gamla stan dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, and archaic architecture. North German architecture has had a strong influence in the Old Town's construction.
The present alleys only give a vague glimpse of the appearance of the medieval city where the gables of the building were facing the streets and contained window bays for offering goods of sale; where filth, the bumpy paving and hand-drawn vehicles made walking circumstantial; and where odours and scents from dung, food, fishes, leather, furnaces, and seasonal spices mingled. During nights (and certainly during the long winters) the city was completely dark, save for exceptional fire watchers and nocturnal ramblers who used torches to find their bearing.
Wikipedia