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Taken from Wikipedia:
Dun an Sticir (grid reference NF89717767) is located on a small island in Loch an Sticir on the east side of the B893 road, 0.8 kilometers south of Newtonferry. The name is also misspelled Dun an Sticer and Dun an Sticar. The island, on which the broch stands, is connected by a causeway to another larger island called Eilean na Mi-Chomhairle (Island of Bad Council). This larger island is connected via two causeways to the mainland. Dun an Sticir is freely accessible. At high tide, the causeways may be partially submerged.
The name Dun an Sticir is derived from "dun", which means "fortress", and "sticir" which means "skulker". Thus Dun an Sticir means Fort Skulker. Only in the second half of the twentieth century did it become clear that the structure was a broch.
History
Dun an Sticir was probably built in the Iron Age in the period between 100 BC and 100 AD, like most brochs. Limited excavations resulted in finds of pottery.
The broch was probably inhabited during the Viking period. In the Middle Ages the broch was converted into a rectangular hall, or small tower. The entrance was enlarged and a window was constructed. Outbuildings were added and there was a larger building on Eilean na Mi-Chomhairle. The causeway from the north side of the loch to Eilean na Mi-Chomhairle was widened to 3 meters, so that carts could get to the island.
Hugh MacDonald of Sleat (Scottish Gaelic: Ùisdean MacGilleEasbuig Chlèirich), son of Hugh the Clerk, inhabited Dun Sticir in 1602. He was the Factor to North Uist in the 1580s. In 1586 he hatched a plan to murder his cousin, Donald Gorm, 8th Chief of the Macdonalds of Sleat. After his plan was discovered, he fled to Dun an Sticir. He was eventually captured when he tried to escape a siege of his castle, Caisteal Uisdean, on Skye. As punishment, he was starved to death in the dungeon of Duntulm Castle on Skye.
Construction
Dun an Sticir is located on an island in a loch. A wide stone causeway leads from the north to the island of Eilean na Mi-Chomhairle. A second, smaller causeway leads from the south side of the lake to the same island. A third causeway curves from that island to the east to the small island on which the broch lies. The causeways are partially submerged at high tide.
The broch has a total diameter of 18 metres. The walls of the broch are 3.5 metres thick and in some places a little more than three metres high.
The circular interior of the broch was in the Middle Ages transformed into a rectangular area 10 metres by 4.6 metres. The axis is northeast–southwest. The entrances are 1.1 metres wide, located in the northwest and southwest of the rectangular space. The wall at the southwestern entrance is 2.5 metres thick.
Photo - (c) C.H.Stocker
Literature (c) Wikipedia
Reference: APAAME_20160922_RHB-0427.jpg
Photographer: Robert Howard Bewley
Credit: Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerical-No Derivative Works
I designed this model by using the 3D model ECHenry put up for sale as reference. I was able to get a lot more detail out of it that way. Not to mention as close to perfect proportions as I could possibly get. Having the actual model gave me some unique insight on the inner workings of ECHenry's design process. Like having differently scaled and oriented greebles duplicated in several places. Which is very much in the spirit of ILM model makers working on the original trilogy.
What that means for a Lego model is a lot of different techniques. The greebles on the engines and fuselage are as accurate as I could get them, and I'm super happy with the result. I even did my best to mimic panel detailing instead of maximizing tiles to be as efficient as possible.
The turret is a completely custom addition. The design was made by ThrawnsRevenge. We thought the underside looked a bit bare without something. And my head cannon is that one of the three people in the cockpit remotely operate it similar to an Apache helicopter's turret.
All in all I'm really happy with how this model turned out. I'd like to upload some IRL photos once I find space...
Instructions are available on Rebrickable if you want to build your own!
Image reference: State Library of South Australia B2110.
Trades Hall was erected in Grote Street 1895–1896 and demolished in 1972 when the new Trades Hall was completed on South Terrace, Adelaide.
In Grote Street the first sod was turned on 30 July 1895, by Mr P Stokes. The foundation stone was laid on Eight Hours Day 2 September 1895 by Lucy Kingston, wife of the Premier (Mr Kingston). The opening ceremony took place on 14 March 1896.
The Price Memorial Wing (honouring the Premier Tom Price) was opened by Mrs Price 21 March 1914.
*The opening of the splendid new Trades Hall, Adelaide, SA was celebrated on Saturday, March 14th. During the afternoon the building was thrown open for inspection, and crowds of persons availed themselves of the opportunity of thoroughly examining the future home of trades unionism in South Australia. The general verdict was one of complete satisfaction and commendation.
Between 7 and 8 pm the Riverside Brass Band rendered varied and appropriate selections of music on the balcony of the new structure. Mr Cox the bandmaster, and his men had the satisfaction of pleasing their large open-air congregation.
At 8 sharp a concert was begun in the fine hall on the top floor of the building. The attendance was good, and receipts were satisfactory.
At this juncture, in response to loud and frequent demands, Mr Kingston, the Premier, ascended the platform from his seat in the audience, and delivered a short out effective and sympathetic address.
Early in the evening Mr T Price MP, chairman of the building committee, delivered a short address and then handed over the key of the hall to the Hon W A Robinson, chairman of the managing committee. Mr Robinson made a brief speech in reply.
Mr Price, during his speech stated that the principal credit for bringing about the building was due to the secretary, Mr McPherson MP, for he had worked incessantly in face of all obstacles. [Ref: Worker (Brisbane, Qld) Saturday 28 March 1896]
*Adelaide Trades Hall 50 Years Old
Establishment Aided by Labour's Opponents
Symbol of Labour unity and of the right of workers to organise trade unions, the Adelaide Trades Hall will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening tomorrow. A notable feature of its establishment was that it was largely financed by men who were inherently opposed to Labour's aspirations.
Sympathetic co-operation given half a century ago by men opposed to Labour in the establishment of the hall may seem to some people today to be a contradiction. Nevertheless it was typical of the friendly spirit, which, except for some dark patches, has marked South Australian employer-employee relations over the years and which has given the State a reputation for industrial peace second to none in Australia.
The movement to build the hall was born in the eighties with the establishment of the Trades and Labour Council. It was a period marked by intense loyalty to the Labour cause.
The first meeting of the council was held on January 31, 1884, in the Bristol Tavern. The Sir John Barleycorn Hotel was the next meeting place and later the Selborne Hotel.
There was a growing feeling that a hotel was not a fitting meeting place for an organisation of such importance, and as a result, a decision was made to approach the Government for a site for a Trades Hall. This provoked a loud and heated controversy which raged over the next few years.
A request for a site was made in March, 1886, to the Downer Government, which rejected it on the ground of financial stringency. The second request, made to the Playford Government in August 1887, was also refused. The reason given on this occasion was that no land was available.
In August 1889 however, the Cockburn Government introduced a Bill to authorise the granting of a site, with a 50 ft frontage, next to the Local Court. The measure passed the Assembly, but was defeated in the Legislative Council. Its rejection followed an offer made by Sir (then Mr) R C Baker to collect £1,000 for the purchase of a site if the Bill were not proceeded with.
Two years later, Mr T H Brooker moved in the Assembly in favour of the Government granting a site. The motion was amended to read that the land should be provided "for the purpose of erecting a Conciliation Hall for the common use of workmen and their employers”, and it was then carried.
The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by the unions.
Mr Brooker was persistent, and in 1892 he again submitted his motion, this time with the Government's support. The proposal was adopted by the Assembly after a spirited debate, during which Mr Castine made a marathon all-night stonewalling speech in an effort to prevent the passage of the motion. He spoke for more than seven hours.
A similar motion was lost in the Legislative Council later in the session Mr Baker, who, in the meantime, had collected £735 of the £1,000 he had promised to raise, again opposed the motion, saying that the money had been obtained to dissuade the Labour authorities from pressing the Government further for a site. Later Mr Baker collected another £141.
Contributors included Sir E T Smith, Messrs J H Angas, W K Simms, W A Horn, and Mr G C Hawker (£l00 each). Messrs J Darling, W A E West, D Murray and R C Baker (£50 each).
In 1893 the Ministry stated that the Government would make the necessary grant for the purchase of a site as soon as the Legislative Council was prepared to sanction the proposal.
The unions had by now, however, given up hope of obtaining Government aid. Early in 1895 the Trades and Labour Council began a movement to erect the hall with funds, the nucleus of which was provided from balances left over from the annual Eight-hour Day demonstrations.
The aid of the Eight Hours Celebration Union was enlisted, and a joint committee was set up. Money in hand amounted to more than £2.000. The Grote street site next to the Rechabite Hall was purchased for £1000 [sic]. Mr T H Smeaton was appointed architect.
The first sod was turned on July 30, 1895, by Mr P Stokes. The foundation stone was laid on Eight Hours Day (September 2) by the Premier (Mr Kingston).
The opening ceremony took place on March 14, 1896. Mr Kingston, speaking at the opening, expressed a hope that the hall would be utilised for the "promulgation of sound democratic and liberal ideals”.
The cost of the land and building was £6,188, and of furnishings £222. In September 1896, a block of land with a frontage of 31 ft to Morialta street was bought with the help of the Port Adelaide Working Men's Association.
A notable event in the history of the hall occurred a little later. This was a gift of £2,300 by Mr R Barr Smith to pay off the £2,000 debt on the building and to effect improvements. He expressed a wish that the hall should not again be mortgaged.
To mark the great service given to Labour by the State's first Labour Premier (Mr Tom Price), a fund was opened to raise £2,000 for additional accommodation at the hall, to be called the Price Memorial Wing This was opened by Mrs Price on March 21. 1914.
The Trades Hall has continued to progress, although it suffered a black period during the depression years of the early 1930's.
With most of their members out of work, some unions were unable to keep up their rent payments, and, as a result, the upkeep of the hall suffered.
However, with the passing of the depression, Labour began to close up its ranks. Firm action was taken against disruptive influences. Union funds began to swell again as jobs became more plentiful.
The Centenary year saw the most spectacular Labour Day procession in the history of the movement.
Tenants became increasingly dissatisfied with the dilapidated state of the hall. A number of suggestions were put forward, but the first definite move was made by the Vehicle Builders Employees' Union, which was responsible for calling a conference of unions to discuss the situation.
The conference was held, and as a result of the discussions and financial aid given by a number of unions, renovations to the building at a cost of nearly £2,000 were undertaken.
One of the main driving forces behind this effort was the late Mr Fred James, then secretary of the Meat Industry Employees' Union and president of the Trades Hall Management Committee. His right hand man was Mr Shard MP, who took over the secretaryship of the committee in January 1940.
A drive followed to clear the Trades Hall of debt. This is being actively prosecuted by the present committee. The overdraft has been reduced from £2,681 at December 31, 1939 to less than £500 at the end of last year. The committee hopes to announce the liquidation of the remaining £500 at the Jubilee banquet to be held at the Trades Hall tomorrow night
Surviving pioneer members who attended the opening ceremony 50 years ago have not been forgotten. Those whom the committee have been able to trace include Messrs A G Darby, F J Sparshott and W C Teakle. They will be given an honoured place at the banquet table.
[Ref: Advertiser (Adelaide) Wednesday 13 March 1946]
Trades
Gottlieb, William P., 1917-, photographer.
[Portrait of Thelonious Monk, Minton's Playhouse, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1947]
1 negative : b&w ; 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.
Notes:
Gottlieb Collection Assignment No. 231
Reference print available in Music Division, Library of Congress.
Purchase William P. Gottlieb
Forms part of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress).
Subjects:
Monk, Thelonious
Jazz musicians--1940-1950.
Pianists--1940-1950.
Composers--1940-1950.
Minton's Playhouse
Format: Portrait photographs--1940-1950.
Film negatives--1940-1950.
Rights Info: Mr. Gottlieb has dedicated these works to the public domain, but rights of privacy and publicity may apply. lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-copyrig...
Repository: (negative) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
(reference print) Library of Congress, Music Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, loc.gov/rr/perform/
Part Of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (DLC) 99-401005
General information about the Gottlieb Collection is available at lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-home.html
Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/gottlieb.06221
Call Number: LC-GLB23- 0622
A couple drawings I did last night while watching TV....moving target references :D. 4 color pen in the dark.... I couldn't see which color I was using or the paper.
I didn't realize that the interior of the Toronto Reference Library was this interesting…..
This image cannot be used on websites, blogs or other media without explicit my permission. © All rights reserved
Photobooth pictures for drawing reference. Can you find the drawing I used this in (if I used it that is).
I think this is fairly recent, maybe 2 months ago?
This is meant to be used as anatomy reference or use in art. Please see my profile for usage rules!
Name: Reede
Species: English Muntjac
Sex: Male
Location from: England
Other: A young adult that was evidently sourced from roadkill. Has some minor post mortem tooth damage.
Species Info: Muntjacs, AKA Barking Deer, are small portly deer with striking red coats. Their most notable feature are their long canines which are used for fighting. They have no seasonal rut- instead mating year-round due to being a tropical animal.
These deer are native to Asian regions but have been introduced to England, where they have become one of the most common deer species.
Antenne Funkturm Signalumsetzer Funkmasten
so mal in die Ferne (65x ) gezoomt.
1365 mm optisch
mit Polfilter
Schönbuch Richtung Bebenhausen
Nähe Holderfeld
Etwa 11.000 allein in Baden-Württemberg
Dies bewaldete und gebirge Landschaft im Spätzle-Ländle erfordert sehr viele Funkmasten.
Die terrestrischen Fernsehsender arbeiten heute in Deutschland ausschließlich digital mit dem Übertragungsverfahren DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial).
Rundfunkprogramme werden heute über Antenne, Breitbandkabel, Satellit und Internet übertragen.
Im Jahre 2004 begann in Deutschland der Betrieb der UMTS-Netze. Dieses digitale, auf Datenübertragung ausgerichtete Mobilfunknetz, unterstützt vornehmlich in Großstädten und Ballungsgebieten die bereits teilweise an ihre Kapazitätsgrenzen gekommenen D- und E-Netze.
Der Begriff LTE (Long Term Evolution) steht für die international abgestimmte Weiterentwicklung der bestehenden Mobilfunktechnik und bietet höhere Datenraten als GSM oder UMTS. LTE wird dabei noch der 3. Mobilfunkgeneration zugeordnet und hat die chronologische Bezeichnung 3.9 G. Ähnlich wie bei den anderen Mobilfunkgenerationen sind zum Betrieb ein Netz aus Basisstationen, die eine bestimmte Fläche versorgen, sowie entsprechend kompatible Endgeräte notwendig.
Die BDBOS ist für die Gesamtkoordinierung des Konzepts zur Einführung des Digitalfunks BOS (Behörden und Organisationen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben) verantwortlich.
Der BOS-Funk ist ein nichtöffentlicher mobiler UKW-Landfunkdienst (nömL) in Deutschland, der von Behörden und Organisationen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben (BOS) verwendet wird.
Red brick and metal boxes provide additional fortifications at the centrepiece of the Ardee Enterprise Centre - a clear reference to the nearby Ardee and Hatch's Castles.
An old sign for Casa Gonzalez Restaurant, outside an antique store in Walnut, Iowa. I could find no reference to a restaurant of this name anywhere in Iowa.
Here is my latest reference, the last part of the puzzle is the Schiit Bifrost DAC. The Parasound HCA-1200MKII amp is feeding Magnepan MG-10QR speakers that are biwired and have Mundorf Supreme caps. Subs are Athena and Klipsch. The screen is there for a secondary music server display.
Reference Photo by Sally Robertson.
Artist - Helen Carnes.
Category - Advanced.
Materials - Faber-Castell Polychromos, Derwent Inktense.
Paper - Daler Rowney Cartridge.
This was a very experimental one. Each of the flowers was rendered in a different way. The top left was inktense then water applied, bottom had inktense applied with a brush and top right had an inktense wash over the top of pencils. They all had pencil over the top to balance them. I found that the paper wouldn't take many layers after the water was added. So I might try it again with different paper.
I've decided to move up a category to advanced. It's time I feel. Although, I think I'm more of an intermediate and have some way to go before I can match the ability of the amazing artists here.
Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea
and the horse on the mountain.
With the shade around her waist
she dreams on her balcony,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
Green, how I want you green.
Under the gypsy moon,
all things are watching her
and she cannot see them.
Green, how I want you green.
Big hoarfrost stars
come with the fish of shadow
that opens the road of dawn.
The fig tree rubs its wind
with the sandpaper of its branches,
and the forest, cunning cat,
bristles its brittle fibers.
But who will come? And from where?
She is still on her balcony
green flesh, her hair green,
dreaming in the bitter sea.
--My friend, I want to trade
my horse for her house,
my saddle for her mirror,
my knife for her blanket.
My friend, I come bleeding
from the gates of Cabra.
--If it were possible, my boy,
I`d help you fix that trade.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--My friend, I want to die
decently in my bed.
Of iron, if that`s possible,
with blankets of fine chambray.
Don`t you see the wound I have
from my chest up to my throat?
--Your white shirt has grown
thirsty dark brown roses.
Your blood oozes and flees
around the corners of your sash.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--Let me climb up, at least,
up to the high balconies;
Let me climb up! Let me,
up to the green balconies.
Railings of the moon
through which the water rumbles.
Now the two friends climb up,
up to the high balconies.
Leaving a trail of blood.
Leaving a trail of teardrops.
Tin bell vines
were trembling on the roofs.
A thousand crystal tambourines
struck at the dawn light.
Green, how I want you green,
green wind, green branches.
The two friends climbed up.
The stiff wind left
in their mouths, a strange taste
of bile, of mint, and of basil
My friend, where is she--tell me--
where is your bitter girl?
How many times she waited for you!
How many times would she wait for you,
cool face, black hair,
on this green balcony!
Over the mouth of the cistern
the gypsy girl was swinging,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
An icicle of moon
holds her up above the water.
The night became intimate
like a little plaza.
Drunken "Guardias Civiles"
were pounding on the door.
Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea.
And the horse on the mountain.
Translated by William Logan
"7 Days of Shooting" "Week #46" "Library Days and/or Books" "Minimal Sunday"
Taken and processed at The Regency, Laguna Woods, California. © 2015 All Rights Reserved.
My images are not to be used, copied, edited, or blogged without my explicit permission.
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Many thanks for your kind comments, encouragement, and inspiration, my Flickr friends! You make my day every day!
Great Sampford, Essex
The beautiful church of St Michael the Archangel at Great Sampford is not the first church to stand on the rising ground at the centre of the village overlooking the cornfields along the valley of the river Pant. It is possibly sited on an ancient place of cult or religious significance. The proximity of the Stow farm may be of some importance, for the word ‘Stow’ in Old English can mean a ‘holy place’ or ‘place of assembly’. A pre-Conquest church, presumably of timber and thatch construction, followed perhaps, by a simple stone-built church, was replaced by the 13c on the same site by a major church building of which one of the transepts remains as the vestry of the present church which was built between 1320 and 1350. The original dedication of the church, if different, is not known as the first documentary reference to St Michael occurs as late as 1540 in a Sampford will. Dedications were sometimes changed and the use of the proper style, St. Michael the Archangel, is in fact quite rare. However, dedications to St. Michael or St. Michael and All Angels are numerous and were popular as the Archangel is an important figure in Christian tradition and art, symbolising the victory of God over evil, as an intercessor for the sick and as a leader of the Church militant. Churches dedicated to him, as at Great Sampford, are often found on hill—top sites or on high ground .a possible allusion to St. Michael’s pre-eminence in the Angelic Host of Christian belief. His Feast Day is 29th September.
Knowledge of the origins of the Christian Church in Essex relies largely on the fragile but growing evidence of archaeology and landscape interpretation. An ill-defined and mobile pattern of contemporaneous pagan and early Christian practices in the Roman era comes into historical focus with the missionary endeavours of the Roman and Celtic Churches when such names as Augustine, Mellitus and Cedd are prominent in Essex history. Within that tradition there are various, as yet unproven, theories about the establishment of a church at Great Sampford.
On entering the church the first impression that the visitor receives is of its elegant dignity; the next, the incongruence of its scale in such a tiny rural community. An interesting aspect of this enigma is the search for a convincing explanation of its status, from the mid-13c until 1907, as a deanery church serving twenty-one surrounding parishes in the Freshwell Hundred and in part of Uttlesford. It may have been a consequence of an early ‘minster’ (i.e.: missionary) role or as the result of a parochial compromise in an area with more important communities such as (Saffron) Walden. We do not know. However, it is a fact that the missionary work of the early minsters often extended to and beyond the boundaries of the administrative hundreds and became the sites of the hundredal centres themselves. There may well be historic linkages, not yet understood, between the Freshwell and Uttlesford Hundreds and the Sampford Deanery that relate to the early status of the church at Great Sampford.
The earliest historical fact about St. Michael’s is the grant by William Rufus, son and successor of William the Conqueror, of the church at Sampford along with the subordinate chapel at Hempstead with their lands and tithes to Battle Abbey in 1094. According to Philip Morant, the most famous of Essex historians, this was a formal confirmation of the Conqueror's original royal grant. This act of confirmation was a necessary and regular practice in regard to the efficacy of grants and early charters which were frequently forged. The church at Hempstead was within the jurisdiction of the vicar of Great Sampford until as late as 1979. Great Sampford remained in the hands of Battle Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 when it was transferred to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. In 1836 it passed to the newly-established Church Commissioners. In 1982 Great Sampford was combined with the parish of Little Sampford.
For perhaps a thousand years, even more, the Church at Sampford pursued its mission and, like others of medieval foundation, did not escape the consequences of religious, political and parochial events or circumstances. An astonishing flowering of spiritual faith and social commitment led to the building and re-building of these lovely churches. This phase was followed by the painful disruption of the Reformation, the Commonwealth and the Restoration, all of which led to anxious change and despoliation. In the course of these events much of the magnificence of the church at Great Sampford and its furnishings was lost or abandoned. All his was compounded by periods of neglect and the chronic problems of maintaining a great building in a small village bereft of wealthy resident patrons.
The loss, confiscation or sale of the rood, images, church plate and "such other goods as could be spared" was mirrored by decay of the fabric as is evident from the Parochial Inventories and Visitations of the l6c and l7c. The l7c saw the introduction of new arrangements for the railing of the Lord’s Table and seating for the congregation, a school was held in the south transept and the village musicians performed in a gallery under the tower. The inevitable ‘restorations’ by the Victorians led to the removal of furnishings, the installation of new pews, patterned floor tiling and the stripping of the stucco from the exterior walls of the church to expose the original flint and rubble surfaces. In more recent times the spiral staircase in the tower was removed and the roof structure of the south aisle replaced. We are, fortunately, left with a church of beauty and distinction.
It is hoped that the following brief notes on the architectural features and minor objects and details of interest in the church will help visitors to enjoy their visit.
The significance of St. Michael the Archangel in the village scene is apparent from the scale of the building, its strong profiles and conspicuous English Gothic idiom of the Decorated period. Internally, the major architectural theme is that of a restrained, uncomplicated elegance that is enhanced by the ample light admitted by plain glass windows. A dominant feature is the fine range of trefoiled, cinquefoiled and sexfoiled lights of the nave, chancel and aisle windows all dating from the period c. 1320-50. The cusped tracery of the windows is complemented by the symmetrical refinement of the arcading which is only lightly embellished by mouldings and carved capitals, typical of the period, and among the best in the county. Although not devoid of interesting detail, there is nothing to detract from the simple elegance and spatial qualities with which the fenestration and graceful arcading endow this fine building.
In 1769 Peter Muilman referred to the church at Great Sampford which "stands pleasantly on a small eminence by the roadside". Pleasantly indeed, the church is handsomely set in the Essex cornfields and seen to advantage from the high ground on the opposite side of the river. Close to, the sturdy profiles and somewhat severe external textures, relieved by some decorative areas of knapped flint flushwork, offer little hint of the quality of its Gothic interior. The main structure is built with random-faced flint and rubble set in lime mortar with limestone and clunch dressings. The roof is tiled and slated. The prominent west tower was built in the mid-l4c and, like the south aisle, has an embattled parapet. The south porch is of the same period. Unhappily, the window tracery of the 13c transept has been lost and is now disfigured by brickwork of two phases which seem to date from the late-18c to early-19c. Conspicuous in the churchyard are the fine lime trees planted in about 1835. The only monument of significance is the obelisk near the east wall of the churchyard which commemorates members of the Watson Family of Sampford. Colonel Jonas Watson was a distinguished soldier who was killed in action at the siege of Cartagena in 1741. But spare a moment to look at the adjacent grave stone of William Ruffle who died in 1881, a village worthy who served Great Sampford as shopkeeper, constable, clerk and in other public offices for over half a century.
External details of note are a rare series of consecration crosses of varying designs around the church, an early scratch dial, now displaced and seen on a doorstep in the north wall, a benchmark and the slot for the surveyor’s bench on the south-west buttress of the tower and miscellaneous graffiti mainly in the porch. Other details of interest include the rainwater heads, the vigorous carvings on the label of the south transept and niches in the south transept and the north and west walls. The clock on the church tower was installed in l9ll to mark the coronation of King George V.
On entering, visitors will appreciate the impressive dimensions and architectural refinement of this handsome village church. Standing in the centre of the nave the dominant curvilinear idiom of the Gothic styling will be apparent. The nave is flanked by north and south arcaded aisles with plain two-centred arches datable to the l4c. The piers of the north arcade are quatrefoil in plan with slender engaged shafting; those of the south arcade are octagonal in plan. All of the piers have moulded bases and capitals.
The 14c west tower is constructed in four stages. Internally it is open to the nave under a two-centred moulded arch. There is access to the belfry but, sadly, the brick-built circular Tudor staircase was removed about fifty years ago. The carved head of a woman recovered from this staircase, although it presumably originated from elsewhere in the church, can be seen in the vestry. But the finest aspects of this church are to be seen in the early chancel which is remarkable for its size and the splendour of its architectural expression. It dates from the first decades of the l4c. This fine chancel is framed by an exceptionally large east window of five cinquefoiled lights, the curvilinear bar tracery and verticality of which enhance the powerful impact of this aspect of the building. Most interesting, and presumably deriving from the deanery status of the church, there is a series on the north and south walls of twenty-one stalls recessed under a canopied arcade with mouldings and cusping. At the east end of the south arcade there are the piscina and sedilia. The chancel arch, of the same period and sprung from the capitals of clustered shafts, shows residual traces, near the base on either side of the step, of a former stone screen which is possibly significant in view of the rare stone screens in the nearby churches of Stebbing and Great Bardfield. Note also the small blocked low window by the north side of the arch. The panels behind the altar on which the Creed, Lords Prayer and Commandments are painted were made in 1837 for the church at Danbury and brought to Great Sampford in 1894.
The vestry, formerly a chapel, is of great interest as a surviving major element of the previous church of the late - 13c (however when I visited this was locked). In the east wall there are good coupled windows of two trefoiled lights with two quatrefoil and sexfoil circular openings, interesting examples of pierced plate-tracery. The large brick-filled window in the south wall is of the mid-13c with good mouldings and the surviving arch and shafting in the splays. Below this window, fragments of medieval glass were found buried in the ground outside. The contemporary archway in the west wall has some intriguing carved capitals richly adorned with robust oak-leaf foliage and vibrant figures including an owl, snail, pig and a human face in a good state of preservation. One is assumed to be a representation of a ‘Green Man’ a symbolic figure of English folklore. The north wall has four quatrefoil openings. There is, under the south window, a triple gabled recess with crockets and linear moulding, pinnacles and a neat acanthus motif which was probably once a fine tomb of an important local family, perhaps a member of the de Kemesek family. It is said to have served as a fireplace in the time when the vestry housed the village school! The battened and studded oak door leading into the chancel is 16c.
The open church roof structures are well worth close study. The best is in the vestry which is roofed with twelve pairs of collared scissor-braced trusses supporting the steep-pitched rafters on moulded wall plates. The chancel roof is also of trussed-rafter construction of seven cants, as is that of the nave roof which also has three tie-beams which may have been installed at a later date, perhaps when, as we know from church records, the roof was repaired in the 16c. The lean-to roof of the north aisle is attractively braced with graceful curved members sprung from a good moulded wall-plate. Unfortunately, the original roof of the south aisle has been replaced by a modern structure, but three of the amusing stone corbels which supported it remain. The trussed-rafter roof of the south porch with seven cants should be noted as it rests on extremely fine early moulded plates. Visitors should not miss the intriguing carved medieval wooden head which is fastened onto the wall above the chancel arch at the north-west corner facing the nave. This appears to have been repositioned, perhaps from a figure that was once part of church statuary. On the south side in the clerestory will be seen an attractive 15c Perpendicular style rectilinear and cinquefoiled window of three ogee lights which was devised to throw light onto the former rood.
Originally the church would have been resplendent with a comprehensive range of wall paintings for visual instruction depicting scenes of biblical or religious significance. A few fragments survive, having been discovered during restoration work in 1979, above the arches on the walls of the north arcade. Although faint and incomplete the two remaining paintings are of interest. One represents the seven deadly sins in the form of a diagrammatic tree which is comparatively rare. The other may be of St. Christopher, a saintly figure normally positioned, as possibly here, opposite the church entrance as a reassuring gesture to the worshippers. There are traces, too, possibly of another period, that suggest a dragon was depicted which would imply an association with St. Michael to whom the church is dedicated or, possibly, St. Margaret. Traces of colour in the wall plaster of the vestry may eventually yield further paintings.
Worthy of note are some special features beginning with the door at the church entrance. This is thought to be contemporary with the building of the church in the early l4c and, although damaged at the base, is still a fine example and retains the original wrought iron strap-work and studding. According to expert opinion it is the most elaborate of all saltire-braced doors in Essex. The boards of which it is constructed are pegged together. The font in the south aisle has a plain moulded octagonal bowl of the 15c. Its stem is earlier and has complex decoration which combines ogee-headed panels with intricate tracery on a chamfered 14c plinth. The Victorian pews were recently detached and the nave flooring paved. The beautiful series of kneelers worked with flower motifs were recently embroidered by local people. The lovely embroidered runner on the step of the sanctuary was made in 1990 and is an exact copy of the Victorian runner it replaced.
It is valid to observe that St. Michael’s benefits aesthetically from the absence of monumental clutter which, although sometimes historically useful, can be detrimental to the architectural purity of the building as a whole. The only remaining monuments of antiquity in the church are the tomb slabs (Calthorp and Burrows) of the 17c and 18c in the chance]. They commemorate a family whose name persists at a local farm and another of textile merchants who lived opposite the church. There is another (Gretton) in the south aisle. The pulpit, the provenance of which is unknown, is Victorian. There are also a few notable pieces of furniture. These include a 17c desk with a writing slope and cupboard which once served the school in the church. There is also a standing cupboard or hutch of the late 16c and a 16c church chest, iron-banded with strap hinges and an interior ‘till’ which may have been built-in as a response to a Parochial Visitation of 1686 which ordered it to be provided and lockable. The modern portable altar at the east end of the north aisle was given to the church by an anonymous donor in 1991. The small bronze of the Madonna and Child is of German provenance.
The five church bells which were once rung for church services as well as for special village occasions like harvest and gleaning can no longer be pealed. This is because of structural weaknesses in the belfry though they are still hung on the original stocks. Nowadays one is chimed for church services, as a Sanctus bell and used to ring the hours for the clock. The first, third and fourth bells were cast by William Land in 1624; the second (which bears the Royal Arms and a medallion with a bust of Charles II) by Henry Yaxley in 1684; the fifth by John Hodson in 1664. The church plate includes an interesting early Elizabethan silver cup of 1562 with a paten cover of c1567 and another paten dated 1630. None of these is inscribed although they carry makers' marks. An electro-plated flagon of 1854 was purchased by the vicar for five guineas in 1856. The organ, installed in 1976, is said to have come from a nonconformist chapel and to have been built in c1830 by G.M. Holdich. The eagle lectern in the south aisle was placed in the church in 1909 as a tribute to the incumbency of the Rev. Robert Eustace, vicar from 1850 to 1905.
Almost every ancient church has a range, most of which cannot be satisfactorily explained, of markings and graffiti, ostensibly symbolic figuring, idle scratchings and numerous initials and dates. Great Sampford has a generous quota of such. Of genuine interest is a 3-men’s (or 9-men's) Morris cut into the second stall on the north side of the chancel inside the altar rail. These are gaming boards of some antiquity, the play having affinities with ludo and allegedly used to relieve the boredom of long sermons or tedious ritual. On the opposite side one of the sedilia has a set of unexplained grooves, possibly another game.
This guide has so far been concerned mostly with events, architecture and objects of beauty or interest. More important are the people, clergy, church officers and villagers who have worked for and worshipped in the church. They all emerge from the obscurity of the past through the church records and the village archives as personalities or in human situations which help us to share their hopes, commitment or despair. The clergy, ever since Thomas de Sampford, dean in 1163, have served the church and ministered to the people throughout the ages and struggled with the traumas of turbulent and anxious times. The churchwardens, like Richard Petytt and John Mylner in the l6c and their successors, have striven to preserve the church from decay and neglect and carried out their onerous and multifarious duties with devotion if not always with alacrity. There have been too the countless parishioners whose recurring family names fill the registers recording the joy of marriage and birth and the sadness of illness and death. They are all part of the story and the reality of the church and its life in the village. They too were familiar with the building we admire. They sat in the pews and looked upon the beauty that is now our heritage. Their responsibility has passed to successive generations, and now to us. We hope that they would have approved of this little booklet and that it will play its part in safeguarding the continuity of that inheritance.