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I should have woken up this morning at the Radisson Blu in Arhus, but due to "reasons", that got cancelled, which meant I was home for Heritage Weekend, which as you can imagine, I was very upset about.
The day was to be a mix of the familiar and new, with revisits to some I had not been to in a decade.
It is hotter than ever, and now added to which is a haze caused by the sand blown up from the Sahara, which makes to look and feel like there are wildfires burning nearby. Anything more than a mile away is lost in a brown haze, and there being no wind to blow it away.
We went to Tesco, obviously, did some gathering and pushing the week and feeble out of the way, then rushed to pay and leave. Getting back home to have breakfast and be all tidied away for just gone nine when we left for a hard day's chuchcrawling.
Avoiding the port is obvious, even if the traffic radar said it was delay free, best not to take a risk in getting caught up in traffic that can last for days.
And traffic was heavy on the road to Folkestone and the motorway, but we soo turned off onto the A20 to Lypmne, turning right to Aldington.
St Martin sits next to a large and busy farm, though its tower does just that, and is visible for miles, and is a waymarker when travelling between Folkestone and Ashford.
The church is rarely open, at least for casual visitors, so this was a chance to redo shots taken eight years ago.
This was the first of 907 shots taken through the day, and most of which you will be seeing in the next few weeks as I edit and post them.
So, after going round and getting dozens of shots, we walk back to the car through the churchyard, all gold and green as the seasons think about changing.
We retrace our steps to the main road, then back east to Lympne, past the animal park and along the narrow main street to the entrance to the castle, where the church sits beside, perched on the edge of the down, overlooking the Romney Marsh.
Don't park her, or here, said the signs, so I left the car in the castle car park, hoping it wouldn't get clamped, then walk to the lychgate and to the church, a huge barn of a place made much bigger when the additional west nave, if that's the right word, was added.
There's a spiral staircase leading to the bellringing platform in the tower, other than that, its a fine, tidy and a church full of interest.
I bid the wardens farewell, as we walk back to the car and then drive the short distance back to the A20, turning west to pass under the motorway that now bisects the village of Sellindge, going past the two new huge housing developments which have sprung up since I was last here, and right on the edge of the village is St Mary.
St Mary is rarely open, I had tried a few weeks back, battling traffic each way to find it locked.
But it was taking part in Ride and Stride, so I had high hoped.
Highlight is the art deco painted screen at the west end partioning the vestry from the Nave. But my last visit I only took 29 shots, I would try to snap more details, especially in the windows.
Back onto the motorway and a quick blast past the Channel Tunnel entrance, turning off and doubling back past Froghalt to Newington, a church I had been to twice in the last month hoping it would be open.
But wasn't.
The warden told me she was just leaving as she had a plasterer coming round to her house.
Bish, bash bosh.
But told me to help myself to juice or coffee, tea of cakes.
I passed.
Not much I had missed on previous visits, but I snapped details of the windows as before.
In and out in under ten minutes.
Back to Dover then, for a quick stop at St Edmund's Chapel, I last visited about a decade ago.
It is the only English Church dedicated to one English saint consecrated by a different English saint.
It is a small stone building, that during the 20th century was a smithy and a tool store before being restored to how we see it today.
Such chapels were once quite common, but St Edmunds is one of the few that remain. Quite a few visitors were there, thanks to the half dozen volunteers outside handing out badges, and the large amount of colourful bunting.
Off then to the area of town called Charlton. Hidden away is a large Victorian parish church, visible really is just the east wall of the Chancel from the main road, but the Ride and Stride webpage did say it would be open, so we went to look.
And it was indeed open, and inside we received a warm welcome.
The church is on a grand scale, seats 700 easily, and has a fine collection of period stained glass which cast the cool interior win a rainbow of colours.
Just along Maison Dieu is another fine looking church, and one designed by a Pugin. St Paul's, sits a little back from the main road, its easily passed and not noticed.
We parked opposite, and waked over to find that the porch was open, and manned by two volunteers, but the church itself was locked. I made do with taking a shot through the glass.
"Would you like to go inside, I have a key".
The magic words.
So, we walked round to a side door, a key was produced and the door swung open.
The church was full of light, mostly purple from the rose window in the west end of the church.
It was explained that the roof is fairly new, from the 80s, after an arson attack.
The windows in the aisles are good, so I photograph them all.
I dropped Jools back home as the day was now so unbearably hot and humid, I stopped for a pint of cold squash and a snack of picnic sized pork pies, and then back out into the furnace to Ripple which again should be open.
I was greeted with a huge swarm of newly emerged Ivy Bees that were feeding on the vegetation of the churchyard, and in doing alarming the two ladies inside the church who feared of being stung. I told them not to worry and their worries were indeed eased.
Not much I had missed before, but again details in the windows and wall carvings were recorded before I stepped back outside and pondered how to avoid the roadworks on the main road into Deal.
Instead of doubling back to the main road, I carried on along narrow and winding lanes until I saw signs for Great Mongeham, which I knew was very near to St Leonard in Deal, where is where I wanted to, but I had missed out on the other two churches in Walmer, but I could sort that out after visiting St Leonard.
After finding a place to park, I walked in and was greeted by three wardens in the porch, and although they didn't mind me taking shots, the gentleman did watch over me the whole time I was there.
St Leonard is a huge and sprawling church, the ancinet church greatly enlarged by a new Nave doubling, if not tripling the width of the church, and with a gallery too. As benefitting a church with a strong link to the Royal Navy, the walls are covered in memorials to various Naval officers and their wives, large number of hatchings too.
I had snapped it with wide angle lens before, so again concentrated on the details. Of which there were many.
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There can be no more remarkable church in Kent than this. St Leonard's incorporates work of every century but you do need to search out its architectural gems so closely are the different periods overlaid. Its chief period are Norman and early and late Georgian, although there is something for everyone here. From the outside it is obvious that the church has been clothed in an outer layer of brick and render, but just here and there medieval stonework appears from under the skirts. The fine west tower is obviously a Georgian structure and it is through this that the church is entered. The vestibule contains the first of what will be a fine collection of 15 hatchments and benefaction boards showing that this was one a very wealthy place. On entering the church one is baffled by an illogical layout. In front of you is an empty space that should be the nave, leading into a very small medieval chancel. To the south is an aisle and chapel but to the north is a veritable auditorium facing south and surrounded on three sides by huge balconies improbably lit by circular windows! You really do have to see it. Occupying the nave is a most elaborate nineteenth century font but it isn't until you are in and look back that you realise that this area too has an enormous gallery now holding one of the grandest organs in Kent, rising like a slightly bedraggled wedding cake! Of the contents one must choose a favourite. For me the Norman pillar piscina of sandstone is an oddity and would not look out of place in a cathedral, whilst the east window of the south aisle with its garish depiction of The Crucifixion cannot be ignored. It is by William Morris and Co of Westminster and is about as far removed from the famous William Morris as it possibly could be! Apart from the hatchments the church contains many fine monuments mostly to Naval men and two Royal Arms. It is not a church to rush as something new is to be found at every turn. To those interested in structures, how it all fits together is a mystery in itself with the lovely Norman arcade having been stretched out to support two elliptical arches. Somehow it works and draws us in.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Deal+1
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St Leonard's is still the Parish Church of Deal, despite now lying on the outskirts of the town and there being several other churches within the town. It gains its name from the Saint to whom it is dedicated - St Leonard of Limoges an Abbot who lived in France during the 6th century and who is now the Patron Saint of Prisoners.
Today, St Leonard's serves the local community as the mother church of a Benefice (group of churches) which includes three other local churches;
St Richards, Mill Hill; St Nicholas, Sholden; and St Martins, Great Mongham. Services are held several times a week in all four churches, with each church having its own unique look and feel.
Although some sources give credence to a place of worship having been on the site since Saxon times, no evidence of this building exists now, however parts of the current Church of St Leonard's certainly date to approximately 1100 although over the centuries since, it has seen many alterations. This leaves the building now standing, as a confusion of architectural styles. The Nave and chancel contain the earliest remaining arcitecture, with the original tower being added some 80 to 100 years later.
The chancel was remodeled in the 13th century, and during this period the narrow north and south aisles were enlarged and doors added to each (These doors are both now gone, although the southern can be detected in the outside wall and parts of the northern doorway were reused in the current north door, leading from the early 19th century extension to the church, into the north porch.)
The current tower is of 17th century construction (completed in 1686) having been built to replace the 12th century one which had collapsed due to the church falling in to ill repair prior to the reformation. Many other repairs and alterations have obviously occurred over the centuries and in this history, I will try and lead you through them and show how they have influenced what we have today.
While this amalgam of architectural styles has led to what some would call an aesthetically unattractive building, certainly from the outside, as evidenced in the picture above, it has along with various changes in fashion and the foibles of its congregations over the ages, led to an intriguing, if no less confusing, interior. This is very lopsided and results in the bulk of the congregation facing south, rather than the traditional east and therefore sitting side on to the Altar.
The picture alongside is a view from the gallery over the north door and shows how the orientation leaves the choir and high altar hidden in the chancel off to the left and the congregation facing the end of the new altar which has been installed forward of its more usual position. One Bishop is said to have commented that it is "The most cockeyed church in Christendom". It does however mean that the church contains features of architectural importance and interest spanning nine centuries.
The current tower is surmounted by a cupola which featured on charts as an important landmark for ships approaching the Goodwin Sands. This cupola has recently been completely refurbished, at a total cost in excess of £69,000.
The original 12th century tower that collapsed in the mid 17th century had possessed a steeple ( at least according to Philip Symond's Map of Kent which can normally be relied upon in these matters. I am not aware of any pictorial evidence either way)
The tower now has a clock on the north and south faces and a peal of six bells. Originally there was a peal of five, first cast and hung in 1686. These were recast in 1887, with a sixth bell being added, as a jubilee gift (interestingly to the town rather than the church) from Captain George Coleman who later became mayor of Deal. The current clock is dated 1866, the earliest record of the tower having a clock is for 1715, but the current one dates from 1866.
One normally enters St Leonard's via the west door in the tower, however the north door to the church is available to to give access for wheel chair users etc and also serves as the entrance for the bride at weddings as it allows her a longer procession, passing through the congregation.
Once through the main doors of the tower, the visitor passes down several steep steps into a lobby notable for a spiral staircase to the bell tower and two hatchments (those numbered 12 and 15 in the separate article) The table on which the Deal Charter was displayed after its signing by William III in 1699 also stands here. It is also worth noting the insides of the entrance doors and the large lock, which are probably original to the present tower
. If you are lucky and the inner doors into the body of the church are open and the sun shining in the right direction, you will be struck by the splendour of the view this allows of the altar, chancel and ascension window. Unfortunately, they are normally kept closed to help keep the heat in and drafts out.
As you enter the main body of the church, take time to look back the way you came; as well as the modern interior doors, you will have passed by an earlier door which is a fine example of Jacobean panelled work complete with a hand wrought latch and bolt. This door is now kept open, but it is worth closing it as far as possible, to better view its splendour from both sides.
Once inside the main body of the church, you begin to sense the "ordered chaos" that has resulted from the many extensions. To the south the aisle is still the width it became when the church was expanded in the 13th century, the northern aisle however was extended both in the 13th century to a similar width to that of the current south, and again in the 19th century, which created the current lopsided interior. Prior to the Reformation, St Leonard's, in common with most churches had many side altars and images of Saints, where candles were kept burning in both these aisles, these are all now gone..
It should be noted that the extensions of the 13th C were not symmetrical, the south aisle was always longer than the north, both to the east where the Lady Chapel altar now stands and to the west where it stretches almost as far as the west wall of the tower. Part of this was divided off to form the clergy vestry in 1709 and a further section in 1979.
The second extension to the northern aisle took place in 1819 when the whole north wall was taken down and the current dimensions reached. It was with the building of this extension that the pews in the northern aisle were turned to face south so giving the bulk of the seating in St Leonard's a most unusual orientation. For a long period of time after this it meant that any acts of worship carried out at the main altar in the chancel were hidden from the bulk of the congregation.
In 1979 this changed. Worship was becoming much more centred around Holy Communion and moving away from people attending church primarily to hear the clergy preaching, so leading to a bigger need for people to be able to see the altar. Rather than a wholesale redesign of the seating, screens at the front of the chancel were moved and placed on the walls of the vestry, the pulpit which stood by the side of the small 15th century door linking the chancel and northern aisle was removed and a new, forward altar and communion rails placed where they stand today, just outside the chancel (see picture right) At the same time several pews were removed, leaving an open space from the altar to the west door. It was also at this time that a further section of the western end of the south aisle was partitioned off to increase the size of the vestry and provide today's toilet and kitchen facilities, such as they are.
Standing in front of the altar and looking around the church, another feature stands out apart from the unusual shape - the galleries. St Leonard's is rare, if not unique as a parish church, in having galleries from three different periods still intact. Galleries were another way of meeting the needs of the expanding population of Deal over the centuries and these, as with the basic structure of the church have evolved several times over the years.
he Georgian gallery over the north aisle is contemporary with the extension (1819) and is rated as being of great significance by the Georgian Society among others as an excellent example of its type. Although at first glance the benches and kneelers in this gallery appear quite sad, they are for the most part original and I am told by the Georgian Society, well worth retaining. This picture shows the North aisle. The original extent of the aisle was as far as the two iron pillars which now support the ceiling. The georgian gallery runs round three sides of the new extension. The bulk of the panneling is unfortunatly concealed behind murals currently, but I hope to be able to take a picture with these temporarily removed in the near future,
The gallery which now houses the Bevington Organ is known as the Pilots Gallery and while not the original, which suffered when the tower collapsed, still dates to 1705 and is clearly of 'Restoration period' style. On the front, either side of the picture of an 18th century Man O' War can still be seen the inscription from its most recent rebuild and some interesting paintings of the globe and pilots in traditional uniform although these are now much faded. The date shown on the picture of 1705 is the date of painting, rather than the Great Storm of 1703 which it commemorates, where some 1,200 men were lost on the Goodwin Sands.
The final gallery is Victorian, erected in 1860 over the entrance to the vestry, and of interest for several reasons. The front bears the carved Arms of William III (after Mary's death) which had originally been on the front of a gallery built in 1696 by Thomas Bowles (who later became Mayor of Deal) which sat over the chancel until it was removed in 1860. The old Gallery is believed to have been made of panels from Northbourne church. Incidentally, it was at this time (1860) that the old 'horsebox' pews were replaced with those we now have. The picture to the left, shows not only the gallery, but also the screening that was removed from the front of the chancel when that area was reordered in 1979. Was it a quirk of fate or a plan which brought the gallery and the screens which for many years had existed in close proximity back together after almost 120 years?
smooth tidy tips, smooth tidytips, Layia chrysanthemoides, Sunflower family, (Asteraceae), Bear Valley, Colusa County, California
The running rigging is being moved aloft on the starboard side, to make room for the scaffolding and awnings to come.
Tidy Models hospitality staff welcoming guests onto the Edgerton's stand and giving samples of the gin.
All you can see in Fidra the Pan European's right-hand luggage pocket are the two USB sockets and the waterproof switch that brings the PWM controller in or out of the supply to the DIN socket (out of shot).
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