Judging by a recent
e-mail sent to me by the team at LHaR, it seems that the Volunteer Heritage
Stewards have done a great job in completing the Places of Worship surveys in
the time allocated. At the time of writing there appears to be just 50 or so
remaining. The power of volunteers, indeed!
As the surveying of
these assets draws to a close I have found myself thinking about some of the
experiences I have had and particular features I have noticed whilst out and
about in the county. As in previous blogs it is often the human stories that
hold my fascination.
The quality of the
craftsmanship seen in churches never fails to amaze me and the pride that the
various trades obviously had in their work. Walking into a large church on the
border with Nottinghamshire, I could have been forgiven for thinking I had
entered a cathedral, such was its size and grandeur. Gold leaf and elaborate
woodwork was everywhere to be seen! In direct contrast to this was a redundant
church at the southern end of the Lincoln Edge. Here the church was more
modestly appointed, serving for many years, the small hamlet in which it is
situated. Despite its size, the internal woodwork was obviously made with great
pride and attention to detail. The box pews were ingenious in their use of
space within the confines of the church. Their design reflected very clearly
the relative social importance of the local congregation; commodious family
pews nearest the altar and the more basic, smaller pews towards the rear.
I have learned that the
churchyard itself can also yield fascinating historical detail for the interested
visitor. At a church in the Sleaford area C17 raised “boxed” tombstones
immediately attracted my attention. In various stages of deterioration, these
slabs of stone must have been incredibly heavy to both fashion and install. It
was easy for me to imagine a team of stonemasons struggling to manhandle the
stones into their correct positions. As interesting to me was how well the
tombstones have retained their shape, overall appearance and legible
inscriptions, some for almost 300 years. As well as the more predictable
passages from the Scriptures seen commonly on tombstones, the more unusual ones
are of interest. Much can be understood of the social and moral conditions
prevalent at the time they were crafted, not least the style of language used
and the decidedly chaste tones of the inscriptions!
I have sometimes
sheltered in the porches of churches to write up my survey notes and looking
around have noticed unusual and unexpected features in the architecture (for
example, a line of frogs carved around the stone door frame of a church in the
Sleaford area and a gargoyle, half way up a church tower in the Gainsborough
area, blowing a raspberry, and appearing to stare down on the passers-by!) Of
all these quirky features, my enduring favourites are the informal pieces of
C18 and C19 graffiti that appear to have lasted so long because of the
painstaking manner in which they were carved. I have included a photo of such
an example. I imagined the name might have been carved in an idle few moments,
perhaps by a member of the choir or by a grave-digger during his lunch-break!
Who knows? What is clear however, is how enjoyable I have found the past few
months spent surveying churches. These experiences have reminded me to always
try to look beyond the obvious when visiting these remarkable buildings.
Colin, Heritage Steward
