St Leonard’s, Leverington
I’ve stopped at this church many times. It’s always been locked up/closed. I rang the only telephone number I could see – which turned out to be that of the local rector/priest (or whatever the name is!?) – and she, a lady called Sandra, showed up and let me in.
Here’s a gallery of images of the graveyard and porch, on a wet grey day. Really hugely atmospheric. Love it! This is what you see when you arrive here. It also looks fabulous on a bright sunny day.
I love the above view. The moss and the ivy. Life, richly vegetative life, overcomes, over-grows, death. Beautiful.
The wooden beams spanning the areas ‘twixt the arches are a Victorian addition. Sandra said they are structurally superfluous! They have lovely richly carved corbels, at their bases.
The lectern pictured next was covered with a bin bag! Sandra removed that for me, so I could get a decent photo. Thanks! She told me it’s a very valuable 14th or 15th C. piece. The bin bag keeps off bat-poo!
Here are the more interesting (i.e. stained-glass) windows:
The chief glory of St Leonard’s, perhaps? is the ‘Jesse Window’. I had to ask Sandra what a Jesse window is/was. Well, it’s Jesus’ family tree, basically. (Later in the day my pal Pat quipped, ‘How do they represent Jesus as himself and also his own father?’ Of course they don’t.)
Sadly my photos of this wonderful window aren’t great. I’ll have to re-visit and photograph it better. Pane by pane, methinks.
I asked how this had survived Henry the VIII and Cromwell, etc. Apparently it was taken down, dismantled, and stored. When restored it had to have large amounts of missing stuff renewed. It’s terrifically well done. This window alone makes a visit to St Leonard’s an absolute must.
I couldn’t spend long here, alas. But I will certainly be going back. It’s a terrific place.
The wet, grey, rainy day wasn’t at all a bad thing. In fact it made this wonderful place that bit more enchanting. Sandra was lovely. And the verdant lushness of the setting was breathtaking. What a fab’ visit!
All Saints, Moulton
As I drove home, earlier today, Bagpuss and I spotted another spire. Initially I had no thoughts of stopping. But it turns out that, 1) I drove right by it, and 2) it was open. So, why not stop and take a look?
I beamed with totally unconcealed schadenfreude, on spotting the Tory placards at the above (very pretty) house.
Unlike St Leonard’s, I was able to walk in to this open church, without needing to call a keyholder. They’d just had a tea or coffee morning. Which I’d just missed. They also had a book stall. Many churches do nowadays.
All Saints appears to have two, possibly even three fonts! There’s the one that greets you upon arrival. Then there’s another to the left. And a third stone basin is propped against a column. Odd!
I always like to check out a churches’ roof. And any other interesting wooden stuff, like rood screens. I like this one, with the fan vaulting and carved heads.
And then there are all the funny little stone niches. And carved stonework. There’s almost always loads to see and enjoy.
As is so often the case, there are some interesting stained glass windows.
Whilst I missed out on hot beverages and cakes, etc, I did pick up several sachets of plant seeds, for Teresa. These were free. And what they contain, I don’t know. Nor did the church-folk.
And then, at last, it was time to go…