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I’ve been meaning to check out St Martin’s for some time. It’s a bit further out of Stamford town centre than a number of this towns’ other magnificent ecclesiastical edifices. Today I finally did so.
Like practically all old Anglican churches, there’s always something to engage and fascinate. And more often than not, more than just one thing.
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Around the altar end of the church the pavement is terrific. I adore this style of tiling. I must find out what it’s called. I want to have a crack at making a floor inspired by this style in our home.
Initially, when I walked in, I was a little underwhelmed. But as I explored, and looked harder, that all changed. For one thing, there are several super ostentatious memorials.
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After examining these monuments to the pride of the ‘great and good’ (harrumph!), I went and looked at the pulpit. And from the pulpit. It was from this elevated position that another aspect of the riches of this building struck home.
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Above, mostly views from the pulpit, and a few other sundry snaps.
Next up a gallery of carved wood. First the rood screen, and sundry other bits, and then a whole load of stuff from the pulpit. The pulpit is ornamented with some terrific carving.
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But, for me, the real highlight here is the old medieval stained-glass. I only twigged to it when I was up in the pulpit; I realised that certain segments – it’s the figurative stuff that gives it away – had a gorgeous primitive charm.
I’ll start with a general gallery, of the various windows (they’re actually in a kind of sequential order, photographed as I walked further into the church), before looking at some of them – the ones with the older stuff in them – in more detail.
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Once I’d realised how exquisite some of the glass is, I went back photographing windows in more detail. Some of that stuff now follows…
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I’ve attempted to group them by window.
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Truth be told I’m not sure if I’ve managed to do so?
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But, well… whatever, as folk say these days. They are what they is.
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After the sacred sojourn of St Martin’s, I went to St Mary’s Books & Prints, a favourite haunt of mine, when in ol’ Stamford Town. I wanted to see if they had this title in stock (they are an official Taschen reseller):
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But they didn’t. Instead, I picked up this:
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… which seemed very apt, given the reveries the stained glass at St Martin’s caused.