August Miscellany Upcoming Events Hoghton Tower Graffiti Tours Items of Interest The graffiti and paintings on the columns of the basilica in Bethlehem Medieval Mass Dials, Do You Know What They Are? The unique Nottinghamshire park where hundreds of ‘witch marks’ have been discovered Shoot That Poison Arrow: Apotropaics to…
St Mary’s Hospital, London St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London dates back to 1845. As is the way of old hospitals, it has been much altered and changed but the original building, now known as the Cambridge Wing, still exists with its main entrance on Norfolk Mews. It is a smaller entrance, where Norfolk Mews…
Book Review: Historic Building Mythbusting by James Wright All buildings have stories behind them. Historic buildings accumulate stories as they get older. Unfortunately, not all of those stories are true. In this book, buildings archaeologist James Wright examines some of the common misconceptions and myths about historic buildings and explains why they came about and…
July Miscellany Upcoming Events Mysterious Medieval Graffiti found in the Medieval Buildings of the Worcestershire Area Items of Interest Graffiti found in basement of Italian castle From Twitter Daisy wheel in Evesham Graffiti at Ness of Brodgar
St Ethelbert and All Saints, Belchamp Otten, Essex The church of St Elthelbert and All Saints stands in the village of Belchamp Otten in Essex near the Suffolk border and in the Stour valley. It dates back to the 12th century and is quite simple inside. The only graffiti to be found is on the…
June Miscellany Upcoming Events Bodiam Castle graffiti talk Items of Interest Open Air Museum Seeks Witch Posts Medieval graffiti in church near York From Twitter Exeter Cathedral graffiti Graffiti in St Leonards Flamshire Upton Snodsbury church graffiti Graffiti in St Mary’s, Nevill Holt Rosettes…
Book Review: Art of the Grimoire by Owen Davies The Art of the Grimoire by Owen Davies, is as gloriously illustrated as any coffee-table book and revels in the visual media of magic books of many ages and cultures. Davies’ previous book on grimoires is a scholarly analysis of that genre of magic source material…
St Peter Ad Vincula, Coggeshall, Essex St Peter Ad Vincula in Coggeshall is a large ‘wool’ church dating back to the 15th century. It was damaged by a bomb in WW2. There is very little graffiti inside the church, but on a column in the south arcade two deep crosses and two faint faces…
May Miscellany Upcoming Events Graffiti talk at Flamstead Festival Items of Interest New gladiator graffiti found in Pompeii Historic graffiti in Venice Kent door Napoleonic graffiti Prehistoiric dot patterns in Greek cave From Twitter Graffiti in St Mary’s, Whitby Graffiti in Thornton-le-Dale, Yorkshire Daisy wheels on…
Tranmer House, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk Tranmer House is part of the Sutton Hoo estate, now run by the National Trust. It was the home of Edith Pretty, who commissioned Basil Brown to excavate some burial mounds on the grounds and thus the Sutton Hoo treasure was found. After Edith Pretty’s death in 1942, Tranmer House…
April Miscellany Upcoming Events Witchcraft in Kent Exploring Medieval Graffiti Items of Interest Graffiti at Kibworth Mill From Twitter Font with daisy wheel rosettes WW2 graffiti at London Library Graffiti at St Edward, Teffont, Wilts Daisy wheel mosaic at Pompeii Prisoner graffiti at Tower…
St Mary the Virgin, Little Baddow, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin in Little Baddow dates back to the 11th century with changes and additions in the 14th and 15th centuries. It has an excellent 14th century painting of St Christopher bearing the Christ-child and another of a demon. There is a scattering…
March Miscellany Upcoming Events Ritual Protection Marks Talks Reading Stories in Stone talk Items of Interest Lecture: Cypriot medieval graffiti From Twitter The Three Hares Project The Equinox Stone • Loughcrew • Meath Graffiti at St Giles, Imber book
St Peter’s, Sible Hedingham, Essex The church of St Peter, Sible Hedingham dates back to the 14th century with a 16th century tower and porch. The fact that it has graffiti on its columns and walls has been known since at least 1915 when GG Coulton reports on it in his paper Medieval Graffiti: Especially…
Myddelton Passage, London Myddelton Passage is an ordinary, quiet residential street in Islington behind the Sadlers Wells Theatre. However, back in the 19th century it wasn’t a residential street but was a narrow alleyway a stone’s throw away from a pub, a theatre and a music hall. It shows up in court reports of the…
January Miscellany Items of Interest Message in a bottle in Edinburgh home Histoic graffiti in Croatia From Twitter Medieval graffiti at risk from the weather Prisoners’ graffiti in Winchester’s 11th century West Gate Apotropaic cat skeleton in Devon cottage
St Mary Magdalen, Magdalen Laver, Essex The church of St Mary Magdalen at Magdalen Laver dates back to the 11th century. It is a pretty, simple church with little exposed stonework in the interior. The visible graffiti is clustered around the south door and is made up of initials. The two clear dates are from…
December Miscellany Upcoming Events The Historic Graffiti in the Medieval Buildings of the Charing Area – Jan 11 Items of Interest Mysterious graffiti in Caen chateau From Twitter Graffiti in Orford Castle, Suffolk Sator Square at Great Gidding, Cambridgeshire Arborograffiti
November Miscellany Items of Interest Carved messages from the castle dungeon Michelangelo’s secret sketches under church in Florence open to public From Twitter Ritual protection in Croome Court
St Mary and St John, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire The church of St Mary and St John dates back to the 12th century. The south chapel, which holds most of the graffiti, dates mostly to the 14th century. Unusually for churches, the most common symbol in St Mary and St John is not initials and names but…
All Saints, High Laver, Essex The church of All Saints, High Laver, dates to the 12th century. It has been much restored, which probably accounts for why the only graffiti visible is on the 14th century font. This has quite extensive graffiti with several compass circles, a heraldic shield and some initials and dates. There…
October Miscellany Upcoming Events Specialist Tour : The Graffiti of Norwich Cathedral Witchmarks at Crewswell Crags Mummified Dried Cats in the Archaeological Record – talk From Twitter Marian Marks at Besford Church WWII graffiti at Stradbroke Church, Suffolk Graffiti in Winchester Cathedral
St Giles, Great Hallingbury, Essex The church of St Giles dates back to the 11th century with a 14th century tower and evidence of roman bricks in the chancel arch. The north aisle and porch dates to the late 19th century, as does the decoration of the east wall. However, the church is more…
St Edmund, Abbess Roding, Essex St Edmund’s church in Abbess Roding dates to the 14th century with amendments and additions up to the 19th. There is only a scattering of graffiti throughout the church and doorways. It mostly consists of names and initials with one date in the 18th century and one in the 19th….
September Miscellany Items of Interest Protective Marks at University of Virginia Chapel Medieval Graffiti – The marks of faith in religious buildings during the Middle Ages Saints and Mystics in Legend and Tradition Conference Report From Twitter @mjc_associates Lots of lovely Medieval graffiti at Silk Willoughby near Sleaford pic.twitter.com/BD3K5bMyYK — theotherjanet (@theotherjanet1) September 1, 2023…
August Miscellany Upcoming Events On 19 September I'll be giving an online talk on Tudor Houses. This site will feature prominently – King's House at the Tower of London. Built c 1538-40, it is one of the first houses to have attics lit by dormer windows. Booking details are here:https://t.co/mKdWgoTlP0 pic.twitter.com/T7MHo0WhaM — James Wright (@jpwarchaeology)…
July Miscellany Upcoming Events If you missed the graffiti tour at @StBartholomews in May fear not! Join us 12 Aug to look at some graffiti and learn about the history of this amazing church! #graffiti https://t.co/FhCAZvZ2ov — Crystal Hollis (@GraffitiGinger) July 12, 2023 Apotropaic graffiti in London churches talk Items of Interest Apotropaic circles in…
St Mary the Virgin, Dedham, Essex The village of Dedham is on the River Stour is where John Constable went to school and the church of St Mary the Virgin has one of his paintings to prove it. The village was a wealthy wool town and spent some of those riches on its church which,…
June Miscellany Upcoming Events London Graffiti Talk by Wayne Perkins Items of Interest Mysterious graffiti in Malmesbury Carlisle Castle Graffiti From Twitter Elaborate compass drawn cross on the south side of the tower arch. St Leonards church, Flamstead. One of hundreds of fantastic early inscriptions in the church. pic.twitter.com/sUd2cSsDMi — Medieval Graffiti (@MedievalG) June 2,…
St Mary, Stratford-St-Mary, Suffolk The parish of Stratford-St-Mary is in Suffolk, but not by much. Its border is the county border with Essex. The church of St Mary has origins going back to the 14th century with additions in the 15th and 16th centuries. There was considerable restoration to the church fabric in the…
April Miscellany Upcoming Events Witch Bottles Talk by Wayne Perkins Items of Interest Medieval Graffiti in Haddington, East Lothian Historic Graffiti in Norwich Medieval Graffiti in Genova, Italy From Twitter 'ROUNDHEADE 1645' I'm currently reading @SocialHistoryOx's brilliant 'The Blazing World' and it's making me go back and look at photos I've taken of survivals of…
St John the Baptist, Glastonbury, Somerset The church of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury, Somerset dates back to the 15th century in its current building, but there has been a church on the site back to 950 CE. It was much restored in 1856 by Sir George Gilbert Scott, which is presumably why there…
All Saints, Great Holland, Essex All Saints, South Holland was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, however it was rebuilt in the 1860s. This rebuild means that there is no visible graffiti in the body of the church. However this does not mean that there is no graffiti in the church. The pipe organ…
March Miscellany Upcoming Events Ritual Building Protection Through Pyro-Technology Hidden Charms 4 Tour of Graffiti in St Bartholomew the Great in London York Witchcraft Symposium is back! With @CREMSYork and @MagicNotWitches And it is all about #magic and #witchcraft pic.twitter.com/L8bnZg7VeT — Dr Debora Moretti (@singinghistori1) March 27, 2023 Items of Interest Historic Graffiti Found in…
St Peter and St Paul, St Osyth, Essex The church of St Peter and St Paul in St Osyth, Essex was first built in the 12th century but has been much modified since then in the 13th and 16th centuries. It is unusually wide and as well as interesting brick columns in the nave has…
St Mary, Buttsbury, Essex The Pevsner entry for St Mary’s, Buttsbury describes the church as ‘small and alone’, which is accurate for a village church with no village in sight. St Mary’s was built in the 14th century with the tower added in the 15th. There is no graffiti inside the church, other that…
February Miscellany From Twitter A few more pics from our trip to Selby. The daisy-wheels (and other marks) are on a column in the north aisle at the West end, the Marian marks are on a medieval effigy right up against the West end. pic.twitter.com/gEaJty6CY1 — Brian Hoggard (@folkmagicman) February 3, 2023 In contrast…
January Miscellany Upcoming Events ‘The Medieval & Historic Graffiti in the Borough of Swale’ Items of Interest UK Archaeologists Ask Public’s Help with Puzzling Cave Carving From Twitter What's this all about? I suppose the middle mark could be a mason's mark but why crosses in the corners of the blocks? @MedievalG @WiltsRecProj pic.twitter.com/sY6iisbX82 — Ron…
December Miscellany Upcoming Events From the Romans to World War Two: Two Thousand Years of ‘Smut’ Graffiti We have three online historic graffiti talks available to book over the festive season – details are below.ALL monies from these events will be going to @ShelterBecause sometimes we all need a helping hand.https://t.co/f7cChjHqx1 pic.twitter.com/IKGJ31My2f — Medieval Graffiti…
November Miscellany Items of Interest Lincoln Cathedral graffiti Familiar symbols showing up as quilt designs From Twitter Marked stone from the Neolithic which was found during excavations at Barnhouse – a Neolithic settlement on the shore of Harray Loch in Orkney, located close to the Standing Stones of Stenness. Now part of the collections at…
St Barnabas, Great Tey, Essex St Barnabas church in Great Tey, Essex, immediately shows a long history of building and remodelling. Its massive (in the solid sense) central tower was built in 1160. The chancel and north and south transepts were 14th century changes and additions. Other changes, including shortening the nave, occurred in the…
October Miscellany Upcoming Events Hidden Elements: Wiltshire’s Historic Graffiti & Protective Marks From Twitter Hundreds of pieces were discovered during repairs to the lead roof of St Michaels Church https://t.co/iSDJHLB220 — BBC North East and Cumbria (@BBCNEandCumbria) October 2, 2022 Hidden gems: from its radical transformation from royal residence to POW camp Covered in stunning…
All Saints, Writtle, Essex The church of All Saints in Writtle, Essex, dates back to the 12th century, although it has undergone much restoration in the 19th century following the collapse of the tower and its rebuilding. The graffiti is mostly confined to the stonework of the 16th century chapel dedicated to William Carpenter. There…
September miscellany Upcoming events Ritual Protection Marks Talks – Autumn 2022 London Fortean Society Haunted Landscape Talks – November 2022 Items of interest 3,500 Year Old Graffiti in Turkey From twitter An interesting morning looking at C19th dowry chests in the Horniman stores. A familiar motif probably more for decoration than protection pic.twitter.com/n2DadIRHFa — Ceri…
August Miscellany Items of Interest Graffiti in St. Mary’s in Lidgate, Suffolk From Twitter Graffiti in the Guards’ Chamber in Falaise Castle, Normandy. Much of it depicts weapons and is believed to date from the medieval period #Normandy #France #Graffiti #Medieval pic.twitter.com/6lEPTyqqF8 — Dr Elizabeth Norton (@ENortonHistory) August 8, 2022 Probably our most well defined….
July Miscellany Upcoming Events Witch-bottles from the 17th–20th Century Items of Interest Graffiti dates unopened mine at Alderley Edge Graffiti in Alnwick Church From Twitter Have you noticed the graffiti on it? pic.twitter.com/jhZ8ipGHiW — Bethenachannel (@bethenachannel) July 10, 2022 Canford Magna #DorsetLate Norman stonework in beautifully rusty Carstone. #SundayStonework pic.twitter.com/c7dMHdvvaT — Dr Helen Wilson (@NellytheWillow)…
June Miscellany Upcoming Events Ritual Acts of Building Protection: Concealed Objects & Wards Against Evil We'll be hosting a lecture/workshop on the historic graffiti & wall paintings at St Mary's, Purton as part of @archaeologyuk #Archaeology Festival. All proceeds to St Mary's & a cream tea included! @HeritageWSHC @WiltsHistory @BBCWiltshire @WiltshireMuseum pic.twitter.com/nJQyWj5Enr — Wilts Med…
St John the Evangelist, Little Leighs, Essex The church of St John the Evangelist in Little Leighs dates back to the early twelfth century. The south door and the font, where most of the graffiti in the church is located, both date to the thirteenth century. Possibly the most noteworthy graffiti can be found on…
St Mary the Virgin, Henham, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin in Henham, Essex dates back to 13th century. The tower is dated to 1325 and the south porch to the 15th century, as does the font. The south porch is where most of the graffiti is to be found. It…
May Miscellany Upcoming Events Reading the Room – What Historic Graffiti Tells Us Witchcraft and Counterwitchcraft 1500-1900 in Europe Items of Interest Witchmarks found in 300 year old Sunderland church From Twitter Ancient Graffito of the Day: A scatalogical graffito from the latrine of the House of the Gem, Herculaneum (Ins. Orientalis 1.1). #AGOTD…
St Mary Magdalene, Wethersfield, Essex St Mary Magdalene church in the Essex village of Wethersfield dates back to the 12th century, although it is believed that there was a Saxon church on the site before then. Perhaps the church’s most unusual feature is the Samson Post at the base of the tower. The Historic England…
April Miscellany Items of Interest Medieval Graffiti Revealed in Lincoln Cathedral New Discoveries Made in Worcestershire During Graffiti Fest Medieval Graffiti: the hidden histories… From Twitter Want to find out more about graffiti and other informal markings in the churches of NE England? Join our Church Graffiti Survey – part of our @durham_uni Belief in…
Westminster Hall, London Westminster Hall is one of the few parts of the medieval Palace of Westminster to survive. The rest has succumbed to time, rebuilding or the great fire of 1834. The current Houses of Parliament are the Victorian replacements built between 1835 and 1870. Westminster Hall itself dates back to 1097 but the…
March Miscellany Items of Interest BBC Digging for Britain Highlights Creswell Crags Apotropaic Graffiti From Twitter St Leonard, Clent, Worcestershire. The mediaeval inscription in the chancel. pic.twitter.com/f2bppU19CH — C B Newham FSA (@cbnewham) March 4, 2022 This set of staves is from a tower pier of St Peter's Berkhamsted which is close to a minor…
February Miscellany Upcoming Events Graffiti talk at Elsenham Village History Society on 9 March 8pm Looking forward to being a part of this! https://t.co/Le4ifIljIR — Crystal Hollis (@GraffitiGinger) February 15, 2022 Items of Interest New Light Through Old Windows: Apotropaic Merels, Dots & Powder Procurement. From Twitter Carlisle castle graffiti gets some rather splendid conservation…
St Catherine’s, Tugford, Shropshire The 12th century church of St Catherine at Tugford was built in the lea of an old coppice amongst in the Clee Hills of Shropshire. The Tugford Brook runs next to the church, once the heart of the village, and was where a mill operated for at least a thousand years. …
January Miscellany Upcoming Events Hidden Charms 4 is announced with a call for papers Items of Interest Graffiti in Rochester Cathedral From Twitter Found this fascinating and very moving. https://t.co/zuCneejBsJ — Dig For Archaeology (@ForArchaeology) January 6, 2022 Remarkable c.5,000 year old megalithic art inside the passage tomb of Fourknocks, County Meath. pic.twitter.com/jzfWRhXEJF — Neil…
St Mary, Great Henny, Essex The majority of the the little church of St Mary at Great Henny in Essex is from the 14th century, however the base of the tower belongs to the 11th century and there are additions and modifications from the 15th century. The graffiti in the church is found in…
December Miscellany Upcoming Events Medieval and Historic Graffiti in Gloucestershire Churches – 21 Jan 2022 Items of Interest The Graffiti That Changed a City Medieval graffiti at Flamstead Church Caerphilly’s ‘witch marks’ Ship graffiti in church in Porto Torres, Italy From Twitter We were back @MalmesburyAbbey this week after a break. Re-taken the Cons' Cross…
November Miscellany Items of Interest Graffiti found in Westbury, Wiltshire The Mysterious ‘Arrow Stones’ of Shotwick From Twitter What an absolutely fantastic #Roman tile: it's marked with #finger lines, hobnail #shoe prints, #dog's paw prints, and a #stamp of the LEG(io) XIIII G(emina). Tiles with imprints are very common, since tiles were laid out to dry…
Eltham Palace, London Eltham Palace in south east London has had a long history. It was given by the Bishop of Durham to Edward II in 1305 and used a royal residence from then until the 16th century. Out of favour as residence from then on it fell into disrepair until only the great hall and…
Duxford Chapel, Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire Duxford Chapel in Cambridgeshire is managed by English Heritage. It was built in the 13th century as a hospital but by the 14th century it was in use as a chantry chapel. It had already fallen into disuse by the time Edward VI dissolved the chantries in 1548. Eventually it was taken…
October Miscellany Upcoming Events Conjuring the Devil Into a Boot – 11 Nov – Zoom lecture Booking is open for our Winter Lecture Series on commonly repeated tales about mediaeval buildings. First talk is on 18 November & looks at whether there is any truth to the story that spiral stairs turn clockwise in castles…
St Mary and St Andrew, Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire The church of St Mary and St AndrewSt Mary and St Andrew, Whittlesford dates back to the 12th century12th century with chancel works happening in the 13th century and the south aisle being rebuilt in the 14th. The first item to note is outside. On the south side…
September Miscellany Upcoming Events Hidden Charms 3 – 2 October 2021 Items of interest Historic Church Graffiti in North Hertfordshire Here's the lecture I did yesterday for @TheCCThttps://t.co/FZQzLSszhg — Brian Hoggard (@folkmagicman) September 24, 2021 From Twitter https://twitter.com/justrena/status/1433140628095971329?s=21 Viking graffiti (replicas) at the National Museum of Ireland – thank you Padraig O'Cumasaigh for the images…
August Miscellany Upcoming Events Historic graffiti at Kibworth Harcourt windmill, Leicestershire. 16 September 2021 From Twitter Royal Naval Air Station Dale was built on the Pembrokeshire coast in 1941. During the war it was used by No.34 Polish Bomber Squadron. The site is now mostly farmland, tho one of the RAF officers' accommodation blocks…
July Miscellany Items of Interest Graffiti in Bad Vigaun in Salzburg, Austria From Twitter Excited by a invitation to look round Bramall Hall, interesting range of graffiti to record. So far the only place we have found merels. Nice daisy wheel and burn marks pic.twitter.com/FZJTF0Cfxy — NW Historic Graffiti (@NWHistGraffiti) July 9, 2021 Welcome…
National Covid Memorial Wall, London In March 2021, the grass-roots campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, aided by Led by Donkeys, started painting pink and red hearts on the wall of the Albert Embankment opposite the Houses of Parliament by Westminster Bridge. This was the start of the National Covid Memorial Wall and the aim was to have…
June Miscellany Upcoming Events Rituals of Hidden Rubbish – I July 2021 – by Wayne Perkins Items of Interest Prehistoric animal carvings discovered for the first time in Scotland Witch bottles found in historic Arlington House enslaved peoples’ quarters From Twitter Just a few of many Masons Marks spotted on masonry at @Wentworth_House If only…
May Miscellany Upcoming Events Historic Graffiti in London Churches Items of Interest Ghosts, Hanging and Witch Marks at Spooky Derby Gaol Itineraries To Discover The Graffiti Of Umbria Along The Ancient Ways Of The Pilgrims: Churches, Sanctuaries, Hermitages, Votive Aedicules And Noble Houses From Twitter An interesting carving found at the #Roman fort at…
April Miscellany Items of Interest Bronze Age slab found in France in oldest 3D Map in Europe From Twitter One of the most fascinating bits of graffiti I've ever seen. On a corridor in @LancCastle: 'John Bailey. Committed…1741 by Brindle RS [possibly Society for the Reformation of Manners] For Kissing' then a tulip [representing…
March Miscellany Items of Interest Ancient Christian Runes in Egyptian Monastery The Myth of Medieval Paganism Graffiti Survey Results from St Peter, Goodworth Clatford, Hampshire 18th century house for sale with protective marks included From Twitter A boat scratching in window of Mottistone Manor central hall on #IsleofWight for #TidalTuesday #graffiti #NationalTrust. A small picture…
February Miscellany Items of Interest Prison Graffiti in Italy Home Protection the Folklore Way: Apotropaic Magic Workmen graffiti in Helensburgh Roman phallic carving found in Cambridgeshire Hidden paintings found in Shrewsbury Cathedral Oldest Australian aboriginal paintings found From Twitter Fascinating #WWI discovery of #wallpainting showing grave to 'Jack' who died 'for his country's good in…
Hopital des Pelerin, Pons, France (2/2) Interior The interior of the pilgrims’ hospital consists of a wide open hall with two sets of columns down its length. There are a couple of side rooms at the far end and a door to an arcade and courtyard leading to what would have been the herb garden…
January Miscellany Items of Interest Podcast on witchcraft in modern times From Twitter Our latest on-line medieval graffiti talk is now live.'Which marks? Those bloody marks… The case for ritual protection'https://t.co/EX7BewKTFL pic.twitter.com/VlBX1VmO1P — Medieval Graffiti (@MedievalG) January 24, 2021 Uploading more videos over the weekend, but if you haven't already seen it, take a look…
Hopital des Pelerins, Pons, France (1/2) The Pilgrims Hospital in Pons, in the departement of Charente-Maritime in France, dates back to the 12th century. It was built as a rest stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago di Compostella in Spain. A church and a hostel were attached to each other by a porch over…
December Miscellany Upcoming events Virtual Guided Tours of Royston Cave From Twitter WW2 graffiti on rocks near Rothbury, Northumberland Graffiti in Ripon Cathedral Victorian graffiti in Lancaster town house Graffiti in Siena Cathedral, Italy Shadows of old chimneys on Glasgow building Graffiti at Hardwick Hall Graffiti at Battle…
November Miscellany Upcoming Events Mediaeval Building Myths – The Folklore & Archaeology of Historic Buildings – 26 January 2021 Items of Interest Guy Fawkes, witch marks and a spiritual midden at the Tower of London ‘Witch marks’ found in Welsh manor house/ From Twitter Merchant’s mark at Exeter Cathedral Strange beast graffiti carvings…
‘Wot No Air?’ – A Selection of Organ Graffiti in Essex St Nicholas church at Elmdon, Essex disappointed me in my search for graffiti. While being a lovely church, it is largely a Victorian rebuild and it’s columns and stonework are clearly devoid of any significant graffiti. I was about to give up my search,…
Witchcraft lasted longer than you might think. That is the premise of this study of witchcraft, curses, cunning folk and the fear of witches in the UK from 1800 onwards. If you come away from this book with one idea it is how incredibly persistent and widespread the belief in witchcraft was in the UK….
October Miscellany Upcoming Events Popular Magic: Then and Now Church Studies Zoom lectures Items of Interest CCT lecture on Macabre Church Lore Historic Graffiti to ward off evil found at old church For when protective marks on the windows and door frames just isn’t doing it for you, you can have all…
September Miscellany Upcoming events Speed Dating – Identifying the Age of Historic Buildings with James Wright Items of interest Interview with Brian Hoggard on Churches’ Conservation Trust blog Talk on graffiti in Winchester Cathedral Graffiti carved in the New Forest Trees Irish viking ship graffiti From Twitter Doodles in 13th century manuscript…
All Saints, Vange, Essex The earliest parts of the nave of All Saints Church in Vange were built in the 12th Century, as was the font. The rest of the church was completed before the end of the 15th century. It is now in the charge of the Churches Conservation Trust. The font, with…
August Miscellany Upcoming Events Creswell Crags have bookings for private tours of ice age art and/or witch marks CCT Talk on Historic Graffiti in Winchester Cathedral Items of Interest Video discussing ice age engraving of a horse found at Creswell Crags Prehistoric engraved stones found on Jersey Graffiti found on the…
St Vivien, Pons, Charente-Maritime, France Pons is a town in the Charente-Maritime department of south-west France about 35km from the Atlantic coast of France and half-way between La Rochelle and Bordeaux. The town was on one of the main pilgrimage routes to Santiago di Compostella. The Romanesque church of St Vivien dates to the 12th…
July Miscellany Upcoming Events Making Your Mark 2020 symposium has been postponed to October 2021 The Apotropaios website now has a YouTube channel showing talks from the Hidden Charms conferences. Magical House Protection book by Brian Hoggard now out in paperpack Items of Interest Thank you to Marc Robben for sending us the…
All Saints, Chingford, London All Saints Church in Chingford, is usually known as the ‘Old Church’. While there is evidence that a church was on this site since Norman times, the current church mostly dates back to the 13th century. The chancel and tower are 15th century, while the south porch belongs to the 16th…
June Miscellany UpComing Events CCT Churches to be opening from 7 July Items of Interest Boat graffiti found in Italian church 12th century graffiti found in Rome’s Colosseum From Twitter Cave of carvings Isle of Wight Knights on horseback in French church Jubilee Rock on Bodmin Moor Rude graffiti from a…
St Michael, Great Sampford, Essex (3/3) Chancel Graffiti This is the third and last post about St Michael, Great Sampford. The chancel has 26 seats set in stone bays. The Historic England listing states that they were said to have seated a Knight Hospitaller who were supposed to have built the church. The most prominent…
May Miscellany Items of Interest French blog post on ritual burn marks How Satan-fearing Scots used apotropaic marks to ward off ‘evil spirits’ in the home From Twitter Pennsylvania Dutch Barns decorations and charms Charm inside a Welsh witch bottle Herefordshire curse doll Graffiti in Leicestershire Mill Daisy wheel…
St Michael, Great Sampford, Essex (2/3) North Aisle Graffiti Following on from the previous post about St Michael’s church in Great Sampford, Essex, this post will concentrate on the graffiti in the north aisle of the church. The protective marks in the north aisle mostly consist of compass drawn circles with a single Marian mark…
St Michael, Great Sampford, Essex (1/3) You only need to walk around the exterior of St Michael in Great Sampford to realise that it has a history of rebuilding. Somewhat unusually this rebuilding was mostly confined to the 14th century. The church had been under the jurisdiction of Battle Abbey in Sussex and the Knights…
April Miscellany Upcoming Events Making Your Mark 2020 graffiti symposium is announced with a call for papers Brian Hoggard has an online talk on Magical House Protection on 15th May at 6pm. Opportunities for graffiti survey at Flamstead church, Hertfordshire Items of Interest 100 year old drawings found on school blackboard Sandstone Cave near Guildford…
St Mary’s, Gestingthorpe, Essex St Mary’s church in Gestingthorpe dates back to the 13th century, the south aisle was built in the 14th century and rebuilt in the 15th when the tower was also added. There is double-hammerbeam roof, also of the 15th century, and ‘uncommonly splendid for Essex’, according to Pevsner. One wall has…
St Giles, Great Maplestead, Essex St Giles church in Great Maplestead was built in the 12th century with major additions in 13th and 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the Deane family, who lived in nearby Dynes Hall, added a small south chapel in the church. It holds their monuments. The most splendid monument in…
March Miscellany Upcoming Events Hidden Charms 3 Conference has moved to 21st November 2020 Items of Interest Radio interview on the protective marks in Wookie Hole Chawton House has ‘witch marks’ and other graffiti Is this the ultimate graffiti? – Michelangelo’s room in Florence From Twitter Pencil graffiti at Binham Priory Swastika pelta carved on…
St Bartholomew, Churchdown, Gloucestershire St Bartholomew’s church in Churchdown is, in the way of many English village churches, actually at the top of steep hill. The church dates back to the 12th century with the usual additions and modifications through the centuries. The tower is 17th century. The carvings on the arch of the south…
GAMING UP THE WALLS At the Making Your Mark Graffiti Symposium held at Southampton in September 2019, Raking Light’s Anthea Hawdon gave a talk on merels and other other boardgames. If you missed that, or would just like to re-visit the subject, read on…. Introduction ‘Merels’ is a strategy game of which there are several…
St Christopher, Willingale, Essex Sharing a churchyard with St Andrew’s, St Christopher’s church served the parish of Willingale Doe. The church dates to the 14th century, the font is 15th century and the church was extensively restored in the 19th century. This restoration may be why there is little graffiti in the church itself. The…
February Miscellany Upcoming Events Wayne Perkins talk at Treadwells Bookshop, London Wayne Perkins guided graffiti tour of St Bartholomew the Great Church, London (Editor’s note (Anthea, this time): there are only a tiny number of City of London churches with any graffiti that survived the Great Fire, Christopher Wren, the Georgians, the Victorians and the…
St Andrew’s, Willingale, Essex St Andrew’s church shares a churchyard with St Christopher’s church. St Andrew’s (full name St Andrew and All Saints) was the church for the parish of Willingale Spain as opposed to the parish of Willingale Doe which had St Christopher’s as its church. St Andrew’s was given to the Priory of…
Arabic Assembly Marks in Medieval Timber-Framed Buildings At the Vernacular Architecture Group‘s excellent winter conference on the theme of Marks on Buildings, Bill Hardy gave a presentation entitled ‘Carpenters’ assembly marks in medieval buildings using Arabic numerals’. Bill is always on the look out for such marks and takes up the story here in the…
St Peter and St Paul, Bardfield Saling, Essex The church of St Peter and St Paul in Bardfield Saling (also known as Little Saling) dates to the 14th century. It is notable as being one of only six churches in Essex to have a round tower. The organ is an 18th century chamber organ and…
January Miscellany Upcoming Events Hidden Charms 3, April 18th 2020, Chester James Wright of Triskele Heritage has several upcoming talks listed on his event page. James is available for lecturing/teaching, consultancy work including built heritage, stonework analysis and buildings archaeology. Items of Interest Video of protective marks on a timber beam. Unfortunately no location details….
St Catherine, Gosfield, Essex The history of the church of St Catherine at Gosfield is tied in with the de Vere family, the Earls of Oxford. The first church was built by them in the 12th century. The current church belongs to the 15th century and the emblem of the de Vere’s, a star or…
St Martin’s Cathedral, Leicester Leicester Cathedral was built from the 12th to the 15th centuries and much altered and restored in the 19th century. Until 1927 when it was consecrated as Leicester Cathedral, it was the parish church of St Martin of Tours. It is now famous as the resting place of Richard III. …
St Mary, Puddletown, Dorset Puddletown in Dorset derives its name from the nearby River Piddle. It was apparently, originally called Piddletown but that name fell out of favour with the name finally changing officially in the 1950s. St Mary’s church was built in the 12th century with additions and changes from the 13th to the…
All Saints, Great Chesterford, Essex All Saints church in Great Chesterford, Essex, dates from the 13th century. although most of what is visible dates to the 14th and 15th centuries. The west tower was rebuilt in the 18th century and that is where the south door now stands. Restorations have thinned out the graffiti in…
December Miscellany Pictures This month’s pictures are from the Roman Britain and Europe galleries in the British Museum. Future Events Hidden Charms 3 Conference Items of Interest Cherokee ritual on the wall of a cave Blog post on graffiti at the Tower of London in Spitalfields Life
All Saints, Ashdon, Essex (2/2) All Saints church has a number of apotropaic marks on its stonework. It has several of one particular type – the eight pointed star. This has shown up in other churches (most notably in St Mary and St Clement, Clavering). It is described in MB Jackson’s book, Ciphers and Scripts….
All Saints, Ashdon, Essex (1/2) There are some churches, that, as soon as you enter them, you know you’re going to be spending a while photographing all the graffiti in them. All Saints church in Ashdon is one of those churches. The church dates back to the 14th century, with most of the interior belonging…
November Miscellany The pictures this month are from a friend of the site, Daniela Weber, who came across these graffiti circles in the Musee de L’Orangerie in the Tuilerie Gardens in Paris. TV Appearances The current series of Digging for Britain, Episode 2:North, has a section on Creswell Crags and the protective graffiti and an…
St Mary the Virgin, Little Easton, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin dates back to the 12th century and has been altered through the succeeding centuries. There are two sets of existing medieval wall paintings showing the events leading up to the crucifixion and also one of an unidentified seated prophet. The south…
St Mary the Virgin, Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex St Mary the Virgin, Hatfield Broad Oak, was originally part of a Benedictine Priory founded in 1135. The priory was founded by the de Vere family, the Earls of Oxford. The effigy of the third Earl, Robert de Vere (died 1221), lies in the centre of the…
October Miscellany A graffiti cat is lurking in the background of a famous painting. The Blind Fiddler by David Wilkie hangs in the Tate Britain Gallery. The cupboard doors on the right of the painting show a clearly drawn little cat. Upcoming Events Medieval Graffiti Tour at Exeter Cathedral Items of Interest Zine includes medieval graffiti Creswell…
Holy Trinity, Littlebury, Essex Holy Trinity church dates back to Norman times. The south and north doors are 12th century. The tower is 14th century. It was heavily restored in the late Victorian period with the chancel being completely rebuilt when the organ was installed and the crucifixion scene painted. The font cover dates to…
September Miscellany Upcoming Events Making Your Mark Symposium James Wright Upcoming Lectures Knole at Night Tours Graffiti Tours at Hoghton Tower Haunted Landscape Day Symposium at Conway Hall, London Items of Interest The University of Oslo has digitised its collection of Svartebøker or Black Book grimoires. (via Owen Davies [@odavies9] on Twitter)
St Andrews, Helions Bumpstead, Essex St Andrew’s in Helions Bumpstead is an unusually light church. In part this is due to the south wall of the nave, rebuilt in the 16th century and, to repeat the lines about Hardwick Hall, it is more glass than wall. This superfluity of daylight is also reflected by the…
August Miscellany From the doorway of the church in Nadaillac, Dordogne, France. Upcoming Events Crystal Hollis giving Church Graffiti talk in York – Sept 12th Crystal Hollis giving graffiti tour of Southwark Cathedral – Sept 18th Items of Interest Medical Charm in the Wellcome Collection Article about protective marks found at Creswell Crags…
Stonehenge, Wiltshire If there is ever a place on this website that needs no introduction, then Stonehenge has to be it. There has been a monument there for five thousand years. The current configuration (allowing for modern restoration and reconstruction) dates back to 1930-1600 BCE. The World Heritage site gets over a million visitors a…
St Botolph’s, Hadstock, Essex The current building of St Botolph’s in the village of Hadstock dates back to 1020 when King Cnut ordered it to be built to after the battle of Assundun in 1016. There is evidence of an earlier Saxon church on the same site, possibly belonging to an abbey founded by St…
July Miscellany Our pictures this month are graffiti found by friend of the site, Sonia Hines, on her visit to Uluru (aka Ayres Rock), Northern Territory, Australia. She says this is graffiti, not rock art, and would have been done in the 1970s and 1980s when tourism around this sacred site was a lot less…
St Andrew, Bulmer, Essex The church of St Andrew in Bulmer dates to the 12th century. The north arcade in the nave is of 14th century origin. The font, with a fine green man on one face, dates to the 15th century. There are three figures featured in the graffiti in the church. A soldier,…
St Botolph, Beauchamp Roding, Essex The church of St Botolph stands high and alone on a ridge near the village of Beauchamp Roding. The church dates back to the 14th century. There is a marker stone in the churchyard which is counted as part of The Puddingstone Trail, with folklore attached to the stone. Apparently…
St Andrew’s, Wormingford, Essex Wormingford, in North Essex has its own version of the George and the Dragon story. In Wormingford’s case, however, it is not Saint George, but Sir George of Layer de la Haye who slew, not a dragon but an escaped ‘cokadrille’ or crocodile. This ‘dragoun’, a gift to Richard I for…
The Abbey Church of Holy Cross and St Lawrence, Waltham Abbey, Essex The Abbey Church of Holy Cross and St Lawrence is more familiarly known as Waltham Abbey Church. There is evidence that there was a church on the site as far back as the 7th century. The church was rebuilt and enlarged in Saxon…
June Miscellany Upcoming Events Talk at Leicester Guildhall in July. Hidden Charms Conference call for papers. Tickets are available for the Making Your Mark symposium. Items of Interest Prehistoric Stone engraved with horses found in France. Helmsdale Castle graffiti.
St Mary, Bures, Suffolk The village of Bures is divided by the River Stour and, as the river functions as the border between Essex and Suffolk, the village is part in Suffolk and part in Essex. The church of St Mary falls on the Suffolk side of the border. It is always nice to see…
St Mary the Virgin, Little Sampford, Essex There are some churches where setting, exterior and interior combine to form a whole that achieves way more than the sum of its parts. St Mary the Virgin in Little Sampford is one such gem and I would urge anyone to visit whether they are interested in graffiti…
May Miscellany Some faces from the past this month… Events and Dates for the Diary There is still time to submit abstracts for the Making Your Mark Symposium. The deadline is 14th June 2019 for the call for papers and poster submissions. The book launch for ‘Magical House Protection‘ by Brian Hoggard of Apotropaios is…
St Mary the Virgin, Great Bardfield, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin, Great Bardfield dates back to the 12th century. It is noted for its stone rood screen, one of only three in Europe. The screen has two angels facing out towards the nave and two demons facing in towards the chancel. Local…
April Miscellany Pictures Under the heading of ‘Not Quite Medieval’ come these coin holes from the old Dominion Cinema on the corner of Buxton Road and Mission Grove in Walthamstow, London. The coin holes show where people queueing for the cinema have ground coins into the brickwork, making these distinctive round holes. Items of Interest…
St Barnabas, Alphamstone, Essex The little village of Alphamstone is recorded in the Domesday Book, but there is archaeological evidence that there was a settlement nearby in the bronze age The churchyard has several sandstone sarsen stones which may or may not have formed a stone circle. This is not the only mystery. The church…
St Mary’s, Stebbing, Essex (2/2) Stebbing church has several compass designs ranging from simple circles to elaborate daisy wheels with mulitple petals. There are a range of protective marks throughout the church including Marian marks, pentagrams and butterfly crosses. The crosses in St Mary’s are mostly of a plain, latin type with a couple of…
St Mary’s Stebbing Essex (1/2) The light and airy church of St Mary the Virgin in the little village of Stebbing in the Uttesford district of Essex is one of those that appears to be way bigger than the size of population it serves. It stands on a ridge of high ground towards the south…
St Katharine, Little Bardfield, Essex The tower of St Katharine is pre-Conquest, but the tower arch is 15th century and this where the graffiti within the church is located. Despite it’s early origins, the 19th century interior restoration was extensive and very little graffiti was left at the end of it. While most of the…
March Miscellany Welcome to this month’s roundup of items of interest from the internet and twitter feeds. Pictures We have a little game of compare and contrast here – with two pipe smokers! One is from Gloucester Cathedral and the other is from St Mary’s church in Elsenham, Essex. Remember people, smoking is bad, no…
St Mary the Virgin, Moreton, Essex The church of St Mary stands on a mound to the east side of the little village of Moreton in Essex. The construction of the current building dates to the 13th and 15th century with the tower being added in the late 18th century. The font is 12th century…
February Miscellany Creswell Crags Round Up The big news in February was the discovery of a large number of protective marks in the caves at Creswell Crags. It hit the national and international press. A roundup of the coverage from online sources is listed below: The Times Cave Explorers Make Spellbinding Discovery ITV News The Gateway…
All Saints, Kingston, London All Saints church in Kingston on Thames sits to the north of the market place as it has done since the 12th century. The church has been updated and renovated throughout the centuries, with the subsequent loss of a lot of its graffiti. There is some still hanging on, though, despite…
St Laurence, Ridgewell, Essex (2/2) St Laurence church has several compass drawn circle designs, including a very clear daisy wheel and an unusually long sequence of linked compass drawn circles. There is a large incomplete daisy wheel by the west door in the tower, it is obscured behind an old noticeboard. ” template=”/var/sites/r/rakinglight.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/ngglegacy/view/gallery-caption.php” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC”…
St Laurence, Ridgewell, Essex (1/2) The fine, light church of St Laurence has stood in the village of Ridgewell in Essex since the 14th century. The village is close to the WW2 airbase of RAF Ridgewell. The base was the home of No 90 Squadron of Bomber Command until 1943 when the USAAF Eighth Air…
January Miscellany Playing Games in a Cave Cavers are used to seeing marks on cave walls, from calcite flows to mineral stains and all sorts of unusual pits and protuberances. Those found in a cave in Azerbaijan proved to have a different provenance. The markings are man-made and represent a game board similar to backgammon,…
St Andrew’s, Buckland, Hertfordshire The nave and chancel of this Churches Conservation Trust church date to 1348. The tower, south aisle, porch and south door are from the 1400s. There is a bird of unidentified species, several harps and a heraldic shield. ” template=”/var/sites/r/rakinglight.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/ngglegacy/view/gallery-caption.php” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″] Notable among the protective marks is a…
St Mary’s, Great Dunmow, Essex Great Dunmow, in Essex, is famous for its Flitch Trials, where married couples can win a flitch (side) of bacon if they can satisfy a jury that they have not wished themselves unmarried for a period of twelve months and a day. Chaucer’s Wife of Bath laments that she never…
Hampton Court Palace, London (2/2) The previous post on Hampton Court dealt with graffiti in the Tudor areas of the palace. The 17th century areas of the building have their own graffiti too. Most of the graffiti is concentrated in two areas – The Kings Staircase entrance from the Clock Court and the East Front…
Hampton Court Palace, London (1/2) I went to Hampton Court Palace as a tourist, wanting to keep an eye out for graffiti but not having planned this visit as a graffiti-hunting trip. I was blown away by how much graffiti there is in the place from drawings and protective marks in the Tudor kitchens to…
December Miscellany There’s a definite international feel to this month’s miscellany with interesting knotwork used a ritual markings in Tamil Nadu and graffiti from Spain, France and Gozo, Malta. We would also like to take the opportunity to wish our readers health, wealth and happiness in the coming year. Picture of the Month Thanks to…
All Saints, Maldon, Essex The town of Maldon, of sea salt fame, has been a settlement on the Blackwater Estuary since Saxon times. The church of All Saints dates back to the 12th century. Its unique feature is a triangular tower. While there is not a huge amount of graffiti in the church there is…
St George, Anstey, Hertfordshire St George’s church, Anstey, dates back to the 12th century with additions and changes in the 13th to 15th centuries. It is thought that some stones used in the church’s construction came from the nearby Anstey castle. Violet Pritchard has made extensive notes on the church in her book, English Medieval…
November Miscellany Graffiti in Paintings We have come across a small handful of 17th and 16th century paintings showing graffiti. This picture, Interior of the Buukerk at Utrecht (1644) by Peter Saenredam actually shows graffiti being painted. If you focus on the bottom right of the picture (which hangs in the National Gallery in London)…
St Andrews, Halstead, Essex St Andrews church is in the centre of Halstead, a market town in Essex. The church dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries. There were no major alterations until 1850 when the west end was extended and the tower added. This 1850 alteration appears to have removed any graffiti in…
St Nicholas, Castle Hedingham, Essex Castle Hedingham, despite being in Essex, was the ancestral home of the de Vere family, the Earls of Oxford. Not surprisingly, the village shows all the signs of medieval prosperity, which is also reflected in the large parish church. St Nicholas church dates back to the 12th century with some…
St John the Baptist, Pebmarsh, Essex The church of St John the Baptist, Essex, was built in the 14th century and restored in the 19th. ” template=”/var/sites/r/rakinglight.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/ngglegacy/view/gallery-caption.php” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″] Apart from a small amount of graffiti on a the western most column in the north arcade, everything else is around the south…
October Miscellany Items of Interest Prehistoric art hints at lost Indian civilisation WW2 aircraft graffiti from Suffolk Sensational rune stone find New graffiti from Pompeii may help with dating of Vesuvius eruption Graffiti in Olde Boar’s Head pub in Middleton Soldier smoke stencil graffiti at Bewick The report of the graffiti in Souillac in the…
St Augustine of Canterbury, Birdbrook, Essex The main features of St Augustine of Canterbury in Birdbrook, Essex are the excellently carved pew ends in the nave and the arm rests in the choir stalls. They are carved in oak, by Ken Mabbit of the firm of H&K Mabbit, and were installed in the 1960s and 1970s. …
St Mary the Virgin, Strethall, Essex There has been a church on this site since before the Domesday book was written. St Mary the Virgin, dates back to the early 11th century. The entry in Pevsner praises the Anglo-Saxon architecture of the chancel arch and there are pews that date back to 1475. ”…
September Miscellany Here is September’s round-up of graffiti and related items of interest on the internet. Items of Interest Brief article about medieval graffiti. Atlas Obscura references possible Templar graffiti at Newark Castle. Runic graffiti at Maes Howe in Orkney AI Can Now Decipher Medieval Graffiti Oldest known drawing Graffiti…
St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow, Essex (3/3) The previous post for St Mary’s Priory church at Little Dunmow in Essex reported on the last of the graffiti inside the church, but before I move on to the external graffiti, I would like to start with something different. Pevsner Architectural Guide for Essex describes the animal…
St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow, Essex (2/3) In the previous post of St Mary’s Priory in Little Dunmow, we looked at the graffiti round the doorway and the first two columns. This revealed the first of two graffiti described in Pritchard’s English Medieval Graffiti. The rest of the graffiti in the church is on…
St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow, Essex (1/3) St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow is a strange church. The windows on the north side are wildly out of proportion to those on the south and the tower looks like someone stole an italian campanile and glued it to one corner. Inside, there is an arcade of…
August Miscellany This month’s roundup has some old stones making their first appearances in years thanks to the drought and some graffiti found on a museum exhibit. In the news BBC video on Lincoln Cathedral Graffiti Pictish stone found in river Report on graffiti in the Ripon Gazette ‘Hunger Stones’ revealed in…
St Nicholas, Elmdon, Essex St Nicholas church in Elmdon Essex has a 15th century tower, but the rest of the church was completely rebuilt in the 19th century. This has wiped the nave and chancel clear of graffiti barring a few faint initials on the 16th century tomb of Thomas Meade in the chancel. …
St Mary the Virgin, Tilty, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin was originally the Chapel Outside the Gate of the Cistercian Abbey of St Mary in Tilty. Both abbey and church were built in the 13th century. When the abbey was destroyed in the dissolution of the monasteries only the church remained apart…
St Mary the Virgin, High Easter, Essex The parish church of St Mary the Virgin in High Easter is a large church in a small village. The church dates back to the 12th century with additions up to the 16th century. The roof and clerestory as well as the south porch all belong to the…
St Mary the Virgin, Manuden, Essex The church of St Mary the Virgin lies as the heart of the village of Manuden in Essex. St Mary’s is believed to date back to the 12th century, but the church itself was largely demolished and rebuilt between 1863 and 1864. This has limited the amount of available…
St Aldhelm’s Chapel, Isle of Purbeck, Dorset St Aldhelm’s Chapel at the southern point of the Isle of Purbeck is a strange place surrounded both by mystery and by the sea mist that drifts up the 100m cliff. It is surrounded by earthworks which may be the remnants of a pre-conquest Christian enclosure. However its…
St Michael, Lyme Regis, Dorset The approach to St Michael Lyme Regis through the town is not at first immediately obvious. The church is at the far end of what is now the main shopping street, round a corner, up a slope and virtually hidden behind later building. The graveyard is shielded from the sea…
Events Day course on Graffiti in August – in Edinburgh Crystal Hollis graffiti talk in London on 8 August Items of Interest Database of Romanesque Sites in Britain and Ireland WW2 graffiti in Bayeux More WW2 graffiti at Bayeux German POW graffiti from WW1 Sharpening Marks If you have ever sighed at someone explaining…
St Martin, Little Waltham, Essex The church of St Martin at Little Waltham dates back to the Normans, but was rebuilt extensively in the 15th century. There is no graffiti visible anywhere in the church, but some if to be found on the north side of the tower arch. There, divided by a modern partition…
St John the Baptist, Bere Regis, Dorset The church of St John the Baptist dates to the 12th century with additions for three centuries. The ceiling was paid for by Cardinal John Morton (of Morton’s Fork fame) in 1485. Morton was born in the parish of St John the Baptist. There are statues of the 12…
Kings College Chapel, Cambridge There is a danger in graffiti hunting that you focus so much on the details on the walls and columns that you can fail to appreciate the wider beauty of the structures you are visiting. Here’s a tip, if you go looking for graffiti in King’s College Chapel, before you do…
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (4/4) The north arcade has a wide variety of graffiti and also holds its own mystery. North Arcade & Outside The challenge of seeking out and recording historic graffiti lies beyond the finding and taking of pictures. The real task is to try to understand why the graffiti…
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (3/4) Rood-loft Stairs Doorway To the south side of the chancel arch is a small doorway opening on to the stairs to the rood-loft. This is where Violet Pritchard found the short inscription, Amor Vincit omnia (love conquers all), which she records in her book ‘English Medieval Graffiti’….
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (2/4) South Arcade The south arcade of St Mary and St Clement has an abundance of exciting graffiti. ” template=”/var/sites/r/rakinglight.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/ngglegacy/view/gallery-caption.php” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″] There are several compass drawn and hand drawn circle designs of varying complexity in the south arcade. The most notable of which are one…
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (1/4) The chancel of St Mary and St Clement was built in the late 14th century. The rest of the church was built at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries. The roof is original, with angel carvings. The screen has traces of saints…
June Miscellany This is June’s edition of monthly posts where we feature items of interest from a variety of sites and some links we’ve come across during the month. Even if you only have a single photo from a site, do send it in with details of where it was taken, so we can…
St Mary’s, Charminster, Dorset St Mary’s church at Charminster is an 11th century church, extended and improved in the 14th and 16th centuries by the local Trenchard family. The monogram of Thomas Trenchard made up of spirally intertwined Ts is visible in carvings and plaques throughout the church interior and exterior. The are two compass…
St Nicholas, Studland, Dorset The church of St Nicholas in Studland in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset is a simple Norman structure. Built in the 11th century on the base of an earlier Saxon structure, it consists of a nave, chancel and sanctuary. The round arches are simply carved with none of the dog tooth…
St Mary the Virgin, Cerne Abbas, Dorset The church of St Mary the Virgin, in Cerne Abbas, Dorset, was built in the 14th century and enlarged in the 1450s. It has a stone chancel screen, which dates to the 15th century. It has several unusual and interesting features including a gargoyle near the south…
St Andrews Church, Great Yeldham, Essex St Andrews church in Great Yeldham, Essex appears in Violet Pritchard’s English Medieval Graffiti. Unfortunately, the three intertwined fish she describes cannot be seen. All the columns and piers have been whitewashed, so this may be hiding the design. A compass drawn quatrefoil is clearly visible on one of…
All Saints, Rickling, Essex All Saints Church, Rickling is an interesting church in more ways than one. For a start, the nave and the chancel are on slightly different alignments, which indicates an earlier plan than the current 14th Century one. The graffiti, also has some unique elements including compass circles of hitherto unseen design…
West Ogwell Church, Devon West Ogwell Church is a 13th century church, now redundant and in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It has a simple, whitewashed interior with box pews. The only visible graffiti is on a single limestone block beside the door. There are some Marian marks, initials, dot patterns and hash…
Holy Cross, Felsted, Essex Holy Cross is a wide, light-filled church built in the 12th century with additions and alterations in the 14th and 16th centuries. There have been renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries. These later renovations have removed some of the graffiti, but there is still a substantial amount, especially on the…
May Miscellany This is the first of a series of monthly posts where we feature items of interest from a variety of sites and some links we’ve come across during the month. Even if you only have a single photo from a site, do send it in with details of where it was taken, so…
St Mary the Virgin, Lindsell, Essex This is a pretty, but odd-shaped church. It is wider than it is long with the tower in one corner. It is originally Norman with a simple round chancel arch with a large squint on the south side. A large column stands beside the font. The column and the…
St Mary’s, Kingskwerwell, Devon St Mary’s parish church in Kingskerswell was built in the 14th century with additions in the 15th century and is on the site of an earlier chapel. There are only a few examples of graffiti in the church. They are to be found on the effigies of Sir John Dinham and…
Sutton House, Hackney, London Sutton House is a Tudor house in the middle of Hackney. It was built in 1535 by Sir Ralph Sadler, a privy councillor at the court of Henry VIII. It has been a family house, a school, a centre for WW2 fire wardens, the offices of a trades union and a…
St Mary’s Church, Wolborough, Devon St Mary’s, Wolborough dates from the 15th century, although the west tower is earlier. Contents include an ornate screen of circa 1518 and a Norman font. The church stands on a hill, commanding a view of the Teign estuary. There is little graffiti in the church. It consists of a…
The Guild Chapel, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire The Guild Chapel in Stratford-upon-Avon has strong links to Stratford’s famous son. Not only is it literally across the road from New Place, William Shakespeare’s home, but his father, John, as town bailiff, was tasked with removing the wall paintings as part of the Reformation. He chose to cover them with…
St Saviour’s Church, Dartmouth, Devon St. Saviour’s was dedicated as a Chapel of Ease in 1372, but it may be earlier in date. The church was enlarged in the late 14th/early 15th century and has been repaired and refurbished several times since. It is described as having one of the best interiors in Devon. Features…
St Blaise, Haccombe, Devon Haccombe parish church of St. Blaise, dedicated by Stephen de Haccombe, whose tomb lies here, was built in 1233, probably as a household chapel. Enlarged in the early English style in 1328, it contains a freestone screen, an octagonal font, a three-pointed sedilia, a 19th century chancel screen, tiles bearing coats…
St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Foxearth, Essex St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Foxearth presents some challenges to the graffiti hunter. For a start, it’s difficult to find. It is not visible from the road. The postcode and GPS will put you on the wrong street anyway. When you do find the correct unlabelled…
Exeter Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire How do you photograph graffiti from a long-demolished building? In the case of the stones from the Old Sarum cathedral and castle site (demolished in the 13th century) you can go to Exeter St in Salisbury and find them making up part of the cathedral precinct wall. Now it’s not normally advisable…
The Temple Church, London It can be hard being a graffiti hunter in London. There have been three waves of destruction visited upon the medieval buildings of the City of London. There was the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed so much of the old structure of the city. Then there were the Georgians and…
St James Church, Avebury, Wiltshire Just outside the boundaries of Avebury Stone Circle lies the parish church of St James. It dates back to Saxon times, with additions from the Normans and in the 13th Century. The south porch has many reused stones, including one in the window frame dated to 1660-something and replaced upside…
St Peter’s Church, Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury is a town on the Suffolk/Essex border with a rich medieval and Georgian history. There are three medieval churches in the town, with St Peter’s being on the market square. It is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and is also used as an art centre. It dates…
St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney, London St Augustine’s Tower is a strange remnant of 16th Century Hackney still standing in the midst of a bustling shopping district, a couple of minutes away from Hackney Central Overground station. It has a complex history. It was built in the early 1500s as part of a…
St Mary Church, Chickney, Essex The church of St Mary in Chickney, Essex is a Churches Conservation Trust church you approach down a single track road off the B1051. There is a small parking bay outside the churchyard. The church goes back to Saxon times with additions through the years and major restoration in the…
