PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Tuesday 21 August 2012

A Mysterious Medieval Woman

There is a mysterious woman, who dates from around  the 12th Century, living in this little church  set  high on a hill in the rolling countryside of the Lincolnshire Wolds.  A Benedictine Priory shared the site, although no evidence of that remains today.

As you climb up the fairly steep hill it is easy to imagine the gravestones are hurrying down...

The hillside and the churchyard is being constantly undermined by rabbits.

A poem has been written about it, I'll post it on a separate page (top tab) in case anyone would like to read it.

This is the south side of the church - a fascinating patchwork of greenstone, red bricks, old blocked archways and wonderful windows.   So many alterations, repairs, subtractions, 900 years of history.




Go in through the porch door, look right, this is what you will see...  light, bright, fairly plain.




Turn to the left and ... it suddenly looks altogether richer, possibly more interesting.
Click to enlarge.


Up in the floor of the bell tower chamber you will be able to see three elongated, wingless angels.




Beautiful though they are, these are not the mystery.

The screening is richly painted, picked out in gold.

Beyond, in the base of the tower are two beautiful old doors.  One leads outside, the other to the staircase.




Originally the main roof of the church would also have had figures on it, these have been lost somewhere through the ages.






The font was bestowed on the church in the fifteenth century, it looks in surprisingly good condition for something so old - I particularly liked the wooden lid which has a lot of iron work on the top.












The floor is a real mixture of tiles and bricks, more evidence of the many changes through the years.

This is in the floor near the font,  I felt an almost overwhelming desire to have a peek to see what was down beneath those doors...then my imagination kicked in.

I decided not to look.


The window over the altar depicts St Michael.  Beneath is the beautiful carving on the altar.


I have only visited this church once before, I can't believe how little impression it made upon me at that time.

Today I visited with the sole intention of photographing the myseterious, medieval woman shown in this fragment of a wall painting, high up on one wall, above a very beautiful Norman arch.

It is a woman, she is wearing a lovely headdress and to her right there is a crown and the letter 'M'.

No one knows for sure what the 'M' could stand for  Queen  Maud,  Queen Margaret, or 'M' for Maria?  She is cetainly beautiful.  I wonder just what this church used to look like in those long gone days.

Can you see the fragment of painting, high up above the pulpit on the left hand side?   The beautiful arch is Norman.

I'll finish here, although I have hardly begun showing all the beautiful details of the church - the dancing stags carved into the capital of one column, the Norman shields,   Jacobean carving,  monuments and memorials.  There is even a bit of medieval graffiti.

How could I ever have thought this a dull little church?   It is beautiful and I look forward to visiting it again.

35 comments:

  1. Oh Elaine, you have taken my breath away with these photos. "M" is a special letter to me....There must be many stories written about the mysterious woman and the letter M. This is a beautiful post, so full of history and intrigue! Thank you for sharing it with all of us....

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    1. Hello Meggie, I'm delighted you enjoyed seeing round this little church - of course the 'M' made me think of you! I can't help but wonder what the rest of the painting was like - was there another figure on the other side of the arch, etc. Thank goodness that little remnant has been preserved, we may never know, but it is fun to ponder.

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  2. Wonderful tour! The Norman arch reminded me of Catherine of Aragon for some reason. You give us so many interesting details about the place--like the rabbits undermining the cemetery hill. The interior of the church is lovely compared to the weathered exterior but what a historical past it has had! Thank you for taking the time to document it all.

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    1. Hello Ms Sparrow, The little village is cosily tucked in a fold of the hills, while the church is up on a hill and gets the full blast of winds and rains. Every time we drive through I think how pretty it looks. We know that the Romans came to the village, so there is an awful lot of history in that little place. You would love it.

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  3. I just loved all the old churches, I did several brass rubbings and have a large one hanging on a wall in my parents home. Great post!

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    1. Hello Doc, Now that is something I haven't tried, but always wanted to. I'm glad you enjoyed the mini-tour.

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  4. Duh! I meant the Norman arch reminded me of Eleanor of Aquitaine!

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    1. Isn't it a beautiful arch - the dancing stags and Norman shields decorate the capital of the left hand pillar... they are small, but beautiful.

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  5. It surely is a beautiful little church, I love those, much more than the big ones. They are impressing, ofcourse, but churches like this steal my heart. It's nice to let your imagination go, about all what could have been here. Love the painting of the medieval Lady.
    groetjes, Gerda

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    1. Hello Gerda, Like you, I prefer the small, village churches. As I wonder around I think about the joy, the sadness, the hopes and fears which have been expressed in these buildings for so many hundreds of years. Quite amazing. Isn't she a beauty!

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  6. Oh my goodness..I loved the tour but I'll admit I was a little afraid of the woman in the church until I saw she was a beautiful painting.
    Jane x

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    1. Hello Jane, Such a tiny remnant, but thank goodness she survives. A beautiful mystery.

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  7. I agree with your first commenter, "you took my breath away with these pictures.". So beautiful, charming, lovely . . . I look forward to more . . .

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    1. Hello Lynne, We live in a part of the country which is peppered with small village churches - one particular village (only a small one) has three Anglican churches, which is quite remarkable. I'm really delighted you enjoyed having a look around.

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  8. What a fascinating, pretty church! So much wonderful history across the pond.

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    1. Hello Knatolee, I am constantly amazed at just how many interesting buildings lie within a few miles of our place...after all, we do live on the edge of Nowhere!

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  9. Beautiful church. On the exterior picture of the arches and stone mullioned windows, you forgot to mention the delightful down-pipes. They reminded me of the good old days of GPO wiring.

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    1. Hello Cro, Now that is amazing, I was so focused on the church that I hadn't even 'seen' the down-pipes! Blinkers, I guess. Aren't they ugly!

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  10. When I read the first sentence I thought it was going to be another haunted church. The woman is beautiful. I wonder why just that fragment of painting remains?

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    1. Hello Scarlet, Like you, I would love to know why just that tiny piece has been preserved. I keep digging and delving, no success in finding the reason so far. I do know a local historian who I plan to visit soon, I'll see if she has an answer for me and I 'll let you know.

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  11. It is such a treat to have a detailed tour of this apparently ordinary and unassuming church to discover this big box of delights hidden inside. Loved it, thank you for sharing. :)

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    1. Hello Cuby Poet, I had a feeling that you would enjoy it - I think your wonderful creative thought processes would flow in this church. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.

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  12. It is a lovely church Elaine. You should have had a peek though regardless of the potential trauma! :-D

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    1. Hello Chris, We have missed you! Mitch seems to be of the same opinion - now then, if I were to open the doors and scare myself witless, would you two pay for counselling? I think I stick with being a cowardy custard.

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  13. Isn't it fascinating how we can look at the same thing two or more times and not SEE the same thing. Your posts always make want to see these things for myself. The "M" stands for "Mitchell," by the way. She sends me special messages all the time. Those wingless angels, for me, are especially chilling. Is that something you've seen before? Also, I agree with Chris. Open those doors!

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    1. Hello Mitch, No, those doors stay shut...I'll leave it to George! Don't worry about the wingless angels, it's the rabbits you have to worry about. They burrow around the graves and under the building, unearthing things which are really best left alone. 'M' for Mitchell ... of course!

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  14. It is a fascinating church, I always enjoy a visit to such places.

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    1. Hello LindyLouMac, I still don't know how I could have been so blind to the beauty and history of it first time round! Thank goodness I re-visited.

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  15. It looks beautiful and well cared for. Those grave stones do look as if they're walking down hill. Personally, I think I would keep those doors well and truly shut. Don't think I'd want to know too much what might lie underneath. So much history there.

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    1. Hello Molly, The churchyard is not in a very good state, but inside it is beautifully tended and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Some things are best left alone, I agree, I won't be opening the doors in the floor. I wonder who painted her..

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  16. It looks to me as though she has a crown and halo. The queen of heaven?

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    1. Hello Marianne, That is certainly one of the theories - isn't she wonderful?

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  17. Takes my breath away! What an interesting little church, full of history and art--you give such a wonderful account of that I thought I was there. XOXO

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    1. Hello Susan, I really do enjoy these little churches, each one has many stories to tell - sometimes it is difficult whittling them down into a single post. I love sharing them with you.xx

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  18. Your posts are always so breath-taking. I love history so much, and a chance to see these wonderful old castles and spired churches and rectories and well, everything you come across so close to home for you, just thrilkls me to death! What an amazing old church! I love it! And the myseterious woman is so interesting. Thank you!

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