Angels and a Cannon in Utterby

Lift up your eyes in St Andrew's Church, Utterby and you are in for a wonderful treat...

...a host of heavenly angels.

They are paper angels and were made by Martin Pidgen.

He is so talented.

Each angel has a different face, different hairstyle.

I couldn't help but wonder whether they were based on people or children he knows.

They are individually beautiful, but collectively amazing and fit so well into the church.  He made them for Christmas, however, I hope they remain for a long time.

Over the years Martin has made lots of different sculpture groups -  a group of carol singers, Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, Pocahontas and John Smith, Unsung Heroes, What the Dickens, to name a few.   His artwork has also been displayed in Lincoln Cathedral, as well as other local churches.

He makes them up as he goes along - not following any design simply feeling his way with them, finding what works.

Outside St Andrew's the remains of the medieval cross can be seen...now just a three tier plinth.  Quite unremarkable, you may think.   But the story of the missing cross is quite interesting.

Local history says that this cross was knocked off its base by a misdirected cannon ball  which was fired from the vicinity of the packhorse bridge (which I posted about here) by Cromwellian troops.   The target,  Utterby Manor, which lies directly opposite the church,  was the home of a Royalist sympathiser.

Here is a little glimpse of the Manor house; opposite the church and less than a hundred yards from the pack horse bridge.