Leamington Spa - All Saints
123 photos
Leamington Spa - St Peter
109 photos
St Peter's Roman Catholic church in Dormer Place, Leamington Spa is an eye-catching essay in brick and stone, distinguished by it's tall slender tower (originally crowned by a tapering pyramid-like...
Leamington Spa - St John the Baptist
93 photos
I've known Leamington Spa for years, and till now had visited all its major Victorian churches except this one, which had remained to me that elusive distant spire some way out in the suburbs to the...
London - Tate Modern
80 photos
Southwark Cathedral
282 photos
Southwark Cathedral is unique among English Anglican cathedrals in being separated by little more than a mile and the River Thames from it's neighbouring diocesian church, St Paul's. This odd...
The Glass Heart Exhibition - Two Temple Place
95 photos
The former Astor House, now known as Two Temple Place and a venue for exhibitions. This was the former home of William Waldorf Astor finished in 1895 and designed by leading Victorian architect John...
Bilton - Sacred Heart
138 photos
The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church in Bilton, Warwickshire.
Originally built in 1958 on a traditional plan with an oblong nave and chancel in one chamber, the church was dramatically...
West Bromwich - Red Lion Desi Pub
51 photos
Part of a window at the Red Lion Desi-Pub in West Bromwich, designed by Steven Cartwright and installed in 2016.
The window was commissioned by Creative Black Country in partnership with the Arts...
Nuneaton - Our Lady of the Angels
161 photos
Our Lady of the Angels is Nuneaton's principal Roman Catholic church, and is a distinctive and solid essay in 20th century brick gothic. The almost industrial-looking square block of the west tower...
Gloucester Cathedral - Great East Window
78 photos
Gloucester's east window has a claim to be the largest of medieval windows, a title usually given to that at York as the stained glass there fills the entire window, whereas here it comprises about...
Westminster Abbey
846 photos
Westminster Abbey, perhaps the most significant church in English History, site of the coronation of monarchs since it was founded by Edward the Confessor, and burial place of the majority of them,...
Fairford - St Mary
284 photos
St Mary's at Fairford is justly famous, not only as a most beautiful building architecturally but for the survival of its complete set of late medieval stained glass, a unique survival in an English...
Coventry Cathedral - Baptistry Window
195 photos
The Baptistry Window, a masterpiece of abstract stained glass designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens.
Coventry's Cathedral is a unique synthesis of old a new, born of wartime...
Wellingborough - St Mary
93 photos
St Mary's, Wellingborough is the masterpiece of Sir Ninian Comper built between 1908-1930, a no expense spared exercise in ecclesiastical sumptuousness.
Located to the east of the town centre, this...
Ludlow - St Peter
33 photos
St Peter's church in Ludlow serves the local Catholic community and stands some distance from the centre of the town. It is a striking piece of architecture, stylistically influenced by Italian...
My Work
572 photos
This is generally how I keep a roof over my head at the moment, as all these windows I have designed and made myself.
I cannot therefore comment further on them, that's for others to do, not me. I...
Dad - A Tribute 1935-2018
68 photos
In loving memory of my father, Andrew McRae Thomson, 4th March 1935 - 27th May 2018.
Following my Dad's funeral this morning I wish to break my usual offerings on Flickr to gather some images in...
Hillmorton - English Martyrs
173 photos
This set is dedicated to the single church (of the mutlitude I have visited) with which I am most familiar, my own parish church of English Martyrs in Hillmorton, on the edge of Rugby, Warwickshire....
Favourites
762 photos
A few of my personal favourite images (quite different from the 'most viewed' selection and very rarely the same images that make it to 'Explore').
First of the Month
184 photos
'Pinch, punch, first day of the month!' is what all the annoying kids at school used to be obsessed with, but not me!
No this is a fairly random cross section of my photostream to counter some of...
Best of the Month
155 photos
A few favourite uploads from each month since I joined Flickr in 2008.
Stats - Most Favourited
342 photos
Odd choices for the 'Explore' feature of Flickr along with the inconsistency of the 'statistically most interesting' selection according to Flickr's unfathomable algorithms have inspired me to make a...
Stats: Most 'Interesting'
300 photos
So these are the most 'interesting' according to Flickr's stats!
Not something I planned but given the strong bias in my 'Most Viewed' set towards every other photo of Coventry Cathedral and...
Stats: Most Viewed - January 2024
313 photos
I thought it might be interesting to see which of my 40,000 plus images are most popular, with the top 300 rankings in terms of viewing figures, and review the situation monthly to see which drop in...
Stats: Most Viewed Holiday Images
359 photos
Stats: Most Viewed Churches
161 photos
My top 300 most popular church images (excluding stained glass which will form a separate set)
Something to Amuse....?
287 photos
Kind of says it all really! Random amusing or more light-hearted pics from my wanderings.....
Animals
569 photos
Being an animal lover a set for four-legged friends is long overdue, and being especially fond of cats there may be a slight bias towards felines.... ;-)
The Modern Church
1281 photos
A celebration of churches built in a contemporary style, with all the diverse forms that architectural technological progress has enabled. Some make powerful sculptural statements, others are more...
Contemporary stained glass
4047 photos
Examples of contemporary stained glass in churches and cathedrals, showing the diversity of design present in modern practice, ranging from the graphic and illustrative to purely abstract symbolism.
Arts & Crafts Early 20th Century Stained Glass
2098 photos
Some of the finest stained glass ever created was that made in the post Victorian - pre World War II period.
Most glass of the Edwardian era is a more or less direct continuation of the late...
Pre Raphaelite Glass
952 photos
Work in stained glass by the great Pre Raphaelite artists of the Victorian period, principally the sublime work of the romantic genius Sir Edward Burne Jones and his disciple Henry Holiday.
Victorian & Edwardian Stained glass
6964 photos
The period which has left us the greatest abundance of stained glass is without doubt the Victorian Era. On average, in most ancient parish churches we see today perhaps 90% of the windows will be of...
Post Reformation / Enamelled Stained Glass
623 photos
Stained glass of the Post-Reformation to pre-Victorian period offers a wide range of interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque, mostly executed by painting with enamel onto glass, effectively...
Stained Glass Roundels & Medallions
130 photos
Renaissance Stained Glass
447 photos
Glass from the 16th century, either imported in later centuries or produced by the Southwark School of glaziers during the Tudor period.
Medieval Stained Glass
3995 photos
Examples of beautiful pre-Reformation glass I've been lucky enough to encounter in my wanderings and in my professional capacity whilst working as a restorer for Norgrove Studios
Rose Windows & Oculi
236 photos
Faces in Glass
2565 photos
The depiction of the human face in glass in the images (generally not portraits in the true sense!) of saints and worthies in stained glass windows through the medium of glass painting.
Animals in Glass
723 photos
Stained glass depicting non-human subjects for a change.
English Medieval Painting
962 photos
Surviving wall paintings from the Middle Ages are relatively rare and those that remain are often in poor condition, but enough exists to indicate how rich in colour and imagery a medieval church...
English Medieval Sculpture
2367 photos
Thanks to our turbulent religious history (where the greater part of our artistic heritage from the Middle Ages was disposed of by Puritan zealots, our very own answer to the Taliban) we have nearly...
English Romanesque Art
590 photos
Now and then one stumbles across something truly extraordinary, a carved tympanum or capital from the Norman period complete with vigorous carving, often with rich interlacing decoration and strange...
Anglo Saxon Art
78 photos
England's earliest surviving Christian art offering a glmpse of the country before the Norman Conquest.
Classical Art & Culture
1292 photos
The art and architecture of the civilisations of Ancient Greece & Rome, from my travels and museum visits.
Ancient Egyptian Art & Culture
3575 photos
Images of art and architecture from Ancient Egypt.
Hindu Art & Culture
1331 photos
Images of temples and shrines from my travels, exhibiting the wonderful richness of colour and imagery of the Hindu faith.
Buddhist Art & Culture
1836 photos
Images from my travels of temples, shrines and artworks of the Buddhist faith, showing the richness and diversity of the imagery and places of worship in Buddhism.
Chinese Art & Culture
682 photos
Images of traditional Chinese art & architecture from my travels in the form of temples, monuments and artworks across the Far East and beyond.
Islamic Art & Culture
864 photos
Images of the Islamic art and architecture from my travels, exhibiting the wealth of intricate detail and superb structures inspired by Islam across the World.
Ancient Near Eastern Art & Culture
118 photos
Images of artworks from Ancient Near East.
Mesoamerican Art & Cuture
620 photos
Images of ancient artworks and sites from the cultures of the pre-Columbian Americas, principally the Aztec and Mayan sites of Mexico.
Church Exteriors
1361 photos
A selection of mugshots of various English churches from my many travels.
Church Interiors
1931 photos
A collection of diverse interiors from my church visits, at home and abroad
Warwickshire churches
10410 photos
New for 2012: I have launched a new Warwickshire Churches website which will grow to accomodate these and other images in a more structured form in due...
Leicestershire Churches
4899 photos
Leicestershire has some fine churches, though their interiors are so often inaccessible, being largely locked without keyholder information, much like the adjoining areas of north Warwickshire.
The...
Worcestershire Churches
3813 photos
Churches of Worcestershire
There will be something of a Redditch-area bias in this selection, owing to this being my current town of residence.
Alvechurch
Areley Kings
Beoley
Bishampton
Bradley...
Suffolk Churches
3100 photos
My exploration of the riches of Suffolk is still at an early stage, despite a few childhood expeditions to the area. It is a county I would really like to get to know a lot better,.boasting some of...
Herefordshire Churches
2239 photos
Herefordshire is one of the most churchcrawler friendly counties in England, with a superb collection of treasures and antiquities in largely unrestored and beautifully situated rural churches. Many...
Staffordshire Churches
2132 photos
Churches from the county of Staffordshire, an area somewhat under-represented on Flickr.
Many churches in the north Midlands suffer from lack of accessibilty outside of services, and this is...
Norfolk Churches
1855 photos
The City of Norwich contains the highest concentration of medieval churches in Britain (indeed the highest in Northern Europe) within it's ancient boundaries, 32 surviving within little more than a...
Birmingham / West Midlands Churches
2145 photos
A trip to Birmingham on Heritage Weekend resulted in a crop of open churches usually rather more difficult to get into, and the inevitable mountain of photos (as well as a fair amount of walking on...
Oxfordshire Churches
1799 photos
An ongoing exploration of the wonderful things that Oxfordshire's churches have to offer.
Most of these images will derive from various Flickrmeets (a great debt of thanks owed to all who have...
Shropshire Churches
1339 photos
I have a strong nostalgic attachment to Shropshire, my parents came from Whitchurch in the north of the county and many childhood weekends were spent visiting my grandparents there. I have enjoyed...
Northamptonshire Churches
1336 photos
Next to Warwickshire this was the county I most identified with whilst growing up within a mile of it's border. I've always loved the golden brown stone of the county's villages and thus visited many...
Gloucestershire Churches
1269 photos
My visits to Gloucestershire have been limited in recent years though they were once frequent many years ago with many family days out in the area.
I have yet to try churchcrawling by bike here, as...
Nottinghamshire Churches
883 photos
Churches of the County of Nottinghamshire, explored mostly on the annual July open church weekends between 2010 - 2013, a highly commendable arrangement organised by the Southwell Diocese and a model...
Derbyshire Churches
722 photos
Images from occasional expeditions over the Derbyshire border
Bakewell
Barrow on Trent
Chesterfield
Coton in Elms
Derby, Cathedral
Foremark
Lullington
Melbourne
Newton...
London Churches
553 photos
The City of London contains one of the most remarkable collections of churches anywhere in the country, the majority being the work of a single architect, Sir Christopher Wren, who rebuilt the...
Yorkshire churches
564 photos
My travels in Yorkshire are thus far somewhat limited and digital photographic expeditions largely confined to the cities of York & Sheffield.
Cambridgeshire Churches
559 photos
Lincolnshire Churches
99 photos
Lincolnshire has a wealth of fine churches but alas I rarely get to venture into the county so can only offer a meagre few photos from here thus far, though hopefully I can rectify this someday....
Buckinghamshire Churches
64 photos
My forays into Buckinghamshire have been rather fewer in number, but the handful of churches I have visited leaves me wanting to see more!
Drayton Beauchamp
Radnage
West Wycombe
Catholic Churches in the UK
2440 photos
As a result of Catholic emancipation in 1829 it became possible for the Church to establish a full network of parishes and dioceses and build churches once again; however these buildings are largely...
Digitally Recreated
12 photos
This folder is for digital reconstructions of art and architecture that has been altered or damaged since it's creation, using my photographs and a bit of photo-editing to conjecture or approximate...
Church Monuments
4918 photos
Images of tombs and memorials in churches and cathedrals.
Roof Bosses
849 photos
Ornamental carvings that form the keystones on medieval vaulted ceilings. Frequently used to decorate the intersections of ribs of purely decorative function, such as in flat timber ceilings too,...
Roof Angels
236 photos
One of the delights of medieval English church art was the adorning of ceilings with carved wooden angel figures, very often entirely integrated into the structure as in the hammerbeam roofs mainly...
Peter Eugene Ball Sculpture
26 photos
The work of contemporary sculptor Peter Eugene Ball stylistically melds ancient and new in a rather timeless fashion with figures which exhibit the influence of Romanesque art in a modern idiom.
Hans Feibusch Murals
46 photos
Works of the renowned German-Jewish refugee painter who created many murals in British churches and elsewhere in the Post-War period.
Tom Denny Stained Glass
278 photos
Perhaps our foremost contemporary artist in the medium designing windows for churches, Denny's style is immediately recognisable and appeals for its dense yet subtle colouring, carefully interwoven...
Derek Hunt Stained Glass
51 photos
Work by contemporary artist Derek Hunt who works in Medbourne, Leicestershire.
Roger Fifield Stained Glass
37 photos
Alan Younger Stained Glass
51 photos
Marc Chagall Stained Glass
37 photos
John Hutton Engraved Glass
68 photos
The striking 'west' screen, a wall of glass at the entrance of Coventry Cathedral engraved by John Hutton with a remarkable array of figures of angels, saints and prophets. The stylised, elongated...
John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens Stained Glass
463 photos
Nobody made such an impact in 20th century british stained glass like John Piper, with his designs translated into glass by Patrick Reyntiens, himself a noted artist who has since created many great...
Lawrence Lee Stained Glass
195 photos
Geoffrey Clarke Stained Glass
44 photos
Keith New Stained Glass
132 photos
John Hayward Stained Glass
89 photos
Examples of the vibrant work of John Hayward, one of the 20th century's finest stained glass designers, who also worked in other media in the creation of Art for churches.
Stammers & Harvey Stained Glass
176 photos
The stained glass of the York based artists Harry Stammers (1902-69) and his pupil Harry Harvey (1922-2011), both of whom used a bold modern figurative style and rich colouring in a large number of...
Leonard Evetts Stained Glass
73 photos
Claude Price Stained Glass
5 photos
Ervin Bossanyi - Stained Glass
34 photos
Edward Nuttgens Stained Glass
101 photos
Glass by Edward Nuttgens and his -assistant Gilbert Sheedy.
Elsie Whitford & Nora Yoxall Stained Glass
33 photos
Stained glass by the late Arts & Crafts Birmingham-trained artists Elsie Whitford & Nora Yoxall who were latterly based at Blockley, Gloucestershire.
Hugh Easton Stained Glass
90 photos
Ninian Comper Stained Glass
164 photos
A.K. Nicholson Studios Stained Glass
46 photos
Glass by Archibald K. Nicholson Studios including the work of Nicholson's assistant and successor G.E.R.Smith.
Douglas Strachan Stained Glass
54 photos
Harry Clarke Stained Glass
144 photos
The greatest master of Irish Stained Glass, and a superb illustrator too. His life was short, but his works shall guarantee his name will never be forgotten.
Michael Healy - Stained Glass
58 photos
Paul Woodroffe Stained Glass
105 photos
Paul Vincent Woodroffe (25 January 1875 – 7 May 1954) was a British book illustrator and stained-glass artist.
Margaret Aldrich Rope Stained Glass
81 photos
Cousin of the better known Margaret Agnes Rope, Margaret Edith Aldrich \Rope (d.1988) produced a range of striking windows, initially more in the vein of the Arts & Crafts (like her cousin) but...
Margaret Rope Stained Glass
121 photos
Shrewsbury born artist Margaret Rope (1882 - 1953) created some of the most beautiful windows of the late Arts & Crafts movement. Her finest work adorns churches in Shropshire and beyond.
Florence Camm Stained Glass
220 photos
Richard Stubington Stained Glass
54 photos
Albert Lemmon Stained Glass
103 photos
A.E.Lemmon was pupil to the great A.J.Davies of Bromsgrove, and latterly set up in direct competition against him. His style emulates that of his master, whilst being distinct enough to be...
A.J.Davies Stained Glass
233 photos
Archibald J.Davies is the best known stained glass artist of the Bromsgrove Guild and one of the most celebrated of the Arts & Crafts movement. His windows typically employ beautifully drawn...
Benjamin Warren Stained Glass
53 photos
Sidney Meteyard Stained Glass
65 photos
The work of Birmingham based Arts & Crafts artist Sidney Meteyard (1868-1947).
Henry Payne Stained Glass
82 photos
Theodora Salusbury's Stained Glass
149 photos
Leicestershire based Arts & Crafts stained glass artist Theodora Salusbury is a name in need of greater recognition for her wonderful achievements in glass, many of which can be seen here.
Karl Parsons Stained Glass
90 photos
The west window of St Laurence's church in Ansley, north Warwickshire is a little known gem and one of the masterpieces of Arts & Crafts stained glass master Karl Parsons, who's work has...
Veronica Whall Stained Glass
70 photos
Stained glass by Veronica Whall, one of the first great artists of the Arts & Crafts movement trained by her father Christopher Whall.
Christopher Whall Stained Glass
270 photos
Henry Holiday Stained Glass
212 photos
One of the most gifted artists working at the turn of the century in the Pre Raphaelite style, Holiday was clearly inspired by the work of Edward Burne Jones, and yet added his own hallmark with his...
John Henry Dearle Stained Glass
110 photos
Burne Jones's successor and imitator as chief designer for Morris & Co after the death of the master. Dearle followed Edward Burne Jones's style very closely, producing work that is hard to...
Edward Burne Jones
572 photos
The greatest designer of Pre-Raphaelite glass, Edward Burne Jones has left a glowing legacy in the windows of many English churches, especially in the glass at Birmingham Cathedral and the windows of...
Powell's Stained Glass
405 photos
The stained glass of the studio of James Powell's & Sons (later known as Whitefriars).
Burlison & Grylls Stained Glass
683 photos
A studio that competed with Kempe in the late 19th/early 20th centuries with work in a late medieval/Northern Renaissance style, but often gets unfairly overlooked as their windows are almost never...
C.E.Kempe Stained Glass
732 photos
One of the most prolific and widely recognised studios of the late Victorian era, Charles Eamer Kempe's windows are beautifully executed, if a little repetitive in form and treatment. Most windows...
Heaton, Butler & Bayne Stained Glass
308 photos
Hardman Studios Stained Glass
1506 photos
The work of the Birmingham firm ofJohn Hardman Studios, first introduced to the medium of stained glass by the great A.W.N.Pugin himself, they initially executed many of his designs, and continued to...
Clayton & Bell - Later Work
229 photos
Windows by the London based studio of Clayton & Bell abound in British churches, and their output is easily recognised, though falls clearly into distinct hallmarked styles; the early work...
Clayton & Bell - Early Work
144 photos
Windows by the London based studio of Clayton & Bell abound in British churches, and their output is easily recognised, though falls clearly into distinct hallmarked styles; the early work...
Capronnier Stained Glass
35 photos
The stained glass of the Brussels based studio of Jean Baptiste Capronnier, highly detailed and enamelled in a very much European idiom, in stark contrast to most home grown studio work of the latter...
Frederick Preedy Stained Glass
203 photos
The stained glass of prolific Worcester architect and artist Frederick Preedy can be found across Worcestershire and beyond. His work is characterised by a crisp neo-medieval style (though clearly...
Evans of Shrewsbury Stained Glass
198 photos
Practically the earliest stained glass studio of the Gothic Revival was set up initially by John Betton of Shrewsbury who was soon afterwards joined by David Evans. The studio continued as Betton...
Stained Glass Signatures/Maker's Marks
116 photos
A selection of signatures from stained glass windows. Unfortunately more often than not windows go unsigned, leaving a puzzle for succeeding generations; fortunately many of the large Victorian firms...
Vaulted Ceilings
641 photos
Some of the magnificent decorative vaults that form worthy climaxes to various church and cathedral interiors; I've particularly loved such structures since one of my earliest memorable experiences,...
Church Effigies
1621 photos
A form of tomb / monument developed from the early Middle Ages wherein a recumbent effigy of the deceased is shown lying open a tomb-chest, usually gazing upwards with hands in a position of prayer....
Memorial Brasses
198 photos
Church memorials in the form of a figure or image engraved in brass and set (usually) in the floor of a church. Most popular in the Middle Ages, though a few later examples exist.
Coloured Light
127 photos
I've always loved the effect of coloured light cast from stained glass windows, and with several such moments on my photostream thought it was about time to form a collection of them.
The Face of Christ
623 photos
Images of Christ from sculptures, painting, mosaic and stained glass I have encountered, each giving a slightly different interpretation of the sacred visage.
Images of Mary
474 photos
A collection of images of Mary in sculpture and glass from my numerous visits to churches.
Angels
1671 photos
Images of Angels in various forms and styles encountered along my way.....
Emblems of the Evangelists
430 photos
The symbols of the four Gosepl writers, also identified with the four winged beings around the throne of God in Ezekiel's vision, are found in numerous examples of church art, and always add a...
Monsters
877 photos
Often the most eye catching elements in ecclesiastical and other art, given the scope for imaginative interpretation on the part of the artist. Despite often being intended to convey something very...
Devils
189 photos
Dragons
448 photos
Dragons are awesome, despite so often representing the forces of darkness or being a major opponent to the would be hero!
Gargoyles
406 photos
Head-Stop & Corbel Carvings
405 photos
Found in many medieval churches and beyond, these carved brackets play a serious structural role, but more often provide humorous light relief!
Lecterns
220 photos
The most imposing of birds is often found wrought in brass or wood as an aid to reading in many English churches........
Bench End Carvings
523 photos
Carvings adorning pews, frequently taking the form of real or fanciful animals (especially in East Anglian churches).
Poppyheads
64 photos
Carved finials of bench ends, usually in the form of stylised foliage.
Misericords
472 photos
Though often difficult to photograph (or not even on show unless one is able to access the stalls) I have amassed a few images of these wonderfully random medieval carvings, so often of exceptional...
Royal Arms in Churches
214 photos
Images of the Royal Arms, set up in English churches in the Post-Reformation period in painted and sculpted form.
Fonts
1277 photos
Every church seems to possess a baptismal font of some description, usually taking the form of a bowl on a stem, a tradition set in early medieval times.
The following selection of images aims to...
Pulpits
248 photos
A good place to preach form, but often a notable piece of furnishing in its own right.
Carved Capitals
377 photos
Columns are just not the same without an exuberant outburst of carving at their tops!
Doorways
264 photos
Ornate doorways into an ancient and usually unknown space, the threshold of discovery. Many of these doorways are an object of wonder in themselves, and most whilst more functional are at least...
At the Altar
383 photos
The focal point of a church interior, the altar is frequently given emphasis by a richly adorned altarpiece or reredos to create the required sense of gravitas.
Stations of the Cross
170 photos
The Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross can be found adorning the walls of nearly all Catholic churches in some form, ranging from small painted plaques to larger scale relief sculptures, brightly...
Organs
165 photos
The most powerful of instruments echoing through the vast spaces of cathedrals and churches. They often look rather nice too.
In The Graveyard
152 photos
Headstones and other memorials and sculptures that caught my eye in churchyards and cemeteries.
Piercing the Sky
859 photos
A selection of the loftier structures, I've encountered on my travels, ecclesiastical towers or otherwise, in views that seem in some way to pierce the sky.....
Views from the Scaffold
327 photos
Images of churches and historic buildings taken from scaffolding during restoration, taking advantage of rare opportunities for views and close up details which very few are likely to see for...
Contemporary Architecture
537 photos
Examples of striking modern architecture from my travels.
Landmarks
182 photos
Those picturesque, isolated free-standing towers or eye catching structures that punctuate the urban or rural landscape and add something to it in the process.
Usually clock towers, water towers,...
Public Art
712 photos
Art can play a crucial role in improving our mundane urban environments, and such sculptures become landmarks quickly woven into the streetscape. This important contribution is best realised by...
Subway Murals & Street Art
57 photos
The dark concrete-lined corridors that form most of our subways are rarely inviting places to linger in (indeed quite the opposite is true in many cases where people avoid them altogether). Some...
Guess Where UK
1545 photos
A collection of random images from my wanderings submitted to the highly addictive Guess Where UK group.
How many would you know....?
Cathedral Diversity
176 photos
I have a passion for cathedrals which started early in me; Being taken to see Norwich at the age of four is one of my earliest vivid memories and made a lasting impression. Wells was next at the age...
Alstonefield - St Peter
81 photos
Alstonefield lies in picturesque countryside, situated in the Staffordshire Moorlands and within the edges of the Peak District national park. The church of St Peter is mainly of 13th - 15th century...
Wirksworth - St Mary
40 photos
Ashbourne - St Oswald
94 photos
Norbury - SS Mary & Barlok
84 photos
St Mary & St Barlok's at Norbury is a bit of a gem, renowned for its splendid chancel still mostly filled with its original grisaille glass and the tombs of the Fitzherbert family who built the...
Tutbury Priory
50 photos
Standing on high ground and an impressive landmark overlooking the large village of Tutbury, St Mary's church is all that remains of the former priory, founded in 1080, but is an impressive fragment...
Cubley - St Andrew
60 photos
Cubley church stands some way to the south of the village in beautiful open countryside, perched dramatically on the side of a hill whose topography is reflected within by the sharp rise in floor...
Alkmonton - St John
22 photos
St John's at Alkmonton was the day's smallest and simplest church to describe, a two cell building of nave and chancel with a small spirelet bell turret perched atop the west gable. It was built in...
Boylestone - St John the Baptist
26 photos
Church Broughton - St Michael
42 photos
Sutton on the Hill - St Michael
36 photos
St Michael's at Sutton on the Hill sits in a pleasant spot surrounded by open countryside and forms a handsome landmark punctuating the countryside. At first glance it is apparent that what we see is...
Trusley - All Saints
13 photos
It was a bit of a detour to reach this church as it wasn't quite on my route but too close to ignore so I decided to investigate. It is a most interesting building, rather more unusual being a...
Dalbury - All Saints
39 photos
Out in the pleasant Derbyshire countryside sits the quiet village of Dalbury with it's modest looking parish church. At first glance it doesn't look very exciting, a rather restored building with a...
Marston on Dove - St Mary
10 photos
Crossing the border into Derbyshire brought me to Marston on Dove from its sister village (in name at least) on the other side. The church of St Mary is an imposing building in a very rural setting,...
Rolleston on Dove - St Mary
21 photos
St Mary's at Rolleston on Dove is a rewarding building rich in history, Norman in its earliest parts as witnessed by the fine north doorway into the nave, though the Saxon Cross that stands near the...
Burton on Trent - St Paul
94 photos
St Paul's church in Burton on Trent, the work of James M. Teale of Doncaster and Lord Grimthorpe opened in 1874. All of a piece, it is an impressively grand piece of Victorian architecture and a...
Chesterton - St Giles & Windmill
70 photos
St Giles at Chesterton is a long low building mostly dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. It's interior has a tunnel-like effect, there being little structural difference between nave and...
Preston on Stour - St Mary
316 photos
St Mary's at Preston on Stour is a gem of a church. The tower and nave are mostly the original late medieval work but with significant remodelling in 1752-64 (by Edward Woodward of Chipping Campden)...
Fenny Drayton - St Michael
42 photos
Fenny Drayton was our last church of the day, and happily St Michael's was still open after 6pm which was a pleasant surprise! The late visit meant rather lower light levels than one would normally...
Sibson - St Botolph
31 photos
Sibson church is set back from the roads in its own quiet enclosure, and is a bit of a surprise, looking a bit different from your average old parish church. St Botolph's (funny how no one is ever...
Market Bosworth - St Peter
63 photos
Market Bosworth is an attractive town close to the site of a certain battlefield that played a rather pivotal role in English history. Its church of St Peter is a handsome building set back in its...
Dadlington - St James
20 photos
Stoke Golding - St Margaret
51 photos
St Margaret's at Stoke Golding is one of Leicestershire's finest examples of a medieval parish church, an impressive building little altered since it was rebuilt in the first half of the 14th...
Higham on the Hill - St Peter
45 photos
St Peter's at Higham on the Hill is set back from the rest of the village and easily missed if one is simply passing through. It stands in a pleasant green churchyard situated away from the street...
Aston Flamville - St Peter
40 photos
Aston Flamville is a quiet corner of Leicestershire on the fringe of larger settlements and its church goes back to the early Norman period at least and evidence would suggest earlier still. However...
Claybrooke - St Peter
82 photos
Situated close to Watling Street and the county border, Claybrooke is split into two main settlements, the far larger one being Claybrooke Magna but surprisingly the ancient church is located in the...
Cotesbach - St Mary
26 photos
Cotesbach church is a surprising little building, evidently retaining some of its medieval fabric but largely rebuilt in 1812 when the quirky little tower on the south side was built in a mixture of...
Shawell - All Saints
13 photos
All Saints church at Shawell lies at the southern end of this pretty village, set back amidst the trees of the leafy churchyard.
The 15th century tower remains from the medieval building but the...
Catthorpe - St Thomas
76 photos
St Thomas's at Catthorpe is a church on a small scale, with a diminutive west tower, an aisleless nave and a Victorian chancel (with an incongruously steeply pitched roof).
Newton - Good Shepherd
12 photos
The small church of The Good Shepherd in Newton near Rugby, an unpretentious early 20th century brick chapel with a small apse.
Internally the space is subdivided by a chancel screen which keeps the...
Sparkbrook - St Agatha
125 photos
The Church of St Agatha, Sparkbrook, Birmingham is the masterpiece of local Arts & Crafts architect W.H.Bidlake and built between 1899 & 1901. The soaring west tower shows a dramatic use of...
Edgbaston - St Germain
43 photos
St Germain's church is situated in the westernmost part of Edgbaston, some distance from Birmingham city centre. It is most remarkable for the fact that it is one of very few churches in the country...
Handsworth - St Mary
156 photos
Handsworth church originally served rural Staffordshire, but became gradually absorbed into outer Birmingham during the 19th century and was eventually transferred to Warwickshire in 1911 where it...
Cradley - St James the Great
38 photos
Cradley lies in the peaceful countryside just west of the Malverns and is an attractive village whose church of St James the Great dates back to Norman times, though has been much rebuilt since. The...
Mathon - St John the Baptist
37 photos
Mathon was never a large settlement so its church of St John the Baptist has not expanded significantly since its construction in Norman times, remaining a long rectangular building of a two-cell...
Wellington Heath - Christ Church
13 photos
Coddington - All Saints
30 photos
Colwall - St James the Great
32 photos
Colwall's church of St James the Great is an impressive edifice standing in a quiet rural location in the old part of the village, some distance to the west of the more populous modern settlement. It...
Tarrington - SS Philip & James
23 photos
Tarrington church dates back to Norman times and much of the present structure remains from this period, the nave and entire chancel being mostly of this period, though the later enlargement of most...
Stoke Edith - St Mary
30 photos
Stoke Edith church is something quite special, an unusual mix of the tower and spire of the 14th century building and the main body a mid 18th century replacement. The spire is a landmark (visible to...
Dormington - St Peter
40 photos
St Peter's at Dormington sits close to the road where this small but attractive building may be admired by many passers by. At a glance it may appear a fairly humble building, a simple two-cell...
Yarkhill - St John the Baptist
26 photos
Stretton Grandison - St Lawrence
54 photos
Stretton Grandison's church of St Lawrence announces its presence from afar with its slender west tower and spire and is a handsome building all round, almost entirely the result of rebuilding in the...
Canon Frome - St James
35 photos
The only way to reach this church is to brave the long drive to the private Canon Frome Court and turn immediately right before reaching the house where the church can be found nestling in a charming...
Ashperton - St Bartholomew
30 photos
Ashperton church is a simple cruciform building dating from the 14th century (though a church has existed here since at least Norman times). The exterior is modest with a plain west tower whose upper...
Bosbury - Holy Trinity
68 photos
I've visited Bosbury church at least three or four times in recent years and it never disappoints, a church full of interest and remarkable in appearance, the first indication of this being the...
Tidmington - Church
40 photos
Tidmington church lies almost completely hidden amongst trees beside the main road south of Shipston on Stour. Only an anonymous gate with slight glimpses of gravestones beyond gives any indication...
Brailes - St George
119 photos
Brailes is one of the more picturesque villages of south Warwickshire, and its church of St George is justly renowned as one of the county's grandest parish churches. It is an impressively large...
Barcheston - St Martin
71 photos
One of south Warwickshire's more interesting churches, with it's own leaning tower!
Tysoe - Assumption
75 photos
Tysoe church is sometimes referred to as St Mary's but its proper dedication is to The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of those rare dedications once popular in Pre-Reformation England and...
Burbage - St Catherine
52 photos
St Catherine's church dominates the centre of Burbage, particularly its tapering west steeple which is such a landmark of this attractive village. At first glance it appears to be a substantial...
Milton Lilbourne - St Peter
69 photos
St Peter's church in the pretty Wiltshire village of Milton Lilbourne.
Most of the present building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries with a partial rebuilding of the chancel taking place...
Bristol - St Stephen
37 photos
Tucked away from one of the main thoroughfares of Bristol, St Stephen's church could be easily missed were it not for its splendid late medieval tower which asserts itself on the skyline of the city...
Bristol - St Mary Redcliffe
263 photos
So much has been said in praise of St Mary's church in the Redcliffe area of Bristol that it seems rather pointless trying to go into further detail here beyond saying that its repute is truly well...
Bristol Cathedral
229 photos
Originally founded as an Augustinian abbey in 1140, Bristol Cathedral has had a more chequered history than most, having only been elevated to a diocesan church in 1542 following the dissolution of...
Fawsley - St Mary
163 photos
Fawsley church has long been a favourite of mine, ever since we first stumbled across it on a family outing in my youth. Seeing it standing alone in its field we simply had to stop and investigate,...
Badby - St Mary
56 photos
Badby village is picturesque and meandering with its parish church of St Mary standing on high ground at its southern end. I'd only been here once before in my teens and had wanted to revisit for a...
Newnham - St Michael
66 photos
After tackling some rather hilly ground just east of Daventry I arrived at Newnham, a village I'd not visited for nearly four decades. It is a pleasant place with some attractive buildings and a...
Norton - All Saints
97 photos
Norton lies a short distance to the east of Daventry and its fine church dedicated to All Saints has much of interest to reward the visitor. It is a mainly 14th century building with a west tower and...
Daventry - Holy Cross
29 photos
Holy Cross is the parish church of the town of Daventry, a classical-inspired building of rich local ironstone which was built to replace the previous medieval church in 1752-8 to the designs of...
Bilton - St Mark
69 photos
Rugby - St Cross Chapel
49 photos
The Hospital of St Cross was built on Rugby's southern fringe in 1884 to the designs of architect Henry Wilson and was provided with its own small chapel at the south-eastern corner in 1897-9.
The...
Bulkington - Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
49 photos
Bulkington's Catholic church lies in the north western part of the village and is a simple brick building consisting of a long nave and short chancel. It was built in 1869 to the design of architect...
Bulkington - St James
54 photos
St James's church in Bulkington, an imposing edifice in grey sandstone dating mainly from the fourteenth century. It's tall 15th century tower is particularly impressive, and distinguished on it's...
Shilton - St Andrew
94 photos
Shilton church is a mostly 14th/15th century building with a west tower and an unusual double north aisle (the outer one a Gilbert Scott vestry).
It's fairly dark inside with south nave wall and...
Ansty - St James
57 photos
Billesley - All Saints
40 photos
Moreton Morrell - Holy Cross
35 photos
Moreton Morrell's church of the Holy Cross is one of those rare churches left almost completely untouched by the Victorians. It is a humble building consisting of nave and chancel with a squat square...
Walton - St James
56 photos
Walton's church of St James is a small and neat structure dating from 1750, sitting next to Gilbert Scott's Victorian Gothic Walton Hall. The presence of stained glass in the windows however...
Loxley - St Nicholas
36 photos
St Nicholas's church at Loxley clearly dates back to pre-Norman times, with herringbone masonry surviving on the north side of the chancel, though the building we see today is the result of later...
Pillerton Hersey - St Mary
47 photos
St Mary's at Pillerton Hersey, a most attractive south Warwickshire church. The interior is light and airy, with some interesting woodwork, particularly the superb 15th century panelled nave ceiling,...
Oxhill - St Laurence
42 photos
Oxhill sits in the pleasant countryside of south Warwickshire and it's fine old church of St Laurence shows the delightful effect of the local honey-coloured ironstone patinated with a sprinkling of...
Farnborough - St Botolph
52 photos
St Botolph's church at Farnborough is a medieval building but so much restored and added to in the Victorian period that it can seem otherwise upon first inspection. The work has been done well with...
Radway - St Peter
60 photos
Radway stands at the foot of Edge Hill's northern slope with its church close to the former civil war battlefield. The present St Peter's church dates from 1866, built to the designs of Charles...
Ratley - St Peter ad Vincula
39 photos
Ratley is a charming village perched atop the southern slopes of Edgehill, its church with the unusual dedication of St Peter ad Vincula nestling amid the lush foliage of its churchyard at the...
Warmington - St Michael
48 photos
Warmington church stands proud on high ground overlooking the main road up the north-eastern fringe of Edgehill. The church is of mainly 13th to 14th century date and is built of the local ironstone...
Shotteswell - St Laurence
56 photos
Situated at Warwickshire's south-eastern fringe on the slopes of Edgehill, Shotteswell is an idyllic and secluded place, set away from the main road with a sense that the present era has left it...
Clifton upon Dunsmore - St Mary
177 photos
A pleasant though restored church with some good Victorian glass and family connections for me.
Hillmorton - St John the Baptist
136 photos
One of the first ancient churches I ever visited, having grown up in Hillmorton.
Rugby - Orthodox Church
21 photos
Rugby - Evangelical Church
20 photos
Rugby Evangelical Free church (also known as 'The Terrace Church') stands in Railway Terrace with a handsome brick and stone facade to the main street. It was built in 1877, originally to serve...
Rugby - United Reformed Church
20 photos
Rugby's United Reformed church stands in a prominent roadside location on the edge of the town centre next to Whitehall Recreational Park. Built in 1954-5, it was originally the Presbyterian church...
Monks Kirby - St Joseph
33 photos
The new Roman Catholic church of St Joseph in Monk's Kirby was built in 1992 to the design of architect John Holmes (to a formula used successfully for several other new churches he has built for the...
Monk's Kirby - St Edith
129 photos
St Edith's at Monk's Kirby is one of the grandest churches in Warwickshire; having formerly been monastic it was built on a huge scale; the aisled nave and chancel form one vessel with no structural...
Church Lawford - St Peter
62 photos
St Peter's at Church Lawford is medieval in origin, but what we see today is a mostly Victorian structure by Slater & Carpenter (built 1871-3) and quite a handsome building. The only medieval...
Baginton - St John the Baptist
46 photos
The somewhat elusive St John the Baptist's church in Baginton is at first sight a deceptively simple building, the view on approach from the south-east being that of a modest two-cell structure of...
Birdingbury - St Leonard
70 photos
St Leonard's at Birdingbury is a real surprise, at first looking more like something out of rural Bavaria with it's tiny cupola and facade. However this tiny Georgian building did get a very thorough...
Wolston - St Margaret
125 photos
A fine cruciform village church close to Coventry with a squat central tower (a previous one fell c1760, taking the chancel roof with it) and a good Norman south doorway (moved when the church was...
Husbands Bosworth - St Mary
86 photos
Just off the main road leading out of the village of Husbands Bosworth is a little known Victorian gem, the Roman Catholic church of St Mary standing close to Bosworth Hall. At first sight it may...
Bordesley - St Alban
141 photos
St Alban the Martyr Church, Bordesley, Birmingham, built between 1879-81 by John Loughborough Pearson. The tower was not completed until 1938 (by Reynolds) and finished off with a saddlebacked roof...
Yardley - St Edburgha
67 photos
Originally a quiet rural village (only in Warwickshire since 1911, previously being part of Worcestershire) Yardley has long since been absorbed into Birmingham's outer suburban sprawl, but the area...
Hall Green - St Peter
54 photos
Hidden away behind the suburban facades of Hall Green lies a little known gem, St Peter's is one of the most outstanding modern churches in the Midlands and can be found by venturing down a quiet...
Hall Green - The Ascension
22 photos
The church of the Ascension in Hall Green started life as a chapel built in 1704 (consecrated on Ascension Day, hence the unusual dedication) and is a rare example of a Queen Anne period church,...
Acocks Green - St Mary
64 photos
St Mary's at Acocks Green is one of the grandest of Birmingham's suburban churches, built on a scale that cannot fail to impress, despite the absence of either a tower or spire of any kind (a steeple...
Marston Green - St Leonard
30 photos
St Leonard's church at Marston Green was built in 1938 and is a fine example of how to design a successful church building on a limited budget, keeping the overall form simple and unpretentious.
The...
Bearwood - St Mary
77 photos
St Mary's was built in 1887 as a chapel of ease to nearby Smethwick, though Bearwood became a parish in its own right shortly afterwards in 1892.
The church is a fairly simple brick building...
Beeby - All Saints
51 photos
Beeby was once a larger settlement but today has dwindled to only a handful of houses, it comes as no surprise then to find the church had become redundant, but has happily been vested in the...
Keyham - All Saints
24 photos
Keyham sits high on a hillside in the rolling countryside east of Leicester. The church is well hidden at first, tucked away in a leafy alcove off the street, framed by trees and only really...
Scraptoft - All Saints
6 photos
A church I was particularly looking forward to but alas the day's first disappointment. A locked door is always frustrating on Ride & Stride when one expects most normally innaccessible churches...
Thurnby - St Luke
41 photos
Stoughton - St Mary
62 photos
The church of St Mary at Stoughton is a handsome building standing on high ground in a rural setting a short distance to the east of Leicester's-outer suburbia. At first sight it appears to be a...
Evington - St Denys
59 photos
St Denys's church in Evington sits in a fairly rural setting on the edge of the village (which itself nowadays sits on the outer fringe of Leicester's suburban sprawl). It is a mainly 14th century...
Knighton - St Mary Magdalene
46 photos
Knighton's parish church of St Mary Magdalene has been a familiar sight to me for the past few years having lectured the Leicester Stained Glass Appreciation Society that meet in the parish rooms...
Leicester - St John the Baptist
22 photos
The church of St John the Baptist stands in Clarendon Park Road to the south of Leicester's centre and is a fine example of Victorian architecture by Goddard, Paget & Catlow dating from 1885....
Leicester - St James the Greater
47 photos
St James the Greater is a church I'd wanted to see inside for quite some time and does not disappoint those lucky enough to find it open. This is a grand edifice built in 1899-1914 to the designs of...
Kuala Lumpur
63 photos
A flying visit, literally!!
With a 6 hour wait in transit here for our flight home we were lucky to spend a few of those on a quick evening tour of parts of the city.
Angkor - Banteay Srei
50 photos
Some 16 miles north east of the main group of temples at Angkor lies the temple of Banteay Srei, a formerly Hindu shrine dedicated to the god Shiva built in the late 10th century. Of all the Angkor...
Angkor - Ta Prohm
54 photos
Ta Prohm is one of the most memorable and well visited sites of Angkor, not because of its architectural or artistic worth but because of the picturesque nature of its neglected condition, the...
Angkor Wat
145 photos
The foremost monument of ancient Khmer culture is of course Angkor Wat, reputed to be the largest religious building in the world owing to the enormous expanse of the complex, surrounded by a moat ...
Angkor Thom
36 photos
Angkor - Bayon
72 photos
The Bayon temple forms the heart of the old capital of Angkor Thom and is one of the highlights of a visit to Cambodia, second only to nearby Angkor Wat as a marvel of ancient Khmer architecture. At...
Angkor - South Gate
25 photos
The great enclosure of the ancient capital, Angkor Thom is punctuated by five great gateways surmounted by 'face towers' in the style of the nearby Bayon temple (a short distance within the heart of...
Angkor - Ta Keo
17 photos
Angkor - Preah Khan
60 photos
Angkor - Preah Neak Pean
23 photos
Angkor - Ta Som
32 photos
Our itinerary today was designed to include many of the lesser known and visited temples of the Angkor archaeological park since we were due to visit the more major ones over the following days. All...
Angkor - East Mebon
37 photos
Our fourth stop was East Mebon, another of Angkor's earlier temples very similar in style and design to nearby Pre Rup (a short distance directly south) and likewise also originally built as a Hindu...
Angkor - Banteay Samre
36 photos
Our third stop was Banteay Samre, one of the more remote of the Angkor temples being situated some distance to the east of the main sites of the archaeological park.
Banteay Samre temple dates from...
Angkor - Pre Rup
35 photos
Our second stop was Pre Rup, one of the earlier temples of Angkor dating back to the 10th century when the state religion was still Hinduism, thus the shrine was originally dedicated to the god...
Angkor - Banteay Kdei
45 photos
Our itinerary today was designed to include many of the lesser known and visited temples of the Angkor archaeological park since we were due to visit the more major ones over the following days. All...
Vientiane - Buddha Park
77 photos
Our final excursion in Laos took us to one of its most unusual sites, an exotically bizarre sculpture park some distance to the east of Vientiane (25km, for us a good 45 minute ride by tuk-tuk). The...
Luang Prabang - Wat Pha Mahathat
39 photos
Wat Pha Mahathat or 'Monastery of the Stupa' is one of Luang Prabang's most impressive temples, a complex of richly gilded structures founded in 1548, though most of what we see today was rebuilt in...
Luang Prabang - Wat Xieng Thong
45 photos
Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City) is celebrated as the most beautiful and ornate of Luang Prabang's many shrines, and formerly served as a royal temple up until the end of the Lao monarchy....
Luang Prabang - Wat Wisunarat
18 photos
Wat Wisunarat is the oldest of the many fine temples in Luang Prabang dating back to the 1513. Its most distinguishing feature externally is the large stupa with a domed top, meant to resemble a...
Vientiane - Patuxai Arch
32 photos
The monumental gateway known as 'Patuxai' stands in the centre of Vientiane and is one of the Lao capital's most impressive landmarks. It was built between 1957 - 1968 using foreign funds originally...
Vientiane - Pha That Luang
39 photos
Pha That Luang is the most famous landmark in Vientiane and indeed Laos itself, a huge gilded stupa believed to date back as far as the 3rd century AD. It has of course been restored and rebuilt many...
Vientiane - Haw Phra Kaew
30 photos
Haw Phra Kaew is an impressive former temple dating back to 1565 after the Lao capital was moved to Vientiane from Luang Prabang. Built in the grounds of the royal palace, unlike most temples this...
Vientiane - Wat Si Saket
44 photos
Wat Si Saket dates back to 1818 and is believed to be the oldest temple still standing in the Lao capital.
The style of the temple is noticeably Thai in inspiration and features a main bot or...
Hanoi - Fine Arts Museum
25 photos
The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi is a wonderful introduction to the art and culture of the country.
We focussed mainly on the ground floor rooms with the larger pieces of historical sculpture...
Ha Long Bay
90 photos
No visit to Vietnam is complete without witnessing the natural spectacle of Ha Long Bay, with its countless islands rising dramatically from the sea. a boat trip through these towering rocky...
Hue - Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh
54 photos
An early start in our final few hours in Hue meant we could squeeze in a visit to a couple of the Emperors' tombs that are the most famous sights of the city but not alas included in our tour. We...
Hue - Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc
60 photos
An early start in our final few hours in Hue meant we could squeeze in a visit to a couple of the Emperors' tombs that are the most famous sights of the city but not alas included in our tour. We...
Hue - Imperial City
66 photos
From 1802 to 1945 Hue was the capital city of Vietnam under the Nguyen Emperors who were based at the Imperial City, Hue's great walled citadel inspired by the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex...
My Son - Champa Ruins
54 photos
The Champa ruins at the remote rural site of My Son (also known as the 'Cham Towers') comprises several groups of ruined temple buildings from the Hindu Cham culture that flourished in central...
Da Nang - Cham Museum
39 photos
The Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang contains the greatest concentration of art from the Hindu Champa culture that flourished in central and southern Vietnam from broadly the 5th to the 15th...
Indochina 2007
2195 photos
A 17 day adventure through Indochina, concentrating on several locations in Vietnam for ten days before spending three days in Laos and then a further three days exploring the sites of Angkor,...
Baltics 2001
302 photos
A journey through several Baltic countries, starting in Riga, Latvia then on through Estonia to St Petersburg in Russia, and then back to Tallinn, Estonia & including a day trip to Helsinki,...
Gloucester - St Mary de Crypt
46 photos
Gloucester - St Nicholas
63 photos
A local landmark and perhaps my favourite of the Gloucester city churches, St Nicholas's is instantly recognisable for its truncated spire, the top part having been damaged during the siege of the...
Gloucester - St Mary de Lode
29 photos
The church of St Mary de Lode in Gloucester is situated close to the St Mary Gate of the Cathedral precinct and the Bishop Hooper Memorial. It remained something of an enigma to me on many visits as...
Tewkesbury Abbey
421 photos
The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic...
Beverley Minster
238 photos
There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer...
Beverley - St Mary
112 photos
In most other town's St Mary's church would be the star attraction, a splendid cruciform late medieval building in the Perpendicular style that is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the...
Selby Abbey
161 photos
The market town of Selby is dominated by the former Abbey, now the town's parish church but originally built to serve a Benedictine monastery. It is one of those rare cathedral-sized survivors of the...
Rievaulx - Museum & Visitors Centre
77 photos
The new Rievaulx Abbey Museum opened on the site in recent years and displaying various finds and sculptural fragments from the abbey church.
Rievaulx Abbey
224 photos
There are few monastic ruins as beautiful as Rievaulx, the idyllic rural setting and good preservation of so much of the Abbey complex leave it with few peers, amongst the most majestic and dramatic...
Mappleborough Green - Holy Ascension
63 photos
Mappleborough Green stands on the western fringe of Warwickshire, so close to the Worcestershire border and the edge of Redditch that it is doubtless often assumed to be part of the suburban sprawl,...
Ullenhall - St Mary
31 photos
St Mary's church Ullenhall, built 1875 by J.P.Seddon.
From the centre of this village near the Warwickshire/Worcestershire border it appears there is nothing here to see that pre-dates the Victorian...
Welham - St Andrew
27 photos
Welham is a small, sparsely populated village but has a fine church at its heart nonetheless. St Andrew's isn't a large building, a simple nave and chancel (the latter rebuilt in the Victorian...
Medbourne - St Giles
36 photos
Medbourne is an attractive village with a church to match, sitting at its centre surrounded by a raised churchyard and accessed from the west by a highly picturesque ancient footbridge, every bit the...
Bringhurst - St Nicholas
20 photos
Bringhurst is a pretty, quiet rural village with an attractive ironstone church to match, nothing showy or pretentious but definitely picturesque. St Nicholas's church and its churchyard are on high...
Great Easton - St Andrew
19 photos
Great Easton sits at Leicestershire's south-east corner, very close to the border with Rutland. St Andrew's church is a handsome building of largely late 13th century date with a number of later...
Stockerston - St Peter
58 photos
Stockerston church lies some distance to the west of the village, approached by a long lane and situated on high ground next to the privately owned Hall. It is a handsome late medieval building,...
Blaston - St Giles
26 photos
Blaston (pronounced 'Blayston') was never a large settlement but what there is of it is an attractive place with some handsome houses along its main street. Unusually it was split into two parishes...
Horninghold - St Peter
30 photos
Horninghold is a quiet rural Leicestershire village defined by attractive houses and green spaces, the church being set back from the road and unusually seemingly accessed through the front gardens...
Hallaton - St Michael
63 photos
Hallaton is justly known as one of Leicestershire's most picturesque villages, and its church of St Michael is similarly fine, a handsome ironstone structure mainly spanning the 12th to 14th...
Cranoe - St Michael
31 photos
Cranoe is a small and quiet place, and its church is equally diminutive but a handsome building nonetheless. This was our second visit here, previously we'd arrived too late on a Heritage Day to find...
Glooston - St John the Baptist
18 photos
St John the Baptist's church in the oddly named village of Glooston (is that just too many 'o's?) is somewhat hidden from view, one could easily pass by and miss it as it has no tower and is tucked...
Stonton Wyville - St Denys
30 photos
Stonton Wyville is a pleasingly quiet place and its church is largely concelaed ste back amidst the trees of its peacrful churchyard. It is a simple two-cell building of nave and chancel without a...
Marston Trussell - St Nicholas
9 photos
Packwood - St Giles
106 photos
Tucked away in a quiet corner close to Packwood House, St Giles church is every bit as rewarding., a handsome medieval church with some interesting features and lovely glass.
The outstanding feature...
Lapworth - St Mary
122 photos
St Mary's church in Lapworth is one of the most rewarding and unusual medieval parish churches in Warwickshire. The visitor generally approaches this handsome building from the north where the sturdy...
Coventry - St Mark
42 photos
Situated on the eastern edge of Coventry city centre close to Swanswell Park, St Mark's church has had a somewhat chequered history since it was first constructed in 1868, having suffered war damage...
Cambridge - St Mary the Great
34 photos
Great St Mary's church would dominate the centre of Cambridge were it not for the stiff competition from a certain much grander college chapel over the road! As it is this is by far the largest of...
Cambridge - Gonville & Caius College
30 photos
Gonville & Caius is one of Cambridge's oldest and wealthiest colleges, having been founded in 1348 as Gonville Hall though its present title derives from its refoundation in 1557 (following a...
Cambridge - St Michael
22 photos
St Michael's is one of many medieval churches in centre of Cambridge that no longer serves parish use. Following redundancy it went through an unhappy phase with its interior partially subdivided and...
Cambridge - St John's College
24 photos
St John's College is the second of Cambridge's institutions that owes its foundation to Lady Margaret Beaufort and as a result its grand main entrance gate is emblazoned with a heraldic display of...
Cambridge - Churchill College Chapel
38 photos
Churchill College stands some distance to the north west of the centre of Cambridge and is an entirely modern foundation built mainly between 1958-68 to the designs of architect Richard Sheppard. The...
Cambridge - Westminster College Chapel
62 photos
Westminster College stands to the north of Cambridge's centre and is primarily a theological college for the training of ministers in the United Reformed Church. The present buildings were designed...
Cambridge - St Peter
6 photos
Cambridge - St Clement
12 photos
Cambridge - Wesley Methodist Church
20 photos
The most attractive Nonconformist place of worship in Cambridge must surely be the Wesley Methodist Church in King's Lane, a low rise but ambitious building dating from 1913 (built to replace a...
Cambridge - Jesus College Chapel
156 photos
Jesus College may not be the oldest of Cambridge's colleges, but regardless it can still boast the oldest chapel. The present cruciform building was formerly the monastic church of St Mary & St...
Cambridge - Christ's College
54 photos
Christ's College was originally founded in 1437 as 'God's House' by William Byngham, but following a major endowment in 1505 by Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother of Henry VII) it was given its current...
Cambridge - St Benet
17 photos
Cambridge - St Botolph
22 photos
St Botolph's church is a landmark in the southern part of the city and being usually open to visitors has become a welcome haven of peace from the bustle of the street outside. The dedication to this...
Cambridge - Pembroke College Chapel
27 photos
Pembroke College chapel was built in 1664-5 at the sole expense of Matthew Wren (Bishop of Ely & Fellow of Pemrboke College) and was the very first work of his nephew, the famous architect...
Cambridge - Peterhouse College Chapel
28 photos
Peterhouse is one of Cambridge's oldest colleges though it wasn't served by its own purpose-built chapel until the present one was built in 1628-32, the college having previously used the...
Cambridge - St Mary the Less
21 photos
St Mary the Less (so titled to differentiate it from its much grander rival nearby) sits alongside Peterhouse College and for much of its life served the dual purpose of parish church and college...
Cambridge - Our Lady & The English Martyrs
44 photos
Our Lady & the English Martyrs is by far the largest Catholic church in Cambridge and one of the most impressive in the country, an awe-inspiring easy in Victorian Gothic of cathedral-like...
Cambridge - St Paul
20 photos
Lower Gornal - St James
82 photos
St James's church in the Black Country settlement of Lower Gornal began life in the early 19th century, the oldest parts being the nave and west tower which were built in 1817 by architect Thomas...
Upper Broughton - St Luke
7 photos
Kinoulton - St Luke
16 photos
Kinoulton church was built in 1792-3 to replace its demolished medieval predecessor and is a classic example of a red brick Georgian church, neat if somewhat austere. The west tower also serves as...
Cropwell Bishop - St Giles
23 photos
Cotgrave - All Saints
31 photos
All Saints church can be found in the heart of the village of Cotgrave with its stately west spire standing proud amongst the densely arboreal surroundings of its churchyard, which does make a...
Owthorpe - St Margaret
19 photos
Bunny - St Mary
30 photos
The grandest village church in south Nottinghamshire, St Mary's church dominates the centre of the quirkily named village of Bunny, its tapering spire crowning a tall west tower making the building...
East Leake - Our Lady of the Angels
6 photos
The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of the Angels in East Leake is a simple mid-20th century structure built in 1954 to the designs of Ernest Bower Norris. Its most notable feature is the...
East Leake - St Mary
31 photos
At the centre of the attractive village of East Leake stands the ancient church of St Mary, its presence announced by the tall spire which rises from a much earlier Norman tower. Much of the main...
Gotham - St Lawrence
30 photos
St Lawrence's is a fine largely 13th-15th century building sitting in the heart of the picturesque village of Gotham (pronounced Goat-ham, unlike where a certain caped crusader lives!). The older...
Barton in Fabis - St George
35 photos
Barton in Fabis church stands set back from the lane in its own peaceful enclosure of a churchyard surrounded by trees. Its tower and spire, of a type typical in this part of Nottinghamshire, appear...
Thrumpton - All Saints
33 photos
All Saints church sits down a quiet lane in the heart of the picturesque village of Thrumpton. It is an unpretentious building with a simple square tower followed by a nave and chancel without...
Sutton Bonington - St Michael
43 photos
St Michael's is the northernmost of the two medieval parish churches at Sutton Bonington and with its slender tower and tapering spire is by far the more imposing of the two buildings. The present...
Sutton Bonington - St Anne
33 photos
St Anne's is the southernmost of the two churches at Sutton Bonington (a rare distinction owing to the village's origins as two separate villages that later merged over the centuries, hence the two...
Barrow upon Soar - Holy Trinity
17 photos
At first sight, Barrow upon Soar parish church appears to be a Victorian building, the exterior seems almost entirely renewed and indeed the tower, transept and chancel were all rebuilt during the...
Stanford on Soar - St John the Baptist
10 photos
Stanford on Soar sits close to the border with Leicestershire and possesses a handsome largely 15th century church (with a late Victorian rebuilt chancel) dedicated to St John the Baptist. Being...
Normanton on Soar - St James
15 photos
Kingston on Soar - St Winifred
34 photos
St Winifred's church at Kingston on Soar appears at first glance to be an attractive if somewhat over restored late medieval building, its most noticeable features being the pinnacled west tower and...
Ratcliffe on Soar - Holy Trinity
51 photos
To most the name Ratcliffe on Soar will be familiar for a landmark that can be seen for miles around, the eight enormous cooling towers of the power station that dominates the area like some great...
Finstall - St Godwald
22 photos
Finstall church is actually located in the Aston Fields suburb of Bromsgrove close to the railway station, thus it is a church I've passed by numerous times when using the train from Bromsgrove as a...
Bromsgrove - St John the Baptist
76 photos
Bromsgrove parish church stands on high ground overlooking the cntre of the town, it's tall proud steeple being very much a local landmark. St John the Baptist's is a largley 14th & 15th century...
Chaddesley Corbett - St Cassian
75 photos
St Cassian's church Chaddesley Corbett will be familiar to anyone who travels by road between Bromsgrove and Kidderminster, being something of a landmark easily visible from the road, which bends as...
Harvington - St Mary
35 photos
Situated next to the Tudor Harvington Hall, St Mary's church dates back to 1825, some four years before Catholic Emancipation and thus one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the Midlands. It is...
Stone - St Mary
9 photos
Stone village lies just a mile or so to the east of the outskirts of Kidderminster, but is a quiet rural spot aside from the busy road running through it.
St Mary's church is a landmark clearly...
Kidderminster - St George
12 photos
Kidderminster's second major Anglican church also looms large near the centre of town but separated from it by the ring-road, its soaring tower being a major landmark to the east of the centre. It is...
Kidderminster - St Mary
208 photos
St Mary's is the parish church of the town of Kidderminster and a grand affair it is too, still mostly an early 16th century building of impressive proportions, its extraordinary length in...
Wilden - All Saints
121 photos
An unassuming Victorian church reveals itself to be a treasure house of late Morris & Co. glass.
Gorsley - Christ Church
10 photos
After two disappointments with innaccessible churches I decided there was little point venturing further and headed back, but with Gorsley church directly on my return route it seemed churlish not to...
Kempley - St Edward
18 photos
Kempley's second church is dedicated to St Edward the Confessor and was built in 1903-4 in the heart of the village, initially to serve as a chapel of ease but since the ancient and more remote...
Kempley - St Mary
76 photos
Upton Bishop - St John the Baptist
28 photos
Upton Bishop's church of St John the Baptist stands in a quiet spot to the east of the main hub of the village. It is a handsome building whose exterior betrays various alterations and additions over...
Dymock - St Mary
65 photos
Heading over the Gloucestershire border Dymock church was my first port of call, and a fascinating building it is too. Tucked away in its leafy enclosure of a churchyard St Mary's is still largely a...
Donnington - St Mary
45 photos
St Mary's at Donnington sits in a tranquil rural setting alongside a farm and not much in the way of a village to see. It is a humble building crowned by a small wooden spire at the west end, and...
Ledbury - St Michael
146 photos
St Michael & All Angels at Ledbury is not only one of Herefordshire's grandest parish churches but also one of its most rewarding. There is much to enjoy in this ancient building from its unusual...
Avebury - The Stones
90 photos
Avebury is one of Britain's most important prehistoric sites, renowned for the standing stones that punctuate the village and represent the remains of one of the largest Neolithic stone circles ever...
Aldbourne - St Michael
61 photos
St Michael's church forms the centrepiece of the delightful Wiltshire village of Aldbourne, seen to best advantage across the open space of the village green.
The building is mostly of 15th century...
Bibury - St Mary
39 photos
Bibury is well known and visited as one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds and its church of St Mary likewise doesn't disappoint, set back in its own delightfully peaceful enclosure of a...
Paxford Mission Church
28 photos
Paxford Mission Church was built in 1866 and originally served as the village school, being later modified for joint use for church services. It is a very compact building crowned by a bellcote,...
Dennington - St Mary
94 photos
Last but not least, the final church of the day and a good one to finish on, the last of my itinerary's 'big three' which I simply had to see on this trip (all the more so having finished another...
Framlingham - St Michael
90 photos
Framlingham was perhaps my most anticipated target of the day, one of the 'big three' of my itinerary that I knew I'd require more time for, and getting later in the afternoon I was increasingly...
Parham - St Mary
43 photos
St Mary's at Parham stands proudly in a quiet spot a short distance off the main road through the village. The first sight of it on approaching is impressive, the sturdy west tower looks a little...
Hacheston - All Saints
41 photos
Hacheston church must be a familiar landmark to anyone who regularly passes this way, being perched on high ground overlooking the road. It seems to implore you to stop and look, so naturally I...
Wickham Market - All Saints
12 photos
Wickham Market seemed quite a large settlement after all the quiet villages I'd just visited, but that's purely relative (as in it actually has a proper high street and shops unlike the sleepy rural...
Ufford - The Assumption
130 photos
Ufford's church of the Assumption is justly famous and needs little introduction in churchcrawling circles. It is one of those special churches which is not only a most handsome building in its own...
Bromeswell - St Edmund
33 photos
St Edmund's church at Bromeswell is located down a long lane and sits sheltered amongst the trees of its churchyard, a green oasis in the heart of this quiet village. My first impression approaching...
Eyke - All Saints
47 photos
All Saints church at Eyke is a bit different in every sense, you could easily pass through the village and miss it as there's no tower to announce its presence on the streetscape, just a fairly...
Rendlesham - St Gregory
48 photos
St Gregory's church at Rendlesham lies in a beautifully rural setting a short distance to the west of the village itself (which I didn't even see, approaching from the north down a quiet country...
Campsea Ashe - St John the Baptist
45 photos
Another trip begins, this time with Wickham Market station as my starting point, and that being much closer to the village of Campsea Ashe the church there was the obvious first port of call after a...
Badingham - St John the Baptist
37 photos
St John the Baptist's church sits on high sloping ground set back from the road behind houses in the sleepy rural settlement of Badingham. At first sight it appears fairly ordinary after the grandeur...
Laxfield - All Saints
41 photos
Cratfield - St Mary
35 photos
A peaceful meander down country lanes brought me to St Mary's at Cratfield, whose tower greets the visitor at the entrance to its peaceful churchyard, an idyllic setting that's easily missed behind...
Huntingfield - St Mary
66 photos
St Mary's church in Huntingfield is one of those you simply have to see if you're in the area, and I'd frustratingly been only a village away on a previous expedition a year before (then looking at a...
Cookley - St Michael
25 photos
St Michael's at Cookley is approached in a rather peculiar way, there is no road that leads to it nor even a drive or footpath reserved for its use; instead one must cut through the garden of a...
Chediston - St Mary
44 photos
Next on my itinerary was Chediston where I was greeted by the sight of the church over a large green open space to the north. At first sight I found this church a little dour by comparison with those...
Wissett - St Andrew
47 photos
On arriving at the pleasant village of Wissett I soon sought out St Andrew's church, sitting unencumbered by foliage (in stark contrast to the churches I'd just visited) in the well maintained open...
Spexhall - St Peter
22 photos
It didn't take me long to find St Peter's church once I'd reached Spexhall after a long meandering ride from my previous destination, there isn't much in the way of a village here, all is rural and...
Westhall - St Andrew
96 photos
St Andrew's church at Westhall wasn't one I was familiar with on my previous visit to the area, if I had realised what I was missing on that occasion I may have changed my itinerary to include it....
Holton - St Peter
6 photos
An easy ride from nearby Halesworth station, St Peter's at Holton was a natural choice for a first port of call on this trip, but alas being a Sunday morning I knew this could be problematic for...
Hethersett - St Remigius
38 photos
Situated halfway between the start and finish of my morning's bike ride (Wymondham and Norwich) Hethersett was my next natural port of call. (and a welcome one too on a very hot summer day!) The...
Wymondham Abbey
110 photos
So many of our great monastic churches have faded into oblivion as a result of their suppression and plunder for the greed of Henry VIII and his henchmen, perhaps the biggest single blow to our...
Thorpe St Andrew - St Andrew
32 photos
Having spent a few days staying at an Air B & B in the eastern Norwich suburb of Thorpe St Andrew I could hardly say goodbye before checking out the intriguing church I'd encountered on my way...
Lincoln - Westgate Water-Tower
12 photos
The Westgate Water Tower in Lincoln, illuminated by a fetching sequence of festive colours for the Lincoln Christmas Market in December 2019.
The tower was built in 1911 and still functions.
Elmley Castle - St Mary
63 photos
St Mary's at Elmley Castle, close to the bottom of Bredon Hill, is one of Worcestershire's more rewarding churches. Much of the present building is 15th century, though parts date from Norman and...
Beckford - St John the Baptist
40 photos
Beckford is one of the more picturesque villages along the southern edge of Bredon Hill and St John the Baptist's church is accordingly one of the most handsome and interesting in south...
Overbury - St Faith
43 photos
St Faith's church sits charmingly in the picturesque surroundings of Overbury, a handsome building whose various parts span the entire medieval p[eriod, from the largely Norman nave to the...
Bredon - St Giles
53 photos
If you were to make a list of the top churches in Worcestershire it's a safe bet to say St Giles' at Bredon would be one of them. It is a gem of a building, much of which dates back to Norman times...
Bredon's Norton - St Giles
17 photos
Mendlesham - St Mary
19 photos
Mendlesham was our final church of the day, seeing as we were visiting a friend in the village. We'd had a brilliant day thus far, but sadly our luck ran out by the time we reached the door...
Thornham Parva - St Mary
32 photos
Thornham Parva is justly renowned and well visited for its church of St Mary, but at first sight it isn't obvious to the visitor why this might be. This humble church in a tiny village looks...
Scole - St Andrew
29 photos
I had long been keen to visit St Andrew's church at Scole, having first read about it on Simon's Norfolk Churches site some years ago, where I learned of the dramatic impact of its recent history and...
Dickleburgh - All Saints
50 photos
All Saints at Dickleburgh sits on the main road through the village, its east end poking out of the foliage towards the roadside to announce its presence. At first sight this church is rather lost...
Shelton - St Mary
61 photos
Shelton church is one I've known from photos for some time, so I was particularly pleased to be visiting it at last. You always have certain expectations in such cases so it's always intriguing to...
Fritton - St Catherine
45 photos
St Catherine's at Fritton is in as pleasingly rural a location as one could hope for, set amidst the fields just north of Morningthorpe and hidden from the lanes by a screen of trees. Once the gate...
Morningthorpe - St John the Baptist
36 photos
Morningthorpe is another haven of peace among the country lanes of south Norfolk, its church of St John the Baptist standing down a quiet lane near a farm. First thing I noticed was the round tower,...
Stratton St Michael - St Michael
24 photos
Stratton St Michael is a short distance from the main road but this quiet rural settlement otherwise feels far from the frantic pace of modern life, a haven of peace in the countryside that seemed a...
Much Cowarne - St Mary
57 photos
The final church of my trip (thirteen in all) and my favourite of the day, so this itinerary was saving the best till last! St Mary's at Much Cowarne stands dramatically situated on high ground in an...
Pencombe - St John
27 photos
St John's church at Pencombe evokes the late Norman style with its form and detailing, but this is simply an echo of the former building on this site for the church was entirely rebuilt in the...
Little Cowarne - St Guthlac
19 photos
Little Cowarne lives up to its name, a small settlement with an equally modest church, originally a 12th/13th century two-cell building of nave and chancel, but so heavily restored in 1870 as to...
Ullingswick - St Luke
33 photos
Ullingswick is another very rural location, St Luke's church being one of so many in Herefordshire to be found in such a peaceful setting. Again this was never a lar.ge church and remains more or...
Felton - St Michael
36 photos
St Michael's at Felton was refreshingly easier of access after the previous church I'd visited nearby! How nice to have a normal peaceful approach to its peaceful secluded churchyard without having...
Preston Wynne - Holy Trinity
15 photos
Holy Trinity at Preston Wynne is a little unusual, an 18th century building given a very thorough Victorian makeover and rather remotely situated in the middle of a field with no direct access by...
Amberley Chapel
14 photos
Amberley church is little more than a simple medieval chapel, a humble building with no dedication, and consists merely of a single room with a bellcote at the west end. It is a charming location...
Sutton St Nicholas
18 photos
The twin villages of Sutton St Michael and Sutton St Nicholas virtually form a single entity, but nevertheless retain two medieval churches that remain in use.
Sutton St Nicholas's church is the...
Sutton St Michael
8 photos
The twin villages of Sutton St Michael and Sutton St Nicholas virtually form a single entity, but nevertheless retain two medieval churches that remain in use.
Sutton St Michael's church is the...
Marden - St Mary
39 photos
Marden church sits close to the River Lugg some distance to the south west of the main part of the village. The site chosen was apparently where King / St Ethelbert was murdered by King Offa and...
Moreton on the Lugg - St Andrew
8 photos
St Andrew's church at Moreton on the Lugg is mostly a Victorian rebuilding dating from 1867 (though the late medieval arcade with its almost flattened arches remains within).
The church isn't...
Pipe & Lyde - St Peter
28 photos
A few miles north of Hereford is the small and quirkily named settlement of Pipe & Lyde whose church with its broach spire nestles amongst the trees a short distance from the main road. Much of...
Holmer - St Bartholomew
6 photos
Holmer church near Hereford is a sturdy largely 13th century building distinguished the a fine timber-framed upper half of its tower on the south side, one of several such church towers finished in...
Rotherwas Chapel
51 photos
Rotherwas Chapel stands on the site of a medieval building but the present structure dates back to rebuilding in 1580 and subsequent alterations including much Victorian modification. It was the...
Cherington - St John the Baptist
124 photos
St John the Baptist in Cherington is a beautiful edifice dating mainly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Inside are many fascinating fragments of stained glass of various dates and...
Barton on the Heath - St Lawrence
60 photos
Barton on the Heath sits at Warwickshire's south-western edge, about as close as one can get to the Cotswolds without crossing the county border. The church of St Lawrence shows this in its rich...
Burmington - SS Barnabas & Nicholas
27 photos
Burmington's church of St Barnabas & St Nicholas was so drastically restored in 1849 that the building appears to be a complete Victorian rebuilding with very little evidence of the medieval...
Leamington Spa - St Mark
92 photos
Leamington Spa has an excellent collection of Victorian churches, and St Mark's,
New Milverton is one of my all time favourites (and a familiar sight having been
driven past it countless times). It...
Leamington Spa - Holy Trinity
57 photos
Holy Trinity church in Beauchamp Square, Leamington Spa blends subtly with it's surroundings, possesing no lofty steeple (though the main south west entrance was clearly intended as the lower stage...
Leamington Spa - St Mary
51 photos
St Mary's is one of Leamington Spa's suburban churches, situated south east of the town centre. It was built in 1839 by J.C.Jackson and is similar to many late Georgian churches with nave and aisles...
Radford Semele - St Nicholas
248 photos
Images from before & after the fire of March 16th 2008, and from the rebuilt church completed in May 2013.
I designed and made the rose window above the entrance to this church for the...
Leamington Spa - St Paul
29 photos
St Paul's is one of several grand Victorian churches that have punctuated the skyline of Leamington Spa, its tall tower and spire being a landmark for anyone approaching the town from the east as we...
Cubbington - St Mary
76 photos
St Mary's at Cubbington on the eastern fringe of Leamington Spa largely dates back to the 12th century, the tower and south nave arcade in particular being good examples of Norman work.
The interior...
Sutton Coldfield - St Chad
62 photos
St Chad's sits out in the suburbs of Sutton Coldfield town, and is the sort of church that would only be known locally, its exterior is fairly austere, a plain barn of a building in ironstone that...
Darby End - St Peter
39 photos
St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church...
Greet's Green - St Peter's
71 photos
St Peter's church at Greets Green, West Bromwich, a little known Black Country gem built in 1858, most notable for some stunning stained glass inside, foremost of which are the three gorgeous late...
Sapcote - All Saints
20 photos
All Saints at Sapcote was our last church of the day (or rather the last we were lucky enough to find open!) and a nice one to end on, a handsome 14th & 15th century structure with a slender west...
Stoney Stanton - St Michael
6 photos
We were too late arriving at Stoney Stanton to get inside St Michael's, it was locked up tight again (as one imagines it normally is outside of services) by the end of Ride & Stride day.
The...
Sharnford - St Helen
14 photos
Sharnford is a reasonably sized village with a more modest-sized church on its eastern edge. St Helen's is an unpretentious building, its pinnacled tower is not lofty, rising only one stage above...
Frolesworth - St Nicholas
39 photos
Frolesworth isn't a large village but is blessed with one of the more interesting parish churches in south Leicestershire. Parts of St Nicholas's date back to the 13th century though most of its...
Broughton Astley - St Mary
18 photos
St Mary's at Broughton Astley comes as a pleasant surprise after visiting so many heavily restored and rebuilt churches nearby as this one still retains its medieval fabric more or less completely....
Leire - St Peter
21 photos
St Peter's at Leire is one of those churches that beckons you towards it with its medieval steeple only to reveal that's this tower and spire are the only part of the ancient building left since the...
Dunton Bassett - All Saints
32 photos
All Saints at Dunton Bassett is a handsome if rather restored building. Most of the present fabric dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries with significant Victorian intervention inside and out....
Gilmorton - All Saints
29 photos
All Saints church at Gilmorton as we see it today is a mostly 19th century creation, though the 15th century west tower survives from the medieval building (the spire it carries was rebuilt in 1909)....
Kimcote - All Saints
27 photos
South chancel window by Theodora Salusbury installed in 1946 (commemorating the artist's brother who had lived nearby and also her last design). The design represents the master and servants from the...
Misterton - St Leonard
42 photos
St Leonard's at Misterton lies a short distance to the east of Lutterworth sheltered amongst the dense trees of its secluded churchyard (one of those churches it's tricky to get a complete external...
Lutterworth - St Mary
4 photos
St Mary's at Lutterworth is an impressive building famous for its links with John Wycliffe who was rector here in the late 14th century. it is a substantial medieval building, the only obvious later...
Foston - St Bartholomew
26 photos
My final church of the day, St Bartholomew's at the virtually non-existent village of Foston, a church hidden away behind trees on a quiet rural lane, very easily missed. I arrived to find the church...
Kilby - St Mary Magdalene
6 photos
St Mary Magdalene's church lies a short distance to the north west of Kilby village up a quiet lane. It is quite an unassuming building, a single vessel crowned only by a bellcote and was built in...
Wistow - St Wistan
31 photos
My winner for most picturesque setting of the day, Wistow church was happily basking in the early evening sunlight as I approached via the leafy path from the main road (from which it is set well...
Newton Harcourt - St Luke
12 photos
Travelling south through Newton Harcourt village one suddenly stumbles across St Luke's church on a bend in the road, its west entrance virtually opening straight on to it. The quirky little box-like...
Great Glen - St Cuthbert
26 photos
St Cuthbert's church stands at the south-western fringe of the prosperous village of Great Glen, close to the main road in the heart of an expansive churchyard. Its sturdy west tower appears to date...
Carlton Curlieu - St Mary
23 photos
Carlton Curlieu is a small community set in the hilly terrain of south-east Leicestershire, and its church is fairly well hidden on approaching the village, set back from the lane and sheltered by an...
Burton Overy - St Andrew
45 photos
Burton Overy is an attractive village with a church to match, St Andrew's being a mostly 14th/15th century structure in yellow/brown ironstone with limestone dressings giving that two-toned look that...
Gaulby - St Peter
28 photos
St Peter's church at Gaulby is one I'd long wanted to see ever since being intrigued by seeing a photo of that distinctive 18th century tower crowned by those bizarre spiky pinnacles (a unique...
King's Norton - St John the Baptist
19 photos
St John the Baptist's church at King's Norton is justly famous as one of the most remarkable examples of Gothic Revival in the country, a surprisingly early one too, dating from the mid 18th century....
Little Stretton - St John the Baptist
11 photos
Great Stretton - St Giles
4 photos
Rothley - St Mary & St John the Baptist
9 photos
St Mary & St John the Baptist's church in Rothley looks quite impressive externally, its proud west tower rising above a lush churchyard full of trees. Alas it was too late in the day to see...
Rothley - Templar Chapel
17 photos
Rothley Court Hotel has a rather unusual building attached to it, this being the former preceptory chapel built by the Knight's Templar in 1231. It continued to operate under the Knights...
Swithland - St Leonard
8 photos
We arrived too late in the day to find Swithland church open which was a pity. We've found on previous trips that some of the churches that embrace opening for Ride & Stride soldier on till gone...
Woodhouse - St Mary
32 photos
Woodhouse church is dedicated as St Mary in the Elms, a fitting dedication for a church surrounded by trees in its wedge-shaped churchyard (flanked by a busy main road and the quieter lane from which...
Woodhouse Eaves - St Paul
36 photos
St Paul's church at Woodhouse Eaves dates back to 1837 when it was built to the designs of William Railton and subsequently altered with transept extensions in 1880. It is a substantial 19th century...
Nanpantan - St Mary
7 photos
The diminutive church of St Mary at Nanpantan, a place we decided to add to the itinerary purely for the sake of its amusingly bizarre name!
St Mary's church is more a chapel of ease, an early 20th...
Shepshed - St Botolph
68 photos
Shepshed church (dedicated to St Botolph, isn't it odd how you never meet anyone with that name these days?!) was a late addition to our itinerary but a most welcome one nonetheless, earning my...
Hathern - SS Peter & Paul
7 photos
Hathern was very much a flying visit for us, Colin had already been but kindly offered to stop here for me to have a look inside. There was an ominous note in the listing for the days events though...
Thorpe Acre - All Saints
36 photos
Prestwold - St Andrew
4 photos
St Andrew's church at Prestwold stands in a delightfully secluded spot with only trees for company (a hall apparently stands nearby though I don't recall it being visible from here). The proud west...
Wymeswold - St Mary
40 photos
St Mary's church is a grand edifice in a commanding position at the centre of the north Leicestershire village of Wymeswold (a place that I always think should have a type of cheese named after it)....
Seagrave - All Saints
34 photos
Thrussington - Holy Trinity
18 photos
Holy Trinity church stands set back from the main road on the south-eastern edge of Thrussington village in an attractive churchyard punctuated by clusters of slate headstones. The church itself is a...
Ratcliffe on the Wreake - St Botolph
11 photos
Wanlip - Our Lady & St Nicholas
15 photos
The church of Our Lady & St Nicholas at Wanlip is a mostly 14th century building consisting of west tower, nave and chancel, with a Victorian addition of porch and chapel on the south side.
We'd...
Ashton under Hill - St Barbara
30 photos
St Barbara's church at Ashton under Hill is sits on high ground set back from the main road through the village and thus doesn't immediately show itself to the casual visitor. To find it one has to...
Cookhill - St Paul
84 photos
Church of St Paul at Cookhill, Worcestershire (close to the border with Warwickshire). It was built in 1876 by noted local architect Frederick Preedy.
The church is open to visitors during the...
Weethley - St James
20 photos
St James's church serves the tiny village of Weethley, approached via a private road with a cluster of houses for company, the sign making a non-local like me feel a bit weary lest anyone think I was...
Arrow - Holy Trinity
64 photos
Holy Trinity church in Arrow (near Alcester) is distinguished by an elegant Georgian Gothick tower (built in 1767) but despite the medieval origin of the nave and chancel much of the present...
Coventry - St Mary's Guildhall
54 photos
Coventry's ancient guildhall is one of the very finest in the country and the grandest of the city's surviving medieval secular buildings, still in use for civic functions to this day. Most of the...
Coventry
212 photos
My local city when growing up and thus a familiar place whose public artworks captured my imagination at an early age.
The Cathedral and major churches will not be included here, having their own...
Wells Cathedral - West Front Sculptures
160 photos
Details from the astonishing array of medieval sculpture surviving on the west facade of Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral - Medieval Glass
102 photos
The east window of the choir preserves almost all its original stained glass, believed to have been installed c1340. The subject is the Tree of Jesse, a depiction of Christ's ancestry beginning with...
Wells Cathedral
548 photos
Wells Cathedral is a magical place to me, having cast a spell over me from the very first time I laid eyes on it as a seven-year old when it started to be a regular break on our journeys south west...
Wells - St Cuthbert
67 photos
St Cuthbert's church in Wells would be a worthy landmark in any town but is somewhat eclipsed here in this small cathedral-city by the incomparable mother-church that stands a mere ten minute walk...
Bristol - Stammers Glass, St Mary Redcliffe
73 photos
The windows of the Lady Chapel, part of a full scheme of five windows in this part of the church by Harry Stammers, installed between 1960-65 to replace glass lost in the war.
Coventry - St Osburg
94 photos
This Victorian Catholic church actually gained from it's wartime damage, having been restored with some truly gorgeous Irish stained glass.
Ross on Wye
9 photos
A very brief visit after a long ride as I arrived too late to find the church open.
Bridstow - St Bridget
44 photos
St Bridget's church at Bridstow evokes a few memories for me, my first encounter with it was in the late 1990s when I came here with work, having dismantled and releaded much of the church's east...
Sellack - St Tysilio
46 photos
My approach to Sellack church over the nearby footbridge over the river Wye and across a field with the tapering spire beckoning me on was unforgettable and a lovely introduction to the place.
St...
King's Caple - St John the Baptist
30 photos
St John the Baptist's at King's Caple might seem rather ordinary after some of its near -neighbours but it is a building of some charm with a few unusual features.
Though the present structure is of...
Hoarwithy - St Catherine
67 photos
A surprise awaits the visitor to Hoarwithy, for here is a church unlike any other in Herefordshire, or in the country for that matter. St Catherine's asserts its presence with a bell tower that might...