Round Church Cambridge

Useful Website

Just uncovered a great website of pictures of historic churches, particularly within Sussex.

St Mary-in-Castro, Dover

As I mentioned in the previous post that we holidayed in Dover this year. One of the main highlights of the trip was, of course, a visit to Dover Castle, perhaps the most impressive castle in the country. Contained there-in is St Mary-in-Castro.

Parts of the current building go back to Saxon times, roughly 1000AD, and although, as the plaque below explains it had fallen into ruin, parts of the old building remain. Next to it is a Roman pharos (lighthouse), parts of which were used by the Saxons who built the church.The inside of the church is also most impressive. I didn't take a photo of it, but thankfully, someone else has.

Notre Dame, Calais, France

We went on holiday to Dover this year, and so Nina (pictured) and I popped over to France for a day (as we were the only ones with valid passports. Notre Dame there is neither as stunning nor as well known as its Parisian namesake, but it's still a beautiful building. The inside was very busy, and no-one else seemed to be taking photos so I didn't either (save a subtle click for the one below).Outside the church there is a helpful panel which explains a bit more about the building and it's conveniently been translated into English as well as being in French. Here's a quick snap of that.

I must admit that I'm fascinated by gargoyles and grotesques, but the frustrating thing is always trying to get a decent shot of one. Of those outside these were the best I could do.

Thankfully there was one, which had presumably fallen off at some point, standing up inside the church and it gave me a chance to get a closer look at these usually out of sight objects.

St Wulfran's, Ovingdean, Sussex

St Wulfran's, OvingdeanI came across this one quite by accident, it's 11th century Norman, and quite a nice little church. Sadly I could't look round even though someone was in the building, presumably for security reasons. I can fully understand why the staff of this church follow this policy, as attacks on the clergy sadly do happen. It's a shame though that the tiny minority cause such fear as to spoil it for the rest of us, and that the church isn't open except for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon in the summer.The the church's website has a good bit on the church's history, although that only serves to make me regret even more not being able the inside. The Kempe Ceiling looks spectacular, and the altar is also very lovingly decorated. Perhaps next time I'm in Brighton I'll make sure I get there on a Saturday afternoon.

St. Peter's, Henfield, Sussex

On holiday this year we went to a campsite just north of Brighton near Henfield. Here are some images of the Parish Church. I have an information leaflet on the building somewhere which I will add to this post if I ever get a moment. For now there's a little bit about the site on the Henfield village page. You can view the detail on the final image by clicking on it to see one at a larger resolution



(Click on image to view a larger version)

St. Mary de Haura, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex

For some reason I didn't take an outside picture of St. Mary de Haura, which we find in the south coast's Shoreham-by-Sea. I did take a picture of the ruined Norman remains, but not the building itself.

The town has a number of churches of note, but it's St. Mary's which is the most celebrated, featuring in Simon Jenkins' England's "1000 Best Churches" and, according to the church's own website, in Tim Tatton-Brown & John Crook's "The English Church: England's 100 Finest Parish Churches".
Photos inside were a bit limited too, as the nave was closed off to the public by gates low enough to hop over, but assertive enough to insist that this really wasn't the kind of thing one should do. The point of such gates is questionnable however. Anyone intent on vandalism would not share my qualms, so they only function to keep the good out whilst permitting the bad easy access.
I don't imagine my daughter would thank me for posting the above photo, but time was short so I had to make do. It's the font that's the point of this photo, nicely decorated. Below is a shot of the nave in all its splendour.
There are some more details about the church building and it's history on the church's website, as well as some far better photos than the ones you see here, including one of the Green Man, the plan of the original, the font without a leering 5 year old, the commemorative cross, the stained glass windows and an oyster shell colour-dish.

They have also included some more in-depth articles available as pdfs. This is an excellent resource and I hope more of our great church buildings follow suit as time goes on.