Grace Dieu Priory, nr Loughborough

Despite the name Grace Dieu Priory, near Osgathorpe in the Loughborough area was originally a nunnery. It's now on private land though access is permitted at visitor's own risk.

 

 

Lowick (St. Peter's)

Lowick gets four stars from Simon Jenkins. Somehow I only managed to get this rather poor shot of the exterior, which doesn't really capture the majesty of the church with its eight fluttering weathervanes. I did manage to get some nice photos of the inside though regret not getting more of the 13th century glass.

 

Daventry (Holy Cross)

Holy Cross' local red sandstone gives this rare 18th century church a lovely appearance though apparently it is now giving the congregation problems due to erosion. Made all the nicer by seeing it in the snow.

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.