Medieval History
HDR - St Mary Lead Church, near Towton Battlefield, North Yorkshire, originally uploaded by Tiddler.This isolated fourteenth century building stands in a field close to the site of the battle of Towton, near Tadcaster in Yorkshire. Fought in the driving snow on Palm Sunday 1461, this was one the bloodiest but most decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses and it ultimately brought Edward IV to the throne. 10,000 men are said to have perished that day and the little stream, Cock Beck, which you have to cross to get to St Mary's, is said to have run red with the blood of those who had died in the battle.
This simple building has Norman origins, but is mainly fourteenth century. It has been shorn of its chancel and it seems to be highly charged with the memory of this Yorkist victory. It's damp and atmospheric interior has rustic fittings, including a set of medieval rough-sawn benches and a seventeenth century triple decker pulpit. A medieval altar stone has been reset at the east end. Before the altar step are a row of thirteenth century coffin lids, mostly decorated with heraldry and comemmorating members of the Tyas family, including Baldwin and Marjorie Tyas and their son Franco. A single slab is decorated with a cross and chalice, denoting the burial of a priest. There is no settlement at Lead, just lots of sheep in the field surrounding the church and the building has been long disused. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and is well worth a detour if you are ever heading towards York.
- Handguns From The Battle Of Towton Discovered
Two men have discovered what are believed to be the earliest known fragments of battlefield handguns, which are thought to have been used at the Battle of Towton, fought in northern England in 1461. The find has been described as being of ?genuine historical...
- Stone Altars And Godly Texts, Continuity Of Use At Patrishow
In a remote valley on the edge of the Black Mountains is the tiny hamlet of Patrishow. It's church, clinging to a narrow platform on the side of the valley, is said to be the site of a hermitage occupied by 'St Issui' and the church...
- Rycote Chapel, Oxfordshire
I may have drawn your attention to the excellent photography of my friend Martin Beek in some earlier posts, but can I mention his name again. As well as an being an excellent and photographer with a great eye for detail,...
- Another Atmospheric Interior
If you thought Nettlecombe had atmosphere, well Molland church on Exmoor, in Devon, has even more. It is one of those churches that the Victorian's forgot and wasn't subjected to a drastic restoration in the nineteenth century. Consequently...
- Time Stood Still...
... at Coates-by-Stow in Lincolnshire. The church of St Edith Coates-by-Stow appears to have avoided the notice of the sixteenth century reformers and has preserved it's pre-Reformation fittings more-or-less intact. It's in a fairly isolated...
Medieval History
St Mary's Lead
HDR - St Mary Lead Church, near Towton Battlefield, North Yorkshire, originally uploaded by Tiddler.
This simple building has Norman origins, but is mainly fourteenth century. It has been shorn of its chancel and it seems to be highly charged with the memory of this Yorkist victory. It's damp and atmospheric interior has rustic fittings, including a set of medieval rough-sawn benches and a seventeenth century triple decker pulpit. A medieval altar stone has been reset at the east end. Before the altar step are a row of thirteenth century coffin lids, mostly decorated with heraldry and comemmorating members of the Tyas family, including Baldwin and Marjorie Tyas and their son Franco. A single slab is decorated with a cross and chalice, denoting the burial of a priest. There is no settlement at Lead, just lots of sheep in the field surrounding the church and the building has been long disused. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and is well worth a detour if you are ever heading towards York.
- Handguns From The Battle Of Towton Discovered
Two men have discovered what are believed to be the earliest known fragments of battlefield handguns, which are thought to have been used at the Battle of Towton, fought in northern England in 1461. The find has been described as being of ?genuine historical...
- Stone Altars And Godly Texts, Continuity Of Use At Patrishow
In a remote valley on the edge of the Black Mountains is the tiny hamlet of Patrishow. It's church, clinging to a narrow platform on the side of the valley, is said to be the site of a hermitage occupied by 'St Issui' and the church...
- Rycote Chapel, Oxfordshire
I may have drawn your attention to the excellent photography of my friend Martin Beek in some earlier posts, but can I mention his name again. As well as an being an excellent and photographer with a great eye for detail,...
- Another Atmospheric Interior
If you thought Nettlecombe had atmosphere, well Molland church on Exmoor, in Devon, has even more. It is one of those churches that the Victorian's forgot and wasn't subjected to a drastic restoration in the nineteenth century. Consequently...
- Time Stood Still...
... at Coates-by-Stow in Lincolnshire. The church of St Edith Coates-by-Stow appears to have avoided the notice of the sixteenth century reformers and has preserved it's pre-Reformation fittings more-or-less intact. It's in a fairly isolated...