Wednesday, December 30, 2009

St Mary's Church


Time to get close up to St Mary's Church on the east cliff. There has been a church on the site since the 7th century; this one is a peculiar mixture of styles, and has been enlarged several times over the  centuries. We'll take a look inside one day.

The unused doorway in the centre of the picture is Norman and was uncovered relatively recently. The white-painted wooden porch on the right is a separate entrance for one of the now closed upper galleries.

Cædmon's cross is just out of sight by my left elbow, and the abbey two minutes up the path in the foreground, on the right.

Thursday evening is bell-ringing practice, but for a real musical treat, nothing  beats a holidaying organist. I had this pleasure several times years ago while working here as a church guide. Judith Chalmers and her team also paid us a visit to record a TV holiday programme.

2 comments:

  1. A magnificent church - it looks like a fortress! The cemetery looks interesting and very old. It would be fun to see some of the old tombstones, too!

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  2. Beautiful scene of a picturesque church!

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