Gothic

Wide Wednesday: Gothic

I had an early morning start at Southmead Hospital today, its a 30 mile round trip but that's quite a journey in Bristol traffic at the wrong time of the day.  Fortunately it was dry so I took the motorbike which was a fun way to start the day.  However, as a result I didn't have a chance to take an early morning blip and there was a rather nice sunrise.  Still, I contented myself with the thought that there could well be quite an interesting evening sky looking at the forecast.  

As it was, some low cloud on the horizon put an end to evening sky interest - so I settled for a golden hour evening shot instead.

This is the little Anglican Gothic church of St. Mary's is tucked away near the bottom of Saltford High St.  The tower is believed to be Saxon although the top10 feet (3.0 m) have been added later and the the tower has been extensively repaired over the years.  

The Church has an authentic Norman Font which is still used for christenings. The last battle of the English Civil War, between roundheads and cavaliers, took place nearby at nearby Lansdown on the far side of the river Avon.  

For reasons I've never entirely understood the font was taken away and defaced during the Battle of Lansdown. It was subsequently found being used as a cattle trough(!)  There may be a clue as to what really happened though as the rector at the time was never seen again - could it be that he took advantage of the civil confusion to sell the font?

Although you can't see it from this angle, there was a light on in the church.  But there were only a couple of people in it - I think that just about squeezes into the "few" category.... at a push.