Cat's Eye Carving

Church visits.

When I’m out and about I like to make time to stop and admire the Churches on my route.

A few weeks ago I found myself making a detour home because of a road closure and this beautiful Church is what I found. It had a timber framed brick tower with some lovely carving around the doorway.

Upleadon is between Ledbury and Tewkesbury. there are also a number of very fine quality Sandstone and slate memorials in the Churchyard. Hard to imagine that these are up to 300yrs old and the carving is barely worn. The chisels would have only been iron but they would have been forged to a very high standard.

I was installing a memorial at Orcop Church just South of Hereford and once the job was complete I took some time to have a look around and take some photos, this one memorial with a charming inscription, no fancy carving but this gentleman was obviously much loved.

On the other stone. you can see the lamination that takes place over the 200-300 years. This Churchyard is high on a hill and probably gets a lot of extreme weather therefore erosion is more apparent in contrast to Upleadon which is down very low and is well protected.

On my way home, I stopped at Weston Under Penyard Church on the A40 between Ross on Wye and Huntley.

I appears to have been a Norman Church originally looking at the pillars and carvings inside, but there was obviously much later architectural features on the outside. There were once more some exquisite mid 18th century headstones and tombs outside, showing small amounts  of wear but what surprised me was that some of the modern granite memorials were dissolving under the Yew trees where the local sandstone ones were fine. it just goes to show that the local stone is more durable.

I like looking at things that are interesting, carvings that I see may sit in my subconscious and one day I will be carving some detail and it will have been inspired by what I have observed.

Looking at tombstones and memorials helps to inform me about the various stone and how it weathers in different landscapes, altitudes and the impact surrounding flora has on it. It is also about the styles of lettering how it was carved and the fashions of the day.

Maybe next time you are passing a Church you will stop and just look.