Author Topic: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.  (Read 2393 times)

alewife

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Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« on: 17:58:26, 28/04/16 »
https://suffolkchurches.wordpress.com/

This just came up on FB from my cousin who has a cottage in the area, but for anyone in or near suffolk info on some churches walks.
Alewife


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Dovegirl

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #1 on: 18:33:21, 28/04/16 »
Interesting to see this.  I once stayed in Spalding, from where I visited a lot of churches in Lincolnshire and Norfolk - although I did it mainly by bus rather than walking!   :)

Jac

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #2 on: 09:59:14, 29/04/16 »
Churches add so much interest to walks and I don't know Suffolk at all. This has really caught my imagination that I wish it was a tad closer;  Devon to Suffolk is a long journey especially if you don't like motorways.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

rural roamer

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #3 on: 10:12:37, 29/04/16 »
Thanks for that! I'm in Suffolk and it's always good to come up with some new routes.  Some of the walks in WestSuffolk can be surprisingly hilly ( I'm nearer the coast), and it's not always easy to find them.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #4 on: 12:08:45, 29/04/16 »
I believe Long Melford is larger than some cathedrals around the country.

John Clopton, an incredibly wealthy Wool merchant in the area, spent what even then, was an absolute fortune in constructing what is still the largest parish church in the whole of the UK.
Here in Wales, St Davids in Pembroke,  Bangor and  St Asaph in the North, are all significant cathedrals in their own right, but in over all size and dimensions, are simply overshadowed by the incredible size and dimensions of Long Melford.

Jac

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #5 on: 15:51:02, 29/04/16 »
I believe Long Melford is larger than some cathedrals around the country.

Wow! what a beautiful building - yet another reason to visit Suffolk
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

Andies

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #6 on: 17:29:54, 29/04/16 »
As a Suffolk boy, who spent my younger years as a very keen bellringer I visited almost every Suffolk church. These range from the tiny to the massive. Many seemingly small towns and villages have churches that are very big for the number of residents, and stem from the wealth of previous times. This is especially true of the so called "wool churches".

Particularly impressive churches IMO are those at: Mildenhall, Long Melford, Lavenham, Bury St Mary, Blythburgh, and indeed many more........

That said some smaller ones are beautiful in the own right  O0

Penygadair

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #7 on: 16:12:19, 30/04/16 »
I rather like Blythburgh church and in particular the carved angels above the nave. I did photograph them but there is a problem with the pic.





Favourite however has to be the church within a church at Covehithe where a small church has been built inside the ruins of the original 'wool' church. How long this edifice will remain standing is anybodys guess . Two years ago the sea was only 400 yards away and the cliff is eroding.





Church interior with font and yes, that is verdigris on the wall despite the church still being in use.






« Last Edit: 16:21:42, 30/04/16 by Penygadair »

alewife

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #8 on: 17:11:46, 30/04/16 »
Not verdigris, which are copper salt deposits, just algae from damp in the wall I guess and places where the sun shines sometimes.

Nice pics though. The church in the ruins looks interesting, rather sad that its going over the cliff sometime soon.
Alewife


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Penygadair

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #9 on: 18:11:18, 30/04/16 »
I stand corrected. Thanks Alewife.

Andies

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #10 on: 18:54:34, 30/04/16 »
Covehithe is rather unusual, albeit nearby Walberswick is also a smaller version of the original church.

Covehithe's wealth came I believe from being a port rather than wool, but like a number of Suffolk ports, the vagaries of the tides and coastal erosion meant it went into decline.

I think the coast there is eroding faster than anywhere else in the country, and views on how long the church has left vary. Some say about 40 years left :(

The loss of land is very noticeable every time I visit, and seems to have been many hundreds of yards in the years I have been visiting it.

Well worth a visit to the church and nearby Benacre Broad, but go soon just in case  ;D

Penygadair

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Re: Angels and pinnacles, Suffolk churches walks.
« Reply #11 on: 14:15:24, 01/05/16 »
Thanks for that info about a port (or possibly a fishing village per Wiki)
The erosion on that coastline is fascinating. My sister lives a Kessingland just up the coast from Covehithe. When she moved there 30 years ago the sea came to the bottom of the low cliffs there. Now you have a 600 yard walk from the cliffs to the high water line. Guess the eroded material from  Covehithe and Easton Bavents (further south) has to end up somewhere.
How long Covehithe church will last is a complete guess. Optimists say 100 years whilst pessimists reckon a few winter storms could see it gone in 10 years. The local farmer is an optimist with his cabbages planted right up to the cliff edge.

 

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