Ramsbury and Hinton Parva

Wanderings recently took us to the beautiful village of Ramsbury, near Swindon, with narrow streets and old buildings. This was quite an unusual visit, as in contrast to the normal peace and quiet of the church, we were treated to the conversation of the cleaner and her friend, followed by the whine of the vacuum. However, this did not detract too much from the fine display of Saxon carving proudly displayed in one corner of the church. There were coffin lids and stones, with some very intricate patterns on all sides. The lines weaved under and over each other, and two sides also had a snakey or dragonesque creature. It was reminiscent of Colerne and the dragon carvings. The vacuuming ceased but was replaced by more melodic sounds, when the organist came to do his practice. This was quite enjoyable background music as we drew. You have to concentrate quite a lot to draw the lines accurately as they weave over and under. All the carvings were worn so in places you end up guessing what is going on, so that you can create a finished drawing. Above the knotwork and serpent, were three creatures in circles, all biting their own tales.

Our next stop was a little village called Hinton Parva, which was a much quieter spot. The church itself was smaller and lighter and suffered a little from damp. But it holds the most appealing font, with some delightful creatures and patterns. One half of the decoration is a series of figures of eight that intertwine. These are uniform until one end, where the pattern goes pleasingly wrong and completely out of line with the rest of it. We were joined by a member of the church who told us a bit more about it and also found the carver's "mistake" quite endearing. The other half of the decoration is really very entertaining. It is as you or I might draw creatures, which is why I like it so much. At one end is a snake, in the shape of a pretzel, with two birds and two fish. All of them have tiny dots for eyes. Around the side, after some foliage, is a four legged creature, on its side, resting its bottom on another bird. It is biting the end of some foliage. It is all very appealing.