Deerhurst and Upleadon

Once in a while we are on route somewhere other than a church and are tempted to squeeze some fonting into the journey. Well if we are passing near to a known site, it seems silly not to visit. Happily the Blue Book makes it easy to find somewhere not ludicrously off course.

One such stop-off was the village of Deerhurst. Luckily for us, it was well signposted as in addition to the village church and the delights therein, it has an extra building of Saxon origin, Odda's Chapel, now cared for by English Heritage. This was apparently built by Earl Odda for his brother Aelfric. Strangely someone had incorporated a farmhouse into one end in Tudor times, which looked rather odd. But the building itself held less interest for me than the contents of the nearby church, St Mary's. The existence of a second Saxon building is quite unusual. So it was not surprising that both are clearly signposted, which saved us our usual trick of hunting down every side road. In fact the church had no end of signs, with one taking us all the way round the building to the "angel" high up on the back wall, another pointing to the toilets (a rare and welcome facility for the travelling fonter) and even an array of labels inside the WC in case you weren't sure how to identify a hand dryer. But it was a joy to see that someone evidently welcomed and expected visitors.

Inside the church (diligently being cleaned by someone) we were greeted with a wonderful sight. You may think you have seen something already when you have seen a photograph, but it does not beat seeing it for real. Deerhurst's font is one of very few surviving Anglo Saxon fonts... if indeed there are any. We bought a pamphlet (one of many) on the Anglo Saxon features of the church and it suggested that Deerhurst is the best example, if it is indeed a font, which the author thought it was. It seems to fit the dimensions of the fonts we have seen, and the base, if it is the original base for a font, has the same intricate spiral/scroll pattern which decorates the top bowl. It is an elaborate pattern which suggests that it must have been an important place to have such a lovely font. We sat ready to draw. R went to look for lights to that area of the church. To my sheer amazement, sensitively done floor lights came on all around the base of the font and lit it up so you could best appreciate the carving. I have never seen a font so well appreciated and cared for by its parish and being as fond as I am of them, it felt like the pinnacle of font appreciation - if only every beautiful font could be appreciated and valued in this way. Some cost and consideration had gone into presenting this font and it is so nice to know it will be looked after.  Unlike in times gone by when it was found being used as a drinking vessel in a farmyard and rescued by a bishop.

Drawing the pattern proved more difficult. We would have needed a lot more time than we had to make any decent attempt and mine was more of a rough representation. It turned out that the swirls were quite complicated and not all the same and it made your eyes go funny looking at them for too long.

The church also has beast heads, two wonderful ones by the main door, with fangs, pointy ears and a prominent snout, not so much dragons but a cross between wolves and something else, and two at the back of the church, which according to the pamphlet, could have been adorned with paint and jewels for eyes in their time, one of which looked like a hippo to me.

Upleadon
Upleadon is not far from Deerhurst and provided a good stop-off point on our return journey. However, it was not so well signposted, as usual, so we found ourselves in familiar territory driving into the village and then having to go back on ourselves, ask a stranger and then keep our eyes peeled. It was a little way out of the main village next to a large house and farm. It is very unusual with a tower of brick and timber. This one boasts a rather fine tympanum over the main door, with nothing less than a Lamb of God, complete with jaunty foot, and flanked by two "lion-like" creatures, with the requisite tails curling up under their bodies. It was not unlike the design at Pen Selwood, a thought we both had, cheeringly - we are now a walking resource on these things.  I loved it - it had a pleasing simplicity but with some unusual details such as the rather attractive circle around the lamb, which was a plain and a beaded band intertwined. As I drew it, mine seemed to go a bit haphazard and I think the carver found the same difficulty.  The animals had rather humanoid features.

There was another creature on the left hand capital of the door, with an interesting tail, and a design on the right hand one.

It may have been out of the way and harder to find than Deerhurst but it was equally pleasing and quite a peaceful spot.

Avening and Cherington

Avening and Cherington are both in Gloucestershire and provided some key drawing opportunities. We hadn't been out drawing for a month, so we took our usual provisions and art things and set out to get back into it. Avening had quite a large church with many things to see - it was a little bit dark inside (it was a rainy day) and so we stuck to drawing what was outside the church. As you go in there is a porch and in the porchway two lovely columns with spirals. At the top of one, an unusual and interesting carved figure, which has two bodies and one head - or is it one figure but seen from both sides, as it were - slightly Picasso-esque? It had the recognisable Norman style tail heading up from underneath its body and over its back and jaunty feet. Behind its head was something indistinct like a tree.

On the other side of the door above a second column was a complex carving of foliage - with appealing chunky central shapes that looked a bit like a raspberry. It reminded us both of Rodbourne and the tree of life - similar lines and two leaves that looked almost like wings. There is a repeating theme we have seen at Whaddon where lines are joined together by a horizontal band. Like an idiot I forgot to take the photos off the temporary phone I was using so I do not have them. Inside the church were many different things including some Saxon work set in the wall and some very appealing capitals that were based on nature - there was one that had shapes which looked like ears of corn or wheat. And another a bit like grass or feathers. All very appealing but again we could not find light switches to illuminate them adequately for drawing. We managed to find a red light that turned some of the church an eerie colour, and quickly turned that off again.

Cherington just 5 minutes away, promised a Norman tympanum of two lions. We braved it through a downpour to have a look. They were quite simple figures facing each other, over the church entrance, with tails aloft (but not curved under the bodies) and surprisingly small heads. No doubt carvers had not seen many lions and these had small round faces - not quite lions - with solid stumpy legs. My sister was not totally convinced of their age but I felt they looked that old.

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.