Coffee Morning: Quirky Listicle-ness
Let's take in the best of Britain's idiosyncratic architecture...
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I'm popping in this fine Monday—okay, wet and dreary Monday—with a nice little listicle. I promise, it is a word; in fact, the OED describes a listicle as ‘a piece of writing, such as an article on a website or in a magazine, that takes the form of a list’.
I know, I know, “listicles” are the bane of the Internet and of every writer, but I only discovered this morning that they were in fact invented in the eleventh century by a woman named Sei Shonagon, who was kicking around court during the Heian period of Japan as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Teishi. While she was forced to grow her hair down to her feet (think of the tangles!) and crawl around her chamber (look, we've all been there at some point), writing at this time was apparently considered women's work hence she spent her days penning countless rambling observations, lists and, perhaps unsurprisingly, complaints! So, let’s raise a cuppa to Sei as I follow in the notable footsteps of this witty historical woman to give you my own longwinded listicle (don’t worry, I won’t include the “best of” or “greatest” anything…ever):
From the village hall to corner shop, Britain’s landscape is defined by its buildings, none more so than the treasured centrepieces of its villages and smaller urban settings: the parish church. England boasts over 18,000 alone. Yet some regions have distinct architectural designs, little found elsewhere; others even possess their own idiosyncratic traditions. I give you, Britain’s “quirkiest” churches…
1. St Mary the Virgin, Burgh St Peter, Norfolk.
Mainly 14th to 16th century church of red brick and flint with limestone dressings and a thatched roof. There is also an unusual west tower constructed in a series of stepped square brick stages, dating to c.1800.
2. St Mary, Breamore, Hampshire.
This rare Anglo-Saxon gem was likely founded by King Ethelred II, known as ‘The Unready’, around 1000CE or just prior, with minor changes. Walls are constructed from whole flint, with stone dressings. There is also a pyramid shaped tower, surmounted by a bell turret.
3. St Peter, Besford, Worcestershire.
This predominantly 14th-century church features a stone chancel and 15th-century timber-framed nave. The latter is the only example in Worcestershire.
https://www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?page=besford
4. All Saints, Brockhampton, Hereford.
The church was built in 1902 by W. R. Lethaby, a follower of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the unusual chancel vault is built of concrete. It was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as ‘one of the most impressive and convincing churches of its date in any country’.
http://www.allsaintsbrockhampton.org
5. Little Chapel, Guernsey.
The third iteration on this site, the chapel was built by Brother Déodat, who started work in March 1914. His plan was to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France.
https://www.visitguernsey.com/see-and-do/things-to-do/the-little-chapel/
6. Scargill Chapel, Skipton, North Yorkshire.
Designed by leading ecclesiastical architect George Pace, this distinctive building was erected between 1958 and 1961 of local limestone rubble, exposed cedar boarding, and exposed concrete so that it ‘appear[s] to grow out of the dale’.
7. Church of the Good Shepherd, Lullington, East Sussex.
This 16-foot square church is the smallest in Sussex, and originally formed part of a much larger building destroyed by fire (probably in the time of Oliver Cromwell). As a result, the tiny church (later dedicated to The Good Shepherd) was rebuilt from the original 13th-century chancel.
https://cuckmerechurches.org.uk/the-good-shepherd-lullington/
8. St Nicholas, Porlock Weir.
A typical prefabricated corrugated iron church, known as a ‘tin tabernacle’, dating from c.1880. These kits were purchased from catalogues to provide temporary buildings, and this one is little altered. https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11307/
9. St Cwyfan’s Church-in-the-Sea, Anglesey.
A stone rubble, single-cell parish church set on a tiny islet restricted to its churchyard and now revetted by a dramatic high stone wall. It dates originally from the 12th century.
https://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/27475/details/st-cwyfans-church-llangwyfan
10. Holy Trinity, Barsham, Suffolk.
Quintessentially rural English, this flint rubble church is complete with round tower, thatched lychgate and extraordinary flint lattice which spreads like a gigantic net across the face of the eastern elevation.
http://bungaybenefice.org/barsham-holy-trinity/
11. Normanton Church, Rutland.
Rutland Water provides a scenic setting for the fairytale splendour of this former Church of St Matthew, built between 1826 and 1911. When plans to flood the area were set in motion in the 1970s, the church was deconsecrated and scheduled for demolition. A trust was established to secure its survival. It was agreed that the lower level would be rubble-filled and topped with concrete to create a new floor 60cm above the water level.
12 St Peter, Markby, Lincolnshire.
The only thatched church in Lincolnshire, the church of St Peter dates to the mid 16th century and stands on the site of the nearby medieval Augustinian Priory. It was partly built from reused stonework rescued from the priory ruins and restored in 1962.
https://www.alfordgroup.org.uk/churches/st-peters-church-markby/
13 St Mary, Kempley, Gloucestershire.
Likely built in the early 12th century by Baron Hugh de Lacy, owner of Kempley Manor, the true delights lie inside. Baron Hugh commissioned the chancel wall paintings as a memorial to his father, Walter. The subject of the paintings appears to be the Last Judgement with Christ seated upon a rainbow, adored by winged seraphim.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-marys-church-kempley/
14 Kylemore Abbey Church, Connemara, County Galway.
Hidden in the woods near to the idyllic 19th-century castle, the neo-Gothic Perpendicular church is often given the moniker ‘cathedral in miniature’. It was a representation of Mitchell Henry’s love for his wife Margaret. Mitchell was the son of a wealthy Manchester cotton merchant of Irish origin, who inherited a vast business enterprise and became one of Britain’s wealthiest young men.
https://www.kylemoreabbey.com
15 All Saints, Wrabness, Essex.
A quaint little rubble-built Gothic church. Although it previously featured a stone tower housing five bells, after its collapse, rather than rebuilding the structure, in the 17th century a quirky wooden cage was erected within the churchyard just to the south. This was meant to be a temporary solution, yet the bells remain inside the structure today.
St Mary’s, Sompting, Sussex.
One of Britian’s finest Saxon-er churches, it is most known for its 11th-century 'Rhenish Helm' tower: a steeply sloping gabled roof similar to those in the Rhenish Provinces of northern Europe such as Coblentz and Cologne.
https://www.somptingchurch.com
Okay, “quirky” might be a stretch but, you know what I mean. But I want to hear your suggestions! I’m eager to read them below. And do pop your questions for me on this or anything at all there, too.
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Breamore is a gem, as this isn't a list I won't suggest Fifield Bavant near Salisbury or Bremilham near Malmesbury that had it's bell stolen about two years ago. Love this post, Emma, more please.
I visited the Little Chapel in Guernsey years ago - and it's definitely quirky!