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cryptandclerestory.bsky.social
Clerestory to crypt
@cryptandclerestory.bsky.social
An early-twenties church-crawler hoping to document his travels, and find new places of interest. All pictures my own unless stated otherwise.

Interested in: rambling, nature, heritage, horticulture, and birdwatching.
Henry Lockwood's 1850s restoration of St Andrew's Church, Kingham, brought new vision. He combined and retained medieval, Tudor, 17th century, and Georgian features whilst reimagining the structure in Decorated Gothic style uniting past and Victorian present.
#SteepleSaturday
October 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Clerestory to crypt
Here are some of my drawings.
August 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM
All Saints, West Dean, is Saxo-Norman in origin with many additions and restored in 1878 & 1961. Built in flint & Eastbourne sandstone, with a Norman lower tower & Early C14 upper stage. Its rare gable spire, likened to a monk’s cowl, was called unique in Sussex by John Betjeman.
#SteepleSaturday
October 5, 2025 at 8:13 PM
St Peter’s, Daylesford (1859–63) is High Victorian Gothic and layed out in a cruciform plan. Pearson’s mighty spire, muscular tower, and lavish stone carving showcase the movement’s love of power, ornament, and Ruskinian ideals in stone. #steeplesaturday
September 23, 2025 at 7:23 PM
St Mary’s Church on Brownsea Island was consecrated in 1854 and dedicated to St Mary on the Feast of the Visitation. It is an Anglican parish church, designed by Blanchard of Poole.
September 22, 2025 at 9:01 PM
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#MemorialMonday from beneath a giant yew in Winterbourne Hannah Fouracres
“30 years a maid
15 months a wife
4 hours a mother”
June 17, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by Clerestory to crypt
The stunning St. Peter's Church, Conisbrough is thought to be the oldest functioning building in South Yorkshire. Built around 750 AD it served as a Minster to around 17 other churches from Harthill in the west to Goole in the east. It was extended from 1100 to 1450 which is how it looks today. /1
May 24, 2025 at 8:20 AM
St George, Cullercoats
#SteepleSaturday

Built 1882-84 by renowned architect John Loughborough Pearson (Truro & Brisbane cath.), commissioned by 6th Duke of Northumberland in George, his father's, memory. It's a prime example of Victorian Gothic architecture, notable for its complete stone vaulting.
April 26, 2025 at 9:15 AM
All Saints Church, Northallerton
#SteepleSaturday

Mainly Perpendicular in style with cruciform plan exterior. Central tower rebuilt in 1420 after original's collapse. North arcade (c.1120) and later south arcade remain visible, while the chancel was rebuilt in 1885 to match the Perpendicular style.
April 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
St Mary, Leake.
#SteepleSaturday

It features a 12C Norman west tower and arch, with N&S aisles added in the 13C —the south aisle likely built later, alongside the extended 14C chancel. The 15C clerestory and east window add further interest, and four medieval mass dials remain on the south wall.
April 24, 2025 at 8:31 AM
St. Nectan, Welcombe
#SteepleSaturday

It began as a pre-Conquest chapel of Hartland. In 1508, it was rebuilt and enlarged with north and south transepts. The church saw major restoration in 1883–84, and a vestry was added in 1904.
April 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
St. Nectan's Church, Welcombe
#SteepleSaturday

It began as a pre-Conquest chapel of Hartland. In 1508, it was rebuilt and enlarged with north and south transepts. The church saw major restoration in 1883–84, and a vestry was added in 1904.
April 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM
St. Thomas, Huddersfield.
#SteepleSaturday

Designed by renowned Gothic Revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott and built 1857–59. Its standout feature is the dramatic four-stage south-west tower with a broach spire, complemented by intricate tracery, grouped lancets, and striking stonework.
April 17, 2025 at 9:41 AM
St Peter, Drayton, Oxfordshire.
#SteepleSaturday

Norman origins, with 15C Perpendicular west tower and north aisle. The south transept was rebuilt in 1855, chancel in 1872, and south porch added in 1879 by Edwin Dolby. The roof is predominantly lead. Church restored after a 1959 fire.
April 15, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Clerestory to crypt
I have a deep fascination with Victorian death culture, especially the poetic gravestone rhymes. These verses, blending sentimentality and symbolism, offer a poignant glimpse into how Victorians coped with loss, remembered loved ones, and expressed their beliefs about mortality and the afterlife.
April 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield.
#SteepleSaturday

Built 1816–19 by Thomas Taylor, it's a tall, simple Gothic-style building with a four-stage tower, embattled parapets, pinnacles, and Y-tracery windows.

The church features a large burial crypt beneath the east end as well as its clerestory!
April 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
St. Mary's Church, Kettlewell.
#SteepleSaturday

Only surviving element of the Georgian church is the west tower (1820) by Thomas Anderson. In contrast, the rest was rebuilt (1882-1885) by T.H. and F. Healey in Gothic style, characterized by perpendicular windows and cross finials on the gables.
April 12, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Redundant St. Peter's, Dulwich Common.
#SteepleSaturday

Charles Barry Jr. design in Geometric Gothic style completed in 1885 having been part financed by Hornimans.

It was declared redundant in 1984 by CofE, previously used by Benedictine Community, before becoming part of the Deeper Life Church.
April 12, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Clerestory to crypt
Abingdon, Berkshire. An unusual family tree.
March 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
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For #StainedGlassSunday these stamped quarries of leaves, 1850.
Displayed at Ely Cathedral
March 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
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#church #wales #cymru #cwmyoy #monmouthshire #uk #landscape #travel #architecture #history #medieval #photography

The fabulously wonky 12th century St Martin's church at Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire.
Story here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mart...
March 16, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Clerestory to crypt
For #stainedglassSunday this roundel depicting a boar,the heraldic badge of the De Vere family, prob1340-60.
Displayed at Ely Cathedral.
March 16, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Cheltenham Minster
#steeplesaturday

Town's oldest surviving medieval building, dating back to mid-11C! It replaced a Saxon church. Mainly early 14C with 19C restoration. It boasts a broach spire, 14th-century window tracery, a canopied piscina, and a baptistery with lierne vaulting.
March 16, 2025 at 8:05 AM
St. Laurence, Silchester, Hampshire.
#SteepleSaturday

The oldest walls date back to the early 12th century. The building features flint and stone dressings, partly plastered, with a fish weather vane atop its shingled bell turret. Set charmingly on a mound near the buried Roman city by a pond.
March 15, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Italian Font (1300-1500) in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow.
#FontsonFriday

The white bit in between the bowl and the base appears to be a metal support suggesting that the bowl is rather too large and heavy for its base to manage.

Description beneath explains the font left Italy in the 1800s.
March 14, 2025 at 9:43 AM