Gently down the stream

By Miranda1008

Cathedral of the Marshes

I thought for my 3rd and last Suffolk shot I'd blip the wonderful church at Blythburgh, about 3 miles from where I was staying and a quite extraordinarily glorious example of medieval architecture (not to mention spirituality). It stands high on a knoll and in times of flood can appear completely surrounded by water. It was built at the beginning of the 15th century, though they say there has been a church here since the 7th. It's known as the Cathedral of the Marshes.

Uncompromising, stony, rectangular and covered in gargoyles on the outside, inside it's incredibly light and airy, with hardly a piece of stained glass to be seen in the stupendous double row of windows. I really love that. And you have to take your hat off to the carpenter. The arched roof was made with almost no nails or bolts and lasted the first 500 years of its existence without needing any repairs at all. Originally it was home to 18 pairs of flying angels, and although there are rather fewer here now you can see some in this pic.

So I'm back blipping from Hampshire for the next couple of days, before heading off for North Devon. Thank you so much to everyone for helping me get on the spotlight yesterday - and I suppose I should thank the gull for choosing to open his mouth! You are very lovely people xx

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