Witley Court And Church (1 June 1973)

Witley Court in Worcestershire was badly damaged by a fire in 1937. It began in the bakery situated in the basement of one of the towers whilst its owner was at another of his houses. An ancient fire pump was employed by the servants, but as it was connected to a fountain that had not been maintained for many years, it failed to work. The estate had to be broken up and sold, and with the exception of the church, which had escaped the worst of the destruction, was allowed to fall into ruin. It was bought at a bargain price by scrap dealers who stripped from it what they could, leaving it in complete ruins. In 1972 the remnants were acquired by the government, and today the ruins are in the care of English Heritage. Great Witley Church, more properly St Michael and All Angels, which is attached to the ruins, survived the fire, and so visitors can still view the restored interior.

I visited the derelict church and buildings in the company of a novitiate friar I had gone to see with a friend at Glasshampton Friary nearby. It was apparently haunted and proved an atmospheric spectacle. This is the only surviving photograph of the day, copied from a Kodachrome slide, taken on my FED 50mm f2.8 camera. Today I have discovered that Bob Dylan went ghost hunting there during his first British tour, and that the video for A Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harum was filmed there in 1967.

L.
19.1.2013

Great Witley Parish Church (official site)
St Michael and All Angels (West Gallery Churches)
The Sistine chapel of the north (BBC article)
Ghost hunting with Bob Dylan (BBC article)

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale (1967)