Meanderings Through Life

By sparrowbirdy

Grotesques

Today I found myself accompanying my youngest on her Young Archaeologists' Club outing again (I'm only supposed to drop her off lol).
Before doing some field walking, which I haven't done since the late 1980s, we were given a tour of St Mary's Church in Ecclesfield near Sheffield. It used to cover one of the largest areas in England and I think the modern building was begun in the 1400s. An Anglo-Saxon cross was found on the site, so it was probably used much earlier.
I loved the carved grotesques outside. A grotesque is like a gargoyle but doesn't carry water. They're just decorative.
What I loved was the way they were carved to look as though they went through the stone, rather than just perching on the surface. I've never seen that before.

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.