Another Church Post - Especially for WILDECATE!!
Before anything about my pictures for today, can I just say Our Boy Done well!
D-d and I sat and watched the last 35km and were jumping up and down and cheering him at the end there.
Today is my usual Sunday Pic Spam, so not beautiful pictures of fabulous Italian cathedrals with painted ceilings, but some pictures of another of our, much less ornate, parish churches.
Actually the first picture is not part of the church picture post, it is a piece of of our industrial heritage, but the other pictures are almost all of Lezayre Church - which has special significance for wildecate, so I am hoping that she notices!
Firstly, this is a bit of industrial heritage. In the nineteenth century there was quite a lot of tin mining on the island - these are the ruins of some of the Rushen mines, taken on one of those warm, hazy days, from the roadway.
Wildecate asked me if I ever went to Lezayre church, and, a few days ago, I actually did have a patient to see in the area, and a few minutes to spare. Compared with the ornate parish churches of much of England, ours are all rather plain - but Lezayre is, at least, quite imposing. The only problem is that it is difficult to get far enough away from it to see it all through the lens... It is on a narrow road that loops up from the main road, and the trees are high and very leafy at this time of year.
However, I did my best! These give some idea of the outside -
The west end and doorway -
The east end -
And the spire -
I think they had better get someone up to look at the roof of the spire, if they leave it for much longer it is going to need quite a lot of work done...
Inside the church is, like almost all the others I have visited with my camera, quite plain. My picture taken looking towards the altar was a bit fuzzy, but this is taken from the front looking back towards the choir balcony -
I would guess that for normal services the parishioners will all sit in front of the curtains, and they would be drawn back if the church is full. The decor is plain, but the ceiling and the panelling on the balcony is picked out in pale blue and white and, like the one in Santon church it bears a coat of arms - the most decorative thing in the building!
The only decoration on the plain walls are texts written in Manx -
That second one translates as something like "People should praise at all times" - my Manx is not good!
You'll see, in the first of those two, that a small lady-chapel has been created, probably for mid-week services.
The walls, though, were not always so plain - this section of older decoration has been uncovered on one wall -
This beautifully embroidered copy of The Lord's Prayer graces another wall -
And, in the back of the church is the usual engraved board with the names of previous incumbents of the parish -
There can't be that many parishes whose board starts with the name of the priest in 1408! Although, obviously, this particular church building was not built then.
Finally for those, who like me, like an interesting gateway - this one is across the road from the church;
I've had a lovely day today - I've been totally lazy, even skiving off church as there is no Sunday School now that the schools have broken up. I've pottered around dead-heading flowers, sat in the garden with a wee glass of wine for a while, made banana and chocolate chip cake to use up the over-ripe bananas, revised another chapter of Ten Years After to post over at Twisting the Hellmouth, and spent time downsizing some more of D-d's holiday pics to share later in the week. Oh, and eaten garlic and lemon prawns with salad for lunch, and chicken with roast sweet potato and cabbage for dinner. Now for coffee, and a bit of that cake.
D-d and I sat and watched the last 35km and were jumping up and down and cheering him at the end there.
Today is my usual Sunday Pic Spam, so not beautiful pictures of fabulous Italian cathedrals with painted ceilings, but some pictures of another of our, much less ornate, parish churches.
Actually the first picture is not part of the church picture post, it is a piece of of our industrial heritage, but the other pictures are almost all of Lezayre Church - which has special significance for wildecate, so I am hoping that she notices!
Firstly, this is a bit of industrial heritage. In the nineteenth century there was quite a lot of tin mining on the island - these are the ruins of some of the Rushen mines, taken on one of those warm, hazy days, from the roadway.
Wildecate asked me if I ever went to Lezayre church, and, a few days ago, I actually did have a patient to see in the area, and a few minutes to spare. Compared with the ornate parish churches of much of England, ours are all rather plain - but Lezayre is, at least, quite imposing. The only problem is that it is difficult to get far enough away from it to see it all through the lens... It is on a narrow road that loops up from the main road, and the trees are high and very leafy at this time of year.
However, I did my best! These give some idea of the outside -
The west end and doorway -
The east end -
And the spire -
I think they had better get someone up to look at the roof of the spire, if they leave it for much longer it is going to need quite a lot of work done...
Inside the church is, like almost all the others I have visited with my camera, quite plain. My picture taken looking towards the altar was a bit fuzzy, but this is taken from the front looking back towards the choir balcony -
I would guess that for normal services the parishioners will all sit in front of the curtains, and they would be drawn back if the church is full. The decor is plain, but the ceiling and the panelling on the balcony is picked out in pale blue and white and, like the one in Santon church it bears a coat of arms - the most decorative thing in the building!
The only decoration on the plain walls are texts written in Manx -
That second one translates as something like "People should praise at all times" - my Manx is not good!
You'll see, in the first of those two, that a small lady-chapel has been created, probably for mid-week services.
The walls, though, were not always so plain - this section of older decoration has been uncovered on one wall -
This beautifully embroidered copy of The Lord's Prayer graces another wall -
And, in the back of the church is the usual engraved board with the names of previous incumbents of the parish -
There can't be that many parishes whose board starts with the name of the priest in 1408! Although, obviously, this particular church building was not built then.
Finally for those, who like me, like an interesting gateway - this one is across the road from the church;
I've had a lovely day today - I've been totally lazy, even skiving off church as there is no Sunday School now that the schools have broken up. I've pottered around dead-heading flowers, sat in the garden with a wee glass of wine for a while, made banana and chocolate chip cake to use up the over-ripe bananas, revised another chapter of Ten Years After to post over at Twisting the Hellmouth, and spent time downsizing some more of D-d's holiday pics to share later in the week. Oh, and eaten garlic and lemon prawns with salad for lunch, and chicken with roast sweet potato and cabbage for dinner. Now for coffee, and a bit of that cake.