Yesterday afternoon we motored over to Needham Market, passing on the way the above photographed (via the car window) mill house where a friend of ours lives. It's an old water mill beside the river Brett.
Whilst there (Wickham Market that is) we popped into the church for a look round, not having been inside it for a good many years. It's an odd little church beside the main street, with no churchyard. As you can see from the photo above though, it has a quite magnificent hammer beam roof.
It's always described in the guides as an 'angel roof', which it is. But having got a few photos of the angels and enlarged them, it did seem to me that the faces of the angels have a very Victorian look to them. If you enlarge the above photo then think- 'Alma Tadema/Pre Rafaelite School'- I'm sure you'll see what I mean. Anyway, having looked the church up, it turns out that the angels ARE Victorian replacements! Next time we're Wisbech way we really must have a look in Upwell Church, and then nip round to Saint Wendreda's Church in March, where the two best Angel roofs in England are to be seen (so all the experts tell us).
I know I keep showing you snapshots of 'a corner of the garden', and you're probably fed up with this one, but the aquilegia is now in its prime, but will, in a few days, be past it. On the other hand our roses are just coming into bloom and look promising this year. So, when the aquilegias are done, there'll be photos of roses here.
Goodnight all.
6 comments:
I may have to trouble you for an explanation of hammer beam and angel roofs. Liking your picture of a bit of garden with reddish flowers.
Hello Steve. Hammer beam roofs- that one is going to be a bit tricky in words- I could draw it more easily.However.... A hammer beam roof usually has too wide a span to put main beams across, so using a stone corbel in the wall a braced arch is put up, i.e. a vertical timber against the wall on top of a corbel, with an arched beam also from the corbel, then a vertical beam is placed on top of the horizontal beam. If the same has been done on the opposite side of the church, then the space to be bridged between the two upper vertical beams is now much less than if the main beam had to cross the entire Church nave.
An angel roof is one where carved wooden angels have been used to decorate the hammer beam roof. We have several angel roofs in Suffolk -I think both Blythburgh and Southwold Church have angels. I'll check them out. Hope that helps.
P.s. Just checked. Neither Southwold or Blythburgh Church has a hammer beam roof, but both have carved wooden Angels in their roofs. Blythbugh's have medieval paintwork on them- possibly with some restoration, but not over-restored.
You can never have too many roses.
Very true Pat.
P.s. Sorry Steve - I missed out a bit. When the vertical wall timber and the braced arch have been put in place, a horizontal beam is fastend to the top of the verical beam and projects into the nave at right angles to the wall and across and just beyond the braced arch. another vertical beam is then fastened to the horizontal beam, and one end of the next horizontal is fastened to the top of the vertical beam and crosses the nave to a similar network of beams the other side of the nave. Hope this makes things clearer.
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