Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire

The capitals either side of the door at Monkton Farleigh are Norman. The left one has quite flat trumpet scallops (or that's how they look to me), with some overlapping upside-down arches along the top. The right has a creature's face on top of the column. It might be my current obsession with the curious phenomenon of Anomalous Big Cats, but I wonder if it has a feline look. Maybe it's only the little diamond in the centre that reminds me of a cat's tongue. It may well be a tongue - we've seen lots of faces sticking their tongues out. But it certainly doesn't have cat's teeth, they're square and not half as toothy as the ones at Twerton. No, it's probably not a cat at all. It's got lovely repetitive arches over the eyes. And it's quite strange but I do like it. It has an ancient air, an ancient expression. There's an old photo of the whole doorway at Bath In Time.

Images © Rhiannon 2014

Elkstone, Gloucestershire

There's so much to see at Elkstone that I ended up feeling rather overwhelmed by it all. Too much choice! and in the end I hardly drew anything.
 

In the gloom beneath the tower there is a large broken slab with an interlace design. The blurb in the church called it 'pagan' which seems a bit imaginative (though I'm not sure what era it would be from). It was impressively solid. In any other church it'd take pride of place. But in the competitive environment of Elkstone, it ends up relegated to a dingy corner behind some chairs.

This striking dragon head (with very scary teeth) is on the left of the chancel arch. He has a nice doggy nose and beading up his snout.

 Images © Rhiannon 2014

Whaddon, Wiltshire (a return)

From the doorway of St Mary the Virgin, Whaddon. 

 

This is the asymmetrical beaded design on the curved lintel / tympanum.

The detailed decoration of the capitals and abaci is quite different on the right and left columns.

 Images © Rhiannon 2014

Whaddon, Wiltshire

 

 Images © Rhiannon 2012