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curiouswombatI said, in the 365 project post on Sunday, that I had visited another of our church yards and taken some pictures. The church in question is Andreas, in the north of the island. Like some of our other churches it houses some early Christian, and pagan, crosses and slabs. I mainly took pictures of two of the norse crosses, and a few out in the church yard which may be of interest to Canadian and Australian friends.
So - a general view of Andreas church yard - stones all at odd angles, as is common in old graveyards, as the ground sinks through the natural decay of what is under it! I would have expected there to be more very old graves at Andreas - the records for the church in my Mum's village of Bride only go back to about 1700, before that it seems to have been one large parish with Andreas at the centre - but the churchyard actually seems smaller, and no graves much before 1800.
As is usual in the north of the island - my relatives the Christians and the Howlands are much in evidence. I remember going to Andreas to visit Crellin family graves with my grandmother nearly 50 years ago - but I couldn't find them this time.
Inside the church are a couple of whole stone crosses, and a few fragments. Some are too faded to really photograph well - but this is a fragment of Thorwald's Cross - about 1150 years old - the church wardens have had it set into a piece of wood to show what size it would have been.
The picture is 'the coming of Christianity' - the figure holds a cross in one hand and the gospel in the other (my trusty website of Manx crosses tells me), the fish in front of him is a symbol of Christianity, and the entwined serpents above his head apparently symbolise the triumph of Christ over the Devil.
This large slab is Sandulf's cross -
Although actually we should probably call it Arinbjorg's cross as Sandulf raised it in memory of Arinbjorg, his wife. This is her - riding a horse -
And here are a couple of other details. It is a wonderful cross - crammed with detail - here are a goat and a cockrel.
It is in pretty good condition for something over 1,000 years old.
The church itself is a simple solid building, I didn't manage to take a very good picture of it.
The only interesting thing is that they built the bell tower after the church, and actually attached it only by an arch to the rest of the building. It had a tall spire. Here is an old photo to show the spire. But at the outbreak of WW2 an airfield was built on the outskirts of the village, and the spire was declared to be a hazard, and so they ripped down half the tower, and the spire, leaving a squat, flat roofed tower. The Ministry of War said it would pay for it to be replaced after the war, but they never did. Sometime in the past twenty years or so, the parish had the crenellations added to 'finish' the tower, having given up hope of ever getting a spire again!
I took a few pictures in the more modern end of the churchyard - this first show what is a sort of 'nursery corner' - they keep an area near the church for tiny babies, often not christened, to be buried together - a very sad, and yet peaceful, little spot -
And near the baby corner is a section of WW2 war graves - airmen killed coming in to the airfield, or in accidents on the island, who were based at Andreas -
When you read the headstones it is clear that the three or four men crews who flew together were buried together. Also that a number of the planes that crashed on the island were flown by Australian and Canadian crews -
I wonder if their families can visualise this tiny corner of a country churchyard? Do they still have anyone alive who know where they are buried? But, as you can see, their graves are kept tidy, and their headstones kept clean.
As you can tell, it was a very overcast and grey afternoon last Friday - but, just as I returned to the car, the sun came out - and I took a picture of the village war memorial, on its small patch of grass outside the church gate -
In other news - D-d phoned home last night and we talked for over an hour. She is really looking forward to the course, has met some nice new people, a couple of others she already knew, even if not well, and the new house is really good. She is enjoying driving around York - it holds no qualms for her at all. Which will amuse anyone on my FL who have tried to drive in and around York!
All in all, I don't think we need worry about her.
So - a general view of Andreas church yard - stones all at odd angles, as is common in old graveyards, as the ground sinks through the natural decay of what is under it! I would have expected there to be more very old graves at Andreas - the records for the church in my Mum's village of Bride only go back to about 1700, before that it seems to have been one large parish with Andreas at the centre - but the churchyard actually seems smaller, and no graves much before 1800.
As is usual in the north of the island - my relatives the Christians and the Howlands are much in evidence. I remember going to Andreas to visit Crellin family graves with my grandmother nearly 50 years ago - but I couldn't find them this time.
Inside the church are a couple of whole stone crosses, and a few fragments. Some are too faded to really photograph well - but this is a fragment of Thorwald's Cross - about 1150 years old - the church wardens have had it set into a piece of wood to show what size it would have been.
The picture is 'the coming of Christianity' - the figure holds a cross in one hand and the gospel in the other (my trusty website of Manx crosses tells me), the fish in front of him is a symbol of Christianity, and the entwined serpents above his head apparently symbolise the triumph of Christ over the Devil.
This large slab is Sandulf's cross -
Although actually we should probably call it Arinbjorg's cross as Sandulf raised it in memory of Arinbjorg, his wife. This is her - riding a horse -
And here are a couple of other details. It is a wonderful cross - crammed with detail - here are a goat and a cockrel.
It is in pretty good condition for something over 1,000 years old.
The church itself is a simple solid building, I didn't manage to take a very good picture of it.
The only interesting thing is that they built the bell tower after the church, and actually attached it only by an arch to the rest of the building. It had a tall spire. Here is an old photo to show the spire. But at the outbreak of WW2 an airfield was built on the outskirts of the village, and the spire was declared to be a hazard, and so they ripped down half the tower, and the spire, leaving a squat, flat roofed tower. The Ministry of War said it would pay for it to be replaced after the war, but they never did. Sometime in the past twenty years or so, the parish had the crenellations added to 'finish' the tower, having given up hope of ever getting a spire again!
I took a few pictures in the more modern end of the churchyard - this first show what is a sort of 'nursery corner' - they keep an area near the church for tiny babies, often not christened, to be buried together - a very sad, and yet peaceful, little spot -
And near the baby corner is a section of WW2 war graves - airmen killed coming in to the airfield, or in accidents on the island, who were based at Andreas -
When you read the headstones it is clear that the three or four men crews who flew together were buried together. Also that a number of the planes that crashed on the island were flown by Australian and Canadian crews -
I wonder if their families can visualise this tiny corner of a country churchyard? Do they still have anyone alive who know where they are buried? But, as you can see, their graves are kept tidy, and their headstones kept clean.
As you can tell, it was a very overcast and grey afternoon last Friday - but, just as I returned to the car, the sun came out - and I took a picture of the village war memorial, on its small patch of grass outside the church gate -
In other news - D-d phoned home last night and we talked for over an hour. She is really looking forward to the course, has met some nice new people, a couple of others she already knew, even if not well, and the new house is really good. She is enjoying driving around York - it holds no qualms for her at all. Which will amuse anyone on my FL who have tried to drive in and around York!
All in all, I don't think we need worry about her.
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no subject
Date: 01/10/2009 08:44 pm (UTC)[Piso's a Christian, he worships a fish...]
The Airmen's graves are particularly moving -- there's something about the white marble, which I suppose suggests sacrifice -- and the babies' graves, too. Are the babies actually on consecrated ground?
I notice you've posted another chapter of The Brotherhood, and some drabbles, too. I'm in state of total will-never-be-able-to-write-again-panic at the moment, but will read them as soon as I've sorted my next chapter, & get a chance to catch up :-)
no subject
Date: 01/10/2009 08:59 pm (UTC)I know how you feel about the writing just now - I have 1,500 words of the next chapter done, but am managing to put off writing any more for hours and hours every evening - I know what is due to happen but am having trouble getting it into the right, and logical, order!
ETA - I am fairly sure the babies are in consecrated ground, unless they managed to leave a bit unconsecrated in a strange place - you can see them in the picture of the war graves - they are between them and the fence. Unless they actually moved the fence since the war to make room for them, which, I guess, is quite possible. In which case it is just possible that they are fulfilling 'the letter of the law' and are in unconsecrated ground, whilst being outside the spirit of that idea, as they are, so clearly, within the church yard.
no subject
Date: 02/10/2009 08:45 pm (UTC)Oh, yes please!
In the period of history I studied (16th/17th century) the clergy would sometimes find a way to soften the blow, burying them just outside the churchyard, or keeping a separate record of their deaths (which was important from our point of view because, otherwise, they were completely eliminated from the historical record). Are they still excluded from consecrated ground, do you know?
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Date: 02/10/2009 09:11 pm (UTC)I will zap the extra pictures off to you.
no subject
Date: 02/10/2009 11:53 pm (UTC)