In medieval times, people seeking refuge from justice could take sanctuary within a church. Holding onto the ring would give them protection.
St Botolph's church Burgh sits on a a piece of high ground but it is over a mile from the main village. It's thought St Botolph brought Christianity here in the C7 or C8 and that his bones were brought here for safety from the Danes.
One of the windows
The font has good carvings on it's eight sides
This painting is by Anna Zinkeison and illustrates all the birds in the bible. She painted it in 1967 in memory of her husband.
The carved pulpit is dated 1708, but is in an early Jacobean style
One of the interesting graves .
The church became famous in 1991 when Andrew Lloyd Weber and his wife Madeleine Gurdon had their marriage blessed here.
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Sue
I was trying to guess how old the stained glass windows were but I could not see the date on the inscription when I enlarged them. Those bright colours tell me it might be Victorian but I am no expert. I like the patterns underlying the pictorial elements. I have been looking at a Japanese stitching (sashiko) book and the geometric patterns reminded me of it.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I have ever seen a brick built raised tomb like that either.
A very interesting church, how do you get such good pictures of the windows ? mine are always rubbish lol
ReplyDeleteChristine
In interesting church and the stain glass is nice. The painting is beautiful and would make lovely cards to sell in the church.
ReplyDeleteIt's cold here but a beautiful day and I am going to sort out a cupboard that has not been done since I moved 2 years ago.
Hazel c uk
The hanging lights are beautiful, you don't often see those nowadays.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see these wonderful Suffolk churches Sue I always think that there is not the money to be made in sheep that there was in the days when these churches were built on the proceeds of wool.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful church and the painting is a wonderful and very original memorial. It's humbling to think about all the talented people who used their skills to ornament the church over hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteWe love to visit churches and monasteries whenever we go on holiday; not that we go on holiday much. There are many churches in our town, but they're always locked when not in use ( a sign of the times ) Village churches tend to be left unlocked so you can wander in and look around. Best, Jane x
ReplyDeleteThere is such peace in churches, but of course in the midst of winter they are so cold. I like the fact that the door handle was a place of protection as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tour. The information about the door handle was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
What a charming and beautiful church. So many lovely details.
ReplyDeleteI like the simplicity of the interior. How big would you say that the back plate of the door handle is?
ReplyDelete(We have a redundant St Botolph's Church in Skidbrook. There are no windows, doors, etc yet still it stands proud on the marshland. Unfortunately, because it is so isolated, it has become the target of some dreadful abuse and practices.)
It was about 8 or 9 inches across I reckon
DeleteI know about being a refuge, but did not know, that holding a door ring, could be protection.
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What a lovely little church, and interesting features too. We get the coffin-shaped gravetop stones here in Wales only they are directly laid on the earth and not built up like this one.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful church. I love the iron ring door handle. Can you imagine how many people have held or touched that and in many cases what their personal circumstance was at the time. Thank you for sharing this with us Sue.
ReplyDeleteLovely church! I really need to look up St. Botolph. I haven't been to the church but there are the ruins in Colchester that is St. Botolph's Priory. I really enjoy reading about these churches
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such an interesting church. I live vicariously through your tours since here in Southern CA we have nothing as old or historic. The pulpit carving is very intricate.
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