St James, Shere, Surrey #SteepleSaturday 1190 origins, replacing a Saxon predecessor listed in the Domesday Book. A cruciform church of Transitional Early English style, built from mixed local stones, it still shows a fine blend of Norman to 14th-century elements with a Victorian restoration touch.

St Peter, Alvescot #SteepleSaturday 13C origins and cruciform plan. Its story is one of growth and change: a 14C porch, a 15C tower added after a local benefactor, John Bonde, reportedly left 100 sheep for the purpose, and major Victorian restoration by William Slater and R.H. Carpenter.

St George’s Church, Kencot #SteepleSaturday Has 12C roots which are still visible today. The chancel and windows were extended in the 13C, while the clerestory, porch, and the raising of the west tower belong to the late 15C and 16C. 19C restoration, followed by further repairs in 1962.

St Mary, Black Bourton #SteepleSaturday A remarkable medieval church with roots in the 12C, combining Norman origins with later medieval additions (13C chapel, 14C porch, 15C tower). Though modest in appearance, it contains an exceptional survival of 13C wall paintings.

St. Mary, Studley Royal. #SteepleSaturday Built in High Victorian Gothic Revival, 1871–78, by William Burges for the first Marchioness of Ripon. Its construction was partly funded by ransom money linked to the 1870 Dilessi Massacre, in which her brother Frederick Vyner was killed.

Waltham Abbey #SteepleSaturday According to local legend Harold Godwinson is buried here. This was also the last monastic institution to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540.

St. Peter, Charney Bassett #SteepleSaturday The church stands beside Charney Manor, once an Abingdon Abbey grange. From possible Saxon beginnings the current building began in the early 12th century, grew in the 14th and 15th, then endured neglect, restoration, war damage and most recently repair.

St. Matthias church, Richmond #SteepleSaturdsy Built in 1857 with tower completed in 1862. Designed by George Gilbert Scott.

St. Margaret, Mapledurham #SteepleSaturday The earliest surviving fabric is 13C stonework, though most of the structure dates from the 14C and 15C. Restored 1834 under William IV and more extensively in 1863 by William Butterfield, who altered the tower, raised the roof, and added the north porch.

St. Lawrence church, Waltham St. Lawrence was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is, in parts, 850 years old, although very much altered in subsequent periods. #SteepleSaturday

St Margaret's Church, Hinton Waldrist began as a mid-C13 church (c.1250), with nave, chancel & tower surviving from that phase. Late C13 and early C14 enlargements added transepts and remodelled the tower, shaping its cruciform plan. The porch, pulpit, and font are C19 additions. #SteepleSaturday

St. Saviour and St Peter, Eastbourne. #SteepleSaturday Designed by G. E. Street and completed in 1867.

Haworth Church of Brontë fame photographed earlier today. #SteepleSaturday A chapel has stood here since at least 1488, with records of worship on the site from 1317. The 18th‑century tower still rises above the church, which was largely rebuilt in the Victorian era between 1879 and 1881.

St. Mary, Thatcham, Berkshire. Mainly 13th century but heavily restored in the 19 century. Interestingly, the church was once known as St. Luke's but is commonly believed to have been originally known as St Mary's which it had reverted back to by the 1880s. #SteepleSaturday

St. Mary, Bucklebury, Berkshire. #SteepleSaturday Created from flint, tile, rubble and Ferricrete, the church showcases mainly 12th- and 15th-century work, with 19th-century additions. The roof is tiled, with separate covers for nave and aisle, and dormer windows on the nave’s south side.

Watts Chapel was designed and built by Mary Watts (1895-1904) as a joint memorial to her and G.F. Watts, reflecting their partnership and both were prominent artists. The chapel’s near-circular cruciform design and symbolic terracotta surface express Mary’s artistic vision and both their ideals.

St Helen’s, Marr, Doncaster built in rubble limestone dates from the 12th century, with its tower added and the building remodelled between the 13th and early 14th centuries. Later, the 15th century brought the south porch, parapet, and spire. #SteepleSaturday

Henry Lockwood's 1850s restoration of St Andrew's Church, Kingham, brought new vision. He combined and retained medieval, Tudor, 17th century, and Georgian features whilst reimagining the structure in Decorated Gothic style uniting past and Victorian present. #SteepleSaturday

Here are some of my drawings.

All Saints, West Dean, is Saxo-Norman in origin with many additions and restored in 1878 & 1961. Built in flint & Eastbourne sandstone, with a Norman lower tower & Early C14 upper stage. Its rare gable spire, likened to a monk’s cowl, was called unique in Sussex by John Betjeman. #SteepleSaturday

St Peter’s, Daylesford (1859–63) is High Victorian Gothic and layed out in a cruciform plan. Pearson’s mighty spire, muscular tower, and lavish stone carving showcase the movement’s love of power, ornament, and Ruskinian ideals in stone. #steeplesaturday

St Mary’s Church on Brownsea Island was consecrated in 1854 and dedicated to St Mary on the Feast of the Visitation. It is an Anglican parish church, designed by Blanchard of Poole.

#MemorialMonday from beneath a giant yew in Winterbourne Hannah Fouracres “30 years a maid 15 months a wife 4 hours a mother”

The stunning St. Peter's Church, Conisbrough is thought to be the oldest functioning building in South Yorkshire. Built around 750 AD it served as a Minster to around 17 other churches from Harthill in the west to Goole in the east. It was extended from 1100 to 1450 which is how it looks today. /1

St George, Cullercoats #SteepleSaturday Built 1882-84 by renowned architect John Loughborough Pearson (Truro & Brisbane cath.), commissioned by 6th Duke of Northumberland in George, his father's, memory. It's a prime example of Victorian Gothic architecture, notable for its complete stone vaulting.

All Saints Church, Northallerton #SteepleSaturday Mainly Perpendicular in style with cruciform plan exterior. Central tower rebuilt in 1420 after original's collapse. North arcade (c.1120) and later south arcade remain visible, while the chancel was rebuilt in 1885 to match the Perpendicular style.

St Mary, Leake. #SteepleSaturday It features a 12C Norman west tower and arch, with N&S aisles added in the 13C —the south aisle likely built later, alongside the extended 14C chancel. The 15C clerestory and east window add further interest, and four medieval mass dials remain on the south wall.

St. Nectan, Welcombe #SteepleSaturday It began as a pre-Conquest chapel of Hartland. In 1508, it was rebuilt and enlarged with north and south transepts. The church saw major restoration in 1883–84, and a vestry was added in 1904.

St. Nectan's Church, Welcombe #SteepleSaturday It began as a pre-Conquest chapel of Hartland. In 1508, it was rebuilt and enlarged with north and south transepts. The church saw major restoration in 1883–84, and a vestry was added in 1904.

St. Thomas, Huddersfield. #SteepleSaturday Designed by renowned Gothic Revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott and built 1857–59. Its standout feature is the dramatic four-stage south-west tower with a broach spire, complemented by intricate tracery, grouped lancets, and striking stonework.

St Peter, Drayton, Oxfordshire. #SteepleSaturday Norman origins, with 15C Perpendicular west tower and north aisle. The south transept was rebuilt in 1855, chancel in 1872, and south porch added in 1879 by Edwin Dolby. The roof is predominantly lead. Church restored after a 1959 fire.

I have a deep fascination with Victorian death culture, especially the poetic gravestone rhymes. These verses, blending sentimentality and symbolism, offer a poignant glimpse into how Victorians coped with loss, remembered loved ones, and expressed their beliefs about mortality and the afterlife.

Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield. #SteepleSaturday Built 1816–19 by Thomas Taylor, it's a tall, simple Gothic-style building with a four-stage tower, embattled parapets, pinnacles, and Y-tracery windows. The church features a large burial crypt beneath the east end as well as its clerestory!

St. Mary's Church, Kettlewell. #SteepleSaturday Only surviving element of the Georgian church is the west tower (1820) by Thomas Anderson. In contrast, the rest was rebuilt (1882-1885) by T.H. and F. Healey in Gothic style, characterized by perpendicular windows and cross finials on the gables.

Redundant St. Peter's, Dulwich Common. #SteepleSaturday Charles Barry Jr. design in Geometric Gothic style completed in 1885 having been part financed by Hornimans. It was declared redundant in 1984 by CofE, previously used by Benedictine Community, before becoming part of the Deeper Life Church.

Abingdon, Berkshire. An unusual family tree.

For #StainedGlassSunday these stamped quarries of leaves, 1850. Displayed at Ely Cathedral

#church #wales #cymru #cwmyoy #monmouthshire #uk #landscape #travel #architecture #history #medieval #photography The fabulously wonky 12th century St Martin's church at Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire. Story here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mart...

For #stainedglassSunday this roundel depicting a boar,the heraldic badge of the De Vere family, prob1340-60. Displayed at Ely Cathedral.

Cheltenham Minster #steeplesaturday Town's oldest surviving medieval building, dating back to mid-11C! It replaced a Saxon church. Mainly early 14C with 19C restoration. It boasts a broach spire, 14th-century window tracery, a canopied piscina, and a baptistery with lierne vaulting.

St. Laurence, Silchester, Hampshire. #SteepleSaturday The oldest walls date back to the early 12th century. The building features flint and stone dressings, partly plastered, with a fish weather vane atop its shingled bell turret. Set charmingly on a mound near the buried Roman city by a pond.

Italian Font (1300-1500) in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow. #FontsonFriday The white bit in between the bowl and the base appears to be a metal support suggesting that the bowl is rather too large and heavy for its base to manage. Description beneath explains the font left Italy in the 1800s.

St. Laurence, Tidmarsh, Berkshire #AdoorableThursday Late 12C origins. It features three continuous round-arched orders, each richly ornamented with chevron and chain motifs. At the apex of this doorway is a trefoiled panel carved with a bearded face, generally interpreted as representing Christ.

#TilesonTuesday Tiles at Bath Abbey depicting the extinct talbot dog. Known for its tracking prowess & strength, this small to medium-sized hound was a symbol of nobility in heraldry. Though extinct, its legacy lives on in modern breeds like the Beagle & Bloodhound.

Hamstall Ridware church, Staffordshire has much to offer the curious visitor with a Norman font, c. 1500 painted panels from the rood screen (damaged in the Civil War), remains of the medieval preaching cross and a 1550 carved screen.

#Woodnesday #Haugh

Fossilised tree stump at the Great North Museum. This item was found near Stanhope, County Durham. #Woodensday

Encaustic memorial tiles, Gladstone Pottery Museum. Colin M C ran Mintons pottery, renowned for its encaustic tiles. Ironic twist? Campbell is now immortalised on one of these tiles - a fitting tribute cast in the very medium he helped perfect. The maker becomes the memorialised. #TilesonTuesday

A descendant of the Royal Oak at Boscobel. It is where future Charles II hid in 1651 after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. This event was commemorated annually as Oak Apple Day (29/05), its legacy lives on in the many pubs across Britain named "The Royal Oak". #ThickTrunkTuesday