Widdington, Essex, St Mary the Virgin.

Exhibitionist carving on the tower at Aston Somerville Church, Worcestershire

Tunstall, Kent, St John the Baptist. Fourteenth century but substantially rebuilt in the Victorian period.

Rackheath Church, Norfolk. In the care of The Norfolk Churches Trust. Open daily.

Bagthorpe Church, Norfolk. In the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust and open daily.

Delighted to receive copies of my new book published by Amberley. I’ll be speaking and launching it at the Lincolnshire Churches Conference in Heckington on Saturday April 18th.

West Rudham, Norfolk

Stunning stained glass at Crayford Church, Kent by Hugh Easton

Newcastle Cathedral from the train

Off to Scotland to give a lecture. It’ll be a long couple of days

Acrise, Kent, St Martin. Chancel arch thirteenth century reusing Norman mouldings.

Great Hallingbury, Essex, St Giles.

Heart brass to Thomas Smith, died 1433, in the parish church at Margate.He was Rector of the parish. Inscription on the scrolls asks for our

Monument to Galfridus Mann at Linton Kent. Designed by Richard Bentley and paid for by Horace Walpole. Quite a pedigree

Sutterby, Lincolnshire. In the care of The Friends of Friendless Churches.

Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire

Frindsbury, Kent, All Saints

Iford, East Sussex, St Nicholas. One of those endearing Norman churches built in a linear alignment of nave, central tower and chancel which never had transepts

This Victorian portrait peeps out from a Biblical scene by Ward and Hughes in stained glass at Monks Eleigh Church, Suffolk.

February 5th is the Feast Day of St Agatha. This Sicilian martyr was tortured by having her breasts removed. This medieval wall painting at Duxford, St John the Baptist, Cambridgeshire depicts the event

Wicken Bonhunt, Essex

St Bartholomew the Less, Smithfield

Welcome to February. Medieval glass in The Burrell

February 1st is the Feast Day of St Bridget of Ireland. Here she is depicted at Castletownshend, County Cork, by Harry Clarke

Corpusty, Norfolk, St Peter. In the care of The Norfolk Churches Trust. #adoorablethursday

Book rest on the seventeenth century pulpit at Burgh le Marsh, Lincolnshire #woodensday

Fifteenth century glass in Norwich Cathedral

Fobbing, Essex, St Michael

Darenth, Kent, St Margaret. Romanesque font with varied iconography.

Portrait medallion on the monument to the 2nd Earl Cowper (d 1764) by Francis Harwood of Florence at Hertingfordbury Church, Hertfordshire

Benington Church, Hertfordshire.

Two souls being lifted to Heaven on the Benstede memorial ( mid 15c) at Benington Church, Hertfordshire

In November 1959 Jean Cocteau spent a week decorating a side chapel in the Church of Notre Dame de France just off Leicester Square in London. The subjects are The Annunciation, Crucifixion and Assumption

Waterford, Hertfordshire, St Michael and All Angels. St Cecilia by Karl Parsons, 1929.Many important windows in this lovely church.

Yes, Davos, the playground for rich and famous today was once home for desperate tuberculosis patients seeking a cure in sanatoria

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 7, window 7, The King's Window, given by Philip II of Spain. Made by Dirck Crabeth, 1557-59. Placed in the north transept, the window is 20m tall. Badly damaged by storm, almost all the OT half is a 1910-11 restoration. Much of NT half too. But still outstanding.

The Sandys monuments at Wickhamford Church, Worcestershire #monumentsMonday

I’m leading two tours of Norfolk churches this summer. Details here. norfolkchurchestrust.org.uk/january-news...

Fawsley Church, Northamptonshire. Of over 13,000 churches I’ve visited in England and Wales this ranks in my top 5.

We're delighted to have acquired the archive of writer and essayist Ronald Blythe, best known for book Akenfield, which explores changing rural life in Suffolk during the 20th century. Discover more in this blog post by curator Helen Melody: link.bl.uk/86s

In the early c17 a raven returned yearly to Fawsley church Northants. Locals believed where she placed her nest predicted the harvest. North= famine. South= plenty. John Aubrey wrote ‘in the late civil warres the soldiers killed her. I am sorry for the tragical end of this old church bird.’

French prisoners of war at New Alresford, Hampshire

Llanwenog, Ceredigion, St Gwenog

Wodewose on the fifteenth century font at Stradbroke Church, Suffolk

Sint Janskerk Day 3, window 2, The Capture of Damietta. An interesting post-Reformation window of 1595-97 made by Willem Thibaut and given by the city of Haarlem. Mostly painted in grisaille. It commemorates the capture of the Egyptian port of Damietta in 1219 during the Fourth Crusade.

#scarborough is bidding to become the UK's first Town of Culture so I've been on BBC Radio York this morning to give it my backing. Would be amazing for our first seaside resort - created 400 years ago - to be our first Town of Culture 🤞

Just a few places left

St Kentigern/Mungo in stained glass at St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen by William Stables. Today is The Feast Day of St Mungo

These medieval wall paintings in the Franciscan church, Salzburg , show how late medieval masons worked to build our churches

Brockhampton by Ross, Herefordshire