Viewing Single Post From: Beautiful Churches

Viewing Single Post From: Beautiful Churches
Patrick	Monday, 2. October 2006, 20:30
Administrator Posts: 3,629 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: September 25, 2006	Quote: greek architecture Rose A bit of English History Chapel at Lincoln Castle Description: The prison building was designed to keep prisoners from ever meeting or talking to each other. The chapel was designed so that the prisoners could be hooded and led in by rope. A long rope, with knots 3 feet apart would be used. Each prisoner would hold on to a knot and walk into the pews. As they entered a pew, they would close the door behind them so they could not see or talk to the prisoner from the left or the right. The pews had a strange locking mechanism. Once a prisoner was in an individual pew he had to close the door and it automatically locked. It was impossible for any of them to get out until the pew next to the aisle was opened by a warder. Then the next one could get out, and they all left in turn. The design ensured they could see nothing but the preacher. The preacher was on a raised balcony and could see the activity of each prisoner. This shows the view from the preacher's balcony. People who don't like having children in churches could introduce this method - each child hater could hide away in an individual pew. :D Patrick Rose, A very interesting piece of History - is it now an exhibition or is it still in use? Patrick Rose, I managed to fill those pews! From the image that I have posted, it seems that it is a tourist/daytripper attraction, along with the rest of the Castle Rose of York Sep 11 2005,08:30AM Patrick Mac Sweeney Sep 10 2005, 10:56 PM Rose, A very interesting piece of History - is it now an exhibition or is it still in use? The chapel is not is use. Guides do conducted tours of the prison at Lincoln Castle. There is a very sad little place with graves of people who were executed. On the roof of Lincoln Cathedral there is a private balcony with a good view of the area where they had the scaffold. When there was a hanging up to twenty thousand people would travel to Lincoln for a day out, to enjoy the "fun". The bishop and landed gentry would enjoy a pleasant meal while they watched from the balcony. Oh dear it would not have been nice for them to have to rub shoulders with the peasants. If a prisoner or his family could come up with two pennies they would pay two little boys to hang onto the condemned man's legs while he hung. That speeded up his death and shortened the suffering. Where the scaffold used to be there are some sad little graves, with tiny marker stones set into the ground. I used to find it very sad that some of those people had been executed for crimes that nowadays would attract a conditional discharge. One condemned man was found dead on the morning when he was due to be hung. Outside the crowd were baying for blood. The warders simply got hold of another prisoner and had him hung! One of the graves has flowers on it once a year, on or about the anniversary of the hanging. The staff are aware somebody will put them there, but nobody has ever seen it happening. Perhaps they are put there by a descendant of the condemned man. Rose of York Sep 11 2005, 08:31 AM Patrick how about filling those seats with politicians? Rose San Miguel Mission The oldest Catholic church in America. Originally built by the Spanish as they entered the area from the south. Destroyed and rebuilt at least 3 times. Rose of York Aug 13, 2006, 07:07PM This is a beauty. Saint Stephens Church Skipton, in the Diocese of Leeds Entering the church, one is struck by how ornate it is in comparison to the restrained exterior. This is quite typically Gothic. We should recall that all medieval Gothic buildings were painted with garish colours and patterns and even the statuary was painted. It is not immediately apparent that the church has transepts so one can still recognize the initial rectangular shape of the church. This is a single-aisle church and the main body of the church where the people sit is called the nave. This term comes from the Latin navis meaning 'ship'. The ship is still a symbol of the church, the ark of salvation that sails the tumultuous seas of life. Alternatively, the term may be related to the Greek word naon meaning 'temple'. There are five windows on either side of the nave; eight windows are fitted with stained-glass. On pedestals between each window is a stone statue of a saint. There are seven in total and an eighth in a niche where the wooden pulpit used to stand. The pulpit was removed in 1975. The statues had wooden canopies over each of them which were removed in 1921. There are also the 14 stations of the cross; two beneath each saint. The stations of the cross are a pictorial meditation of Christ's journey to Calvary and is a devotion popularised in the Middle Ages allowing the Christian to focus on Christ's Passion and Death. These fine stations were erected in 1889 in memory of Charles Porri. The floor of the nave is truly exceptional and unique in the diocese. It is entirely mosaic apart from where the benches are in which case they are a hard-wood parquet in a herringbone pattern. This mosaic floor was laid in the 1930s in memory of Fr Richard Sharp SJ who had served the parish for forty years. The simple wooden benches were a gift of Thomas Fattorini in 1924. The entire nave is vaulted by a wooden ceiling made of Broughton oak given by Sir Charles Tempest. The dog-tooth pattern features prominently and it is modelled on the roof of Skelton Church near York. Looking back towards the West end is the gallery which was added around 1850. This helped to add a few more seats to the church but it became the preserve of the choir especially after the organ was installed in 1874. The gallery is now used by parishioners and the choir only sings from here on special occasions. The west window was installed in the 1860s in memory of the children of Henry and Jemima Tempest. Three sons died in infancy and Stephen F Tempest had died aged eighteen. The saints depicted here are their patrons: Top left: St Norbert, founder of the Premonstratensian Order; Top right: St Stephen the protomartyr Middle left: St Stephen, king of Hungary Middle right: St Peter, first Bishop of Rome. The bottom panels depict angels, one holding a scroll explaining the windows' significance and the other a baby boy. Incidentally, Henry and Jemima Tempest themselves are depicted with their children in the third and fourth windows on the north side of the church. A confessional was installed under the stairs leading to the gallery. This is now used occasionally. The sacristy doubles as a more suitable place for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Rose of York St Stephen's Church, Skipton in the Diocese of Leeds Skipton's Catholic church is named in honour of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The word martyr comes from the Greek word for ‘witness’ and Stephen was the first to witness to the Gospel of Christ by shedding his blood. It is fitting that this church which is the fruit of the steadfastness witness of many recusant Catholics and martyrs should be named after St Stephen. The story of St Stephen may be found in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles 6:8 – 7:60. He was one of seven men chosen to assist the apostles in their work and ordained a Deacon. He is said to have worked “great wonders and signs among the people” and when this agitated the Jewish leaders, he led an eloquent defense of the Christian faith. The incensed leaders dragged Stephen out of Jerusalem and stoned him to death, even as he beheld the glory of God and prayed for his murderers. His feast day is the 26th of December, a place of honour in the calendar as it immediately follows Christmas day. The first mention of this church by Thomas Peter Tempest in 1826 seems to suggest that the church was to be named in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, Baldisaro Porri who was born in Appiano, Italy came to Skipton in 1827 and may have persuaded Sir Charles Tempest to name the church after St Stephen. Stephen was a Tempest family name and the Porri family church in Italy was dedicated to San Stefano. The Porri family line is carried on through the Fattorini family who are still dedicated parishioners. * * * * * The church was designed by a James Flint, although some references point to the work of Richard Love. Fr Trappes, who initiated most of the work mentions a Mr Lane of Manchester. Land on Sycamore Hill, just outside Skipton was bought with the help of Charles Tempest. When the church was built it was surrounded by cornfields. Work began in 1836 and the church was opened on 15 September 1842, following a five year dispute over its ownership. The original church was a simple rectangular building with a pitched wooden roof. Its approximate form may be shown in the photograph below which is taken from one of the stained glass windows in the church. This window was donated in 1852 and shows Sir Charles Tempest, baronet offering the church to God. This pose has been adopted since the Middle Ages and shows the donor in a posture of protection and patronage. The church was enlarged in 1850 to include a north and south transept, giving the church a traditional cruciform shape. The sacristy or vestry is in the north transept and the side chapel is in the south transept. The plans were drawn up in 1852 by a Bradford firm and these still survive in the parish archives. The church was elongated by adding what is now the sanctuary area and the Tempest burial vaults were built under the new High Altar which had a splendid reredos designed by AWN Pugin. The gallery was added in the west end and the porch was also built in 1852. A belfry was built and the bell finally blessed and installed in 1884. However, this was removed at some stage and the belfry substantially levelled to its present state. Perhaps the bell was removed to the Convent and hung in its belfry. The church is now flanked on the north side by the cemetery which leads down to the old Presbytery and School building. On the south side is St Monica's Convent and the parish lawn with it's Lourdes grotto. From the church, there is a commanding view across Skipton towards Lothersdale. Beautiful as this church and its surroundings are, it stands first and foremost as a witness to the dedication and faith of generations Christians and a reminder of what the baptised are called to be. "Father, your house is a house of prayer, and your presence makes it a place of blessing. You give us grace upon grace to build the temple of your Spirit, creating its beauty from the holiness of our lives..."


Beautiful Churches · The Parish Hall