During my recent trip to England, I had a lovely outing to Clayton Church:
An ancient church mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086).
The church loomed out of the sunlight
And the old wooden door looked like something out of a film set.
The simple yet elegant windows
Looked inviting.
Going around to the back of the church,
I could see the ancient walls
Next to the more modern part to the left.
The view from the back
Was stunning too.
Apart from its great age, the church is most famous
For having some of the oldest murals in England,
Painted by monks somewhere between 1080 and 1150.
These remarkable wall paintings were forgotten
And then re-discovered some 700 years later during restoration of the church.
Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure. — Rumi
For more treasure, please visit: Our World.
Beautiful. I just love the different textures on the outside walls.
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Simply amazing. When things were made to last. Thanks for sharing this Fiona.
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Your photos remind me of why I concentrated on English Literature during my post-graduate studies. Thanks for helping me conjure up fond memories. Lovely shots, Lady Fi.
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A beautiful church, steeped high with stories, love it.
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Beautiful old church. I especially love the inside. And the view is terrific.
Maybe Spring is finally coming to our area this week… I hope so since it has been a LONG winter and a crazy one!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
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What a wonderful opportunity to be able to visit and photograph such an ancient, historic place!
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What a fascinating church. The interior is beautiful, and it’s a miracle that the mural was discovered after being covered for so many centuries.
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really neat! and spooky, too!
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Beautiful photos of a beautiful place!
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The church itself is the most precious jewel. And how perfect having the headstones at the back with buried treasure.
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Ancient history never fails to fascinate me — particularly since I live in such a young country!! This is such an incredible place and how wonderful that it has been saved! So much history!! Your captures are superb as always, Fiona!! Thanks for sharing the beauty — as always, too!!
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Nice chapel and great photos too. I love that cemetery.
· hugs
· CR · & · LMA ·
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What a beautiful building and a monument to design and building techniques. It’s weathered exterior is fascinating, isn’t it? The murals inside are also beautiful. They remind me a little of those in Eds kyrka at Upplands-Väsby (built around 1100) the interior of which was painted by a well known medieval artist Albertus Pictor.
I still can’t get my head around the history of places like this. I come from such a “young” nation and it can be hard to believe that this was all here over 700 years before the First Fleet landed on the shores of Botany Bay in 1788. It is something that I discussed one day while walking in Stockholm with one of my Canadian friends. We were both spellbound by the architecture in Gamla Stan and the age of the town, much to the bemusement of our Swedish partners to whom all of this is quite normal. 🙂
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I love all the old churches in England and Europe…beautiful!!!
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What glorious images! The tombstones tell quite the tale too, don’t they? The history lesson is remarkable as are the photos!
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Thanks for the soulful tour♥
Aloha
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That is a very old church, indeed. Thanks for sharing it and the ancient mural with us. Your photos are remarkable, as always.
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Great shots of the beautiful church.
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Thank you so much for taking us there. Beautiful – and awe inspiring. And beautiful. Did I mention beautiful yet?
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I love the Rumi quote. That’s why I love to travel and explore old things. Beautiful church.
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Gorgeous! I love old churches and enjoyed the quote. Thanks so much 🙂
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Magnificent old church! Great pictures!
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What a beautiful little church from all the different points of view. I love to see the typical English churchyard too.
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An old church and undulatijng fields. Couldn’t be more English. Nicely done. 🙂
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Marvelous, thanks for the tour! Such an old building. It looks like it was a splendid day. You can tell the windows were a later addition patched in. (The Gothic arch wasn’t developed until the late Renaissance.) Can’t wait to see more pics of your visit!
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What a delightful tour you’ve given us Lady Fi – thank you for sharing this part of history.
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wow…absolutely love the texture of the walls…so much history in them…..
sooo cool….
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Beautiful! I’d probably be wandering through the cemetery!
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It is a beautiful church inside and out! The countryside nearby is pretty too. Lovely images! Have a happy week!
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My goodness, now that IS old.
What a special pleasure it must have been to visit.
Thank you for sharing here.
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Beautiful architecture. I’m glad the mural was rediscovered.
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Hard to imagine, stone an mortar can possess the quality of warmth in this structure and it’s surfaces. The patina of centuries brought about by environment, destruction and reconstruction brings out that grand maternal glow -more skin then inert mass. One sense this was built with hands and sweat, broken bones and worst.
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Wonderful. Better history for most all of us than any fancy cathedral or castle. This is the place OUR ancestors might have spent time . Wonderful.
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Dearest Ladyfi;
We have old temples to proud of but these exotic places (An ancient church!!!) are really fantastic for me☆☆☆
Have a wonderful new week♪
Sending you Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
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Old churches always have a story to tell. I love wandering around them.
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Nice photos of the church!
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Lovely captures!!
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Those photos are gorgeous! Wonderful framing! Beautiful church!
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Beautiful!
A lot of history in those walls.
M/
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If only those walls could speak – they simply ooze history!
btw. The perfect setting for *The Woman in White* by Wilkie Collins,
Wherever I travel, I’m always on the lookout for what (book/movie) could be shot there! (Maybe a closet movie location spotter?).
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und doch wunderschön
LG vom katerchen
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Wow! fascinating.
I like such old stuffs.
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A wonderful serie!
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Beautiful photos ! I love these old churches in England !
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I remember hearing about the discovery of the mural – isn’t it gorgeous!
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VERY beautiful…and the post you shared, so very interesting. I really like the ‘arrow’ that points down to the door made of stone/brick.
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The whole of England can look like a film set at times! I wonder how many other secrets lie under the paint of otherwise ordinary parish churches – apparently many of the Cathedrals were painted in very bright colours, before they were “made over” in later years.
Nice pictures.
Cheers – Stewart M – Melbourne
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Wow! Awesome.
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Thanks for letting us tag along on your adventure. Isn’t it amazing that the murals had been covered up but have since been restored.
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looks like a very interesting place to visit.
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Wonderful photos of this lovely church!
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Hi! Nice captures. I knew what was the Domesday Book for the first time. I feel weight of the history from your photos. Thanks for sharing.
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Amazing artwork on the walls, and the setting of the church is just beautiful!!! I love that view over the fields!
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These ancient churches are so inspiring for novel writers like Jane Austen was and Daphne du Maurier, who wrote about those small and ancient churches in Cornwall. Lovely post, thank you!
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Beautiful photographs – I also love the textures on these old structures.
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Such a beautiful church just overflowing with history.
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Interesting quote along with amazing pictures! “Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure.” So true…
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Oh my, how magnificent.
Wonderful captures!
How I would love to see that old church ‘with my own eyes’
We visited Scotland and England a few years ago and did visit some beautiful old churches.
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Such exquisite beauty and history in this church! If only the walls could talk!
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WOW! What a dreamy structure. How wonderful that you got to see it, thanks for sharing! I absolutely love it.
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Beautiful church and some lovely photo editing and great photos for OWT ~ xoxo
artmusedog and carol
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Love those weathered walls!
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Simple, yet stunning. It looks as if the windows were replaced during it’s long history.
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Such a beautiful building…. and great snippet of English history
Mollyxxx
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Love the different shades of grey…And visiting old cemeteries? Anytime.
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very inspiring church. It has much details and stories to tell.
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questa patina del tempo si è posata su ogni cosa, e sembra ricordarci che tutto scorre nella vita, e lento passa
magnifico reportage, mi ha emozionata
This patina of time has placed on everything, and it seems to remind us that everything flows in life, and slow passes
magnificent report, I was excited
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Such a long history. We have to make sure places like this are preserved.
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Beautiful! The old murals are well preserved. Happy Tuesday 🙂
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So much history, beauty and character here. Lovely.
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What a beautiful chrch! Your photos are stunning!
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That is so gorgeous. I want to paint it just from your photos!
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Ah, so absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing this with us!
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It looks elegant and beautiful.
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cool textures and window 🙂
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That looks so beautiful! and ’round the back even more so! The exterior itself looks so historic, the paintings inside look a little weathered but it is amazing to think that much is preserved in such a long time.
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these are lovely, the sunspot bokeh adds to their charm ..makes me want to go to England even more than before
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when it comes to churches…. I like simple!
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Hi Fiona, what a beautiful church. I like reading about its short history bit. And your photography is simply stunning.
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Beautiful photos. Hard to believe any building listed in the Doomsday Book still exists.
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That’s so beautiful.
Jen
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What a lovely old church. Great photos!
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What a classic old church, and classic English weather!
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I’m so glad you had the opportunity to visit there and now to share that wonderful piece of history with us!
~Lindy
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Wow that does look straight from the movies. Glad they were able to restore the old murals. That is definitely finding a lost treasure.
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Absolutely stunning! 😀
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Beautiful old architecture and photos, like the close-up from the window very nice photo
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What an incredible place! The ruin and all are just amazing.
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Wow I could spend all day there! What a beautiful ancient church! 🙂
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Lovely. Historical. Magic.
I’d LOVE to place a blanket down on the grass and reflect, meditate, and pray all day long. x
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Your photos are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing.
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That first photo of the church is so magical, it’s like a fairyland.
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