Top 10 English church doorways from my travels - a thread.
1. Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck, Herefordshire. A riot of Norman carving. Dragons, grotesques, angels, a phoenix, beakheads, a basilisk, a lion. A writhing phantasmagoria of the 12th century imagination:
2. St Edward’s, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. Visitors come from far and wide to see the famous yew lined door of this church, said to have inspired J.R.R Tolkein’s “Doors of Durin” as featured in The Lord of the Rings trilogy:
3. St Germans Priory Church, St Germans, Cornwall. Well now…Seven orders of Norman decoration on the great west doorway. Need I say more:
4. St John’s, Barnack, Cambridgeshire. Although there are many Saxon doorway contenders, this one shouts out its great age. It is simple. It is crude. It has endured a thousand winters. It is in.
5. St Mary’s, Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Built in the mid-15th century the elaborate ogee crocketed arch marks the threshold into the Berkeley family chapel; the family arms held by a pair of proud, watchful angels. Perfection.
6. St Mary’s, Patrixbourne, Kent. One of the quiet masterpieces of English romanesque architecture: the south doorway on this tucked away church, a few miles walk from Canterbury. Arches fan out from a “tympanum” where Christ is seated with creatures of the apocalypse (probs):
7. Watts Cemetery Chapel, Compton, Surrey. Something a little bit modern. Designed by Mary Watts, over 70 villagers were involved in the creation of this stunning chapel between 1895 and 1904:
8. St John’s, Higham, Kent. Forlorn in the Dickensian “marsh country” Guarding the threshold of St Mary’s church for over 600 years is a magnificent and weighty carved wooden doorway. With elegant tracery panels, flower patterns, animals, and medieval faces:
9. St Mary’s, Isle Abbots, Somerset. High gothic drama. Imagine this. Saints in the niches (btw this church maintains a near full set of carved medieval figures in the tower above - extraordinary), flickering lights on the candlemas procession. Phwoar:
10. St Peter & St Paul’s, Salle, Norfolk. Angels swinging cencers to guard a rural church of epic proportions, seemingly in the middle of nowhere…magnificent. In a culture of scant visual stimulation this must have been overwhelming:
If you would like to see more of my work do follow me on instagram (englishpilgrim) or visit my website for some of my writing (lukesherlock.com). Look forward to seeing your favourite doors. Keep it Rock and Roll 🤟
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