To the writer and film-maker Jonathan Meades, ruins summon the past and evoke a sense of loss and of temporal frailty. For him, a ruin is a memento mori.
Here, at the medieval church at Eastwell in Kent wild nature is taking over.
#thread
Here, at the medieval church at Eastwell in Kent wild nature is taking over.
#thread
There is a balance between the new life breaking through and the morbidity of the decayed building. A picturesque lake created to the east of the church in the 19th century brought about the collapse of the nave arcade, as the chalk columns sucked up moisture and crumbled.
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In the 1940s, Eastwell Park in Kent was taken over by the army for tank training exercises. Shocks from nearby explosions didn’t help the vulnerable structure. But in February 1951, after weeks of heavy rain the nave roof collapsed and took the arcade with it.
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Six years later the church was dismantled. The bells were sold for scrap. The monuments found a new home @V_and_A.
A sad end for this lakeside beauty.
We took the church into our care in 1980 and carefully manage its decline.
You can read more here: friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/eastwell/
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A sad end for this lakeside beauty.
We took the church into our care in 1980 and carefully manage its decline.
You can read more here: friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/eastwell/
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