#OTD in 1913, William Manning, William Kitchen and Frank Smith were charged with playing Pitch and Toss with six halfpennies on the tow-path near Boveney church, Buckinghamshire.

The men were bored, the fish weren’t biting, and they wanted to pass the time...

1/
In this game, players take turns throwing a coin against a wall with the aim of landing closest to the wall. Known by many other names around Britain, incl. Pigeon Toss, Penny Up, and Nippy, it was a favourite children's game, and was even played by children in Ancient Greece.
2/
Pitch and Toss was a popular gambling game among adults too. But the three men at Boveney, who had been caught throwing their coins in a public place on a Sunday afternoon, insisted that they were simply playing to pass the time because they hadn't caught any fish.

3/
In the end, they weren't convicted of any crime, but still had to pay 2s. 2d. each to cover the costs of their trial.

4/

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More from @friendschurches

18 Apr
In splendid isolation on the Llyn Peninsula, St Mary’s, Penllech overlooks the Irish Sea. A church has been here for over 800 years, serving generations of farming communities.
Its interior, where walls and woodwork are painted light grey, radiates simple beauty.

#thread Image
Mentioned in the Norwich Valuation of 1254, the church is medieval in origin; however, the font is the only substantial survivor of this age. It’s a roughly hewn basin of brown stone, painted white on the inner face, and sunk into the shaft beneath.

2/ Image
Most of what you see today is a rebuilding in 1840 by Samuel Jones. These rows of timber trusses, with their splayed shoulders, have an almost industrial feel. The closely spaced rafters almost resemble corrugated metal sheeting and lend a sort of warehouse vibe.

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Read 5 tweets
15 Apr
Deep in the Black Mountains is an ancient oval churchyard. It encloses a church that has clung to the mountain for over 800 yrs. Homeless headstones form a jagged line-up outside. A sundial has told the time since 1686. Inside, an oxblood rood screen survives against the odds.
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This veranda-style screen dominates the interior. It was carved in the 14th century and painted with an ox’s blood. The red background is peppered with stencilled white roses.

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In the centre, a cross is picked out in bare wood. It’s the ghostly reminder of the crucifix that was lost from here during the Reformation.

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Read 6 tweets
14 Apr
A dizzying view down a medieval spiral staircase in a church tower...

The word SPIRAL comes from the Latin root SPIRA - to coil, wind or twist. This 14th-15th century spiral staircase winds claustrophobically through the iconic fenland tower of St Andrew's, Wood Walton.

#thread
SPIRE, on the other hand, comes from the Old English SPIR - a sharp point or blade of grass. It's related to SPEAR.

The elegant 14th-century spire of St Mary the Virgin's, Tetbury, in the Cotswolds is the fourth tallest in England, pointing 57m into the sky!

📷 Billy Wilson

2/
Are you INSPIRED by these remarkable feats of engineering? That's yet another linguistic root, the spire coming from (Latin) SPIRITUS — the breath of life.

3/
Read 4 tweets
13 Apr
Layers of Victorian tiles cracking and bursting open in the chancel of St Andrew's, Wood Walton, Cambridgeshire.

This lonely, medieval church on the edge of the Great Fen has been suffering from structural movement for centuries, defying all attempts to steady it.

1/
We've been working on it - little and often as funds allow - new roofs, new drainage, masonry repairs, and now re-plastering the chancel walls and repairing the floor.

And we’re making progress... Our monitors indicate that the church hasn’t moved in two years! 🥳

2/
This is positive, though it’s still early days...
These chancel walls are currently being redecorated, the floors stabilised. (Pictures will follow when the work is complete.)

Next, we plan to move on to the nave, which has been prey to thieves and vandals for decades...

3/
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8 Apr
In some churchyards you might discover these black, bulbous balls growing on trees.
They’re known as King Alfred cakes, cramp balls or coal fungus… because a king possibly burnt some buns in the 9th century, they warded off cramp and because they’re good firelighters.

#thread
The nickname King Alfred cakes comes from the legend of how, in a bid to escape the Vikings, King Alfred fled to the Somerset Levels, where a peasant woman gave him refuge.

2/
Unaware of his majesty, the woman tasked Alfred with keeping an eye on some buns as they baked. Alfred was a bit preoccupied, forgot about the buns… and they burnt!

🖼: King Alfred burning the cakes, Sir David Wilkie, 1806

3/
Read 7 tweets
6 Apr
Have you seen #TheTerror season 1?
It’s a gripping portrayal of 19th century Arctic exploration, and the true tragic events it’s based on are linked to this deeply moving memorial in St Mary’s church, Hardmead ...

#thread Image
If you haven’t watched (or read the book), Sir John Franklin leads an expedition in 1845 to complete charting a North West passage through the Canadian Arctic. When the ships become ice-bound, the crews battle the elements, disease and starvation (& other-worldly terrors).
The historical ‘Lost Franklin Expedition’ was an infamous example of Victorian exploration and bravado, and its tragic outcome is still shrouded in mystery and horror.
Read 11 tweets

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