Our accommodation in York was "Diamonds Guest House". From there we headed toward Lincoln. On the way, we noticed this little parish church. Since the sign said it was open we decided to check it out. It is St.Andrew's, Bishopthorpe (another hymn tune!).
A Gargoyle
The Nave
The choirmaster at work?
From St.Andrew's, we got back on track to visit Selby Abbey.
Another Norman archway, making it almost a 1000 years old.
Huge, thick pillars in the nave.
I found the words on this grave (which is part
of the floor) very funny:
Here lies ye body of poor Frank (?)
Parish Clerk and gravestone (?)
And this is written to let you know
that what for others Frank did do
is now for Frank done by another.
The canons' stalls.
The lectern
The Quire
The Sanctuary
Detail of the altar (Agnus Dei means "Lamb of God", a title given to Christ.)
King David
Invite this guy over and he will be the life of the party!
Jesus talking to scribes and pharisees in the Temple
A wall. Not very interesting, you might think...
...until you check the carvings carefully and find little animals and birds hidden away!
I have not yet had the opportunity to play any organ in England but would have loved to have tried this one out!
Here's Queen Victoria again, with Albert this time but can you see the steam engine in the window?
Here it is! You can find it just to the right and below the coat of arms in the window.
We were astounded to learn that there had been a major fire in the Abbey in 1906 and most of it was destroyed. The photos below show the devastation caused.
It was amazing to think of the work involved in restoring it and making it as lovely as it is today.
This archway was not damaged by fire but rather from an earthquake hundreds of years ago.
Medieval stonemasons certainly has a sense of humour. Can you see the King above? No?
That's because he is hidden right inside the carving and you need to shine a light inside to see him! What I wondered is how he was ever discovered!
OK, onwards to Lincoln. But wait... what is that huge tower we can see in the nearby village of Howden? Another little detour and we found Howden Minster.
These are called "box" pews.
The Quire and the organ pipes.
The Lectern
There are lots of stories about Church mice. Graham Oakley's books came to mind when we read that there were about 40 mice to find in the church like this one on the leg of a table. We could only find four and were therefore classed as "pip squeaks"!
A ladybird on a block of granite, outside the church.
We will never get to Lincoln this way! Oh but we must visit Beverley Minster - we're going right past. We only had 20 minutes here as we wanted to get to Lincoln Cathedral in time for Evensong. It was very difficult to leave (as it had been to drive right past Ripon Cathedral earlier in the day. Even with three months to spend we can't see everything!
The West End of Beverley Minster.
This door shows images of the four Gospel writers and their traditional symbols. From the left: St.John (eagle), St.Mark (winged lion), St.Luke (winged bull) and St.Matthew (winged man).
The Nave
The Organ - note the decorated pipes, this is done using stencils!
The Quire, which included many carvings (see some below)
We could not believe that this flag was still holding together!
Clearly, the organ was under repair. The metal pipes on the floor are tuned by adjusting the "tongues" at the top. The square wooden pipes are tunes by raising or lowering the "stops" just below the tops of the pipes. Their size suggests that the pipes come from the pedal section of the organ.
It's good to know that the Archangel Michael is keeping the devil under control!
We arrived in Lincoln with just enough time to get to the Cathedral for Evensong. The music was sung by girls and included the responses by Archer, and the canticles and anthem I Will Worship Toward Thy Holy Temple by George Dyson. The girls handled the music quite credibly and we were very pleased to have made it in time.