This morning it was -4°C which was even colder than yesterday! It was, however, another beautiful sunny day. It took a little while to get all the ice off the car but it started without issue and we headed towards St.Mary's Church, Redcliffe. This church had been on my list since the start of the holiday planning because of its music. I have a number of excellent recordings of the choir and organ (and four more CDs after today!)
Have you seen the two birds on the top of the church?
Even though it was about 11:00am, the grass next to the church was still covered in frost.
I couldn't believe these two gargoyles still had noses if they have been exposed to today's kind of weather!
This is the porch of the building - even before one gets inside it's an amazing place!
This part of the porch with its purbeck marble columns is the oldest part of the church, dating from the end of the 12th century. Most of the rest of the building was built from 1292 - 1370.
The vaulting in the north aisle. There are over 1200 bosses in the church and each one is different.
This boss depicts a "green man". Many churches in England depict him yet nobody is quite sure what he is all about.
Abraham is promised that his descendents shall number more than the stars.
Noah with the ark in the background - look for two giraffes, two camels and a peacock.
Noah and his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth working to complete the ark before the rain comes.
Elizabeth, the cousin of the Virgin Mary
The symbols of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Simeon holds the baby Jesus as he proclaims "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace."
The console of the organ
Some of the larger pipes of the organ. "FFFF" means that pipe plays the note "f" four octaves below "middle C". The organ has 4350 pipes.
Side view of the organ pipes above with Satoshi demonstrating their size.
St.Mary's has a copy of the Geneva Bible (printed some time between 1579 and 1611). It is commonly known as the "Breeches Bible" because of the error in translation in verse 7 above. (The word "breeches" is more accurately translated as "coverings".)
This window is a memorial to the composer Handel. It depicts some of the passages in the Bible which he included in his famous oratorio "The Messiah". Some individual panels of the window are below.
"Unto Us a Child is Born"
"He shall feed his flocks like a shepherd"
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive"
"There were shepherds, abiding in the field"
"Behold if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow"
The Lady Chapel
This banner, in the Lady Chapel, was bathed in light from the windows.
The windows in the Lady Chapel were destroyed during the bombing in WWII. These replacement windows were installed in the 1960s. This Nativity window shows the shepherds on the left, Joseph, Mary (lying down) and a very small Jesus in the middle, and the three kings on the right.
This window, also from the Lady Chapel, depicts Mary (left) and Joseph (at the bottom) finding Jesus in the temple talking to the priests.
The angel Gabriel (resplendent with his red wings) delivers the message to Mary that she is going to have a son. Note Joseph having a dream about the same thing in the third panel.
Mary visiting Elizabeth. Note Elizabeth's trendy shoes and apron. Not bad for 4AD!
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane while the disciples sleep.
Jesus is betrayed with a kiss by Judas. Peter cuts off the ear of the High Priest's servant, Malchus.
Pilate washes his hands during the trial of Jesus.
Very sunny days are NOT good when one is tying to take photos of stained-glass windows - the grid you can see is the protective grill on the outside! This scene shows Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of "Hosanna!" from the crowd.
Another impressive lectern with...
...polite lions...
...and a small clue as to how old the lectern might be.
The Nave
The Quire
Did you know that Luke's symbol is sometimes called "Popeye?"
The four carvings at the end of the choir stalls. (Ignore silly comment above - I don't know what came over me!)
The vaulting above the nave
This boss is in the shape of a labyrinth. (Something to do if the sermon is boring!)
The original plan was to visit the Cathedral at this point in time but we decided it was a pity to waste such a lovely day inside so we elected to go on a ferry trip on the River Avon. It was a great trip but VERY COLD!
The ferry coming to pick us up
This is the "Corrine Marin"
The ferry stopped in the city centre for the crew to have lunch, so we had lunch too. This fountain is just near the ferry stop.
The "Corrine Marin" again but the water was calmer after lunch. (So was I)
The "Kaskelot" has featured in several films and TV shows.
I liked this little red boat
Cabot Tower which we may have time to visit tomorrow.
The River Avon is healthy enough to have fish in it (good news for cormorants).
The "Noord Ster"
I suppose one has to put one's washing somewhere but I don't think this will dry until about May!
A replica of the "Matthew", the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to Newfoundland in Canada.
The top of this tarpaulin would be green like the sides except it is covered with ice!
After our ferry trip, we visited the remains of St.Peter's Church. It was so badly damaged during the war that it was decided to leave it as a memorial to those people who were killed in the dense of Bristol.
More ice (It really was VERY cold!)
It was great to be inside the warmth of the cathedral for Evensong, this time sung by the boys of the choir, but it was not one of the best services we have attended. The boys appeared disinterested, entries were ragged, high notes were strident and the blending was poor. (Apart from that, it was really good!) The music was the responses by Archer, the canticles of Bairstow in E flat and the anthem O Mysterium Ineffabile by Lallouette. I'll leave you to guess where we had dinner.