Octavius James died in 1889 in a fire in Clarghyll Hall near Alston, another of his architectural enterprises that was a converted 16th. century bastle house.
The interior of the church contains this rather fine marble memorial to a former Lord of the manor, Albany Featherstonehaugh, 'whose line became extinct in 1639'.
The churchyard outside contains this rather melancholy memorial.....
..... with a fine encrustation of lichens, while over against the churchyard wall ....
....... this headstone, whose inscription has been worn away by the Northumbrian weather, has been split in two by the trunk of a horse chestnut that must have been planted as a sapling too close to the grave, perhaps a century ago.
The horse chestnut, which seems to be perfectly healthy, is gradually engulfing the headstone.
Many of the old headstones are well worn and barely decipherable, but host a range of lichens that would probably keep a lichenologist amused for quite some time..
A loyal Subject in his Life
A Good Husband to his Wife
A Father to his Children Dear
A Good Neighbour Lieth Here
I enjoy churches and their grave stones. It reminds me of my own mortality....not that I need much reminding.
ReplyDeleteI saw a church almost like that in Sweden. Those stones are so expressive with the mosses, a lot of character!
ReplyDeleteThe headstones make compulsive reading, don't they Adrian? I was looking at some in Blanchland cemetery a while ago and was amazed ho many there were from the 19th. century for people who had lived to 80+............
ReplyDeleteI find the stone masons' letter carving skill wonderful too, Andrea
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