St Mary's Temple Balsall
Questions still remain about whether the church was originally built by the Knights Templar or by the Hospitallers c1320. According to Pevsner historical evidence suggests the former as "stylistically it is much more likely to belong to the late C13th and the Templars."
The church was restored in 1667 and also by George Gilbert Scott in 1848/9. It is built of red sandstone ashlar.
I have several booklets on Temple Balsall and the church and recently I bought two super books from Books Revisited on Temple Balsall and the Knights Templar. The rows of graves in the photo below belong to the Dames - a name given to the women who lived in the Hospital several hundred years ago.
It was good to see a notice on the church door to say its now open between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm I think. The last time I went it was locked although years ago it was always open. It didn't seem fair to D to disappear into the church but I do need to go back one day and get some better photos. If you want to see photos of the interior from a previous visit please see St Mary Temple Balsall Churchyard and Church Interior
Temple Balsall is a lovely example of a "Living Churchyard" where wild flowers are allowed to flourish in many areas.
Betony
You can tell we haven't been for quite a while it took us ages to find the walled garden that is hidden away!
I am reading a really good book at the moment called "Grounded" by James Canton and he has introduced me to a new word. "Numinous" which means somewhere that is Divine, Spiritual, revealing or indicating the presence of a Divinity, Awe Inspiring" (OED). Numinous places don't have to be Christian religious sites although some are and there are also numinous events in nature. There are certain places I have visited in my life that to me are "numinous" (I am so glad to have a word now to describe them!). Places such as Avebury, Llandwyn Island Anglesey, York Minster Chapter House, St Catherine's Oratory on the Isle of Wight, St Seriol's Holy Well, Anglesey, Brathay Bridge in the Lake District and certain churchyards. These places have a sense of silence and bring calm and peace. They may be sites that have been numinous to people for centuries or it may be somewhere that only you know about. Temple Balsall is another such site for me.
It did us both the world of good to escape the thumping and banging next door - I can't believe we have had to put up with it for a year now and they look nowhere near finished. They still haven't finished the exterior let alone all the work that needs doing inside. They are even replacing the skirting boards, walls and doors and floors :(
I am not sure really why I don't go more to Temple Balsall more regularly as I did in the past. I think its partly because we now share a car and B has spent so much time with it decorating E's flat and also because we do escape to Herefordshire as much as possible so I go out locally a lot less often.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one I would appreciate an email first - thanks).
Reference "Buildings of England Warwickshire" by Chris Pickford and Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, 2016.
10 comments:
Beautiful,both church and garden
I keep hoping be on top that one day you'll be typing the words the workers finish next door. We'll put the flags
I do like to see a living cemetery. As so many graves don't have anyone to attend to them it's a good idea, I think.
The walled garden looks rather small and compact, certainly by comparison to some of the larger ones I've seen recently. I rather like it like that. It has a kind of intimate, wilderness feel to it.
Billy Blue Eyes - Thanks so much.
Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much - believe me they are months away - the year is up in a week :( Still putting in windows, gables and porch to build exterior. Then whole interior to be kitted out as nothing left of the previous rooms really let alone bathrooms kitchen decorating heating wiring flooring ad infinitum. Then that bungalow type thing they already had at top of garden has had water and electric put in so presumably doing something with that. Plus they will need a new drive I would think the state of it let alone the back garden - there is no lawn left. If they put that vile plastic lawn in I shall scream!
I find churchyards especially the living ones really peaceful and tranquil to wander round.
Yes the walled garden is very small. I do wonder if residents of the almshouses grow vegetables and look after it???But its very secret and hidden away.
I like the word numinous, I was just thinking as I looked at your photos of the walled garden and the churchyard how peacesful and other worldly it seemed when I came to your paragraph on the word and its meaning. It truly is a beautiful place. There are some places that you remember in that way. Looking down from a tower at Wingfield Manor onto the orchard below gave me a strange feeling as if I already knew it and yet had never been. Our neighbours have to have a new roof so scaffolding will be going up in a few weeks right outside our front door and over the garage, nothing like the upset you are experiencing though. Have a lovely weekend:)
Rosie - Thanks so much. Temple Balsall is indeed a very special place with such a wonderful atmosphere. I found it quite a few days ago when David had to interview someone there and I gave him a lift and went for a walk while he was busy and I was hooked on the place straightaway.
oh no re the scaffolding I am so sorry Rosie I really am. You have my sympathies even if its not for long it is still horrid and intrusive. I know when we had it for 10 weeks the party wall surveyor said they had to screen it and only access from their side but it was still horrible with people working right next to your bedroom window etc. We are sticking to our guns so far about telling him he can't have it up again. But the difference is you may get on with neighbours and also presumably its not been done without planning permission (probably doesn't need it) OH has told our neighbours his builders will have to find another way to do it! I hope its not up for too long Rosie and not too noisy for you.
Two interesting gravestone images here, the Templer one, which looks very new, and the regimented rows of crosses, are those latter graves something unusual?
The Wessex Reiver - Thanks so much. The Templar one is relatively new - I've been going there for years and it wasn't there originally.
The regimented rows of crosses are I think the same as the ones in the photo earlier (just before the Templar picture) ie they are graves of "Dames" - the name given to the ladies who lived in the Hospital there centuries ago. Its a place with an incredible amount of history. They even still have a "Master" of the Foundation there - David interviewed him years ago when he was a journalist and that is how I first discovered the place as I gave him a lift.
|Not a place I've ever heard of - it just goes to show how rich these islands are in "numinous" places (good word that). I think churchwardens and their ilk were thoroughly confused by the rules regarding Covid and a lot of places of worship were closed unnecessarily - and there's been no clear instruction about when to end the restrictions either.
Lovely that the Dames graves are being cared for and respected. So much history.
John by "Stargoose and Hanglands" - Thanks so much for the comment and I agree re the rules over covid and confusion with church opening. Numinous is a rather wonderful word for describing such places :)
The Wessex Reiver - Thanks again Andrew - its an amazing place.
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