- ANGELS & CHERUBS | 01 St. Mungo's Church, Simonburn
"Angels and Cherubs" is a working title for a photographic study of eighteenth century carved and inscribed gravestones standing in churchyards in Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Placed on the site of an earlier building, St Mungo's Church is mainly 13th Century with some later restorations. Lichen fringes this array of exquisitely carved reliefs and elegant lettering dating from 1796.
- 02 | St. Mungo's Church, Simonburn
Various meanings are attributed to grave marker carvings. For example: the cross - faith, salvation: the book - faith, wisdom: the snake – the fall of man: the urn with the small rectangular mark may show undying friendship; the angel wings might show rebirth: the cherub - divine wisdom or justice: the leaf spray - varies with leaf species.
- 03 | St. Mungo's Church, Simonburn
Looking at the detailing of carved heads, some are clearly symbolic whilst others seem more like portraits. The three in this set from St Mungo's are distinctly different in feeling and this is evident in the remaining images in the gallery. I liked the elegantly embellished capital at the head of this inscription and noted the vivid sharpness of the letter forms after 225 years.
- 04 | St. Mungo's Church, Simonburn
Lichen made it difficult to read the personal details but the MEMENTO MORI (remember death) still shows clearly. The modest dimensions and simplicity of this HEADstone are in marked contrast with the height and richness of the previous three.
- 05 | Abbey Church of St. Andrew, Hexham
Hexham Abbey was founded by St. Wilfred in 674 and after 1113 was in the charge of the Augustinian Order. The early warfare between Scotland and England caused much damage and for six hundred years from 1300 only the transepts and choir were used until the nave was rebuilt in the nineteenth century. This headstone lies flat in the Abbey grounds, one of the few to survive past clearances.
- 06 | Abbey Church of St. Andrew, Hexham
Almost all the few surviving stones are propped up in a small walled area against the Abbey building. The form and detailing on this one is similar to that at Corbridge illustrated in 08. Lichen is masking the finer details of the carvings and inscription.
- 07 | St. Andrew's Church, Newcastle
The earliest parts of the Church date from the 13th Century but later alterations and additions changed its original layout. The churchyard has numerous trees and many of the headstones are stained green by algae that thrives in the damp conditions. These motifs are carved into a completely flat surface and the lettering is cut almost to its very edges.
- 08 | St. Andrew's Church, Corbridge
Consecrated in 676, it's thought that the Church was built by St. Wilfred, the founder of the nearby Hexham Abbey. Dressed stone from the nearby Roman garrison fort of Corstopitum is incorporated into the building. This small gravestone stands against the wall of the fortified Vicar's pele tower built in 1138 as shelter for him in the Anglo-Scottish border wars. The first line of the inscription is of peculiar interest.
- 09 | St. Andrew's Church, Corbridge
The form and detail of this headstone might be from the hand of the same mason who worked on Number 06 set in Hexham Abbey graveyard. The hourglass suggests the brevity of life; the scythe indicates death at the hands of the Grim Reaper whilst the open book and circled snake may denote eternal life. This grave marker is shadowed by a yew tree and can be quite green with algae in the damp air.
- 10 | St. Andrew's Church, Corbridge
This simply formed small stone has crossed bones to the left of the pediment and an open book to the right. The latter has a concise inscription damaged and weathered beyond legibility. The first and third stones are linked by their architectural profile whilst carved decoration and cut letter styles are individual. Fascinating hours can pass studying the variations in any churchyard.
- 11 | St. John of Beverley Church, St. John Lee
Although the present building dates from 1843 to the design of the Newcastle architect John Dobson (1787-1865) it's thought that a church was first consecrated in St John Lee the 7th Century. Hexham Abbey lies a mile or so to the south. The naïve quality of the angels of the resurrection and the eccentric letter spacing in this small headstone contrast strongly with the formality and size of the next design.
- 12 | St. John of Beverley Church, St John Lee
Some five feet high this gravestone is overshadowed by a mature yew tree to the east and the church gable to the west. The formally arrayed collection of finely carved symbols reflecting on life, death and resurrection is rich in detail. The garland may represent victory over death
- 13 | St. Giles' Church, Chollerton
Built on an earlier foundation the present building is thought to date from around 1260. It has been altered over the centuries and was further restored in Victorian times. I particularly like this headstone for the unusual relief carving composition and the fine letter cutting that retain such sharpness after more than two hundred years.
- 14 | St. Giles' Church, Chollerton
This small partially buried headstone is set against a low wall. The unusual profile contains a powerfully designed fusion of life's hourglass and the winged angel of death. Apart from minimal clearance of dead plant debris or occasionally intruding grass stems I have done nothing to clarify detail or cause damage to headstones or graveyard plant life in taking any of the photographs. Here, the date was impossible to read.
- 15 | Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Stamfordham
The church structure dates from 1220 and stands on the site of one from much earlier. In serious disrepair, an 1848 rebuild involved dismantling most of it to be rebuilt as before. This early nineteenth century gravestone is much simpler in style employing motifs that were going out of use. I speculated as to whether I might see other carvings in this style, perhaps by the same monumental mason.
- 16 | St. Mary's Church, Gateshead
In Gateshead, St Mary's Church stands high above the River Tyne overlooking the site of a Roman bridge. The eleventh century Newcastle Keep is set equally high on the northern shore. After extensive restoration the church became St Mary's Heritage Centre in 2008 as a venue for exhibitions, performances and education. Here, a coffin and gravedigger's pick and shovel join a stark catalogue of symbolic life and death carvings in an ornate frame.
- 17 | St Mary's Church, Gateshead
A fair number of soot stained headstones survive from burials that ceased c1860. On this stone the cursive cut letters are topped by reliefs more pictorial in concept than the more usual formal compositions. Some have pieces missing but give the city location they are in good repair. The central reliefs are flacked by the sexton's digging tools and the torches of everlasting life.
- 18 | St. Mary's Church, Gateshead
The hourglass depicts our finite life whilst the trumpets set against the clouds of glory herald the possibility of resurrection. A lot of the headstones visible in past photographs of the Church have gone but those remaining are varied in style: some note the trade or profession of those beneath. My primary interest is visual but it would be interesting to delve more deeply into the design symbolism, the craftsmanship and letter forms as well as recording details such as dimensions and the full inscription.