Grotesques at All Saints Church

An angel

As a photographer, I first developed my skills when taking ‘before and after’ photos when publicising the work of Triton Building Restoration Ltd. and, taking advantage of working high up on a scaffold, I quickly learned that close up shots of architectural details attracted the attention of potential customers.

A grotesque at Nyman's Gardens in West Sussex

For personal reasons, I had to leave this lucrative business, but my next venture into black and white photography led to a brief from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), to take as many photographs of post-war architectural sculpture that I could find and which led to other work for the National Inventory of War Memorials and membership of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA).

A grotesque at Trinity Church on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield

This temporary project was never going to earn me a living - paid at the rate of £10 per print – but it sharpened my practical skills and opened up my eyes to a range of other possibilities relating to the visual arts. Also, being encouraged to record war memorials and all kinds of public sculpture, I have photographed these subjects ever since and during my investigation of mediaeval churches, I like to see gargoyles and grotesques.

Finials and grotesques on the north aisle

At All Saints church in Silkstone, there is a spectacular set of 23 grotesques that form part of the short flying buttresses, which link tall finials to the aisles. The buttresses serve no obvious structural purpose and are used purely for decoration – as also seen on the porch and parts of the south aisle at St. Mary’s church in Ecclesfield.

A bat

In the poor light, I only took a few quick snaps of these grotesques, which include a bat, a ram, other strange chimera like creatures and various male and female human forms. They include original mediaeval carvings - some of which are that are eroded beyond recognition - Victorian restorations and modern replacements, carved in 2005, which depict a local businessman, a churchwarden and the mayor of Saint-Florent-Des-Bois, Silkstone's twin town in France.

Modern grotesques carved in dolomitic limestone

The latter are carved in dolomitic limestone from Cadeby, which reflect the use of similar stone in several original grotesques, which are now so weathered that they have lost all detail and it is not possible to determine their form. The use of dolomitic limestone is quite unusual, given that the nearest outcrop is nearly 20 km to the east, and that sandstones suitable for intricate carving could be found much nearer.

Heavily weathered grotesques

Other grotesques that seem to be original appear to be made of sandstone, although it is not easy to confirm this without close examination with a hand lens; however, those that were renewed during the restoration of 1875 are obviously sandstone, with a blackened appearance that is typical when this stone is very exposed to the weather – especially when there has been atmospheric pollution from local industry.

Various figurative sculptures from the 19th century

At some time, on a sunny day, I will return to All Saints church to take some better photographs of these magnificent stone carvings and to take a closer look at the various building stones that have been used for the grotesques and the church as a whole.

Mythical creatures