We had to see Diya’s Ballet show, so after dropping her off at the hall for her to get dressed, we went for a walkabout till the show began. Warning, loads of pics in here, so skip it if you dont have time or scroll quickly
The entrance. 
The roof had this nice little structure on top. 
You can make out that the construction is centuries old. 
Having wooden supports and then brick inserts is many centuries old. 
The little alley way opens into a graveyard. 
Some scattered grave stones which are leaning tiredly
Lovely inscription. The date resonated with me, links in with the Indian War of independence/Mutiny. 
A vase topped grave with an artistically carved stone cloth. Brilliant stuff. 
Turning right, we see the back of these very old buildings on the right. These contain shops now. On the left is the entrance to the church. 
On the left is the church. 
St. Martin’s statue over the entrance.
Inscription over the door. 
This was a very heavily corroded statue. No idea who this is.
We decided to check the outside first so moved down this little path. 
The construction of the church is interesting. Worked stone with a flint based mortar filling in the middle. The historians have traced the beginning of this church back to roman times. 
A grave with a heavily worked iron railing. 
Another iron railing but this one is much more devastated by time. 
Somebody was buried here a very long time back. But the grave stone has now started to slough off stone or has tilted on the side or has sunk down. We dont know who is buried here. 
A grave with some serious spiked railings and ivy covered. 
A Celtic Cross on a grave. 
A better condition grave on the left with spiked railings but the one on the right hand side has seen better days. 
More graves. One with only EC written on it. How curious.
Interesting. I didnt know about the Hawthornden Prize. 
Very peaceful path. 
And with a resident cat. 
This shape of a grave stone is very interesting. 
Bushy tailed, eh?
Interesting plaque on the wall. 
The top of the church tower has this lovely weather vane. 
The side of the church
The roof is full of these mossy balls.
Right to the back of the church now. 
I have never seen brick tombs like this before. I guess the stone cladding has fallen off? 
These are newer graves. 
An old couple. 
Lovely lamps and cherubs. 
This is an extraordinary tree right in the middle of the churchyard. 
The path is lined with old gravestones. We walk around to the front and then enter the church. 
It is definitely old old old. The church has roman era tiles and the ground contain stuff from Norman times. 
I have never seen a wooden roof like this before, the beams apparently go back centuries. 
The font apparently dates back to the 13th century. It bloody well looks like it. 
Walking around the left. 
A simple window but is it? 
They have made some interesting graphics on the glass. 
The paintings on top of the pillars are extremely old, very very old. 
Stained Glass windows. Beautiful work. 
The wall has more paintings along with an intricately carved crucifix. 
There are gravestones inlaid into the floor. Feels weird walking on them. 
The business end of the church. Very simple, very beautiful. 
There are carved statues on the beam. 
The walls are full of these highly carved plaques commemorating some notable person or somebody. 
The main window above the altar
Moving to the right. 
Looking back at the entrance door. 
The central flagstoned pathway. 
Sangeeta lighting a candle. 
And whispering a prayer. 
More stained glass windows. 
More exquisite windows. 
Looks like a heraldic crest of some sort. 
These two wooden chests date back to the 12th or 13th century. 
This work is amazing. Absolutely amazing, perhaps one of the best displays of stained glass I have ever seen in the world. 
And curiously, an orthodox depiction of the Virgin and Jesus. 
The other wall is bare but in some places, it has old wall frescos. 
See what i mean? I was standing there, imagining the painter, painting these lovely warm fresco’s, all those hundreds of years back. 
Another look back at the church. 
There is a tiny room off the side of the church with glass walls. Its full of heraldic shields and plaques and frames. 
All these people died in the WW1. 
The bells. Well, not the bells themselves but the ropes which go to the bells. 
This priests door also goes back to the 12th century. 
You can make out the antiquity of the building, the pillars are leaning all over the place, the plastering is old and the heater is ancient. 
Heading out. 
Can you see the detailed brick work? the Bricks have been laid in an angle to make it look pleasing. 
The clock. Its not showing the right time I am afraid. 
We walked around to the front and there was this absolutely lovely water pump in front of the building. 
The graveyard extends. 
More Celtic crosses. 
I love graveyards, they are so quiet peaceful and lovely. Its like meeting old friends and having a chat. 
The gate
And still, some of the muppets would drink and throw cans around, disgusting. Bloody barbarians. 
Right in front of the graveyard gate is your agent. If you so desire.
Lovely place.
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