Patrington's St. Patrick Church, 1

The East Riding of Yorkshire's river Humber issues in a broad estuary, one of the east side's largest, the northernmost bit of which is a peninsula, the Holderness. Patrington is a small town out on the peninsula. Getting there would be no problem, but finding a place to over-night might have been. We drove right into the town and the empty church parking lot; and resolved to stay there, despite a sign that said there was a 4 hour limit. It was late Sunday afternoon, and the church was closed. Out on a reconnaissance, I accosted a policeman and asked whether there'd be a problem. He said no one enforced the limit and that town folk parked there all the time. We would be fine. After a quiet, if somewhat windy evening, we explored the church the next day. It is a fine 5-star, almost entirely Decorated, begun about 1300, first the transepts, then the tower, chancel and nave, and largely finished before the Black Death halted finishing touches for the next few generations. (Losing a third or a half of the population will do that to you). The steeple rises from a buttressed octagonal base to a height of more than 180 feet. All the critics praise St. Patrick's for its balance, harmony, etc. We enjoyed this church more than most--it was nice to see a purpose-built parish church, not a transformed abbey or collegiate church--but I have a small problem with the balance and harmony bit, to be explained in the next post.

St. Patrick's, "Queen of the Holderness"

My reconnaissance included watching an innings [sic] or so of a local cricket match

See my previous post http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/08/not-cricket.html,
for insights into this, um, interesting sport

In the churchyard, a felled ancient ash has been transformed

Many of the gargoyles and other grotesques were of this interesting dynamic duo
nature

Interesting windows, almost all transparent, but the tracery
revealing of the style

12-sided font, intricately carved

Nave view: what is wrong with this picture? We'll see in the next post...

Or maybe it's just me

Corbels and such all over

Perhaps not the original roofing

Richly carved balcony leading to...

More beautifully carved stairs up to the crossing and tower

Still processing this one; more wrestling match?

Ditto?

Bestiary wrestling?

And another puzzler

To be continued...