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Heysham is a tiny village on the edge of Morecambe Bay, North West England. A nuclear power station and ferry port are two
modern points of interest but the village has so many old and interesting things to look at
that, for a village of this size, it really is almost unfair!
This is the parish church of St Peter, first consecrated in the year 976 and therefore over
1000 years old.
Most of what can be seen here is younger than that,
the belfry added in the 1600s, the South doorway which replaces the original Saxon doorway
- still visible in the West wall. It is also obvious that the church has been expanded a few
times with the nave extended and side chapels added. |
| Most of what can be seen here is younger than that,
the belfry added in the 1600s, the South doorway which replaces the original Saxon doorway
- still visible in the West wall. It is also obvious that the church has been expanded a few
times with the nave extended and side chapels added.
There are several interesting items in the churchyard of which this sundial of 1696 is
one of the youngest. However, whilst the sundial may be relatively young the material of
its base is older as this was originally a Saxon cross shaft of over 1000 years ago. It must
have contained carved images and the marks of the 17th Century hammers wielded by the Puritans
can be clearly seen, low down on the shaft. They took to extreme the theme of not allowing
worship of graven images. |
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Given the above it is perhaps surprising then that this
Saxon cross shaft - which may be a different part of the same - was allowed to remain. The
deep scrollwork and carving was done probably when the church was new.
On the reverse side is a depiction of the raising of Lazarus and the three figures in the
windows of the building above a swathed body in the doorway visible here
are thought to depict the three Mary's visiting the tomb of Jesus. |
| Many visitors pass by this stone container, thinking it merely a horse trough or similar.
It is however a stone coffin, thought to be that of
the cleric responsible for restoring a church that was old even then. |
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The tiny windows make for a dark, though not gloomy interior. |
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| The negative for the above image has unfortunately got scratched quite badly and I was unable to make another larger scan from it.
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The archway of sandstone has been added to the original wall when the Northern side chapel was added.
In the Southern side chapel is yet another treasure.
This is a Viking "hogback" tomb cover from the 10th Century. With bears clasping each end of
the stone, the carvings represent scenes from Norse sagas. It is easy to pick out this deer
hunt. |
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This visit was in early January 1998 and the Christmas
decorations were still in place. Though not a regular churchgoer myself, I couldn't help feeling
how nice it would be to sing carols in a tiny church like this.
St Peter's church was built to replace the chapel below which stands just above it on the hillside. By the time the Vikings raided Heysham in the 900s this chapel was already around 300 years old. They left it without a roof and the villagers, presumably too numerous anyway for this tiny chapel, decided to build the new church.
The chapel was dedicated to St Patrick, who was rumoured to have been shipwrecked here in
the 5th Century, on his way to Scotland after fleeing from his Roman captors in Ireland. |
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Close by the chapel is a row of six graves,
dug with primitive tools out of the solid rock of the headland on the very edge of the cliff. |
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Thought to date from the first half of the 11th Century, they would have been reserved for
local notables. Sockets for cross shafts can be seen at the head of some of the graves. |
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Two more graves are uncovered at the other
end of the chapel. One is obviously that of a child.
The graves originally had covers over them and two are seen right. |
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