A Decorated arcade

click photo to enlarge
Existing words are often appropriated by special interest groups to describe something new. Today's photograph is a good example of that. When Thomas Rickman devised his stylistic classification of the periods of English Gothic architecture he came up with the terms Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular to describe the three main styles (as he saw them) between the end of the round-arched Norman (Romanesque) period and the beginnings of the English Renaissance; roughly c.1190 to the early to mid-sixteenth century. Decorated, with or without the capital D, was an existing word with a widely understood, non-specific meaning. But Rickman chose it to describe the ogival forms and naturalistic carving that followed the geometrical, stern precision of the  Early English style.

Today's photograph shows blank arcading in the porch of the medieval church at Osbournby, Lincolnshire. The cusped, "S"-shaped pointed arches (usually called ogee or ogival) are characteristic of the Decorated period and date the work to the fourteenth century. It's quite unusual to have the expense of this kind of decorative carving in the porch of a village church: it is more often reserved for the sedilia in the chancel. The word "arcade", as it happens, is also one that has been appropriated for a variety of uses. It originally meant an arch or a succession of arches, so to describe what we see in the photograph in that way is correct. But, later centuries applied it to covered shopping areas with arched, glazed roofs and later still indoor seaside "amusements" with slot and video games used the term.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 14mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO:4000
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Osbournby church

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There's no easier way to announce yourself as an outsider to this area of Lincolnshire than by pronouncing the name of the village of Osbournby phonetically, just as it's written i.e. "Ozbornbi". For reasons that I'm sure few, if any know, the local pronunciation is "Ozzenbi". In an attempt to get to the bottom of why this is so I delved into the derivation of the placename.

The Domesday Book of 1086 gives two spellings - Esbernbi and Osbernedebi. Also used in the eleventh century was Osbernebi. It is thought that these come from the combining of an anglicisation of an Old Danish personal name - Aesbiorn (changed to Osbeorn) - with the Old Danish "by" meaning farmstead or village. So, the settlement was named after this person who founded it or was of importance within it. All very interesting, but as far as the current local pronunciation goes, not a great deal of help. The elision, contraction or slurring of the "bourn" part and its replacement by a "zz" sound is the interesting change that needs explaining. In fact, Osbournby is not alone in being subjected to this particular corruption. Just over five miles south, down the A15, is the village of Aslackby where the "zz" sound replaces "lack" to give the local pronunciation, "Azelbi" (as in Hazel where the "h" isn't sounded). I'll have to do a bit more digging if I'm to come up with an explanation for all this.

We passed Osbournby's church the other day as a light wind was blowing the chestnut and beech leaves of the churchyard trees on to the closely cut grass. This particular building, that dates mainly from the fourteenth century, is quite hard to photograph in summer from the south east with sunlight on it because of those tall trees. Their shadows fall across much of the aisle, nave and chancel. However, on this autumn afternoon the trees had shed enough leaves for light to filter through and give the scene both illumination and interest, so I took my shot.

For a photograph of the fine medieval bench ends that the church is famous for see here.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.00 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Medieval bench ends, Osbournby

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It is not unusual to hear a member of a church congregation complain about the hardness of the pews, benches or chairs that they must sit on. Perhaps they should spare a thought for the early medieval congregations. Like the clergy of that time, they had to stand throughout the services, though the old or infirm could use the stone ledges that are sometimes found projecting from the nave wall (a practice that is supposed to be behind the saying, "the weak go to the wall"). During these centuries our parish churches were also public meeting places for secular events, and only when these began to be conducted in pupose-made buildings could the church authorities countenance the provision of seating for services.

It is not unusual to see the remains of seating that dates from the fifteenth century and later in our churches. The Victorians rescued and restored a great deal of it, especially in East Anglia and the West Country. The oldest benches in England, however, are probably those at Dunsfold in Surrey, dating from the early 1300s. This early date is unusual: most remaining examples date from after 1450 when increasing prosperity seems to have led to the installation of seating in many churches. The benches from this period are often made of oak and are fairly rudimentary. However, they were frequently enlivened by decorative carving on the bench ends that face the aisles.

The examples above, at St Peter & St Paul, Osbournby, Lincolnshire, are a particularly noteworthy set. They have the characteristic pointed shape with a foliate or figure "poppy head" (a finial whose name derives from the French poupee meaning a bunch of hemp or flax). The lower parts are generally filled with patterns similar to Gothic window tracery, whilst the upper parts, beneath the pointed arch, have scenes from the Bible, from saints' lives, the bestiaries and folk tales. At Osbournby these include the Crucifixion, the fox preaching to the geese and (see above) Adam and Eve, and St George and the Dragon. The aim of the figurative illustrations was much the same as the pictures in stained glass: to place before a largely illiterate population important episodes from the Bible alongside a series of secular, "improving" tales. The charming naivety that shines through the bumps and knocks of the centuries is because these were not, in the main, the work of renowned metropolitan wood carvers, but were fashioned by local individuals.

I took a few photographs of these ancient seats aiming to show them in context and also to highlight some of the figure carving. For the shot down the nave I got down low to keep the bench ends vertical and give them prominence in the image. The two details were pasted onto a white background, and the surroundings given the digital equivalent of "burning" to reduce the impact of what was behind.

photographs & text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1 (Photo 2)
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.):(5.4mm (26mm/35mm equiv.))
F No: f2 (f2.1)
Shutter Speed: 1/30 (1/30)
ISO: 125 (400)
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Harvest festival flowers

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The Harvest Festival is a tradition that continues in most English primary (age 5-11) schools. It is essentially a church service redrawn for the school setting. In a typical Harvest Festival children present songs, poems, drama, readings and prayers on the theme of giving thanks for the harvest, and also on the associated season of autumn. Many schools ask parents to donate packaged and fresh food that is arranged as a display during the service. This food is then either collected by charities for distribution to those in need, given to elderly people living in the vicinity of the school, or distributed in some other way. It is a moment in the year when pupils, staff and parents pause to give thanks for all that they have, and share some of it with others.

In some ways this is quite anachronistic because the harvest, except for those in rural schools, is now quite a remote experience for most children. Churches carry on the tradition, and every year at this time decorate the nave, chancel, aisles, font and pulpit with flowers, wheat, berries, and collections of food for distribution. It is seen as an essential part of the church's annual cycle of worship and thanksgiving. In these days of failing banks and faltering economies brought on by "I want more" and "I want it now" attitudes, the theme of gratitude for what we have that pervades the Harvest Festival is a refreshing corrective to this modern mindset.

I noticed this vase of flowers and scattered rose hips on a stone bench in the porch of St Peter & St Paul, Osbournby, Lincolnshire, as I entered the church. The October sun was piercing the interior through the doorway and side windows, the shafts of light illuminating a dark corner, that the golden sunflowers and blue vase made even brighter. Someone had created this colourful arrangement as their contribution to the harvest decoration of the church, and it made a fine opening statement for the display that was inside.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 21mm (42mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On