Showing posts sorted by relevance for query st mary cottingham. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query st mary cottingham. Sort by date Show all posts

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Parrots Go For Gold




I mentioned that St Mary's in Cottingham had been having a spot of bother with vandals stealing the lead off the roof. Well here's another problem that you really couldn't make up. These are Orange Winged Amazon parrots and have been living in the area for a while. Indeed they have been reported on the local news programme for a spot of ecclesiastical vandalism. They ate the gold leaf of St Mary's recently renovated clock! They're also extremely noisy little beasts.

Thursday 26 May 2016

Meet the Burtons

Richard Burton

Due to events that need not concern you I was forced yesterday afternoon to stay in Cottingham for three hours. Now Cottingham has a few attractions but not, even on a good day, three hours worth. And yesterday it was cold and raining heavily, yes I know it's May. So seeking shelter from the elements I ended up in St Mary's church, camera in hand and acres of time to fill. The place was, as usual empty with only the vicar's CCTV cameras keeping me company. Anyway enough of my troubles ..
Tucked away by the entrance are three large (ridiculously large) memorials to various Burtons the people who owned most of Cottignham in the 18th century and indeed lots of east Yorkshire as well. The most notable, if you are into military-history things that is, is the one above to Richard Burton a commander of the British army in North America. He was lieutenant governor of Quebec and then governor of Three Rivers Province back in 1760s or thereabouts. Below are two more memorials to William and Robert Burton who as far as I can tell did little other than have great wealth and do whatever it is wealthy people do. I did not notice any memorial to Napier Christie Burton who seemed to manage to live beyond even the Burton family's means and ended up selling the holdings in Cottingham, even at one stage going to debtors prison. Somehow I couldn't find anything to him, strange that...

Robert Burton

William Burton

Sunday 27 June 2010

Sunday, go to church

Here I present the beauty that is St Mary the Virgin,Cottingham.
Picture postcard perfect.
It's been here since the early 13th century; that's before France had borders, Germany was a country and well before the USA was a stain on humanity.
It's main problems are caused by the insistence of English Heritage that the roof be made of lead. This has led to many thefts of lead from the roof; and damage to the the fabric of the building. If a suitable replacement were allowed the church would be saved many thousands of pounds in restoration costs.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

A full churchyard


This is the churchyard of St Mary's in Cottingham. As you can see it's pretty full not just with graves but trees.  You might think that because the church is old these trees are of a similar age but you'd be wrong. They've all sprouted up in the last century or so. You can see how it looked in 1885 if you click here. When that was taken the churchyard was still in use and so there's no trees. It closed for burials in 1889 and seems to have been subject to reafforestation. It's a little haven for wildlife with squirrels and birds even some exotics.

If  you have an interest in graves and graveyards pop over to Taphophile Tragics.

Saturday 14 April 2012

All that exists deserves to perish

Poor old Thomas Stainton; nothing to remember him by but his headstone and that ain't looking too good.

This is in Cottingham, St Mary's churchyard.

Sunday 12 April 2015

Maintenance


Prayer might be a strong wall and fortress of the church but it does no harm to get in the masons every now and then to check over the stonework and make sure the church is still a goodly Christian weapon. Here's Cottingham's parish church, St Mary's, getting some serious maintenance a few weeks back, after seven hundred years or so perhaps this is not so surprising.

Thursday 7 June 2012

War Memorial


Cottingham has two war memorials, this one is in St Mary's churchyard. The other one is the memorial gardens I showed you here.


Tuesday 29 June 2010

St Mary the Virgin, Cottingham


This is the inside of the church I featured the other day. There are some fine stained glass windows, reflecting the wealth of the patrons of the parish.