Thetownend.com

Seeing on other threads recently there has been talk about Churches, just wondered how old they are in the areas you live.

I was married at St Andrews, Clever, Windsor, the church was built in 1068 just after the Norman Conquest and at the same time as the old Round Tower at Windsor Castle was built.
It is a beautiful small church with a great graveyard, if ever you are in the area it is a must to go and visit.

I love visiting old churches and always find time to have a look around the graveyards (morbid I know) I find them of great interest.

Will endeavour to visit Dell...go to Slough regular,will pop down the road to see it..Inglesham has a lovely little church ware they have found old paintings under the plaster..so they have left them...also a lovely church at Meysey Hampton,with a small pond and walks are great in summer and winter....The Masons arms do a nice ale as well.

If you are in the area, Cookham Church (near Maidenhead) set on the Thames is a must and if you haven't been to Cookham before you will find a really beautiful village high street, with the gallery of artist Stanley Spencer at the top near the church. It's best to visit in the summer, if you go to the far end of the high street and have a pint sitting on 'The Moor' which is opposite the well known Moor Hall (tudor building) from The Moor it is only a hop-skip-and-jump to the river bank.

I will put those in my book to visit.
If you visit St Andrews, take the Windsor Relief road from Slough, come off the first Windsor turning towards (Windsor Racecourse - Maidenhead Road), at mini roundabout after garage (75 yards) turn right, St Andrews is 200 yards down on your right.

Loads of old religious buildings here in the North East. Hexham Abbey being one that springs immediately to mind. I've been down the Saxon crypt which you're allowed to venture into.

Would love that....thanks Dell,always amazes me the difference these days between Windsor and Slough...just a mile apart.

Yes, only been to Slough a couple of times, that was enough!! Windsor is totally different, at least plenty of friendly faces if you get my drift!

Not really a church as such but Cologne Cathedral 2 hours drive from me is magnificent. Pretty amazing as well to see the pictures of Cologne that was pretty much flattened in the war however the massive Cathedral remains standing amongst all the rubble.

Apparently the only reason the cathedral in Cologne was left intact during WW2 was because it was used as a navigational aid by the RAF. The rest of Cologne had the shit bombed out of it...!!

If you ever go to barcelona......Sagrada Familia is amazing.

A church is a place of worship not just somewhere for a nice walk and a photo. Make me sick you lot

Amen

Yorkminster......Douro in Milan.

St Peters church in Codford has part of a Saxon cross in it and very rare.

Yep, seen this and well worth a visit. The Sacre Couer in Paris is decent as well.

  Unsurprisingly, I've visited many churches in the region and further afield, I had a long time bird, who surprisingly for a young fit specimen shared my interest...we used to go brass rubbing, the Cotswolds being a favourite place.

 Doing walking and cycling, it is quite common to arrive at hidden away, ecclesiological gems, in the English countryside...which still necessitate a stop for a bit of a root around.

 Unfortunately, all too often in the last 20 years they'll be locked.

Malmesbury Abbey is nice, lived in the town until I was 16. Also, walking the old railway routes from the station yard to Dauntsy as a kid etc brings back memories (one for Reg).

I've visited Malmesbury Abbey lots of times, but on my last visit about 4 years ago, I discovered a little hidden away room up some stairs which contain all sorts of interesting stuff.

Not sure why I'd never seen it before.

As for the branch, it had 2 points, one where it left the Bristol Line and the other the South Wales Line...the track from the Bristol Line closed very early on, probably in the 40's..leaving Great Somerford high and dry.  Never explored what's left railway wise around there.

Went up to that little room once, memory is a bit shot, but there was some sort of doomsday book up there. The legend of the Grey Lady who jumped from the Abbey is something I remember hearing about. As a youngster used to get pissed out the back of the Abbey overlooking the Station Yard on a Friday night.

Mention should be made of Elmer the Flying Monk, who jumped off the Abbey, with home made wings and had some sort of successful glide, before breaking both legs on landing.

Used to be a pub called The Flying Monk...now closed I believe.

Hence the phrase getting legless Reg.

http://www.forteantimes.com/features/fortean_traveller/253/san_juan_chamula_mexico_a_church_out_of_time.html

The most mental place I have ever been in my life, its a fair read but fuckign amazing place

here you go, the cabinets in the background are catholic statues made with human body parts like, finger nails, eyebrows and hair. Its a huge honour to have parts of your body used after you die. The bottles are full of "pox" proniunced bodge, its local firewater, highly halluciagenic. The woman is exocising demons from her son, she then kills a chicken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XopnOQ-0qFs

You're absolutely spot on Reg, and I'm confused as to where it was.

It was opposite the entrance to the station yard, believe it might have been called the Station or something much earlier.  Knocked down to make way for Somerfields with Malmesbury FC now at the back of that.  Think the old market was nearby as well.

Think you're right ronnie, it's coming back to me now. A girl who I was at primary schools parents owned it. Went there as a young'un and we watched ET on video. Radical!

Used to box at the gym next to Malmesbury Vics ground (I wasn't very good!)  :)

Birdy did mention it in passing!