All Saints' Day

A church tower is a beacon to direct the faithful to the house of God; it is a badge of ecclesiastical authority, and it is the place from whence the heralds of the solemnities of the church, the bells, send forth the summons. Let no one imagine that a tower is a superfluous expense, it forms an essential part of the building, and should always be provided in the plan of a parochial church.

Augustus Welby Pugin

I thought there had to be a reason for these things that pepper the countryside, there I was thinking they built them for the view. But then again this is Pugin speaking and he was a distinctly odd fellow. Here's the tower of All Saints church in Driffield built around 1450. As I mentioned earlier the church was revamped by Gilbert Scott in the 1880's when eight additions were made to the tower, not to everyone's delight. The church's own website says of them "The eight pinnacles at the top, 110 feet from the ground, also elaborately panelled, are somewhat unsatisfactory and heavy in appearance:...which gave them a distinctly debased type of crocket decoration". Still it's an impressive pile of stones for all that.

Today, the feast of All Saints (somehow I don't think that'll ever include me), is also City Daily Photo's theme day with the subject 'Heights'. See what others have got up to here.

Driffield Navigation

No visit to Driffield would be complete without a quick check that the canal is still there. You never know they might have sold it off to some sovereign wealth fund along with every other asset in this country.

Gargoyles

Driffield's ancient All Saints Church has a fine selection of small family friendly gargoyles. Here's a couple of the cutest. These look to be in remarkably good condition and I suspect they may be modern (when I say modern I mean Victorian) replacements as the church was extensively restored by Gilbert Scott in the late 1870's. 

Driffield Church

This is the fifteenth century tower of All Saints Church, Driffield taken against the light, in fact against all that opticians advise, straight into the sun. 

The Weekend in Black and White continues here.

Cat on a cool car roof

This cool black cat saw me from a distance and kept staring straight through me in the way cats do. Seemed only reasonable to take his picture. The church reflected is Driffield church.

The pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles

Took myself off to Driffield yesterday afternoon, don't know why I bothered since there's nothing much there but it's a trip out of the house. By the beck I came across this old pump that's seen better times. Why they needed such a tall pump I don't know but the road is called Laundry Lane so that might have something to do with it.

Fly in the ointment

Just outside Driffield the river Hull passes round an eyot and at this time of year everything's turning nicely Autmnal. The river is very clear and you can see some really big fish in it. All in all very nice, almost bucolic. 

Shame then that right behind you is Bradshaw's grain mill with its constant noise of turbines driven by the river and deliveries from big lorries.

From the train

Harpham is a little village about half way between Driffield and Bridlington. The train goes whizzing past so this is about as much as you can see. Harpham's claim to fame is that St John of Beverley was born there in the 7th century, they've been dining out on that ever since.

Blackheaded Gull

Took a trip out to Driffield the other day with a view to taking some photos. I managed this one and about half-a-dozen more when the batteries in my camera went flat. I had another camera but the batts had died in that too; so I was not the happiest of bunnies.

By the Canal

A poor life this if, full of care,

...We have no time to stand and stare?

These beauties were by the Driffield canal the other day; not once did they let me out of their sight. 

What's in a name

I have said before that pubs really shouldn't change their names. This might now be called Original Keys but you can be sure that locals still call  it the Cross Keys. It's on Driffield's Market Place opposite a hotel whose sign is below, I'll let you guess the name.

A bend in the river

 The weather is stuck at the moment under a high pressure which means for the east of the UK we get good old anticyclonic gloom, day after day of cloudy skies drifting in off the North Sea. At least it stays dry so I can get out and about. Here's the River Hull taking one of its many twists and turns near the source at Driffield. The area around here is a protected site of scientific interest with many special plants and animals.

The Old White's Sugar Mill, Driffield

This old building is gradually falling in decay. I believe there are plans to demolish and build flats.

Old Crane, Driffield

Took a little trip out to Driffield the other day. It was an unseasonably warm day; as you can see Autumn has barely affected these trees. I've posted some more photos here.

Driffield Navigation

About 18 miles due north of Hull is Driffield, the Capital of the Wolds. It's a pretty enough little town that has probably seen better times. The picture shows the Navigation built to connect Driffield with Hull and the Humber. This waterway is really the River Hull straightened out and made navigable. Nowadays it mainly pleasure craft that use it; the last commercial traffic was in the 1940s.

Grafter