As he lived he died ...

"A handsome monument has been erected, by the congregation, in St Mary's church Hull, to the memory of the Rev. John Scott. It is in white marble, and built in the wall to the left of the organ. In the centre is a bold basso-relievo likeness of the deceased, encircled by palm branches; the likeness is exceedingly striking, although the only guide the sculptor had was a black profile, a small pencil drawing, and the suggestions of the friends of the deceased. The accessories are a crown of glory, unfolded by the removal of drapery, a book opened, and the communion vessels. Underneath is written the following inscription: "In memory of the Rev. John Scott, M.A. eighteen years minister of this parish, who died October 16,1834, aged 47 years, and is interred within the communion rails. His high endowments were devoted to the great object of making full proof of his ministry. 'Mighty in the Scriptures,' he declared ' the whole council of God' with singular judgment, energy, and simplicity. As he preached he lived— and as he lived he died. To perpetuate the remembrance of the fervent piety of their pastor and friend, an affectionate congregation have erected this monument." The sculptor is Mr. T. Loft, of London, a native of Hull.—The Committee for furthering the Subscriptions on behalf of the family of the Rev. Thomas Scott, the Commentator on the Scriptures, and father of the above, announced in July last, that the amount then received was somewhat less than 2800l. "This sum, though considerable in itself, will yet be admitted to be very inadequate to benefit no less than fifteen young persons, (the grand-children) more or less unprovided for."

                       Extract from The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, 1835, Volume 158

It's nice to have someone write your stuff for you nearly two hundred years before you need it but then you find they've gotten his age wrong, he was 57 not 47, it seems journos can never be trusted. Also Johnny Scott may have been "mighty in the scriptures" but to leave fifteen children "more or less unprovided for" strikes me as being a tad too reliant on the Almighty not suffering the soul of the righteous to famish.

The weekend in black and white is here.

The Jube

Jube, Domine, benedicere

The church of St Mary on Lowgate has featured a few times in this electronic mishmash. I thought I'd posted stuff from inside but maybe it's hiding somewhere I can't find it. Here's the rood screen or jube which separates the paying customers and general riff-raff in the mosh pit or nave from the holy end with the brass and stuff. It supposedly adds to the mystery of what is little more than a two thousand year old confidence trick. This looks pretty old but in fact is from 1912 by one Temple Lushington Moore (you just don't get  names like that any more) as the craze for renovating old English churches was drawing to a close, the Great War would finish off that madness completely. The above is just a detail; it's really quite thing ...

Un-English Light

Having spent an hour in Cottingham church the other day I have a bagful of photos so I may as well use one or two for the City Daily Photo theme of 'shadow and highlight'. The stained glass in this church is mostly from a Belgian artist J B Capronnier a fact which someone, Nikolaus Pevsner no less, complained about saying he felt like he was in a French church and "It is all totally un-English; and how much truer to the medium English glass is!"  Mr Pevsner's claim to Englishness was somewhat strained being the a son of a Russian-Jew brought up in Leipzig but we'll let it pass, we're all communautaire these days, well at least until the end of the month. 

The church is kept almost completely unlit, so there's plenty of shadow and a good chance of tripping over a pew until your eyes adjust.

Photo by Margot K Juby

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

Jobsworth

St Mary, Lowgate, Hull

jobsworth
ˈdʒɒbzwəːθ/
noun BRITISH informal
an official who upholds petty rules even at the expense of humanity or common sense.

Imagine how it might be then after feeding hot food to poor people who would otherwise be looking in dumpsters and bins for cast-offs, to be told that you cannot do this because of some regulation about food safety. So it was with St Mary's, Lowgate where the Council shot itself in the foot once again by denying a charitable organisation permission to serve hot meals to the homeless and poor because the food was prepared in unregistered homes and then brought to the church to be served. The vicar was threatened with prosecution for carrying out charitable works!

These days you cannot even give hot food away now without being registered by the Council no doubt with a fee to pay annually and with inspections. The so-called customers (no money is involved) might get food poisoning it is claimed, it goes without saying the Council does nothing about the hygiene of dumpsters. So it was to be sandwiches and cups of tea until proper facilities could be found which, given the flood of outrage this caused amongst the good folk of Hull, was not too long. A nearby café has offered the use of its kitchen so normal service has been resumed.
Meanwhile, and here the C of E really does not do irony, just a hundred yards or so down the road £4.5 million is being sought to build a restaurant in Holy Trinity church.

More From the Treasure House

Last couple of shots from the Treasure House. On top we have a distant view of St Mary's and below County Hall, the red brick Victorian offices of East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 

Cold in the earth-and the deep snow piled above thee Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!

Thank you for that, Emily. Here's one for the psychrophilic taphophiles amongst us, snowy tombstones in Cottingham churchyard.

Fiat Lux .... now pay for it.

Someone thoughtfully left the door open so I could get a shot down the length of St Mary's in Beverley. Then I stepped inside and took another one. As I did so I noticed a small sign suggesting that photographers should pay a small fee for the privilege of capturing photons. C of E thinks it owns the light in its churches. Seems even light is being monetised! 

Alignment

Around the corner from the Charterhouse is Bourne Street which has nothing much to boast about other than a view of  this alignment of columns and towers. From left to right: the Wilberforce monument, the spire of St Mary, Lowgate, the old Records Office and finally the Guildhall.

Old Church

This is St Mary's on Lowgate which I've shown bits of before( 1 & 2 ); here's the southern side.  The original church dates from early 14th century though it's been knocked about a bit by a local lord of the manor who thought it was spoiling his view. To me the tower looks to be out of proportion and it turns out it was added later and built across the pavement.

Time

View from the mediaeval churchyard of St Mary's Lowgate. 

This month's theme day topic is time. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Door Carvings, St Mary's Beverley

These charming figures surround the doors to St Mary's. I guess they were meant keep away evil spirits and such like. I also suspect that mediaeval people were just as amsued by them as we are today, no doubt these faces were taken from local notables and as the congregation went to church each Sunday they would have a good laugh at them.

The Parish Church of St Mary, Beverley

Beverley has two nationally important mediaeval church buildings. The minster I showed you here . St Mary's church is  at the other end of the town. Originating in 1120 it has been built up, fallen down, been renovated and restored many times over the centuries.
Both Sir Nikolaus Pevsner and Sir John Betjeman held that St Mary's holds very high rank among the great parish churches of England.