HAMERTON. CHURCH : ALL SAINTS

Easter Sunday 2007 was clear and bright, with the Sun beating down nealr all day. An ideal opportunity for a Churchcrawl, with the cycle coming out in anger for the first time since the end of the Winter. I started off by visiting Glatton and then went on to have a look at Great, Little and then Steeple Gidding. After leaving the latter I was in two minds where to head next, and plumped for Hamerton. My total knowledge about this village prior to arriving was that there is a wildlife park there. This turned out to be another very quaint, picturesque village...not the first that I had seen that day, and destined not to be the last either!

There was plenty of people at the church when I arrived as there was a christening going on. Very pleasant people indeed and they took pity on a bedraggled cyclist and offered some me liquid refreshment as I chatted to them in the church grounds. I had a brief look inside, but I didn't want to get in the way too much. Lovely church, bright and airy inside and very well maintained grounds.

  For me, though, the highlight of this church came in the form of the gargoyles and stone heads on the exterior. One particular grotesque caught my eye in particular (pictured below). This fella was in dire need of some dental treatment, and a shave, as when I blew the photograph up on my computer at home I could see stubble on his chin!! Super piece of work, and a relatively modern carving by the looks of it.

  Certainly, fine quality grotesques and gargoyles were very much the norm during my travels that day, with Luddington In The Brook and Hemington nearby both having some very fine examples.

Next on the list was the neighbouring village of Winwick. A very nice lady at Hamerton gave me directions...but I didn't like it when she got to the bit where she said "follow the road uphill" In the end it wasn't too bad and I reached the church of All Saints, two miles away, with a little bit of energy to spare!

  This church was locked, setting the trend for the rest of the day sadly. Lovely, imposing building this one, with the spire standing out for miles. Well maintained grounds, and I will try to go back again soon and get some interior shots. Two exterior shots are included below.

  Interested to read that there was an outbreak of Plague at Winwick in 1546, in which 40 villagers, including the local vicar, all perished in the space of a few months.