Posts Tagged ‘St Peter’s Church’

Today I feature Bett’s choice from Mermaids Tears Jewellery who specialise in creating wonderful pieces of jewellery from collecting coloured glass that is washed up on shore.

If you would like the chance to appear on Fan Spot and receive a digital copy of your favourite photograph from my gallery, all you have to do is tell me which photograph you like and why.  Contact me here.

Heysham Graveyard

I had an extremely difficult time picking my favorite photograph from this incredible collection but after narrowing my choices down to two, I ultimately chose “Heysham Graveyard” from the “Dark Collection”. This photograph definitely set an ominous tone and reminded me of the opening to a Lovecraftian or Edgar Allen Poe film. I could definitely envision Vincent Price strolling through the graveyard as the titles for “Tomb of Ligeia” rolled across the screen. The striking splash of red really set this photograph apart from the others for me. The tall, barren trees and wispy clouds in the sky, all in blacks and greys, set a great contrast for the wash of crimson creeping in. I especially like that this photograph is timeless. I get the impression that a similar photograph of this scene taken 100 years from now would be a virtual mirror image. It is effectively foreboding, yet beautiful.

St Peter’s church in Heysham pictured above dates back to the tenth century and has Saxon architecture as well as early Norman architecture.  There is evidence to suggest that an earlier church existed on the site that dates back to the seventh century.

It is a beautiful place and sits in a small village overlooking Morecambe Bay.

Next to the church stands the ruins of St Patrick’s Chapel that date back to the sixth century and alongside these ruins you will find the stone coffins that have been dug out of the rock.

Fan Spot is a brand new feature that provides fans the opportunity to receive their favourite photograph in return for telling us why they like it so much.

Kicking off this feature is the lovely Marixa Lilith.

Allright, finally I made up my mind about my very favorite photograph.  It was hard as there are so many I like especially at the Cemetery Photography section.

I picked one of the shots taken in St Peter’s Churchyard called Fairies Grave, because it looks so mysterious, so antique and also neglected, like it is located at the darkest spot of the cemetery.

The main reason why this photograph touched me so much is because it reminds me of the classic vampire Hammer Horror films and it reminds me particularly of one scene that takes place in ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ with Christopher Lee, and they show all the dusty, old and neglected graves in this creepy and magnificent cemetery.  This photograph also gives me the feeling that it was taken a long time ago, like in another century even if its not and it captures all the vampiric beauty of the classic horror.

Fairies Grave

Thanks to Marixa for the above feedback, which is fantastic as Hammer Horror is clearly one of my inspirations.  The grave above is in fact a neglected grave that is situated at the very back of an old English churchyard under the trees.  Next time I’m there, I will check the date on the headstone to see how old it is.

If you would like the chance to appear on Fan Spot and receive a digital copy of your favourite photograph from my gallery, all you have to do is tell me which photograph you like and why.  Contact me here.

The night before last, I visited my childhood playground, which is the old churchyard of St Peter’s Church in Heysham.

Although it was deep in the night, I was almost floating amongst the graves bathed in sunlight. My curiosity was growing by the minute as the once so familiar place took on an air of mystery. The surroundings were slightly different and then I came across a mound of Earth next to the church.

My eyes lit up as I’ve always wanted to take a photograph of a freshly dug grave. My excitement was building as I drew nearer to the graves edge. ‘What would I do if I seen a coffin in there?’ All sorts of images running through my wild imagination, but they came to a sharp halt when I peered over the edge.

The pit must have been about 7 foot long, 4 foot wide and 6 foot deep. It was swept clean of loose Earth as though it had been left by some recent archaeologists. The walls were made of brick so it looked like a discovered room, or could it have been a mass grave?

I stepped back and into a large stone wall that I didn’t recognise as being there from my previous visits. On closer inspection, it was a massive headstone and the lettering was severely worn out due to its old age. Was this the headstone to the mass grave?

A chill ran down my spine and I moved away seeking more familiar surroundings.

Of course it was only a dream!

I can’t stop thinking about my mini adventure hence me writing about it here. Surely it should mean something to me?

If you would like to view more photographs from the churchyard of St Peter’s in Heysham, visit my gallery by clicking here.