St Peters Church, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, GL54 5LU
St Peter's Church in Winchcombe is one of the great wool churches in the Cotswolds, an area blessed with similar reminders of the wealth of local medieval wool merchants. The exterior is dominated by a striking west tower, 90 feet high, with 8 pinnacles. Atop the tower is a gilded weathercock, brought here in 1874 from the historic church of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol. But it is not the weathercock that most people come to Winchcombe to see, but the grotesque carvings that embellish the battlemented roofline of the exterior. (Often called gargoyles, they are technically grotesques, for they do not have water spouts passing through them as a true gargoyle does). There are 40 of these carvings; about 20 depict demonic creatures, and the remainder appear to be caricatures of locally important people, both civic figures and Abbey officials. To the left (west) of the south porch is a grinning figure of Sir Ralph Boteler of Sudeley, who gave money to complete the church. More famous, and beloved of postcard photographers, is a figure to the east of the porch, a grimacing human figure with a squat hat. This figure is said to be the model for the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland story. HIGHLIGHTS: Altar frontal made of 14th century vestments, stitched by Catherine of Aragon Saxon coffins of King Kenwulph and his son, St Kenelm Amusing gargoyles including the possible model for the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland The first written record of a church dedicated to St Peter in Winchcombe comes from 1175, when a church associated with the Benedictine Abbey here is mentioned. It seems very likely that there was a much earlier Saxon church, dedicated to St Nicholas. That Norman church gradually fell into disrepair, and in 1458 Abbot William began building a new church. The lord of Sudeley Castle, Lord Ralph Boteler, granted money to help finish the construction, and the new church was completed in just 10 years.
Size: 5573px × 3706px
Location: Gloucester St, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5LU
Photo credit: © Tony Smith / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: None
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