Roof Angels

Angels On High

I haven’t posted any Roof Angels for a while, so here are the Roof Angels of St John The Baptist in Stamford, Lincolnshire. We visit this church quite a lot and I never get fed up of taking ‘Roof Angel Photos’ and some friends 🙂

Sunday Roof Angel (3) St John the Baptist, Stamford, Lincolnshire (5)

In the beautiful church of St John the Baptist in Stamford, Lincolnshire, there are many different types of angels. This angel is holding a book with some text on it. The angel, I think its an angel, and not an apostle, because some of the photos of the same type of angels show tucked in wings, is in the roof of one of the side aisles.

March 2016

Sunday Roof Angel (2) St John The Baptist, Stamford, Lincolnshire (4)

There are several roof angels that I want to use for ‘Sunday Roof Angel’ from St John The Baptist Church in Stamford, Lincolnshire. There are three different types, and they in turn are all different, but this angel is the only one with a ‘Green Man’ which is one of the roof bosses. Most Medieval churches will have a green man in some form or another, but they are hard to find. If you look at the second photo you will see that the rest of the bosses are faceless, apart from this one on the bottom of the left hand side.

A very short version of the meaning of the ‘Green Man’……..Leaves or vegetation are a very important symbol in the church and can be seen in the sculpture of churches of all ages as well as in windows. Leaves are a symbol of life, eternal life if you wish. In the older heads the leaves or branches with new leaves originate in the mouth, two, one at either side. A head with leaves thus described, is nowadays called a Green Man.

Sunday Roof Angel, St John the Baptist, Stamford, Lincolnshire (3)

We are our on our way home today, after a very eventful five days in Scotland. Eventful due to the weather, ranging from brilliant sunshine, to heavy snow. We visited castles, churches and whiskey distilleries. There would have been more to visit, but of course many places are not open until April. This Sundays ‘Roof Angel’ comes from St John The Baptist Church in Stamford, Lincolnshire. These type of angels are on the side aisles and much lower than the ones on the main roof, so you can get a closer look at them.

Sunday Roof Angel, Cleeve Abbey, Somerset (2)

The wagon type roof of the refectory in Cleeve Abbey, in Somerset, brought the biggest smile to my face, wonderful roof angels. The refectory was remodelled in the 15th century and the angels date from this time.

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July 2016

Sunday Roof Angel, St Edmund’s Church, Southwold, Suffolk (1)

The beautiful 15th century Parish Church of Southwold in Suffolk is full of wonderful roof angels. So I thought I would start a new Sunday theme of the many roof angels I have collected, and also it might make me post about the beautiful churches they residue in 🙂

What you are looking at, is a Seraphim Angel and they have six sets of feathered wings and are high up in the Choir of Angels.

I will add a photo of the roofs, you might see the same roof for a few of the angels, but it just gives you an idea of how beautiful they are.

Roof Angels, St Nicholas’ Chapel, Kings Lynn, Norfolk

If you look up in St Nicholas’ Chapel, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, the largest chapel in England, you will see some of the most beautifully craved angels in the chapel’s 15th century roof, that have greeted visitors for the last 600 years, We dropped in a few weeks ago, well it was more like the chapel was open, and even if I have visited a trillion times, it would have to be a trillion and one times. It’s such a beautiful building and the angels hold a total fascination for me, well all roof angels do. So it was a quick point with camera and then back to shopping, and yes, the camera even comes shopping, well you never know….

What I like about these angels, are their shadows on the roof, some look like crosses, beautiful 🙂