Sunday 13 January 2013

Gargoyles and Grotesques




Stornoway Castle 2008
 
Question - When is a gargoyle not  gargoyle? 
Answer - When it is a grotesque.

Peculiar faces and animals on the sides of a church or cathedral are often referred to as gargoyles but some of them, like those above, are not.  This one is:-

 Gloucester - 2012
A gargoyle has a purpose – to act as a water spout and project rainwater off the roof and away from the walls so as to reduce erosion. This is especially useful with sandstone and limestone buildings and that stone is also the easiest to carve so in some areas of England gargoyles are quite common. 

  Gloucester - 2012
Also common are grotesques:- 

 Stornoway Castle 2008

 These are like gargoyles but do not have a purpose, except decoration. Recently we were at Gloucester cathedral where a restoration scheme is in progress and number of the old worn gargoyles and grotesques have been replaced by modern replicas in Jurassic limestone from France. 

  Gloucester - 2012


Some of the old gargoyles and grotesques had their heads shot away by Cromwell’s soldiers and musket balls have been found in the remains.  

 
   Gloucester - 2012

6 comments:

  1. Well, I've never quite known what to think about them. Some I will not look at, for sure, but others hold some weird kind of fascination for me. I'm intrigued by the first and fifth, but the others freak me out!

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  2. I love, love, love, this sort of thing. Great shots!

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  3. I wonder whether the stonemasons making these had (more or less) free reign in using their creativity and fun side.

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  4. Fascinating but mystifying. Especially I always wondered why anyone wanted them on churches and cathedrals. I think the theory is they were supposed to scare off evil spirits but...

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  5. Actually, I have always believed that the purpose of the gargoyle was to frighten away evil spirits, and I have proof of this. Some years back I bought a gargoyle and placed it in Main Lady's back yard, and we have never had any trouble at all with evil spirits in the yard.

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  6. Thanks for enlightening me, I always thought they were one and the same.

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