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Gloucester cathedral where a restoration scheme is in progress and number of the old worn gargoyles and grotesques have been replaced by modern replicas in Jurassic limestone from France.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
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!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love, this sort of thing. Great shots!
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the stonemasons making these had (more or less) free reign in using their creativity and fun side.
ReplyDeleteFascinating 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...
ReplyDeleteActually, 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.
ReplyDeleteThanks for enlightening me, I always thought they were one and the same.
ReplyDelete