Saturday, September 12, 2009

St Stephen's Church




I climbed the tower of St Stephen's Church as part of Open Doors day.
It was built in the 1400's but there are bits they think are older dating back to the 13th century.

It was originally on the harbourside until that bit of the harbour was filled in. Part of its parish is the Bristol Channel including the islands of Steepholm and Flatholm.

The tower is nearly 15o feet high and you get there via a very worn stone spiral staircase. They've hung a rope down to hang on to.

At the top there are good views of the centre.




Cabot Tower











The turrets on the top of the church look like little churches themselves.






The one with the weather vane is more ornate.




The turrets have tensioning weights attached to them that are adjusted by a screw thread. Did they have these in the 15th century?



Another view of the tower.



Below is a detail of the tower.



At the side of the window there are these figures -
isn't he a cute little fella?




I discovered some interesting stone faces in that area that I'll post soon.