Interpreting Your Site Workshop Notes #2 HERITAGE INSPIRED south yorkshire’s faith tourism initiative Thank you for attending one or more of our training workshops for welcomers / guides. We hope that you found the sessions interesting and useful, and that you will be able to put into practice some of things we talked about. This booklet contains handouts from the second part 'Interpreting Your Site' workshop. CONTENTS ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE WHAT TO WELCOMERS NEED TO KNOW KNOW YOUR CHURCH ! The Development of a Parish Church ! Outside Your Church ! Inside Your Church KNOW YOUR GURDWARA ! Outside Your Gurdwara ! Inside Your Gurdwara KNOW YOUR HINDU TEMPLE ! Outside Your Hindu Temple ! Inside Your Hindu Temple ! KNOW YOUR MOSQUE ! Outside Your Mosque ! Inside Your Mosque KNOW YOUR SYNAGOGUE ! Inside Your Synagogue ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE It is said that all architecture has its origins in religion. Most of the oldest structures erected by man are interpreted as being both places of burial AND as holy places, marking the presence of spiritual powers. The first hunter/gatherers set up large standing stones as they roamed the countryside, even though they had no permanent dwellings. With agriculture and the need for permanent homes, sacred areas were surrounded by stone circles. So when the first permanent dwellings were built by man, they built even more substantial homes for their gods. With the coming of Christianity and permanent churches, the same principal applied. The splendid medieval churches we now see were surrounded by crude wood and thatch dwellings. In today’s multi-cultural Britain there are a variety of places of worship. Each is unique and worth visiting. People visit faith sites for many reasons. No matter what their principal reason for visiting, most will be interested in the history and heritage of the building and its community. WHAT DO WELCOMERS NEED TO KNOW Record as much information as possible about your site, and make it available to all your welcomers/guides. This should include: the age and use of various component parts, the former use of parts of the site, the symbolism of items, interesting stories about the site or people (whether true or 'stuff of legends'). There may be so many that to include ALL on a tour would be impractical, but welcomers can vary the selection they pass on to visitors. Welcomers should find their role interesting, fun and not at all stressful. They will be passing on selected pieces of information that have been prepared for the benefit of keen visitors who, after all, are there for the purpose of finding out such information. KNOW YOUR CHURCH Churches are literally 'treasure houses' of history. They are full of carvings, green men, bosses, gargoyles, tombs, monuments, stained glass and more. Very few ancient churches are built in the style of one architectural period. There are around 10,000 churches of medieval origin in the UK. They were all built for the same purpose, but no two are the same. This term church was used originally to describe the Christian community, and only later came to mean the building used for worship. Churches are traditionally aligned on an east-west axis. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PARISH CHURCH Ancient churches have usually undergone a series of redevelopments. The evolution of old churches can be estimated from the style of arches, doorways and windows, as these features were most commonly changed. The main architectural styles are Saxon (597 - 1066); Norman (1066 - 1200); Early English (c1200 - 1290); Decorated (c1290 - 1350); and Perpendicular (c1350 - 1530). Since the 1500's, the principal parts of the church have remained basically unaltered. Stonework weathered over the centuries may have been replaced, and in some cases vestries have been attached. In South Yorkshire 71 churches have medieval fabric. 50 have parts dating back to the 12th century or earlier. OUTSIDE YOUR CHURCH LYCH-GATE Lych is derived from the Old English 'lich', meaning corpse. From 1549 it was a required that Lych gates be provided at the entrance to churchyards. They were meeting places and shelters for the party bringing a corpse for burial, and for the priest and church party to receive the corpse. Medieval lych-gates were made of timber and most have long since disappeared. However, many new lych-gates were erected in Victorian times, sometimes as memorials to prominent local people or as war memorials. CHURCHYARD Graves in the churchyard should face east. Christians adopted the old Jewish custom of burying the dead with their feet towards the rising sun. It is also to face the Lord, who will approach from the east at the final Day of Judgement. Most burials took place on the south side of the church. Due to the large number of burials over the centuries, the churchyard paths tend to be lower than the ground! The north side was sometimes used for the burial of suicides, criminals, and infants who had not been baptised. BURIALS For much of history, the church or churchyard were the only places for burials. The great and the good could be interred inside the church (hence the term 'stinking rich' from the smell) or sometimes outside at the east end. All other members of society were buried in the churchyard. Individual plots and headstones were not common until the 17th century. With the great increase in population brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the very high mortality rate, churches and churchyards become unsanitary. Legislation enacted between 1832 and 1906 gave local government the power to act. Privately-run cemeteries began to be established. COFFIN The word probably derives from the Saxon 'cofa' meaning cave. The wooden coffin is of comparatively recent origin. Numerous stone coffins exist which appear to be 11th and 12th century. They are a single block of stone, hollowed out to receive a body. Stone coffins were never buried deeply. They were sealed by a stone lid, usually with a cross and a symbol denoting the persons rank or profession. These included a broadsword for a knight, or a chalice and bible for a priest. Poorer members of the community were not buried in coffins. Their bodies were wrapped in a cloth shroud. In later days, they may have been placed in the 'parish coffin' and then taken out and placed in a communal grave. PREACHING CROSS In the 6th and 7 th centuries, wooden crosses marked the spots where priests or monks preached to the local community. The wooden cross was replaced by a more permanent stone cross, around which services were held. Later still a wooden church might well have been erected. CHURCHYARD CROSS Large crosses were found in many churchyards, and were intended to sanctify the churchyard and provide a communal memorial to all the dead of the parish. At the top of the shaft was either a cross or a tabernacle. Many survive only as a base and part of the shaft, because the cross was often destroyed by iconoclasts. TOWER Many parish churches have a tower at the west end of the nave. Some are topped by spires. The tower may have been part of the original building, or added or enlarged at a later date. Others may have a tower between the chancel and nave, with a transept at either side. In this case, the space inside the church at the intersection of nave, chancel and transepts is called the crossing. The church bells in the tower are pulled up from ground level, usually with the assistance of a form of treadmill. PORCH Ancient churches usually stand to the north of the original village, and the south door is the main entrance. From the 12th century many had a porch. The porch protected elaborately carved doorways from the weather and was a useful shelter. Some had porch altars, where marriage contracts and legal agreements were signed. In some places the coroners court and the first school met here. DRIPSTONE A dripstone is a projecting stone moulding over doorways, windows and archways. It is used to throw off rainwater and to prevent it from running down tracery and glass. It was also used for ornament and sometimes heads, grotesques or other ornamentations are carved at either end of the dripstone. GARGOYLE Derives from the Old French 'gargouille', meaning throat. A gargoyle is a projecting waterspout, usually incorporating a lead pipe. They were often carved in the shape of grotesque faces, beasts or figures. Gargoyles appear to have been first introduced around 1200. As Celtic warriors were known to chop off the heads of defeated enemies and display them in public, it is thought this may account for the popularity of gargoyles. MASONS MARKS Each mason had his own registered mark which he scratched or chiselled onto every stone he carved. They could be passed from father to son. The marks were usually around two inches high, and were usually made up of straight lines Registers of marks were maintained by the masons' guilds, to avoid duplication. SCRATCH DIALS Also known as Mass Dials, these were a very early and primitive form of sun dial. They were used by priests to tell their congregation and passing travellers the time of the next service. Usually in the form of a semi circle about ten inches across, they were scratched into the south wall of the church. A hole was bored at the centre and a number of lines were scratched from the hole to the arc. The priest would place a short stick in the hole and when the sun shone the shadow of the stick on to one of the lines, then the next service would start.