HM Coastguard Station, Beer, Devon

 

I came across this coastguard station when I went looking for the remains of a radar post in 2009. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did take some photos of this while I was there. 

At the time I couldn't find any information about it, so I recently thought about adding it to the next Odds & Ends series. I had a quick look to see if any other info had turned up and found quite a lot, so it now deserves an article of its own. :)

I didn't realise at the time that the whole row of buildings was all part of the station and this particular style was in the traditional English domestic style. Designed by the architect P M Andrews, and used during the late 1940s and 1950s, this one was built sometime between 1950 & 1959.

As these two photos above and below show, the central building is the office, vehicle garage and equipment store. Along with that, the other buildings contained living accommodation and a watch room. The accommodation buildings have since been sold off for private dwellings, although the central building at least remains part of the coastguard.

In Britain the HM Coastguard is a civil organisation, not a military one as in some other countries, and its main services consist of Search and Rescue, Maritime Security, Vessel Traffic Management, Counter Pollution and Salvage, Receiver of Wreck, Civil Emergency and Disaster Response plus International Work.

One of our emergency services, along with Police, Fire & Ambulance, the Coastguard is often called out for boats in difficulty on the sea, people cut off by tides and cliff rescue. A recent operation was due to cliff falls near Sidmouth when a series of massive landslides initiated a search for anyone hurt or stranded.

To learn more about the service and history of the Coastguard, you can view their website here.

Each station also had its own flagpole. These photos show the hard standing for the pole on the edge of the forecourt, no longer used, although there is one on the central building. I haven't got many photos so I'm adding both of these! ;)

And the next photo is of the view across the cliff and out to sea. One of the buildings served as a look out, which would give an even higher, and better view of the sea from here. Because of the difficulty in getting a boat down to the beach and launched from here a boat might not have been kept here. The store would, however, be used for equipment. An essential vehicle (or vehicles) would be the coastguard landrover(s).

A couple of other examples of Rescue, Counter Pollution and Salvage include the wrecked MSC Napoli after severe storms in January 2007, which lost containers along the East Devon coast (notably Branscombe) and spilled oil onto the sea in Lyme Bay. Rescue included winching the men onto a helicopter, organising boats to contain the ship and oil spill within a huge boom preparatory for clean up operations as well as the Receiver of Wreck. 

The other was shortly after I'd moved to Seaton in 1977 (a couple of miles along the coast from Beer). My former partner and myself were walking along Seaton beach when we found some cannisters washed up on the shoreline. My partner opened one and it was full of white powder so he phoned the coastguard, who turned up to take them away. We never heard anything else but at least if it was dangerous it wasn't left for children to find or to pollute the beach with.  

And I think that's about it. There's such a wealth of information that it was difficult to know what to include and leave out. One of its earliest incarnations is that of catching smugglers along the eastern, southern and south-west coasts, but that's a big subject so I've left that out for now.

Again, I'm sorry my posts are very sparse this year. I have another two partway completed but time has been lacking recently. However, I will try to do better and hopefully get some more out before the end of this year.

Cheers. :)

 

Saint Mary the Virgin Church, Axminster, Devon

 

 

As the name Axminster suggests, the town was a Minster with both an Abbey plus several Monastery buildings, some of which the original remains can still be seen in various places around the town. There has been a church here since 708, this particular church having Norman origins.

A Grade II* listed building, the oldest part of this church is the thirteenth century tower. The original bells were mediaeval, but these have gradually been recast and added to, and there are now ten bells. The latest two of these were cast this century to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the carpet industry in the town, for which Axminster is world-famous.

Interestingly, during the 18th century, each newly made, hand-woven carpet would be paraded around the town, and the church bells rung to celebrate its completion.

As you can see, these photos were taken on a different day as I only had a few from the first visit, returning several years later to do it properly.

The only remaining Norman feature is this wonderful carved doorway. Originally in the south wall, it was reset into the east wall of the south chapel. Other parts of the church were added at different times; the chancel aisle circa 1480, the north aisle circa 1530, the south aisle in the 19th century - along with the clerestory windows - and the north aisle roof was replaced by a Mediaeval copy in 1903.

The main entrance is on the north side set in a porch, seen above and below. Often occuring in East Devon and West Dorset, a north door was known as the Devil's Door, which aren't usually used elsewhere. This might say something about us in the south-west, but was more likely a consequence of Victorian restoration. However, this one is dated to the late Mediaeval, so maybe it is about us after all! ;)

Decorative buttresses adorn the sides and front. Along the top of the porch and the north aisle is this rather lovely parapet, built with Ham Hill Stone and comprising delightful quatrefoils and gargoyles.

On the left side of the porch are exterior stairs leading up to the gallery above the entrance, seen here and also at the top of the page.

And the other side seen below. Intriguingly, there's also a protuding piece of the parapet and brickwork beneath that, indicative of space made for something inside. I don't know what that is but I'll definitely check it out if I can visit again.

The tower consists of an embattled parapet, bell windows with hood moulds and lozenge shaped clock. On the south-west corner is a polygonal stair shaft, with a weathercock and also with embattlements. Fabulous gargoyles sit on the other three corners of the tower above thin buttresses.

We'll be back outside again later but for now let's go inside.

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised but it was a surprise to see the interior complete with a huge carpet, something I've never seen in a church before, apart from in front of the altar in many churches. An Axminster carpet, of course!

 

There are two 15th century four-bay arcades, the north one seen above, the other to the south, below. The capitals have foliate carvings on the south whereas the capitals on the north were replaced with carved angels in 1870. To the left of the photo is the west window, also seen below.

And the delightful carved angels below.

Looking down towards the west window; the brass candelabra is dated 1750. There are various nooks and crannies throughout the church. I didn't get all of them but we can see one on the far right of the photo below.

Looking towards the chancel and altar in the east, below. The east window is Early English containing four lights, and there are two-light windows either side to the north and south.

Also these lovely early 12th century sedilia on the south side of the chancel with piscina. Sedilia were ceremonial seats used by the officiants during services and the piscina is a niche which contained a basin of water for the priest to wash his hands before Mass. There are also two 13th century stone effigies in niches, the south side one seen below to the right of the sedilia.

The north effigy seen below. I don't know if other photographers do this, but I often have a favourite photograph of the day or visit. It might be because I'm a 35mm photographer and it isn't until the photos come back from the printers that one really stands out for me. Anyway, this was mine on this visit.

Other parts of interest include squints through crossing piers, one seen below.

A lovely carved timber screen, circa early 15th century, to the north chapel.

And a north aisle window below along with the organ. I've noticed that the icon pictures on stands have become quite popular in recent years.

Dated 1633, the pulpit was originally a three-decker with a sounding board above. Since cut down to just one set of steps, the remaining ornate carving is still a delight to see.

Also a carved chest in the same style as the pulpit.

And two more interior photos before we head outside again. The one on the left is of the south chapel I think and the right one of the chancel and choir.

The west door and facade showing the huge west window.

I don't know why I didn't get a photo of the window properly but I'll repeat the first photo at the top of the page to show how large it is.

And another door, which I have no idea where it was situated!

And finally...

On my second visit it was a thursday, when the town holds an outdoor street market. Some of the stalls are situated on the paths surrounding the church as well as the nearby market place and street. A wonderful tradition that has spanned for a very long time. The original charter was for a weekly cattle market started in 1210 with church grounds and monasteries being places of trading and other activities.

So there we have it! I'm sorry it's been a while since posting anything but I was working on a former website post about Couchill Woods, which just would not work! I tried everything, changing things around, cutting out the bad photos, making the article smaller and still ending up with a horrible mess, lol. So I've shelved that for now...possibly forever! ;)

Anyway, there's still plenty to do. I'm not sure what's coming up next but I have a few in draft at the moment so it depends which I finish first. So, I'll see you on the next one...hopefully not too long away, lol.

Cheers!
 

 

Various Buildings, Honiton, Devon

 

 

Some 34 years ago I use to swim at the local pool in Honiton most weeks for about 6 years, and on this particular day I had a wander around town with my camera afterwards. Shot on b&w film, I took pictures of whatever took my fancy, which happened to be mostly architecture - architectural photographer in the making! - along with some of these lovely pine trees against the Honiton skyline.

Out of the buildings I only managed to find three on the British Listed Buildings register, so I'll start with those. The first is the building on the left of these two photos, called Greystones. Once Allhallow's School (a public school for boys) the building is thought to have replaced an original 17th century one that burnt down in 1764 and is Grade II listed.

At three storeys high, the front contains three mullioned windows on each floor with label moulds above each. I hadn't heard of the term Label for moulds before so I looked it up and apparently it's just another name for hood mould, which I do use, along with drip mould or dripstone.

The parapet has a pleasing symmetry consisting of two gables and semi circular mould in the centre above a round blind window. Floor bands are situated between the ground floor and first storey, and another below the roof.

I seem to have taken two of these, only very slightly different, which is just as well as the building on the right is the second listed building and I only have these two photos of both buildings.

This one is Allhallow's Chapel, the former school chapel, and now Allhallow's Museum. Grade II listed, it was rebuilt circa 1740-50 in a 15th century style. The above photo shows a Tudor arched door with drip mould and rose window on the west elevation. That wall is of knapped flints, whereas the others are of flint rubble.

Because of the difficulty in having the school and chapel on opposite sides of the road, the school was moved to a large former manor at Rousdon. Right up until the new one closed for good in 1998 - due to falling pupil intake and long term financial problems - the old boys were still called Honitonians.

The third listed building is the parish Church of St Paul. Another Grade II listing, it was completed in 1838 and designed by the architect Charles Fowler in a lovely Romanesque style with apse. The photos I have were all taken from the street behind the church. The one above shows the church tower and those below are of the apse consisting of tall round headed windows. Clerestorey windows can just about be seen above along the top of the rectangular main building.

The photos below are of the same street. Just the street view on the first one, then one with some of the church along with other buildings on that side of the street. I really liked the perspective and atmosphere of these; the first with part of an ivy clad wall and the second showing higgledy piggledy rooflines. The building on the left must be a pub, due to the beer kegs outside awaiting collection. 

 

Now onto the rest, of which I know absolutely nothing about. The first few of these was to play around with some close-ups of the buildings along this street.

This first one was partially seen in the photo beyond the ivy clad wall. The ones below are various other rear buildings along that street.

And some random street scenes. I do recall where this street is but not the name. However, it was adjacent to the street above.

And another street, below, which I don't know where it is at all. It looked suspiciously like one I know in Sidmouth but I've checked my Honiton negatives and it's definitely in Honiton.

I'm not entirely sure but I think the ones below were taken in the High Street.

The first two are of a quite a large building containing two separate houses with a thatched roof on the left one.

The doors have Georgian canopies and the right part of the building is now slate roofed, although probably would have been thatched originally, with Georgian style sash windows. The leaded style panes on the left dwelling look new as well as the windows themselves.

The next along (seen to the left of the two photos above and one below) is this delightful terraced housing, consisting of around five dwellings. Lovely gabled windows in the roof and sash windows on the ground floor and first storey, with the most unusual tiling below the windowsills.

And the last of the buildings is another terrace with fabulous spiky turrets above each bay and rather attractive diamond tiled motifs above the doors. I wish I'd have taken some more photos of them, especially of the ground floors too - my usual lament, lol!

I don't know if there were two terraces, one each side of the road, or if I just turned around and took a photo of the rest on that one side. I suspect the latter but I honestly can't remember! If so, then there were either six or eight of each dwelling. 

And finally, a photo of the skyline again, this time with the two pines. One of them was felled some time ago and I don't know if the other is still there but they really were lovely.

I'm still struggling with the few former website articles to rewrite and a couple with old photos similar to this one - none of which I'm very happy with and might not finish. However, there are still the new street ones to complete, which is good.

On a happier note, I was talking to an old friend yesterday who also has disabilities, and he told me that bus drivers will let down the step if asked, so I don't have to worry about getting stuck anywhere. Honiton's a bit far out with only two buses a day but I could have a go at some nearer places, which would be brilliant as I'm so fed up with not being able to get out to explore and take photos. Onwards and upwards...maybe, lol!

I'm not sure what's up next as your guess is as good as mine, but I'll try not to leave it too long. Oh, and a happy Autumn Equinox for yesterday everyone. Have a great Autumn. Cheers. :)