The Monument, Ottery St Mary, Devon

This rather imposing monument is surrounded by a lovely area of historical and/or interesting buildings, not least the beautiful parish church of St Mary from which the town is partly named, and which can also be seen in the background of the photo above.

It's set in the place where the town stocks originally stood. Now situated in St Mary's churchyard, the stocks can be seen in the photo below, albeit a little dark!

I must admit that I found the design rather plain and looking just like a gatepost...and that is exactly what it is, or at least a copy of one. Based on the gateposts at Kensington Palace, it was built to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Knowing that makes more sense and a lot more interesting.

Looking eastwards, above, the old town hall (now comprising the library and the Ottery Gazette) can be seen in the background.

As the inscription isn't very clear, it reads:

"At the close of the sixtieth year of the reign of Victoria, the townsfolk of this place set up this stone to hand onto those who came after the happy memory of a great & wise and a virtuous QUEEN 1837 - 1897"

And finally, a photo looking southwards down Silver Street, where there are several other listed buildings.

Something I always find fascinating with monuments is how they came about and why, and how they add to a town's history and character. Not a huge amount of information about this one, but a nice bit of history nonetheless.

St Michael The Archangel's Church, Lyme Regis, Dorset

Not having visited the church before, I wasn't sure if these steps led up to the churchyard, but I decided to investigate them anyway. And they did!

This is something really special. At first view from the front, the building appears to be a Victorian rebuild, but on closer inspection of the exterior many traces of its earlier origins can be seen, such as the tantalising reveal of an arch, below.

However, the first big surprise is on entering the porch door. It isn't just a porch, but is in fact part of the original Saxon church, the remainder of the church built by the Normans circa 1120.

In the photo below can be seen the 12th century pillars. The window is known as the Coram Window, and is a memorial to Thomas Coram, a wealthy sea captain and merchant who established a Foundling Hospital after being horrified at seeing the destitution of orphan children in London.

The second surprise awaited through the door into the baptistry.  The rather stunning font is fairly modern, erected in 1846, but this part of the church is late Saxon with its original 13th century arches still visible, although now bricked up.
  

The arch between the baptistry into the present nave was the chancel arch of the Norman church. The photo below is the view looking back down into the baptistry from the nave through the arch.

The present nave was completed in 1506, consisting of an unusual upward slope from west to east towards the altar.

To the left of the nave, this north-west corner (below) makes me think of a retired sea captain's study, with its sloping roof, bookcase, nautical picture and light aspect. I almost expected to see an old fashioned brass telescope on the windowsill. The window opposite on the north wall was erected by the Geological Society of London in memory of Mary Anning, whose grave is in the churchyard.

To the south side of the baptistry entrance is the staircase leading up to the Jacobean gallery, built in 1611.

One of the things I love about this church is the light. The walls, pillars and ceiling are all painted white which, together with the light wood of the seating, creates a wonderfully spacious and welcoming feel to it.
 

Below can be seen the lovely roof bosses and angel corbels on the barrel roof of the chancel. The mural was added circa 1850 and depicts the raising of the Cross. 

After taking photos of the east end of the church, I turned around to view the nave towards the west and had my third big surprise...the impressive organ above the gallery.  A visitor to my erstwhile website kindly sent me some information about it. Built by Anton Skrabia of Slovenia, it was completed and installed in 2010. The price of £300,000 was considered well spent, as Lyme Regis is home to an organ school, which was set up due to the lack of good organists for churches. 

The beautiful pipe shades - the carved panels at the top of the pipes - were created by the local Lyme Regis artist and sculptor David West.

Two other unusual and interesting features include a beautiful bas relief angel and a carved wooden back rest, both in the photo below. The angel is the only surviving feature of the original organ, placed here when it was supplanted by one transferred to Lyme in 1939 from the demolished St Mary Major church in Exeter, which itself was supplanted by the Anton Skrabia organ.

Outside again, the gravestone below shows the resting place of Mary Anning. Born and having lived all her life in Lyme, she became world known for her recovery and scientific research of fossils, some of which can be seen in the Natural History Museum in London, and was credited with finding the first specimen of Ichthyosaurus.

And at the rear, showing the church overlooking the town.

There are so many delightful things to see and lots of amazing history, some of which I've ommitted, and some of which I missed during my visit. However, it's well worth checking out more on-line, and visiting yourself if you have the opportunity. :)

Shapwick Grange Chalk Quarry, Nr Uplyme, Devon

I discovered this quarry while visiting the nearby Cannington viaduct, which can be seen in the previous post. I said there that this was my first quarry, but I then remembered that my first one was the clay quarry at St Austell in Cornwall and the second one was a tour of the Beer Quarry Caves, which are open to visitors. So this was my third one, although the first one that I found and explored on my own...which makes it a bit more special. :)

The works & buildings on this site were abandoned when quarrying stopped in 2002, Shapwick Grange being designated an SSSI - Scientific Site of Special Interest. Also known as Uplyme Quarry, it's the only locality in Devon to contain the fauna of Upper Greensand age. This makes it a key site for palaeogeographical and stratigraphical studies of the Lower Cretaceous period. As well as being an SSSI it is also a Geological Review Site because of its Pleistocene stratigraphy.

Planning permission was originally granted in 1960, the quarry being continuously worked for chalk as a source of agricultural lime. Additional permission was granted in 1990 to work the sandstones that lie beneath the chalk within the existing quarry. The chalk was worked by a mechanical excavator and crushed to a fine powder. This was then stored in the shed prior to bagging and bulk sale. The sandstone part of the works was a separate undertaking to the agricultural lime operations, supplying a local market for infill.
 

The site consists of a weigh bridge & site office, various sheds for loading and storage, conveyor belts, crusher, hopper and the control room above that. I think there was a generator room too, plus storage for oil...and the excavations, of course.

The site office, above, and interiors below.

Having visited here three times now - in 2007 and twice in 2008 - I found it a fascinating place to explore, each time discovering more to look at. On my third visit some changes had been made and there was evidence of new activity, with additional conveyors and a caravan. Some digging had begun on the site of the smaller excavations, away from the main one. However, on a bus journey in September 2009 I saw various earth movers at the top of the main excavations and it appears that extensive quarrying may have been reintroduced.

The top of the main excavation, above, and into the control room, below, which was accessible from the top above the hopper.

I love this funky, trundly machine. Not sure what it is, but it looks like a small, portable generator maybe?

The switchgear was manufactured by the local firm Ottermill Switchgear in Ottery St Mary, Devon.

Then down to where the hopper feeds into the crusher.

The crusher, shown in the photo below. The crushed material then travels on conveyor belts to be loaded onto trucks waiting below.

The view over the walkway and conveyor belts. Normally I'm horrendously acrophobic but it's nowhere near so bad if I'm looking through my camera. Mind, I didn't dare to go down the steps and onto the walkway though!

 And some photos taken from below...on terra firma! ;)

 

As is often the case, there's a tendency to be more careful when on your own, but when with others it's easy to become complaisant. That happened to me on my second visit, as I was accompanied by a couple of aquaintances who wanted to see the site - and that was when I had a really stupid accident...

...Whilst investigating the smaller excavations I ran up a mound of clay, forgetting that we'd had a lot of rain recently, and before I knew it I was almost up to my knees in quicksand and firmly stuck. After an aborted attempt by the others to pull me out, I was resorted to digging out first one foot and then the other with my hands. I went home plastered...literally! ;)

The main excavation, below, with a small 'lagoon'. The turquoise, aqua-green colour in quarry pit water is caused due to the high mica content; one of the unwanted by-products in the extraction process of clay areas.  Interestingly, there were newts, water boatmen, damsels and dragonflies in and on the water, which was really lovely to see.

And to finish up, a few odd photos that don't fit anywhere else...

A bizarre little handle in the form of a hand holding a bar and a view from the weigh bridge towards Cannington Viaduct.  

Plus some more general photos around the site.

And finally, a rather lovely cog on a conveyor belt. One of my favourite photos on one of my favourite explores to finish up with. :)