We have an ongoing project in Tameside which involves the recording of gargoyles and grotesques on our ancient buildings. Work was carried out some time ago on Ashton Parish Church, for instance, and more recently we have been scaling the heights of the C15th bell tower at St Michael and All Angels in Mottram.
Thankfully, we haven’t really had to learn free climbing or abseiling and it is quite remarkable what can be achieved with out-sized, home-made selfie sticks.
The two pictures below give a flavour of the faces that have been waiting all this time to greet us. Is it significant that the one with a smile on its face has survived better than the other?
Happy Chappy Grotesque
Poorly Corbel. Cheer up, old chap! We haven’t forgotten you, anyway.
