yorkshire dales churches woodcuts

Two woodcuts of churches in the dales-the church on the hill and St.Mary's Stainburn.
the one at the top is a very old church(built in the 11/12 century)-services are no longer held in it.It is held in trust and preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust.Inside it is whitewashed and very plain, the choir stalls might just hold a bass, a tenorand a couple of trebles!I don't think this was a church where the landed gentry went-just good honest yorkshire folk.Sitting quietly in the old pews I thought that I felt the history of the building. As I bowed my head ,in my mind I saw a monk in brown homespun pass followed by yorkshire farmers, a yeomen in oatmeal and brown coloured clothes their women folk similarly attired with the occaisional piece of brightly coloured cloth brought from the local market -some 6 miles away.The church sits on the edge of the valley that leads up to almescliffe rocks.Julia Odell is doing a painting looking up the valley to the rocks.A real haven of peace in a troubled world -I fell in love with the church and its location.

Swaledale Ewe suckling two lambs

i couldn't resist doing a woodcut of this very proud swaledale ewe suckling her two lambs.
they were just outside St.Mary's Church -Stainburn that we were photographing with almescliffe crag in the background

woodcuts yorkshire dales

I have been doing some more woodcuts of the dales(with more to come).When I was very young and could not afford what most outdoor shops today consider basic essentials. When i was out walking and climbing with friends we slept in barns and caves-they all had names Ben Froggats barn at Baslow-the poltergeist barn at the roaches-
I was snug-ish in my sleeping bag-a victorian bedspread sewn up on two sides-nothing fancy like lilo's or camping mats we slept on the floor-I was in my 20's before i could afford a "proper" sleeping bag!
These images bring back a memory of some of those great days