The church of St. Andrew

[Included for no better reason than I like it (reference 3) and our more of less full size reproduction caught my eye just before starting this post]

With the church of the title being the church of St. Andrew at Chippenham, previously noticed at references 1 and 2. Having arrived there fortified by sausage sandwiches from the Angel. Which worked rather well: sausages not bad if a little highly flavoured and a plentiful supply of light brown bread (intended for toasting) to wrap them in. And they did not stint on the tea. The Angel having settled for self-service breakfast, had done a good job. And self-service from tubs (possibly an electrical variety of bain marie) is much easier to deliver in good condition than a full on menu with table service.

A large church, in good condition, but probably a good deal too large for present needs, despite the effort to turn it into a community space as well as a church. Efforts which included light music in the background - light rather than ecclesiastical which I found rather odd.

And they had bothered to light the sanctuary light, even if it was white rather than red and in the chancel rather than in the Lady Chapel.

I forget what the sandy art work in the south transept was all about, but I do remember that the south window was provided by a family which had lost three sons in the First World War: a reminder of what a dreadful war that was - although there must have been plenty of Ukrainian families which suffered that sort of loss in the course of the 1930's and 1940's.

We shall make inquiries as to whether there is any connection to the Holland's of Uplyme.

The five children holding skulls all died in infancy. Some of them were boys, it seeming that Sunday best was much the same for boys and girls at the time.

What used to be the vicarage which came with the living, between the church and the river. A place which must have cost a bit to run in the 19th century, what with maids, coals and all. Not sure what sort of entertainments a vicar might be expected to offer, given his solemn calling - but he probably had the grand rooms one would want for that sort of thing. We saw an ecclesiastical looking person emerging with his wife from a much smaller abode, off-snap to the right.

The River Avon, as seen from the park on the other side, was full, still and murky. We only learned later that it was kept full by a weir on the other side of town, downstream of which there was not much water at all.

A new-to-me variety of trolley. I failed to find a manufacturer's plate so perhaps not Wanzl, who usually put plates on theirs. Not allowed to return it, but I think that it came from Wilko.

Up into the shopping centre, a sort of cross between our Ashley Centre in Epsom and the rather moribund Swan Centre in Leatherhead. Lots of poor whites wandering about, lots of rather fat people, very few people of colour.

A festival of seagulls, with the water looking a bit clearer. I had forgotten how busy they can be at feeding time. At which point we strolled back to our hotel.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/06/wellingtonia-82.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/07/piano-59.html.

Reference 3: Strayed Sheep - Holman Hunt - 1852.