Chipping, Lancashire
Still laid out on it's C17th plan, Chipping shows signs in the decor of its facades of former wealthy times. One of its occupants, John Brabin was a wealthy cloth merchant and funded the building of the school (now a private residence)and almshouses.
There is ample parking in Chipping although the largest car park is height restricted. Some parking spots for camper vans adjacent.
Buildings
St. Mary's Catholic Church
A luxurious interior and a grisly find
This part of the world was a Catholic stronghold after the dissolution of the monasteries. Many farms and halls had priest holes. Leagram Hall, nearby had a secret chapel. I came across this building by chance - tucked away beyond the former school house. Nothing prepared me for the sumptuous interior. Built in the 1820's.
Inside the church, this bag is said to have contained the decapitated head of a priest after he was slain whilst celebrating mass in 1848.
St. Bartholomew
Stone carved delights
There's nothing as beautiful as a dalliance of steps leading the eye up to an ancient tower. Our senses are being cajoled by the built environment -herded like the sheep that made Chipping's wealth into a frame of mind.
I was prepared to be disappointed with the church at Chipping. I had read that its earliest fabric had been lost to Victorian improvements. It was wrong and, if its countenance is anything to go by, this little Church has everything going for it.
The font of 1520 displays several symbols including instruments of the passion. Around the base are the inverted letters AMGPDT - Ave Maria Gratia Piena Dominus Tecum
The carvings on the capitals are distinctive and of equal delight. Here a jocular grouping of faces followed by a bear. Shakespeare was alive when these stones were carved.
This is something I've never seen depicted in such a fashion before - the Gothic tracery of a window.
Chipping Farm Shop
Full of local produce and lovely coffee. They also do a take away menu.
Chipping Whitewell Gorge Walk
A hidden gem besides the river Hodder
Shhh, don't tell anybody about the Hodder Valley area! Let them keep driving past onto the Lake District and beyond. The only fly in the ointment is the walk passes nearby the Inn at Whitewell - there is the chance you might bump into Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan - 8 miles, moderate walk.
View from the walk.
Readers of the Genius Loci Digest
What stays with readers
That aura, those echoes - the muted light is transporting. What a space to feel rooted in history. I'd love to make that journey myself; you've stirred the opera lover and architectural dreamer in me.
From the heritage portfolio
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