Treasured places, layered in history
It is as though the earth during its infancy first carved out a fold - a hollow that sat somewhere within the realms of Fibonacci - a proportion drawn from the same geometry that threads itself through constellations.
An opportunity to own an original piece from my 4x5 Khadi Papers sketchbook: an ink and watercolour drawing of the Anglo-Saxon crypt at Repton painted on 100% fibre, textured cotton rag paper.
Looking after the building and its context speaks to something profoundly human – the impulse to invest ourselves in things that extend beyond our own lifespans.
Whilst I stood and waited for its return, I envisioned notions of time loosening its grip - of fog as a veil not just over landscape, but over centuries.
For me, this monument is one of the finest in the country – containing the effigies of Sir Lawrence Tanfield and his wife Elizabeth.
I think it’s because there’s a clarity of message here - a kind of truth that asks nothing of you. Not the sort that needs proving or defending, but one that is simply known, absorbed.
Amidst the medieval ridge and furrow are lumps and bumps that mark events from the past, reverberating through this place. It was at Repton that a great Viking army wintered in 873 AD under the leadership of Ivar the Boneless. The lumps and bumps are the boundaries of their camp.
The weight of history here is a press. I am so taken in by what I see that I sit down on the cold slab to absorb it. This is a place that has held fast in the eddying tides and swells of chaotic times.
One of the most remarkable churches in England.
✨ Wondering why I ask for support?
An Anxiety of Memberships