Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 12th March, 2025)

What an amazing sight that is Colin.
I suppose today you could knock it up in no time, plan it on all the wizardry there is available today...but back then this was done with hand tools etc...just amazing.

Does nothing for me, l much prefer oriental brightly painted. Religious buildings.
I saw a van once that said Walt Tyler bathrooms and Kitchens

Mick, perhaps pre Reformation and the puritanical times of ‘The Commonwealth’ the ceiling and walls, like many churches in England were ornately decorated.
If we all chuck in and with the tower and spire now cloaked in scaffolding we could have the exterior grey stonework extravagantly painted like St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
Swirling colourful candy stripes on the spire would certainly catch attention!

If it hadn’t been for Henry V111 and his band of robbers it would have remained Catholic. Modern Catholic Churches are nowhere near as ornate as they were. I have seen many churches in Spain and Italy that are far more ornate than any church in England or even St Peter’s in Rome. They are breathtaking.

And the catholic Standish family had their own private doorway … meanwhile the rest of the congregation were living in mud huts .

Well colour me impressed .

It was WAT Tyler who was the.leader of the peasants' revolt, not WALT. Catholic or Protestant, that ceiling is beautiful, as was the rosary said for me yesterday by a Catholic friend when I was having tests, whether she said it in her church or in her coal shed. The place is irrelevent, the prayer is what mattered. However, St. Wilfrids IS lovely. I think one of the loveliest
and most colourful of churches I have seen was The Italian Chapel on Orkney, built by the prisoners of war there. You can google it.

I know that Irene, but I didn't see Wat I saw Walt

They would have had a private door because chapels were attached to houses in those times. A great many of the old Halls/ Houses in England still have. I daresay Haigh Hall had a private chapel. It was par for the course.

Ozy = mud huts? Luxury!!
In Howfen, at the time, they were so poor they lived in open stalls with their animals. That was the origin of Caey Yed City myth.
Excellent photo Colin, on an interesting topic.
Since the liturgical reforms of the 1960s Catholic churches now resemble the interior of Kwik Fit or an aircraft hanger.

Gary there were no Catholic churches in Howfen at all until the 1900’s probably because the Parish Church ( St Bartholomew) was changed to Anglican. There was a tin hut in the 1900’s which served the Catholic contingent until another was built and since demolished. The present church built 30 odd years ago is quite modern. Not my taste but what does it matter.

Renovation of any original woodwork using new ornately carved wood, couldn't be just 'knocked up in no time' as was suggested, it did and still does take time to do it correctly and to match up, they were craftsmen then and they still are craftsmen now carrying on with the timeless traditions. Anglican churches I find are very dull and boring just as are the services, so is it any wonder you see people falling asleep in the pews, sadly it would take more than a reformation to sort out the stuck in their Henry Vlll ways rabble. As for candy coloured stripes on the spire - yes it would attract visitors - and it would certainly give the bishops something to do too, selling ice cream to them.

Irene, I did Google it does look lovely, bit of information for you.
"The Italian Chapel is constructed from two Nissen huts that were given to the Italian Prisoners of War to use as a chapel, who were encamped on the island of Lamb Holm from 1942-1944, while they were assisting with the construction of the Churchill Barriers. The incredible 'trompe l'oeil' style of artwork inside the building was carried out by Domenico Chiocchetti and the beautiful metal rood screen was constructed by Palumbi. In all roughly ten men were involved in the transformation of the huts into the beautiful building you see today. The entire building is a dedication to peace and goodwill, which is incredible when you consider they were prisoners, hundreds of miles from their own country during war time.
Peace and Goodwill should be the Moto of WW.

All POW’s were treated better in these islands than our own young men in the Far East and Germany or Italy for that matter. That’s why probably many came back after the war and stayed. Bert Trauttman the footballer for example.

I've seen your Italian chapel, and I've seen the Changi POW Chapel in Singapore and none of them a patch on a street corner temple in any Asian town; they have nice smelling incense burning and tingling bells and free food.

Thankyou Colin; we visited it when we went to Orkney for my daughter's wedding in 2009 and it is truly beautiful; I have a booklet about it somewhere but naturally I can't find it! My daughter was married at Skaill House, by the way, not at The Italian Chapel!

Colin, you need to understand the difference between Roman Catholic, Anglican Catholic and Pretestantism.
The Church of England is, traditionally, Anglican Catholic. So it comes as no surprise that St Wilfrid’s has a Catholic chapel when it is, after all, a Catholic Church.

Here’s another quote from the pen of Mr. Clemens for your perusal .

" Man is the only religious animal . In the holy task of smoothing his brother’s path to heaven , he has turned the globe into a graveyard ."

Now before arguing with that one , think of Palestine as just one recent example .

In the immortal words of DTease.
“If it wasn’t for religion there would be nothing to fight about”

Did I ever tell you about the time that I lived in an asbestos Portaloo in the central reservation of the Rainford by-pass Gary ?… I do know what luxury is .

That’s before I was forcibly relocated to the somewhat bijou Anderson shelter I now call home of course .

I’ve named the place
“ DUNDOSSIN “ ….
Rather quaint wouldn’t you agree ?

It’s not about which temple or church looks better as at Changi. It’s what has been done in honour of all those Prisoners who lost their lives there on the Burma Railway and other horrifying sites. Many died in the holds of the boats carrying them to Japan for slave labour.

No Veebs, it was done because they had nothing else to do.

I find all this talk about sweet smelling incense , tingling bells and free food very appealing Mick .
You may very well have unwittingly converted me to Buddhism here tha knows .

Although the attractions are of an earthly nature , at least they’re here and now , and that has to beat hanging around waiting to inherit the earth ……. dunnit ?

Let's all agree, through jesus christ our lord, Amen.

Certainly a life of luxury Ozy, especially on the Rainford by-pass.
Did you lick the road to clean it every morning?
Anderson shelter - my grandad made a coal bunker out of his. Brought luxury to Reservoir Street in Aspull!

Irene, there's a Nissan hut in a village near us, which was converted into a Catholic Church by Italian prisoners of war; it is so beautiful. If you're interested Google 'Henllan prisoner of war camp'
- well worth a look.

The reply from ‘Mick’ regarding the Changi POW Memorial Chapel
“it was done because they had nothing else to do”…..
Is nothing short of disgusting.

We had Incense and tingling bells HERE in the flower-power era of the late 1960s and just got ridiculed....perhaps the free food helps in other places? Pat. McC....thankyou for the info re the Italian Church near you....I will certainly look it up.