Memento Mori, St Peter's, Poulshot - a photo on Flickriver

            Memento Mori on a memorial stone on the north wall of St Peter's in Poulshot, towards the east end of the church. Whatever writing may one have been on the stone has long been lost to the north wind.

The best thing I can do for a description of St Peter's in the Wiltshire village of Poulshot, near Devizes, is to copy the text of the Small Pilgrimage Places Network page about the church, which is repoduced with gratitude.

“St Peter’s Church lies in the vale of Seend, to the north of the Salisbury Plain. To truly appreciate the tranquil, peaceful atmosphere present within the St Peter’s, it requires a visit. There is an air of still and calm throughout the church. It is a simple, not large, stone church set apart from the village in the countryside. This makes it a quiet place, being surrounded by fields. Unlike many other historic churches, St Peter’s is a light place, with lots of sunlight, giving it a life giving and open feel. It is a place particularly suited for the Celtic services held there once a month on a Wednesday evening. Its unpretentious nature and peaceful atmosphere make it ideal for quiet contemplation and prayer. Its simplicity makes it a place to concentrate the mind and to centre oneself in the still calm.

“The oldest parts of the church, including the Nave, date to the 13th Century. It underwent considerable alterations in the 15th Century. A fire in the church in 1916 destroyed the main part of the nave roof which was subsequently rebuilt.
The church was built outside of the village and to this day remains set apart from the village. This was thought to be because of Plague fears, which link with the history of St Peter’s through the presence of Plague pits in the churchyard, denoted by the location of skull and crossbones set in the stone on one side of the church. This is a fascinating part of St Peter’s history, giving reason for why the main part of Poulshot is so distant from the church. The history of St Peter’s is also found in the presence of a dole stone in the corner of the churchyard on which alms and dole would have been distributed to those in need in the village.

“The churchyard is a picturesque place, with grassy verges and snowdrops in spring as well as other wildlife throughout the year. Situated where it is, it also has beautiful views of Salisbury plain and the countryside around.”

Taken in: UK / England / Poulshot / Poulshot (show map)

Taken on: April 6, 2023

Tags:

Outdoor

anglican

christianity

church

church of england

diocese of salisbury

doodshoofd

england

erosion

europe

evocative

lichen

medieval

medieval architecture

memorial

momento mori

skull and crossbones

tete de mort

todeskopf

wiltshire

تذكرة الموت

جمجمة وعظمتان متقاطعتان

中世纪

中世纪建筑

交叉骨

侵

地衣

基

英国

英格兰 « less

Sets appears in: • Wiltshire Churches and Landscapes

Groups appears in: • churchcrawling • Wiltshire Churches more » • Devizes, Wiltshire • Anglican « less

Camera: Nikon D750, f/4.5, 1/80 sec, 78mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D750
Lens:	24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Focal Length:	78mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
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