These pictures are from the second set taken in January
2012. They show the brilliant sunlight
bringing out the strong winter colours on frosty toppled tombstones in front of
the church. These stones were taken down
from their original monumental positions when an area of the churchyard was
cleared. Many stones were taken from the
churchyard but these were lined up as an ornamental feature outside the west
door. The sharp frost and bright
sunlight made that morning a fantastic time to capture a changing view. The sun brought warmth and light on to scene
which dispelled the shadows and frost.
The churchyard setting had been completely transformed before I left.
When monuments carved to last the test of time are toppled
for health and safety reason it seems a poor fate to have befallen the makers
of final resting places. Those that set
these stones in place would probably have thought that their funerary monuments
would stand defiant of the passage of time like those they had seen in ancient
burial grounds. Unfortunately the fate
of the fallen is not as final as it might first be presumed. Even the afterlife is beset with troublesome
issues of land ownership and usage. It
was enlightening to contemplate the ever changing conditions in the cemetery as
the morning sun drove away the frost and the old churchyard seemed to show how
much room the cemetery clearance was making for future generations.
I often pass this church at all hours as it is close to my
family home in South Yorkshire. Several
of my family are buried in this churchyard and I might one day be here
too. These images form testament for me
from my present to both my past and future.
This collection is a reminder of where I have come from and where my
paths may be leading to.
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