One Thousand Years

A group of images which tries to strip away the sense of ‘now’ to focus on our forebears – the original masons and worshippers.

Read more about them HERE …

About This Gallery of Images

Some places feel truly timeless – and this makes it easy to ponder a different age and different people. Take Bamburgh, for example (alongside); the village is hidden out of view behind the sand dunes; Armstrong’s 19th century castle ‘improvements’ are hidden behind the curtain wall; no cars, no promenade, few people.

The centuries slip away and it’s just you, the castle and the past.

But the 21st century is more insistent if you go to York Minster or Lincoln Cathedral, Selby or Norwich; there are gift shops inside, tourists and tour guides, photography permits, sound systems; then more tourists outside, cafes, street furniture and cars.

Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t a rant about 21st century economics and the difficult financial choices which cathedrals have to make to stay afloat. It’s just an observation that their battle makes it much more difficult to imagine turning the clock back and trying to reconnect with the original builders, the masons, long-dead worshippers.

So, this gallery of images tries to strip away the sense of ‘now’ – remove distractions and detritus from the modern world – recreate a timelessness.

And maybe. Perhaps. If I concentrate. Try really hard.

Their voices will reach me, calling out across that thousand years.

Take care of yourself

Paddy