http://www.ashbourne-town.com/index.shtml
Ashbourne was simply lovely and the centre is largely unspoilt. There was a grammar school and a wonderful church, whose interior was so dark that photography was difficult. Once again it was some extraordinary memorials that caught my interest in the Boothby Chapel.
The monument to five year old Penelope Boothby (who spoke four languages) was very striking as she lay, sleeping, among her ancient forebears.
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Her little feet gave an impression of her ascending to the skies.
Although older Boothby feet were more earthbound the carving was still impressive.
Cheadle felt like a town largely created by the Shrewsbury estate.
St Giles Church is bigger and grander than the parish church and probably represents a very powerful man's response to being able to practise his faith, without restrictions, after centuries of repression. The church website has a full history.
http://www.stgilescatholicchurch.co.uk/stgileschurch/history.php
The interior of St Giles was extremely dark and it took a long time to adjust to the richness of the decoration. Feeding the electricity meter and the light from a low winter sun (filtered through dense Victorian stained glass) only helped a little and it was hard to imagine the conditions when its riches could be fully appreciated.
I used direct flash on my Dynax 9 but have little confidence that the results will be effective when the film is developed. My Sony HX5V tried its best but, being so dark, the images have lots of digital noise.
While the quality of the craftsmanship is superb, the complexities of stone and metal in the interior was too much for this protestant visitor. With time however we all got to love the mood created by the harmony of paint and wood in the oak roof, yew pews and walls. Even the floor tiles were less garish than usual. Apparently the Earl of Shrewsbury wanted everyone to wear woollen overshoes so the tiles would not get damaged.
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As it is Pugin's bicentenary there was a Pugin Centre in the town with a satue of "God's architect" in the corner.
http://www.pugin-society.1to1.org/
