I felt like letting someone else do all the heavy lifting today, so I virtually attended Uncovering the Parish Church’s Naughty Bits, an excellent lunchtime lecture by Dr Emma J. Wells, hosted by The Churches Conservation Trust.
As you can watch the free lecture for yourself by going to the CCT Facebook page (link in Resources), I won’t spoil it for you, but needless to say it was very fun. And very rude. A medieval fest of genitalia, contortionism and defecation in sacred spaces, all brilliantly brought to life, with only a hint of smut, by Dr Wells.
So apart from being thoroughly entertained on my lunch break, I now also have words like apotropaic, corbel and misericord that I can casually slip into conversation, as well as an appreciation of the difference between gargoyles and grotesques (it’s all about the spouts). I managed to tick off liminal space on my folklore bingo card, and was reminded of the wondrous Sheela Na Gigs. But mostly it’s really made me want to try my hand at stone masonry, so that every time some bastard stiffs me on an invoice I can just go chip out an anus-shower and hide it in their home (and be very careful about how you Google that).
If you’re interested in hearing more lunchtime lectures from CCT, I believe next week’s is on erotic death art…
Resources
Header: The (in)famous Kilpeck Sheela Na Gig
https://www.visitchurches.org.uk
