RTF Competition - December 18th to 31st - Churches - FIVE Winners Announced!

Taken 24 Dec 2022 11.05 hrs
Camera: DJI mini 3 Pro
Edited: Photoshop
ISO -100, f/1.7
Ex time: 1/2500
Ex bias: -1.3 step

The Parish Church of St. Andrews was restored by George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s and by William Butterfield in the 1870s. Butterfield’s restoration revealed some of the original Norman work. The bell tower dates from the early 13th Century and holds two bells; “Ave Maria” dating from 1402 and “Ann Shaw” dating from 1962. A third bell, “Katerina”, dating from 1500, can be found cracked upon the floor. The church also houses a silver communion paten dating from the early 15th Century. The Parish registers, kept by Staffordshire Record Office, date from 1581.

The west tower is early C13 and the arcades and chancel arch only slightly later. Chancel arcades appear to date from the erection of aisles in 1825, although it has been argued that the piers are C13 but altered in the C19. The chancel was re-faced and re-roofed in the 1840s. The original nave north aisle was taken down in 1685, but the arcade was preserved. A new aisle had been built in 1825 but it was replaced in 1860 by George Gilbert Scott (1811-78). The south aisle was rebuilt and widened in 1872 by William Butterfield (1829-99), who also heightened the nave by adding a clerestorey, with trademark polychrome interior decoration, adding a north vestry and rebuilding the porch using old masonry.

TOAL was in the Church Car Park just off the A51 on the Weston Road heading to Stafford Town.

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Entry 1
Church of St Bartholomew, Armley, Leeds.
24/12/2022 - 09:19.
DJI Mini 3 Pro.
ISO 100.
Shutter 1/640.
-0.7ev, no filters.

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Entry #4
Winchester college chapel
Mavic air 2
@14.46
21.12.2022
Edit i wand on I phone 12

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While all you guys are going all out for some magnificent buildings, I’ve decided to keep it small and simple, a bit like me to be honest. For my first entry I give you Westown Chapel.
Taken on 24th December about half one on my mini2.
A ruined Late Mediaeval church situated in the Carse of Gowrie, also known as the Church of the Blessed Virgin of Inchmartin. The chapel used to be covered by ivy, but a project by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust in 2007 has seen it conserved. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The burial-ground also contains a 17th-century graveslab but some locals think the site goes back further. On a nice clear day you can turn around 90 degrees left and get a stunning view over towards Dundee and The Silvery Tay

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Entry 2
Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds.
24/12/2022 - 10:32.
DJI Mini 3 Pro.
ISO 100.
Shutter 1/1000.
-1.3ev, no filters.

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This is Manchester Cathedral, photographed earlier this afternoon using my DJI Mini 2. This is easily the best day of the year to fly a drone in central Manchester without being bothered!

Added to Drone Scene:

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St Mary The Virgin, Hanbury, Bromsgrove.

Time and date: 26th December 08:39
Aircraft: Mini 3 Pro

Situated on top of a hill with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Its earliest parts date from about 1210 and it is a Grade I listed building. The church was the family church for the Vernon family of nearby Hanbury Hall.

I thought this was already on DroneScene, but it’s not!! So here you go:

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Entry 3

St Peter’s Church, Coniston Cold.
26/12/2022 - 12:03.
DJI Mini 3 Pro.
ISO 100.
Shutter 1/1600.
-0.7ev, no filters.

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St Mary Collegiate Church, Stafford, Staffordshire.
Taken 26/12/2022 at 13:21hrs
DJI mini 3 Pro
ISO100
Shutter Speed 1/2500
EV: 0

My home town’s Grade I listed Collegiate Church of St Mary dates from the early 13th century, with 14th century transepts and 15th century clerestories and crossing tower.

Excavations in 1954 revealed the adjacent late Anglo-Saxon church of St Bertelin.

The church was collegiate when recorded in the Domesday Book when there were 13 Prebendary Canons. It became a Royal Peculiar around the thirteenth century, exempt from the jurisdiction of the Bishop, but this caused conflict and culminated in December 1258 when the new bishop, Roger de Meyland, came to Stafford with many armed men who forced entry and assaulted the canons, chaplains, and clerks.

The church survived as a collegiate institution until the dissolution of colleges and chantries in 1548.

The Church contains:
The Chest tomb to Sir Edward Aston (died 1568).
Wall tablet to Thomas (d. 1787) & Barbara Clifford (d. 1786) by John Francis Moore.
Wall tablet to Humphrey Hodgetts (d. 1730).
Wall tablet to Izaak Walton (d. 1683).

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I got married here, first time, best forgotten :laughing:

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St Joseph & St Etheldreda Catholic Church Rugeley, Staffordshire
Taken 26/12/2022 at 12:37 hrs
DJI mini 3 Pro
ISO-100
Shutter speed 1/4000 sec
EV: -1 Step

Grade II listed Roman Catholic church. 1849-50; by Charles Hansom. Sandstone ashlar. Plain tile roofs with stone coped gable-ends. Large west tower with prominent diagonal buttresses, stair-turret with pinnacle, trefoil balustrade with small pinnacles and tall octagonal stone spire with lucarnes and thin flying buttresses; a weather-cock on spire.

Full details available here including an interesting story regarding the spire:
St Joseph & St Etheldreda, Rugeley.

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@Steviegeek I think my parents were married there Steve and they lasted over 60yrs! It’s a small world…sorry to bring up iffy memories :thinking: … Oh dear, just done it again! :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:
There’s one vote lost! :rofl: :joy:

Location: St Mary Church, High Offley, Staffordshire.
Date: Taken 24/12/2022 at
Time: 15:29 hrs
Drone / Camera: DJI mini 3 Pro

Most of the church dates to the 13th century with some earlier Norman features and some from later periods. The core of the church dates from the 12th century, and features from the 13th century are still present, including the lower stages of the tower and the south arcade. Most of the rest of the church is from the 15th and 16th centuries and is Perpendicular in style.

There was a limited 19th-century restoration which included the addition of a south porch. Inside the church, the nave roof is “an outstanding and well-preserved work of late-medieval carpentry”, which includes carved heads and foliage.

I loved shooting this, it’s a beautiful area :heart:

Added to Dronescene (link below)

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Location: St. Nicholas Church in Chawton , North East Hampshire.
Date taken: 27th December 2022 at 13:31
Drone: DJI mini 2
Exposure: 1/200 s at f 2.8 ISO 100
Raw file processed in LR , Sharpened in PS.

It was a grey day, I wanted to get these photos before the weather got any worse. St. Nicholas Church in Chawton is situated within the grounds of the great house owned by her brother Edward and close to the cottage where Jane, her sister and mother lived. The current church dates back to the 1870 as there’s not much of the original medieval church remaining since the fire in 1870.

Janes mother and sister are buried next to each other towards the back of the church yard and a small statue of Jane Austen greets you when you walk up to the church, you can just spot the black statue on the bottom left beside the path leading up to the church.

I originally thought that the main church for Jane Austen was St Nicholas Church Steventon and had previously flown there to capture some pictures for this competition. It is an important part of the Austen family as it’s where her father, her brothers James and Henry, and four cousins were clergymen

dronescene link

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St Matthews Curch, Tay Street, Perth.
Taken 27th December 15:50,DJI Mini 2. Some colour and exposure adjustment along with a small crop from left.
I was going to crop out the brightly lit Smeatons Bridge, but wife the told me for the first time to leave it in. My first time flying in the darker hours and got attacked by a gull, next time I’ll be taking my shotgun for the wee barstewards!!!

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:joy::joy::joy:

1 Like

RTF Entry Churches

Taken 0835 28th December 2022 Grimsby North East Lincs

DJI Mini3 Pro vertical mode Managed to find a gap in the weather when it wasn’t raining

Grimsby Minster
Is a minster and parish church located in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. Dedicated to St James, the church belongs to the Church of England and is within the Diocese of Lincoln. The church has two pipe organs.Given the significant distance between the West End of the Church and the Choir, a second organ was installed on the North Side of the Choir in the 1970s, . This two manual and pedal instrument is used for choral services to accompany the Choir.

Entry made on drone scene

4 Likes

St Augustines Church, Rugeley, Staffordshire

Photo taken 26/12/2022 at 12:09hrs (DNG 3XAEB)
DJI mini 3 Pro
ISO-100
Shutter speed: 1/2000 sec
EV: +0.1 Step

Price of two in one photo. This is St Augustine’s Church, which was opened in 1823 by the Bishop of Chester. It was built as a replacement for the original parish church, which had become too small for the town’s growing congregation and was in a poor state of repair. The remains of the original church can be seen on the other side of the road.

A new high-quality chancel at the east end of the church was proposed and would contain an altar and seats for the clergy and choir. In 1905 Lady Alexander Paget laid the foundation stone. The stone contains a time capsule that has a George III crown coin retrieved from the foundation stone of the 1823 church.

The present chancel with its flanking lady chapel, two vestries and organ gallery was designed by Frank L. Pearson. The stained glass of the east window is the work of the well-known designer C.E. Kemp.

The total cost of the chancel, which was dedicated on 29 June 1906 by the Bishop of Lichfield, was £4,961 19s 7d. The Earl of Lichfield donated the building stone. A new oak pulpit was dedicated as a memorial to Rugeley benefactress Sarah Hopkins, whose legacy provided £2,000 of the building cost.

5 Likes

Photo taken 26/12/2022 at 11:22hrs
DJI mini 3 Pro
ISO-100
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
EV: 0.-1 Step

St Michael and All Angels Church, Penkridge, Staffordshire

The present church of St Michael and All Angels is constructed of local sandstone and work started at the very beginning of the 13thcentury, with the original building being completed by the end of that century. The tower and porch were added in the 14th century. Additional modifications were completed in the 16th century, and structurally, the present building is much as it was at that time. During the 12th and 13th centuries, there was an intriguing law requiring that all men practice archery, in church yards, on Sundays! The purpose of this regulation was to provide sufficient skilled bowmen. In this area, their prime combatants would have been the Welsh. 1548 saw the Dissolution of Religious Houses, and meant the end of the Penkridge Deanery.
Many of the buildings, under the authority of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick (later Duke of Northumberland), were destroyed, and the local sandstone reused in other buildings in the village. In 1660, following the Restoration, Hinde continued as Vicar of Penkridge.

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St. Leonard’s Church, Dunston, Staffordshire

Taken 26/12/2022 at 11:05hrs (3XAEB) cropped.
DJI mini 3 Pro
ISO-100
Shutter speed 1/1500 sec
EV: -1 Step

The village church of St. Leonard’s is medium-sized, of Neo-Gothic style and was designed by architect Andrew Capper. Between 1876 and 1878 the old chapel was finally demolished and a new church erected on the same site.

It is a stone building in 14th century style and consists of nave, chancel, transepts, vestry, and a spired west tower. In 1887, a new churchyard, given by the family of a former parishioner, was consecrated, previous burials having been carried out at Penkridge. In 1907, the vestry was added and a new organ installed. The church contains memorial tablets to Thomas Perry (d. 1861), in whose memory the church was built, to his widow Mary (d. 1881), and to later members of the Perry family who lived at nearby Dunston Hall. There are memorial windows and a tablet to members of the Hand family including Charles Frederic Hand (d. 1900), also tablets to John Taylor Duce (d. 1886), Albert Pickstock (d. 1926), and three members of the Thorneycroft family (d. 1913, 1924, and 1943). The two bells of the ancient chapel in 1553, were replaced by one bell in the new church by 1889. This arrangement was then replaced in 1890 by eight tubular bells, rung from a keyboard.

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