Can we have a grumpy corner?
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- ultimatehandyman
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UHM,
Chesterfield's crooked spire
The parish church of St. Mary’s and All Saints in Chesterfield may be the largest church in Derbyshire, and it may have several chapels, alabaster tombs and a full range of historic treasures, but the thing that most people recognise it for is its crooked spire. The spire wasn’t always crooked. It started life straight and stayed that way for several centuries, before developing its unique twist.
There are plenty of legends about how it came to be leaning nine-and-a-half feet to the south-west. Some say that a local blacksmith was asked to shoe the devil and was so nervous, he drove a nail into his foot. The devil flew off and kicked out at the spire as he passed by. In the second tale, the devil landed on the spire and sneezed violently when the smell of incense from the midnight mass reached his nose. And in the third, the spire turned around in amazement when a virgin was married in the church.
The most likely explanation, though, is the lack of skilled craftsmen during the Black Death in 1349, when the spire was being built, along with the use of green timber, a lack of cross-bracing and 32 tons of lead cladding.
Louise
Chesterfield's crooked spire
The parish church of St. Mary’s and All Saints in Chesterfield may be the largest church in Derbyshire, and it may have several chapels, alabaster tombs and a full range of historic treasures, but the thing that most people recognise it for is its crooked spire. The spire wasn’t always crooked. It started life straight and stayed that way for several centuries, before developing its unique twist.
There are plenty of legends about how it came to be leaning nine-and-a-half feet to the south-west. Some say that a local blacksmith was asked to shoe the devil and was so nervous, he drove a nail into his foot. The devil flew off and kicked out at the spire as he passed by. In the second tale, the devil landed on the spire and sneezed violently when the smell of incense from the midnight mass reached his nose. And in the third, the spire turned around in amazement when a virgin was married in the church.
The most likely explanation, though, is the lack of skilled craftsmen during the Black Death in 1349, when the spire was being built, along with the use of green timber, a lack of cross-bracing and 32 tons of lead cladding.
Louise
- ultimatehandyman
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Jason 123,
A glorious size 10. I've got bigger feet than my husband, he's a size 9 1/2. Interestingly enough all of the women on my dad's side have nothing smaller than a size 7. I've got girly shoes and the the obligatory black stilletoes, so if hubby wants to see 'The Rocky Horror ' show he can borrow my shoes!!
My daughters are carrying on the family tradition, my 7 year old takes a size 4 and my 9 year old takes a size 5 1/2.
I've got big hands with long fingers too, a shame I don't play the piano. My husband is happy that he never has to traipse around shoe shops with me, just getting wide enough school shoes for the girls can be tricky.
Louise
A glorious size 10. I've got bigger feet than my husband, he's a size 9 1/2. Interestingly enough all of the women on my dad's side have nothing smaller than a size 7. I've got girly shoes and the the obligatory black stilletoes, so if hubby wants to see 'The Rocky Horror ' show he can borrow my shoes!!
My daughters are carrying on the family tradition, my 7 year old takes a size 4 and my 9 year old takes a size 5 1/2.
I've got big hands with long fingers too, a shame I don't play the piano. My husband is happy that he never has to traipse around shoe shops with me, just getting wide enough school shoes for the girls can be tricky.
Louise