Over the years I have gathered together old postcards or photos/cuttings of churches that I have not been able to identify and for seven years this page has been online and well over half have been solved - so mysteries no longer! Time at last to adapt these three pages into a mix of old and new puzzles. I believe that most are in the UK, probably England (unless mentioned), although with Victorian churches this is not certain. I would be grateful if any reader could offer suggestions, together with how certain they are (range 5% = not at all sure, to 100% = this is fact, don't question me!). Any clues that I have already are posted with the picture, and if identifed I will try and include these in any updates. For the other two pages of pictures click the links at the foot of the page.
| Mystery Picture 6 **Solved ** I wrote: Quite a large church, and probably suburban. Realy all we can see is the chancel divided into three bays by tall Corinthian pilasters or columns and the lower narrower shallow apsidal sanctuary. No clues from the card itself. Now on third version of this page! In an Email on 7th February 2007 Bryan J McCahey replied: "This church with its distinctive chancel, is Holy Trinity, Wavertree, Liverpool. The church was built in 1794 and the chancel added by Charles Reilly in 1911" and sure enough it is - and I had a pic of it all the time in David Lewis's book on the Churches of Liverpool p108 (sigh!). Thanks Bryan. |
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Mystery Picture 7 **Solved ** No clues on this one, but quite a distinctive interior. Norman-style arcades and an unusual east window.
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| Mystery Picture 8 **Solved ** "Queen Street Methodist Church" says the card...... and almost every British town and city has a Queen Street. An internet search came up with many many suggestions....... The architecture is quite distinctive and the chapel has a bellcote unusually although without a bell. The west porch with the rose window above and flanking doors and two-light traceried windows make for a distinctive facade. Email from Doug Flanders, 23May06, says:- The Queen Street Methodist Church you have on your website is definitely the old Queen Street Methodist Church Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I am 100% sure. The congregation was founded in 1841 by Wesleyan Methodists. The building pictured was constructed in 1856.The church building itself is long gone, having been replaced in the early 1900’s by a larger structure.The congregation entered The United Church of Canada in 1925 and became known as Queen Street United Church. It amalgamated with another United Church congregation, College Street United Church in Toronto, in the early 1980’s. This congregation had a rich ministry to Toronto’s inner city for many years. I took this information and cross reference the picture one found in T. E. Campion’s book, The Methodist Churches of Toronto, published in 1899. |
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Mystery Picture 9 An original mystery picture! This C19 interior really could be anywhere in the former British Empire. It could be a garrison church and it flies the Union Jack and what might be the Northern Ireland flag too. It is probably of the earlier part of the C19 as the Gothic tracery is strange, and there is still use of debased classical features. The photographer must be stood on a west gallery. M. Kingham has withdrawn the suggestion of the Garrison Church in Aldershot after visiting - so it's back to square one! |
| Mystery Picture 10 **Solved ** Surfing the net for other reasons, I came across this church on Geograph. It is St Bride, Cwmddaudwr, near Rhayader, Powys. |
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Mystery Picture 11 **New** This picture has annoyed me for years, looking really familiar! The pretty floral garlands (for a wedding I would guess) hide architectural clues and the stencilled east wall is likely to have been whitened out. |
Thank you for your time, I find the pictures interesting, but it is frustrating not knowing where they are!
All three pages in this series have been updated with new pictures. Click on the links above to visit them if you haven't already!
