Schools Learning Zone
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Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 1 of 6
Church Checklist (Outside)
What to look for when you visit a church.
Walls
What are the walls made of? Dried earth
Stone
Brick
Concrete
More than one material (e.g. flint and stone, or wood and brick)
Is the material used for building the church similar to that used in the nearby houses?
Roof
What is the roof made of? Stone
Tiles
Slate
Clay tiles
Lead
Thatch
Windows and Doors
How many different styles of window can you find?
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RESOURCES
Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 2 of 6
Carvings
When you look at the walls, roof and windows look for any carvings.
You might find carvings of demons, monsters and goblins;
these strange carvings sometimes double as water spouts to take rainwater away from the roof and gutters. They are known as gargoyles.
Or you might find carvings of people’s faces; they might be faces of people from the village who gave money or work to help build the church.
Draw any carvings of faces or monsters that you see in this box.
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RESOURCES
Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 3 of 6
Porch
In the Middle Ages the porch was the place from which the village was run.
It was where meetings were held.
Does the church have a stone sink (called a stoup) which once held the holy water with
which the parishioners made the sign of the cross (to bless themselves) before entering the church?
Yes
No
Lich gate
‘Lich’ or ‘lych’ is an old English word which means ‘dead body’.
During a funeral, the body would be placed at the lich gate to wait burial.
It has a roof because bodies used to be buried in woollen cloth or ‘shroud’ rather than a coffin;
it was important to protect the body from the sun, wind and rain.
www.EnglandsPastForEveryone.org.uk/Schools
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You may photocopy this sheet
RESOURCES
Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 4 of 6
In the churchyard
Are there any unusual tombs, crosses or memorials?
In Cornwall you may find some very early crosses and symbols in the churchyard, or carved onto the church itself.
Tombs and gravestones often contain lots of information about local families.
Are there any tombstones that mention a local disaster, an accident or a national event?
Write something about one you find in this box.
Tombs can help us to work out how long people lived at different times in history.
Use this grid to list the age of death of 10 men and 10 women over periods of 50 years; for example, death between the years in the grid below.
1750 – 1800
1800 - 1850
1850 - 1900
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1900 to present day
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Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 5 of 6
Churches are usually built so that the congregation faces the altar at the east end. This means it is easy to work out which side of the church faces south.
The south side of the church usually contains the oldest gravestones.
In most churches the north side was not used for burial until the sunnier side of the churchyard was full.
Are there any Yew trees?
Before Christian times, Yew trees were thought of as special tree of the gods.
Sometimes Christian churches were built on places were already holy in pagan religion, and thus already had Yew trees planted on them.
During the time of Edward I (1272 – 1307), it was ordered that Yew trees should be planted near all churches to help protect them against the weather.
Is there a tower?
In some places towers were built as a place of safety during time of trouble, but towers were mostly built as places to hang the bells.
Bells sounded out the times of the services throughout the day.
At a time when there were no personal clocks or watches, this was very important.
Many medieval churches had a spire of stone or wood on top of the tower.
Is there a clock?
The word ‘clock’ comes from the French word ‘la cloche’ which means ‘bell’.
The first clocks were bells that sounded the hours. Old clocks can still be found on some churches.
If there is a clock, sketch it in this box. Notice any words that are written on it.
Is there a weathervane?
www.EnglandsPastForEveryone.org.uk/Schools
© University of London
You may photocopy this sheet
RESOURCES
Religious Sites of Cornwall (Religion/Medieval)
Unit 3 – Church checklist (outside)
page 6 of 6
Is there a sundial?
Before clocks, sundials were used to tell the time.
To give an idea of when mass would next be said, simple sundials were often scratched into church walls.
Sun and scratch dials were simple ways of telling the time.
They were accurate in the
summer on a sunny day, but not much use in winter or when it was cloudy.
If you see a sundial, draw it in this box.
www.EnglandsPastForEveryone.org.uk/Schools
© University of London
You may photocopy this sheet