Gargoyles and Grotesques!

Gargoyles and grotesques
A new project for Buxton Our Street

What stories do the stones of our buildings tell us? Or what stories could they tell? Or what eyes watched us through the making of those stories…cold stone eyes peering down, peeking out, seeing everything, telling nothing. And then dropping rain in waterspouts on the heads of the unwary!

A gargoyle is a decorated waterspout that projects from a roof and carries rainwater away from the walls of a building, protecting it from damage, whilst a grotesque is a decorative carving that has no functional architectural purpose.
Gloucestershire Archives

Gargoyle on St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne

Creeping Toad and the Babbling Vagabonds Storytelling Theatre are going to be playing with ideas of gargoyles and grotesques over the next few weeks, inviting people to design, make and be messy around these wonderful, watchful presences on our buildings


Sorry, but we won’t be wielding chisels and shaping stone but we will be

• Designing and making quick cardboards freestanding gargoyles
• Drawing, thinking and writing about faces on walls
• Working with clay to make small gargoyles or grotesques to take home
• Working with clay and plaster cloth to make bigger grotesques

inspiration on Buxton walls

clay, plaster and slightly sinister!

All these ideas will feed into a strange and (hopefully) mysterious event during the final celebrations of the Buxton Our Street project in February 2024. Among music, big light projections and other happenings, there will be a quieter corner, a more sinister moment perhaps where, a visitor might wander into a ring of watchful faces and be….observed

Details will follow



EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS

All events are free and materials are provided

October
Sunday 8th, 11am - 4pm

Gargoyles and Grotesques: join us for some first ideas, first makings, first excitements at The Pump Room, Buxton, The Crescent, Buxton, SK17 6BH

This is part of the Fun Places weekend: https://funpalaces.co.uk/about-fun-palaces/

Thursday 19th
The grotesques of Buxton: a talk by Terry Newholm at Buxton Country Park Visitor Centre (Temple Rd, Buxton , SK17 9DH). An evening talk, this will be free but tickets will need to be booked. Book tickets here

Look out for Terry’s book “A Walk Amongst The Grotesques of Buxton”





Wednesday 25th October and 8th November
First Grotesques at Buxton Country Park Visitor Centre (Temple Rd, Buxton , SK17 9DH): inspired by the limestone of our hills and its ancient stories, we’ll make faces out of clay on 25th, cast them with plaster cloth and decorate them i8th. Places here are limited and the workshops are aimed at adult participants. Please book to be with us on both dates

Times: 1.30 - 3.30pm?

Please book a place through eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grotesques-design-and-make-workshops-at-pooles-cavern-tickets-721138824637?aff=oddtdtcreator




NOVEMBER
Wednesday 22nd, 29th:

Second Grotesques: a similar pair of workshops as First Grotesques 1 but now evening sessions at the Green Man Gallery

Times: 7 -9pm

Please book your places on both sessions: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/grotesques-design-and-make-workshops-at-the-greenman-gallery-tickets-719867080817?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

EVENTBRITE LINKS ARE NOTORIOUSLY UNRELIABLE! IF THIS DOESN'T WORK,GO TO EVENBRITE AND SEARCH FOR BABBLING VAGABONDS IN BUXTON, UK AND YOU SHOULD FIND THE EVENT!



a gargoyle's eye view-from St Magnus Cathedral on Orkney

Later November: we hope we might fit in an impromptu session of Festive Gargoyles in the run-in to the Midwinter/Christmas - a time when you might really need an ugly little friend in the corner of the living room!

Watch for details posted on social media!

Social media to follow:

X, Instagram and Facebook:

Creeping Toad
BuxtonOurStreet
Babblingvagabonds



Many thanks to our friends at The Pump Room and Buxton Crescent Experience, Buxton Civic Association and the Stronger Roots programme, and The Green Man Gallery for their help and support with these Grotesque opportunities!




Images: 3 of these images are not from Buxton. they are labelled, the others lurk around town....I haven't labelled them - go and find for yourself!