light | alan frost photography

Last light on Salthouse Church

St Nicholas, Salthouse
Taken late in the afternoon as the sun was setting. This must be one of the finest locations of any church in the UK.

In my last post, I wrote about the wonderful light to be found inside churches. One of the churches I mentioned was St Nicholas in Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast. A large church for such a small parish, records state that it was completed in 1503. It occupies a wonderful position on rising ground at the top of the village, overlooking the salt marshes and the sea.

The photograph was taken at the end of the day just as the sun was setting. My wife and I had been walking our dog that afternoon and as we drove back towards Weybourne, I took a detour in the hope that we might find a good viewpoint of the church. We found the right road, pulled over, and I grabbed my camera. The light on the church could not have been better, with a glorious cloudscape to match. The opportunity to take this shot lasted just a few minutes as the sun soon disappeared behind low clouds in the West. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

This view would not have changed for five centuries, but now wind turbines can be seen on the far horizon.

The wonderful light of Church interiors

Pews of Light
The interior of Weybourne Church. The low morning light shined through the tall leaded light windows on the far wall and illuminated the church pews and cushions.

There is something rather special, well at least for me anyway, about the light which can be found inside a church. This is particularly true when the sun is shining brightly and it comes through the leaded light windows, making shadows and highlighting certain features inside a place of prayer and contemplation.

This post features three photographs taken recently in Norfolk, which I think capture something of the magical light to be found inside these religious buildings. They are centuries old, yet in many respects are no different to when they were first constructed. The idea that this special light has been witnessed by so many generations is rather humbling.