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View Full Version : The Bell Chapel, Thornton, Bradford Feb '09 ARCHIVED



boxfrenzy
17-02-2009, 11:41 PM
The original ancient church of St James in Thornton (which was known locally as the "Bell Chapel") was built between the years 1587 and 1612.
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This early seventeenth-century building, by all accounts was a mean and unattractive one (Leyland describes it as “narrow, contracted, and unsightly,” v. 1, ch. 1)
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It underwent many alterations in the years leading up to the appointment of Patrick Bronte as parson in March 1815.
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Born on March 17th in Drumballyroney, County Down, Ireland, he was ordained into the Church of England in 1807. In 1859 Patrick Bronte preached his last sermon from the pulpit of Haworth Church, and died two years later on the 7th June. He was 84. He outlived all of his four children and is laid to rest in Howarth Church.
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It was in poor repair when Patrick arrived, and characteristically he undertook a program of repairs. Early in his ministry he conducted there a thanksgiving service for the victory at Waterloo, and all his and Maria’s children, except Maria the eldest, were baptized there. It produced for its incumbent, by Patrick’s reckoning, around £127 a year.
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After the building and consecration of the Church of St James it first became a ruin, with the font being used over the road in the Church of St James.
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Today, all that remains is a small room (vestry?) and the cupola
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I was lucky enough to be there during a freak weather phenomena which meant that a partial eclipse and unusually bright Northern lights meant I was able to capture an interesting shot of the cupola.
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I would imagine that this shovel has dug a fair few graves.
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A Masonic grave in the graveyard. Here's what it all means.
The all seeing eye
Freemasonry employs a mystical eye in its imagery known throughout the occult world as the all-seeing eye. This symbol is used to show an immortal being.
The square
Blue Lodge Masons are taught that the Square is to remind them that they must be square in their dealings with all men.
The compass
The real meaning of the square and compass is sexual. The Square represents the female. and the Compass represents the male
The sun, moon and stars
The sun, moon and stars, known in Scripture as the host of heaven, are found to be to the fore of Masonic imagery.
Other symbols
Freemasonry uses many other symbols such as keys, blindfold, a sword pointing to the heart, a 'mystical ladder, a coffin' and many more. All these symbols carry a hidden occult significance, which can only be comprehended by acquiring knowledge provided during ritual initiation. This teaching and imagery is common to all secret societies and is shared also with Mormonism and the New Age movement.
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A group of people, no doubt with matching polo shirts, now look after this place, which is all good news, I think you'd agree.