St Laurence, Church Stretton, is currently undergoing extensive renovation to make it "more suitable for worship in the 21st century" - something to make any High Church atheist suspicious. Fortunately, the church's Sheela Na Gig has survived this transformation. As The Sheela Na Gig Project website tells us: Sheela Na Gigs are quasi-erotic stone carvings of a female figure usually found on Norman or to be more precise Romanesque churches. They consist of an old woman squatting and pulling apart her vulva, a fairly strange thing to find on a church. The carvings are old and often do not seem to be part of the church but have been taken from a previous older, usually romanesque, building. The website discusses the Church Stretton figure in detail: Sheela can be found on the north face of the building over an old Norman doorway. As you can see from the photograph it is quite weathered, the stone has a reddish tinge which is dissimilar from the surrounding stones but is similar to the red sandstone which incorporated from an earlier Norman chapel. Just below the carving is another small carving of a flower which appears to be of the same stone. This would seem to indicate that this was not it's original position and might have been taken from an earlier structure. The vagina has been filled in with a small stone this may be an attempt to make the image a little less "crude". An unusual feature of this figure is the fat thighs or knees. You can just make out vestigial ribs on the chest of the figure. All in all the carving is quite crude which again makes it look at odds with the rest of the church. It is quite high up on the church and appears to be guarding the door below it
St Laurence, Church Stretton, is currently undergoing extensive renovation to make it "more suitable for worship in the 21st century" - something to make any High Church atheist suspicious. Fortunately, the church's Sheela Na Gig has survived this transformation. As The Sheela Na Gig Project website tells us: Sheela Na Gigs are quasi-erotic stone carvings of a female figure usually found on Norman or to be more precise Romanesque churches. They consist of an old woman squatting and pulling apart her vulva, a fairly strange thing to find on a church. The carvings are old and often do not seem to be part of the church but have been taken from a previous older, usually romanesque, building. The website discusses the Church Stretton figure in detail: Sheela can be found on the north face of the building over an old Norman doorway. As you can see from the photograph it is quite weathered, the stone has a reddish tinge which is dissimilar from the surrounding stones but is similar to the red sandstone which incorporated from an earlier Norman chapel. Just below the carving is another small carving of a flower which appears to be of the same stone. This would seem to indicate that this was not it's original position and might have been taken from an earlier structure. The vagina has been filled in with a small stone this may be an attempt to make the image a little less "crude". An unusual feature of this figure is the fat thighs or knees. You can just make out vestigial ribs on the chest of the figure. All in all the carving is quite crude which again makes it look at odds with the rest of the church. It is quite high up on the church and appears to be guarding the door below it
Probably the most famous of the Sheela-na-Gig carvings. Found on the church of St Mary and St David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire and believed to date from around 12th century. The church is famous for its Norman carvings. The Sheela-na-Gig carvings are believed to be a survival of pagan beliefs which have been incorporated into the newcomer Christian church. For many years the south door, and the Sheela-na-Gig carving, was hidden by a wooden porch, but this was removed in 1868 to allow visitors to see the carvings as originally intended. Although this has left the doorway exposed to the elements, the sandstone is exceptionally robust, and its condition is carefully monitored. Each statue is hand made using Crystacast Plaster. The figure is hand painted and then embellished with a bronze wax. Finally a light coat of varnish is added to add lustre and protection. I also produce other items based on this design. For more details please go to my Spirit of Avebury shop. Weight 270 gms Height 10 cms Width 9 cms Sheela Na Gigs are quasi-erotic stone carvings of a female figure usually found on Norman, or to be more precise, Romanesque churches. They consist of an old woman squatting and pulling apart her vulva, a fairly strange thing to find on a church. The carvings are old and often do not seem to be part of the church but have been taken from a previous older buildings. An example can be seen by looking at the weathering on the Church Stretton Sheela as compared to the surrounding masonry. It is very likely that these figures come from earlier buildings that stood on the site.
Sheela Na Gigs are quasi-erotic stone carvings of a female figure usually found on Norman, or to be more precise, Romanesque churches. They consist of an old woman squatting and pulling apart her vulva, a fairly strange thing to find on a church. Most carvings are old and often do not seem to be part of the church but have been taken from a previous older building. An example can be seen by looking at the weathering on the Church Stretton Sheela as compared to the surrounding masonry. It is very likely that these figures come from earlier buildings that may have stood on the site. This Sheela na Gig wall plaque is a copy of the original which can be found at the Church of St Mary and St David in Kilpeck. Each plaque is hand made using Crystacast R Plaster. It is then hand painted and embellished with a bronze wax. Finally a light coat of varnish is applied to add lustre and protection. Each wall plaque has a wall hook on the back. Height 12.5 cm Width 9.5 cm Weight 550 gms
